Monday, April 4, 2011 John Lampkin

Theme: Rhyme Time - Four IE/IE rhyming idioms, where the first part differs from the second part only by the initial letter.

20A. Feeling of uneasiness : HEEBIE-JEEBIES. From Wikipedia: The sound of this term seems to hark back to earlier rhyming phrases, like hocus-pocus and mumbo-jumbo, with a touch of the jitters thrown in. The meaning is more like the British term - the screaming habdabs.

27A. Hand-held two-way communications device : WALKIE-TALKIE A hand-held, portable, two-way radio. You can send and receive within a limited range.

47A. Up-tempo jazz piano style : BOOGIE WOOGIE. Piano-based blues that became very popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s, but originated much earlier. The real Boogie Man.(3:00)

56A. Symbolic nosegays : TUSSIE-MUSSIES. I am not sure of the use of symbolic here. The word "tuzzy" refers to the Old English word which means a "knot of flowers". Muzzy refers to the damp moss wrapped around the stems to keep them moist. The definition in current times also extends to the cone-shaped holder for the bouquet. Nosegays are small, round bouquets composed of densely packed round flowers, greenery, and occasionally herbs.

Argyle here. John starts of our week very nicely.

Across:

1. Cotton swabs originally called Baby Gays : Q-TIPS. It is unknown why, in 1923, its inventor, Leo Gersenzang, used the name, Baby Gay, but perhaps it is a reference to nosegay.

6. Actor Guinness : ALEC

10. More than stumbled : FELL

14. Basic belief : TENET

15. Capital surrounding Vatican City : ROME

16. Falco of "The Sopranos" : EDIE

17. Shabby : RATTY

18. $3 million, 30-sec. Super Bowl feature : TV AD

19. Poet __ St. Vincent Millay : EDNA

23. Jungle swinger : APE

25. Fla. hours : EST

26. Cummerbund fold : PLEAT. The cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, often worn with black tie. With 39. Dress (up) : TOG

32. Cheering noisily : AROAR

33. Mashed luau staple : POI

34. "M*A*S*H" staff : RNs

37. Reprimander's "reading" : RIOT ACT

40. Leave for a bit : STEP OUT

43. Mind reader's skill, briefly : ESP. Extrasensory perception.

44. "How beautiful!" : "OOH!"

46. Oil refinery input : CRUDE

51. Ami's good-bye : ADIEU

54. Tiny bit : TAD

55. His-and-__ towels : HER. Should be Hers, yes?

61. Isaac's eldest : ESAU. Exchanged for his birthright for a bowl of stew. Must have been really hungry.

62. Knucklehead : DOPE

63. Close, as a parka : ZIP UP

66. Hollywood success : STAR

67. Hollywood favorite : IDOL

68. College town near Bangor : ORONO

69. Nanny's charge : TYKE

70. Bills with Hamilton on them : TENS

71. Rehab step : DETOX

Down:

1. Super Bowl div. : QTR. Quarter. Not just the Super Bowl; any game split into four time periods.

2. Green or black brew : TEA

3. Fully informed : IN THE LOOP

4. Sampras of tennis : PETE

5. Eyelid problem : STYE

6. Manet or Monet : ARTIST. And 49. Props for Monet and Manet : EASELS

7. Affectionate bop : LOVE TAP

8. Key with four sharps: Abbr. : E MAJ.

9. Give up formally : CEDE

10. Weak : FEEBLE

11. Murphy of "48 HRS." : EDDIE

12. Top of a form, perhaps : LINE A

13. "It's the __ I can do" : LEAST

21. Honey maker : BEE

22. Prefix with center or cycle : EPI. From Greek, "upon, at, close upon (in space or time), on the occasion of, in addition" (cognate with Skt. api "also, besides;" Avestan aipi "also, to, toward;" Arm. ev "also, and;" L. ob "toward, against, in the way of"). Before unaspirated vowels, reduced to ep- ; before aspirated vowels, eph- . Used in modern scientific compounds, cf. epicenter; epicycle (late 14c.).

23. Informed (of) : AWARE

24. Capital on the Seine : PARIS

28. See 31-Down : KAT 31. With 28-Down, layered chocolate bar : KIT

29. Lyricist Gershwin : IRA

30. __ Angeles : LOS

34. Glitch in need of smoothing out : ROUGH SPOT

35. Film with nakedness : NUDIE

36. Cattle drive critter : STEER

38. Pigeon's sound : COO

41. Green prefix : ECO

42. Athlete who isn't green? : PRO

45. Stumble across, as an idea : HIT UPON

47. Have no doubt : BE SURE

48. "Yes, mon ami" : "OUI"

50. Part of wpm: Abbr. : WDS.

51. "This is only __" : A TEST

52. Like the trail on a cattle drive : DUSTY

53. Singer Chris : ISAAK

57. Change text : EDIT

58. Pie à la __ : MODE

59. Former Lacoste partner : IZOD. Clothing lines.

60. Dublin's isle : EIRE

64. Half of dos : UNO. Spanish numbers.

65. Chicken __ : POX

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday April 3, 2011 Doug Peterson

Theme: The Play's The Thing - The starred answers are eight Toy HOF items.

23A. *They're educational and stackable : ALPHABET BLOCKS

38A. *Construction set invented by Frank Lloyd Wright's son : LINCOLN LOGS. Interesting trivia. 

47A. *Street hockey gear : ROLLER SKATES

68A. Rochester, N.Y., institution whose inductees include the eight answers to the starred clues : NATIONAL TOY HALL OF FAME. Nice grid spanner. Has any of you been there?

91A. *Shipping container : CARDBOARD BOX. Now how can this be inducted into the Hall? I do know some of the old basewball card wrappers/boxes are highly collectible.

98A. *Dual-knobbed drawing device : ETCH A SKETCH

119A. *Kindergartner's boxful : CRAYOLA CRAYONS

15D. *Board game with color-coded cards : CANDY LAND

81D. *Cuddly bedmate : TEDDY BEAR

Fun theme. Was any of the plaything in your childhood missing from the theme set? I just learned that Scrabble & View-Master are in the Hall too.

Neat theme answer arrangement also. It always impresses me when theme entries intersect and more so when no fill is compromised.

Doug Peterson is a real pro. He's one of the very few active constructors in this country who steadily produce fluid early week day puzzles & hard themeless & smooth Sundays.

Across:

1. Cause for fishing hole excitement : BITE. Incredible feeling.

5. Gate approx. : ETD. Wanted EST.

8. Fleshy-snouted mammal : TAPIR

13. Fearless Fosdick's creator : AL CAPP. I only know his "Li'l Abner".

19. Airline with a Ben Gurion hub : EL AL. Literally "To the Skies".

20. Book flap feature : BIO

21. Ridiculous : INANE

22. Comfortable shoe : LOAFER

26. Unlearned : INNATE

27. Long-tailed songbird : PIPIT. Is her tail long?

28. Shade of green : PEA

29. It's done in some circles : SEWING. I don't get this clue.

31. Sturdy wagon : DRAY

32. Santa __ winds : ANA

33. Actor Estevez : EMILIO. Charlie Sheen's brother.

36. "A Taste of Honey" dramatist : DELANEY (Shelagh). Not familiar with the book or its author.

41. DMV document : LIC

42. Vaquero's plain : LLANO

46. Arles affirmatives : OUIs

50. Port-du-__: French cheese : SALUT. Looks good. Needs a bit of wine. Salut!

53. Script section : SCENE

55. Word between surnames : NEE

56. PBS series since 1974 : NOVA

57. City SSW of Moscow : OREL. Doug might have it clued as Hershiser related. He's a baseball fan.

58. Breezy good-byes : CIAOs

60. QB's try : ATT. No idea. Attempt?

62. First name among disrespected comedians? : RODNEY (Dangerfield). "I get no respect".

64. Pollution-free power sources : WIND FARMS. We have quite a few of them in Xinjiang region.

66. Links highlight : ACE. Hole in one.

67. Itty-bitty, in Inverness : SMA. Scottish for "little".

75. Jenny, e.g. : ASS

76. "Reliable Sources" airer : CNN

77. Picnic favorite : BEAN SALAD. I like potato salad for picnic.

78. Tiny bit : TITTLE

82. Tool used in a bed : HOE. Oh, garden bed.

83. Swedish imports : SAABs

84. Winged goddess : NIKE

85. War of 1812 shipbuilding port : ERIE. Nice to know this fact.

86. Half a dance : CHA

88. "Gone With the Wind" Oscar winner : LEIGH (Vivien)

90. Dramatist Chekhov : ANTON

94. "How __ refuse?" : CAN I. And 39. "What else __ do?" : COULD I.

96. Hardly posh : SEEDY

97. '80s missile shield prog. : SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative). Star Wars.

104. Home of Chichén Itzá : YUCATAN

107. Hullabaloo : HOOPLA

108. "Bingo!" : AHA

109. Crime lab item : SWAB

112. Not spontaneous : STAGED

114. Come up short : OWE

115. "King Lear" daughter : REGAN. The other two are Goneril and Cordelia.

117. Ripped to pieces : TORE UP

122. Mystical secrets : ARCANA

123. "True Grit," for one : OATER. Do you like the Cohen Brothers' remake?

124. 20th-century composer Harris : ROY. Tell me about him, Jayce.

125. Logical connector : ERGO. I wanted THEN.

126. 1943 Allied conference site : TEHRAN. Unknown trivia to me.

127. Campout treat : S'MORE

128. 34th pres. : DDE. Man, I wanted ABE. Dumb! I can't count.

129. Look to be : SEEM

Down:

1. "Little help here, bud?" : BE A PAL

2. "Fighting" team : ILLINI. Fighting Illini. Not enough space for my IRISH.

3. __ Zee Bridge : TAPPAN

4. Pre-coll. catchall : EL-HI. Mostly in crosswords.

5. Flow's counterpart : EBB

6. Ascot fasteners : TIEPINS

7. "I'm listening!" : DO TELL

8. Up to, in brief : TIL

9. "__ Amours": 1984 César Award-winning film : A NOS. Nope. Have never heard of the film. Literally "To our Love".

10. Walked worriedly : PACED

11. Bygone writing aid : INKWELL. Still needs it for Chinese calligraphy.

12. Able to overcome adversity : RESILIENT. Lucina asked how we obtained protein in those years without meat. I guess from corn. We ate corn bread for every meal. It's not really tasty as it's made of  water & corn flour & salt only. No added milk/sugar/oil, which were all highly rationed. Even wheat flour was a luxury then.

13. Bring into harmony : ALIGN

14. Contemporary of Boris : LON (Chaney)

16. Where some worship from : AFAR

17. Anti-leather gp. : PETA

18. Zebras, to lions : PREY. I like this clue.

24. Did lunch, say : ATE OUT

25. Scott of "Happy Days" : BAIO. Rare name, three consecutive vowels.

30. Iridescent jewelry material : NACRE

34. 1,051, to Hadrian : MLI

35. Fiends of fantasy : OGRES

37. Buckskin source : ELK

40. Elroy, to George Jetson : SON

43. Oodles : A TON

44. Snow in Milano : NEVE. Oh really? Had no idea. Bye, Campbell!

45. Anthem beginning : O SAY

48. Percolate : LEACH

49. Sunday deliveries : SERMONS

50. Planted : SOWN

51. "Turandot" highlight : ARIA. Just for Sallie.

52. Period of sacrifice : LENT

53. O.T. prophet : SAML

54. Bulk-purchase club : COSTCO. Went there once. Man, everything is just so big.

58. 1988 A.L. MVP : CANSECO (Jose). Can't stand him & his "Juiced".

59. Funds for later yrs. : IRAs

61. Leaves home? : TEABAG. Tea leaves.

63. Bozos : OAFS

65. Newborn Arabian : FOAL. Horse. Hey, Creature!

66. Objectivism advocate Rand : AYN

67. Healthy portion : SLAB

69. Spaghetti pkg. unit : ONE LB

70. Remini of "The King of Queens" : LEAH. She believes in Scientology. Leah is also our Chickie's real name.

71. Author Flagg : FANNIE. She was in a relationship with Rita Mae Brown.

72. Hit the ground : ALIT

73. Speedy shark : MAKO

74. Idyllic setting : EDEN

78. Gumshoes : TECs. Short for detective.

79. "Dies __" : IRAE

80. Flag : TIRE. Don't get the connection.

82. Crunchy Mexican munchies : HARD TACOS

83. NBA's __ Man of the Year Award : SIXTH

87. Tackles : HAS AT

89. Classified letters : EOE

90. Capital south of the Black Sea : ANKARA (Turkey)

92. Mitt Romney's alma mater: Abbr. : BYU. Barry G's too.

93. Family tree, e.g. : DIAGRAM

94. Peninsula north of Martha's Vineyard : CAPE COD

95. Silent communication syst. : ASL

99. "Groovy!" : COOL

100. Three Stooges family name : HOWARD

101. First non-European literature Nobelist (1913) : TAGORE. He's very famous in China.

102. Meter feeder's need : CHANGE

103. Quaint carriage : HANSOM

105. It covers D.C. : C-SPAN. Remember the "House shower" clue? Shower = Show-er.

106. "Groovy!" : NEATO

109. Fan's factoid : STAT

110. Modeled : WORE

111. Raise, as an eyebrow : ARCH

113. Tannery worker : DYER

116. Checks out : EYES

118. Uruguayan article : UNA

120. Stuff in a seam : ORE. Was ignorant of the geology term "seam".

121. Sourdough alternative : RYE

Answer grid.

Does anyone else also use a Reebok CYC 10 bike? Our console seems to have broken. It uses no batteries, the power is supplied by a generator when pedaling. The data keeps flicking and the resistance level just can't be adjusted. The current setting is so high that I can hardly move.

C.C.