Sunday April 10, 2011 Susan Miskimin

Theme: Heavy Duty - Tax can precede each part of the theme answer. "Heavy duty" indeed!

22A. *Memorabilia at a reunion : YEARBOOKS. Tax year. Tax book.

33A. *Venus's undoing, perhaps : SERVICE BREAK. Tax service. Tax break. Venus Williams.

41A. *Reason to agree to a pact : TREATY BENEFIT. Tax treaty. Tax benefit.

68A. *Political platform buzzword : PRO-LIFE. Tax pro. What is "tax life"?

89A. *One profiting from bad debts : BILL COLLECTOR. Tax bill. Tax collector.

98A. *Frequent health care event : RATE INCREASE. Tax rate. Tax increase.

113A. *Contract seeker : FREE AGENT. Tax-free. Tax agent.

25D. *Sales promotion component : REBATE FORM. Tax rebate. Tax form.

60D. *Many a bank record : CREDIT FILE. Tax credit. Tax file.

1D. With 115-Down, make a required contribution : PAY

115. See 1-Down, and word that can precede both parts of the answers to starred clues : TAX

We also have:

74. 1040 ID : SSN

87. 1040, line 32 deduction : IRA

Timely theme. The rich ore of "tax" words made it possible for the constructor to pick up common words/phrases instead of making up wacky phrases for the double "precede" gimmick.

Quite a few sailing terms:

31A. Harbor-at-dawn skyline highlights : MASTS

97A. Sailing teams : CREWS

5D. Sailor's array : KNOTS

81D. Stem : PROW. New word to me. Ship's front.

82D. Tools for 97-Across : OARS

112D. Nautical rope : TYE. New word to me also.

Maybe the constructor loves sailing.

Total 84 black squares in the grid, more than our normal offering. Could be the result of the theme entry intersection.

Across:

1. Shut (in) : PEN. Pigs might nail this answer. Not me. Actually I'm a pig.

4. It may have rollers : SKATE

9. Jilt : SPURN. Jilted lover.

14. Health care reform lobbying group : AARP

18. Affirmative often repeated : AYE

19. About to undergo : IN FOR

20. Simplifies : EASES

21. Sand's "which" : QUEL. French for "which". George Sand was a French writer. Chopin's lover. Great clue!

24. Santa kisser of song : MOMMY. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".

25. Cardinal manager Tony La __ : RUSSA

26. VW antecedents? : STU. Alphabet.

27. Dance step : TOE TAP. And 100A. Line dance : CONGA &  23D. Latin dance : RUMBA. Dance clechos.

29. Preserve, in a way : CAN. Put in ICE first.

30. All gone : EATEN

36. Carping comments : BARBS

39. Gussy up : PREEN

40. Peter, Paul and Mary : SAINTS. Not the trio.

46. Ones with "Esq." on the door : ATTs

47. Ballpark figure : UMP. Not EST.

48. Italian fashion giant : ARMANI. So are Gucci, Prada & Versace.

49. Boonies pests : SKEETERS. Mosquitoes.

53. GPS part: Abbr. : SYST

55. Vientiane's land : LAOS. Has anyone tried Bánh mì? Bill G might have.

56. Opinion : BELIEF

58. Long. partner : LAT

59. Chills : ICEs

61. Carnegie __ University : MELLON

63. Cheri of "SNL" : OTERI. Very crossword-friendly name.

65. Indiana cagers : PACERS

70. Lost parcel inquiry : TRACER

71. Skyline highlight : SPIRE

72. '50s-'60s teen idol Frankie : AVALON. Now it's all about that kid Justin Bieber.

73. Caper : ROMP

75. Not solid, linewise : DOTTED

77. Representation : ICON

79. Dog food brand : ALPO

83. Sunrise liquors : TEQUILAS. Tequila Sunrise.

85. Cooking oil seed : CANOLA. From the unpleasant-sounding rapeseed. I wanted SESAME.

88. Accident investigation agcy. : NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board)

93. Nancy Reagan designer : ADOLFO (Domínguez). Not familiar with the name.

96. Piano part : PEDAL

103. It might be civil or criminal : TRIAL

104. Part of a self-satisfied laugh : HEH. Heh Heh!

105. Dog asleep on a roof : SNOOPY. "Peanuts".

107. Tina's ex : IKE (Turner)

110. Wash away slowly : ERODE

111. Last Supper query : IS IT I

116. Forfeit : LOSE

117. "Fiddler on the Roof" dairyman : TEVYE. Tradition! Tradition! Tradition!

118. Bliss in Texas et al. : FORTS. Fort Bliss. Named after a soldier with a surname Bliss.

119. 1959 Kingston Trio hit : MTA

120. Scand. land : SWED

121. Beef source : STEER

122. Narc's discovery : STASH

123. "A __ of this gout!": "King Henry IV, Part 2" : POX

Down:

2. Watchers : EYES

3. Shipshape : NEAT

4. Sis or bro : SIB

6. Happening : AFOOT

7. Puffs of grass? : TOKES. Marijuana.

8. Before, before : ERST

9. Gyrene's motto : SEMPER FI. First encounter with gyrene, an alteration of GI + (ma)rine. We also have USMC VET (11. John P. Sousa, e.g.). Both Dennis & Argyle are.

10. Kung __ chicken : PAO

12. Sit tight : REMAIN

13. Justin Timberlake's former band : 'N SYNC

14. Fish keeper : AQUARIST

15. "Emma" novelist : AUSTEN

16. Move, as a restaurant patron : RESEAT

17. Political objectives : PLANKS. 

28. Quaker at a ski resort? : ASPEN. Tree.

32. Caracas hrs. : AST

34. Portuguese king : REI. Rey in Spanish.

35. Big name in cosmetics : ESTEE

36. A/C units : BTUs

37. Military force : ARMY. My Dad served in the Chinese army.

38. Gym count : REPs (Repetitions)

42. Certain locks : YALES

43. Support providers : BRAs

44. Rock genre that evolved from punk : EMO

45. "If I Ruled the World" rapper : NAS

46. Similar : AKIN

49. Gin fizz flavoring : SLOE

50. Like some heat: Abbr. : ELEC

51. More red than pink : RARE. Meat.

52. Foment, with "up" : STIR

54. Level : TIER

56. Russian pancake : BLIN. Plural is blini.

57. Little helper : ELF

61. Shape : MOLD

62. "Evil Woman" gp. : ELO

64. Cantina appetizer : TAPA. Always in plural form, no?

65. Surreptitious signal : PSST

66. Basilica area : APSE

67. Six preceder : CINQ. French for "five". Six is just six. Two French for Splynter!

68. Ryan and Benjamin: Abbr. : PVTs (Privates)

69. "Norma __" : RAE

70. Harmonic : TONAL

72. Words after run or split : A TAB

73. Vegas toss : ROLL

76. "Come on down!" announcer : OLSON (Johnny)

77. "Monsters, __" : INC

78. Doves do it : COO. So do lovers.

80. Not as rich, commercially : LITE

84. Decaf, facetiously : UNLEADED

85. More chic : CLASSIER

86. Wrench name : ALLEN

89. Center of activity : BEEHIVE

90. Mont. neighbor : IDA

91. Lines from the heart, briefly : ECG. EKG too.

92. Online guy with a list : CRAIG. Cragslist.

93. Soviet cooperatives : ARTELS. Learned from doing Xword.

94. Scopes Trial attorney : DARROW(Clarence). Monkey Trial.

95. Futile : OTIOSE. Man, it's a real word. Listed in the dictionary.

96. Modern oven option : PRESET

99. Vouchers : CHITS

100. Barbizon school artist : COROT. Wiki said he's the leading painter of the Barbizon School of France in the mid-nineteenth century. Landscape painter.

101. It may be comic : OPERA

102. Novgorod negatives : NYETs. I was ignorant of the Russian city Novgorod.

106. Does away with : OFFs

108. Dole running mate : KEMP (Jack)

109. Within: Pref. : ENTO. Opposite of exo.

114. Hardwood tree : ASH

Answer grid.

Do come back next Sunday for Dan Naddor's final puzzle.

C.C.

Saturday, April 9th, 2011 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total Words: 70

Total Blocks: 26

This is Barry Silk Saturday #2 - I figure C.C. knows this, and so I am here to "pinch hit".  Lots of sports and foreign words, but no French ( OK, we had MER, but I know that one ). Daunting at first, but a few "A-ha's", and I was able to do it in the usual "allotted" [personal choice] time.

And away we GO ~!

ACROSS:

1. Site of many a wet bar : BACHELOR PAD - I thought maybe Mr. Silk was shooting for some gym apparatus, like a BAG _ _ _, as I had GRASPED, not CLASPED - something with a sweat covered bar...

12. Long-eared critter : ASS

15. 1962 Brenda Lee hit : ALL ALONE AM I - not familiar with this.

16. __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone : LIA - Did not know this, either

17. Protected company asset : TRADE SECRET

18. Pres. Obama received an honorary one from Notre Dame : LLD - Doctorate of Legal Letters - I think Lemonade could say more.

19. Sine's reciprocal, in trig : COSECant - forgive me for not remembering who added the trig link about a week ago....

20. Petitions : SUES

21. Observed : SEEN - several Clechos;  23A. Look : MIEN;   53A. View : EYE

22. Egyptian hazards : ASPS - venomous snakes

24. 2003 Cy Young Award-winning reliever Eric : GAGNE - Me, I am hockey ( F@#$%g NY Rangers), but here is what I found

25. Flight formation : VEE

26. It holds the line : ROD - Uh, I would think it's the REEL, actually - fishing reference

27. Vacation souvenirs : T-SHIRTS - I like them as souvenirs

29. There are 300 feet between them : END ZONES - nice semi-mis-direction; football field, typically referred to as 100 yards, + 10yards per END ZONE

32. Bike power sources : PEDALS

33. Novelist, e.g. : WORDSMITH - good word

35. Nunavut native, formerly : ESKIMO - Most of northern Northern Canada

38. Spanish for "little cake" : TORTILLA - ugh, shoulda got this

42. Cockapoo pop, perhaps : SPANIEL - Cocker Spaniel and Poodle mix, Awww

44. Asian "path" : TAO

45. 39-Down article : EIN - ACH ~! It is German today ~!

46. Early transport : TRIKE - maybe an abbr.?....

47. Riskily off base : AWOL - and again~? - Absent Without Leave

49. Hindu "Destroyer" : SIVA -  I WAGed VEDA, not up on my Indian Gods/Goddesses

50. Like some breezes : EASY

51. Frost : HOAR - this, or RIME, and I had the latter to start, of course...

52. Wide zoot suit feature : LAPEL - had pants first, thought shoulders

54. Washington attraction : NATIONAL ZOO

56. Côte d'Azur view : MER - no comment....

57. Home of Spartan Stadium : EAST LANSING - Michigan

58. Old leftist gp. revived in 2006 : SDS - common in crosswords; here's the Wiki on it

59. Very long time : AGES AND AGES

DOWN:

1. It's under Wayne Manor : BATCAVE - nice, loved BATMAN BEGINS

2. 1953 A.L. MVP : AL ROSEN  - baseball #2 today; funny, but the clue is abbr., and the answer is not

3. Held tight : CLASPED - yeah, I had GRasped to start

4. It's guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus : HADES - Just watched "Clash of the Titans", the re-release - not bad - I am a BACHELOR, and now a REDBOX junkie: here's Cerberus { also seen in Harry Potter as "Fluffy" }

5. Util. bill item : ELECtricity - out here, it's LIPA - the Long Island Power Authority

6. California's __ Gatos : LOS

7. Biased : ONE-SIDED

8. Give another memory jog to : RE-CUE

9. Rear : PARENT

10. Double agent Aldrich : AMES - Did not know this; very interesting

11. Code sound : DIT  and DAH, we had not long ago

12. Hay fever treatment brand : ALLEGRA

13. Chalk feature? : SILENT 'L' - I saw "TL" at the end, and stayed with it - well done, Mr Silk. L is silent in Chalk.

14. Gloom : SADNESS

21. Greeted, with "to" : SAID HI

23. Last president to wear a powdered wig : MONROE

24. Renewal target : GHETTO

26. College cohort : ROOMIE - just had this, too would this be a "doopzle"? That is, a duplicate puzzle answer in the same week?

28. Nice pass : SPIRAL - football again

30. Customizable online avatar : ZWINKY - here's where you can make your OWN ~! ( might be harmful to your computer)

31. Bygone flier : SST  Supersonic Transport

34. Droid maker : MOTOROLA - Droid, the cellular phone, which is associated with "Droid", the word George Lucas is credited with for "robot" - short for ANDROID

35. Treasures : ESTEEMS

36. Dealt with bugs, in a way : SPRAYED - this seemed to "EASY"

37. German leaders : KAISERS - Der German achgain

39. Home of the Bach-Archiv : LEIPZIG - drei German [ dont know 'third' ]

40. Con man's dream : LIVE ONE - sarcasm for a 'mark', the person about to be "taken"

41. Parallels : ANALOGS

43. Philosopher associated with 44-Across : LAO-TSE

48. Serves, with "on" : WAITS

49. Lively Cuban dance : SALSA

51. Den __, Nederland : HAAG - ich bi German achgain ( meh, Dutch?, same thing )

52. Touch down : LAND

54. PBS supporter : NEA not sure if this is the Nat'l endowment for the arts, or the education association....maybe both

55. Asian flatbread : NAN

Answer grid.

Thanks to all ~!

Enjoy

Splynter