Tuesday, April 12, 2011 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: No Middle Ground - The unifier (37Across) says ON and OFF can be placed in front of each of the other two-word entries. This will take some explaining.

17A. Where sea meets sand : SHORELINE. Not necessarily sand, NH has only 14 miles. Onshore: either a wind blowing towards the shore or something already on the shore. Offshore: the opposite except things offshore be much farther away. On-line and off-line are usually thought of these days as Internet connections.

25A. Behind-the-scenes worker : STAGEHAND. Workers associated with a stage, roadies are also behind the stage workers but not in one spot. Onstage and offstage are just that. On hand and offhand are not just opposites. Onhand means in one's possession, while offhand means in an informal or casual manner.

37A. Light controller—either of its first two words can precede either part of 17-, 25-, 51- and 61-Across : ON/OFF SWITCH

51A. Distract : SIDETRACK. Originally referred to trains. For the most part, onside and offside are sports-related terms. On track is keeping to a schedule and off track is more like something that isn't directly associated with the matter at hand.

61A. Sentry's job : GUARD DUTY. To many these days, Guard duty involves being shipped overseas. Being on guard will prevent you from being caught off guard. On duty and off duty are just that.

Argyle here. It seems funny to have a Jerome puzzle without puns. Well, I may have wasted too much time on the theme; I better get busy on the rest of it.

Across:

1. Poker Flat chronicler Harte : BRET, His short story, "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" was first published in January 1869 in the magazine Overland Monthly

5. Syrup brand : KARO. Light corn syrup.

9. Scatter : STREW

14. Plane opening? : AERO. Aeroplane.

15. Farsi-speaking republic : IRAN. Farsi 1878, modern Persian language, the usual Iranian word for it, from Fars, Arabic name for region of Pars (no "p" in Arabic) in Iran.

16. Sports venue : ARENA

19. Like most attics : DUSTY

20. Mob enforcer : HITMAN

21. Gp. concerned with fluoride safety : ADA. American Dental Association.

23. Links elevator? : TEE. Golf.

24. Old Great Lakes natives : ERIEs

28. Christmas mo. : DEC.

29. Water temperature gauge? : TOE

31. Pro vote : YEA

32. USPS carrier's assignment : RTE.

33. Words of sympathy : "I CARE"

35. Potato cutter : RICER. Has anyone bought one since the last time we had this item.

40. Flora eaters, perhaps : FAUNA. Occasionally, it works the other way. Venus Flytrap.

42. Brief and forceful : PITHY

43. Pilot's no. : ALT. Altitude.

44. Toothed tool : SAW

47. Unused : NEW

48. Rock guitarist's aid : AMP

54. Spring time : APRIL

56. Place for a pint : BAR

57. Place for a cup : BRA. (hee, hee, hee)

58. Anatomical ring : AREOLA. (hee, hee, hee)

59. Steppes native : TATAR. Good map of the steppes

63. Carrying a lot of weight : OBESE. One of the nicer ways to say 'fat'.

64. Cold capital? : OSLO. Norway.

65. Largest continent : ASIA

66. Used hip boots : WADED

67. Feat : DEED

68. Winemaking waste : LEES. The dregs.

Down:

1. Lambasted : BASHED

2. Put to work again : REHIRE

3. Titillating : EROTIC

4. Singer with the Mel-Tones : TORMÉ. Some good info with this mellow number. Willow Road(3:01) from 1946.

5. Brick baker : KILN

6. George W.'s first press secretary : ARI. Ari Fleischer.

7. Attacked with clubs and such : RAN AT

8. In the future : ONE DAY

9. Glum : SAD

10. Liar's undoing : TRUTH

11. Fact-finding process : RESEARCH

12. Understanding between nations : ENTENTE. From French, as you might expect.

13. Method : WAY

18. It stretches from Maine to Florida : EAST COAST

22. Make better, as cheddar : AGE

25. Lord's laborer : SERF. Lord of the manor, that is.

26. Falling object's direction : EARTHWARD

27. __ Spiegel: German magazine : DER. Europe's leading news magazine.

30. Stumblebum : OAF

33. Roadside rest stop : INN

34. Clairvoyance, briefly : ESP

36. Like many a slick road : ICY

37. Passé : OUTDATED

38. Lash flash? : WINK. Good one.

39. Suffix with cord : ITE. A smokeless explosive powder consisting of nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, and petrolatum that has been dissolved in acetone, dried, and extruded in cords.

40. Scale fourths : FAs. JzB?

41. Fictional Arabic woodcutter : ALI BABA

45. Wall St. hedger : ARB.. Arbitrageur.

46. Ares or Mars : WAR GOD. Greek or Roman.

48. Stimulate : AROUSE

49. Uncle __: Berle nickname : MILTIE

50. Western dry lakes : PLAYAs. Pictures.

52. How to turn something into nothing? : ERASE

53. Effect's partner : CAUSE

55. Go by bike : PEDAL

58. Youngest to reach 500 HRs : A-ROD. Third baseman for the New York Yankees.

59. Auto club offering : TOW

60. What mad people see? : RED

62. Pint contents : ALE

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, April 11, 2011 Gareth Bain

Theme: Address - The first word of the theme entries are the labels on the lines of most forms we have to fill out.

18A. "I'll pay whatever you're asking" : "NAME A PRICE"

30A. Cost to the customer, as of illicit drugs : STREET VALUE

36A. Smooth urbanite : CITY SLICKER

44A. Subject of a highly classified file : STATE SECRET

59A. "Not another word!" : "ZIP YOUR LIP!"

Argyle here, not really awake but can't get to sleep either. I'm blaming it on the warm weather; I don't know how to handle it anymore.

So about today's puzzle, is it fresh or mundane? It may just be I've been filling out too many forms for taxes that it seems old but I can't say I've ever seen it done before. All in all, a good job.

Across:

1. Dance move : STEP

5. Give a free ticket to : COMP. Shortened form of 'complimentary' and can be a noun, meaning things like tickets given without extra charge, or the act of giving these items, a verb. Can also be an adjective.

9. __-Abyssinian War: 1936 Mussolini triumph : ITALO. The Second Italo–Abyssinian War (also referred to as the Second Italo-Ethiopian War) was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia) and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia). per Wiki. Map. After 1936, Mussolini's official title was "His Excellency Benito Mussolini, Head of Government, Duce of Fascism, and Founder of the Empire".

14. Task list heading : TO DO

15. Foot's curve : ARCH

16. Grinding tooth : MOLAR

17. Bird sacred to Tut : IBIS. King Tut, that is.

20. Doves' homes : COTEs

22. Holy smoke : INCENSE

23. "Rock and Roll, Hoochie __": 1974 hit : KOO. "Lordy mama, light my fuse"(3:48)

24. Sportage automaker : KIA. Compact SUV, from South Korea's second largest automobile manufacturer.

27. As __ as Methuselah : OLD. Methuselah is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.

28. "... three men in a __" : TUB. Nursery rhyme.

33. Toon storekeeper from India : APU. TV's The Simpsons.

34. Problem for Pauline : PERIL. The Perils of Pauline is a motion picture serial shown in weekly installments. There were also movies, as late as 1967.

35. Brake component : DISC

40. Campus VIP : BMOC. Big Man On Campus.

42. Double-reed winds : OBOEs

43. "She Done __ Wrong": Mae West film : HIM

50. Small bill : ONE

51. Mustard's rank: Abbr. : COL. Colonel Mustard, from the board game, Clue( also known as Cluedo.)

52. Audible dance style : TAP

53. Pub purchase : ALE

54. Homemade shorts : CUT-OFFS

57. Lazy __: revolving tray : SUSAN

62. Use UPS : SHIP

63. Sound that might accompany 37-Down : SNORT

64. French franc successor : EURO

65. "The __ Love": Gershwin song : MAN I. Clip.(3:07)  Originally part of a 1924 score but dropped, it became more famous as an independent popular song than as one from a Broadway musical.

66. Moorehead of "Bewitched" : AGNES. She was Endora, Samantha's mother.

67. Chess standoff : DRAW

68. Yemen city on its own gulf : ADEN

Down:

1. Pick-up __: toy : STICKS. I think last time we has this clue, many people hadn't heard of the game. Image.

2. Also : TO BOOT

3. Newspaper bigwig : EDITOR

4. Model's stance : POSE

5. Is able to : CAN

6. "... man __ mouse?" : OR A

7. Early 20th-century year : MCMI. 1901

8. Early antiseptic compound : PHENOL. It was widely used as an antispetic, which seems much safer.

9. Get in the way of : IMPEDE

10. In a dilemma : TORN

11. "The Guns of Navarone" author MacLean : ALISTAIR. A Scottish novelist who died in 1987.

12. Hiking boots, e.g. : LACE-UPS

13. Galena or hematite : ORE

19. Civil rights gp. : ACLU

21. Trapshooting : SKEET

25. "Lord knows __!" : I TRY

26. Rent-a-car option : AVIS

29. Tampa NFLer : BUC, Buccaneers.

31. "Beowulf," e.g. : EPIC

32. Dole out : ALLOT

35. Genealogy abbr. : DESC. Descendants

36. Discover fortuitously : COME UPON

37. Scoffer's words : "I BET"

38. __ Nostra : COSA

39. Hangs on to : KEEPS

40. Pres. after GWB : BHO. Barack Hussein Obama.

41. Chopping, as garlic : MINCING

44. Runs fast : SCOOTS

45. Vegan staple : TOFU

46. Director Hitchcock : ALFRED

47. "Cosby" actress Phylicia : RASHĀD. She was married to football player, Ahmad Rashād. He proposed to her during a Thanksgiving pregame show in 1985.

48. Jerry's female friend, on "Seinfeld" : ELAINE

49. Part of a daunting split, in bowling : TEN PIN

55. Rugby radial : TYRE. Rugby the town in England.

56. Cast aspersions on : SLUR

58. West Point inits. : USMA. United States Military Academy.

59. When doubled, a Gabor : ZSA

60. Savings vehicle for later yrs. : IRA

61. Comics punch sound : POW

Answer grid.

Argyle