Wednesday, December 7, 2011 Ned White

Theme: Maybe - A fence sitters puzzle; three pros, three cons, and a grid spanning undecided in the middle.

14. "Affirmative!" : "NO ARGUMENT!"

16. "Affirmative!" : "AMEN!"

17. "Affirmative!" : "I'M SURE OF IT!"

38. "It could go either way" : "I JUST CAN'T DECIDE"

63. "Negative!" : "NOT A PRAYER!"

65. "Negative!" : "UH-UH!"

66. "Negative!" : "IN A PIG'S EYE!"

Argyle here. I researched today's constructor before I started and was slightly intimidated. The man's first puzzle was a Saturday NYT! But his debut LAT feels like a perfect fit for a Wednesday. A few unknowns to keep it a learning experience, minimal crosswordese, good fill and a unique grid layout. I would like to see some more of Ned's work.

Across:

1. Bar fixture : ALE TAP

7. Twosome : DUO

10. Border Patrol city of the Southwest : YUMA. Sector map below.

18. Drill command : HALT

19. Shiny fabrics : SATEENS

20. Hiker's map, casually : TOPO. Short for topographic map.

22. Nav. rank : ENS.

23. Times for les vacances : ÉTÉs. They get more vacation than we do in France?

25. Bank products : LOANS

29. Block or stock suffix : ADE

30. Oil, informally : TEXAS TEA

33. Give or take, e.g. : VERB

36. Japanese noodle dish : RAMEN. Clued as Nagano noodles on Sunday.

37. Zebra on a field : REF

42. Pres. Carter, e.g. : DEM.

43. Snarl noises : HONKS. Snarls from a traffic jam.

44. __ Inn : DAYS

45. 1975 seminal green movement novel by Ernest Callenbach : ECOTOPIA. Wikipedia article.

47. Post-WWII nuclear org. : AEC. Atomic Energy Commission. 1946 - 1974

49. Others, in Oaxaca : OTROS. State located in Southwestern Mexico.

50. Down Under st. : TASM.. Tasmania is the island down under Down Under.

52. Former boomer, briefly : SST

55. Staff sign : REST

58. Frankenstein's creator : SHELLEY

60. "The Thorn Birds," e.g. : SAGA. Down Under saga.

67. Hampers : BINS. You know, ladies, those clothes hampers men don't use.

68. Cribbage marker : PEG

69. Colorful fish : TETRAs

Down:

1. Ouzo flavoring : ANISE

2. Fictional salesman : LOMAN. Willy, from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

3. Bridge seats : EASTs. The card game.

4. Devoted : TRUE

5. "Deal!" : "AGREED!"

6. Bandleader Tito : PUENTE

7. Excellent, in modern slang : DEF. Short for definitely but Urban Dictionary entry says it's archaic, circa 1981.

8. Second, e.g. : UNIT

9. "Beetle Bailey" dog : OTTO

10. Boors : YAHOOs

11. Thurman of film : UMA

12. Director Brooks : MEL

13. Social worker : ANT

15. Jazz pianist Allison : MOSE. Mose Allison Trio live on PBS. Your Mind Is On Vacation.(2:32)

21. Carpenter's tool : PLANE

24. Performed terribly : STANK AT

26. Bright lobbies : ATRIA. Plural of atrium.

27. Down on one's luck : NEEDY

28. They may be hard to crack : SAFEs

29. Bodybuilder's pride : ABs

31. Lifesavers, for short : EMTs

32. Crossed (out) : Xed

33. Tape, perhaps : VIDEO

34. DVD button : EJECT

35. Buzz : RUMOR

36. Eastern royal : RANI

39. More than that : THOSE

40. Swipe : COP

41. Atlanta-based health org. : CDC. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC)

46. Sacred scrolls : TORAHS

47. Fireplace receptacle : ASH PIT. Usually there is a trap door under the grate that you sweep the ashes into, the clean out would be in the cellar.

48. Come out : EMERGE

51. "Stat!" relative : ASAP

52. More cunning : SLYER

53. "Ciao!" : "SEE YA!"

54. Rolls rollers : TYRES. British car, British spelling.

56. Short cut : SNIP

57. Shape (up) : TONE

59. Endure : LAST

60. Torpedo, or its launcher : SUB. Some ambiguity, torpedo(sandwich)/sub would be launched by Subway.

61. Yellowfin tuna : AHI

62. Shooter : GUN

64. Mattress feature : TAG

Answer grid.

Argyle

Birthday greetings to Windhover today. I hope you are warm and dry.

Tuesday Dec 6, 2011 Julian Lim

Theme: All theme answers are in the pattern of: "country name" + a word which happens to be the first 3 letter of the country.

17A. Caribbean preserves? : JAMAICA JAM

27A. South American fellow? : GUYANA GUY

49A. North American food container? : CANADA CAN

63A. Balkan priestly vestment? : ALBANIA ALB. Alb is a classic crosswordese.

10D. East African beachgoer's color? : TANZANIA TAN

24D. West Indies watering hole? : BARBADOS BAR

C.C. here again.

"Jamaican Jam", "Canadian Can" (adjective+noun) feel more natural, no? We say "Chinese food", not "China food". Or am I missing something?

Otherwise, the gimmick is tight and consistent. Amazing intersection. Julian Lim's grids often feature nice theme entry interlocking. Also, 8 Z's in this grid. Very scrabbly.

Across:

1. Derby drink : JULEP. Persian for "rose water".

6. Scully on "The X-Files" : DANA

10. "Wasn't I amazing?!" : TA DA. And 19. "Amazing!" : NEAT. Clecho (Clue echo, another word coined by Dummy Dennis.)

14. Met offering : OPERA

15. Carded at a club : ID'ED

16. "It's __ to tell ..." : A SIN. A lie.

20. NBA tiebreakers : OTs

21. Mineo of movies : SAL

22. Vitality : PIZZAZZ. Four 4 Z's.

24. WWI's Red __ : BARON

26. Moths-flame connector : TO A

31. Backed-up, in a way : ON CD. Or on your flash drive. The Geek Squad guy is coming to our house this Friday. Can't get an earlier appointment.

34. Lined up : IN A ROW

35. Not blabbing : MUM

37. __-Z: classic Camaro : IROC

39. The Bee Gees' "Gee" : GIBB

40. Fred's dancing sister : ADELE (Astaire)

42. Prefix with -naut : AERO

43. Japanese noodle : SOBA. Buckwheat. I love eating it cold. This looks delicious, Steve!

44. "__ durn tootin'!" : YER

45. Arrives : GETS IN

47. Zero, to Zapata : NADA. Alliteration in the clue.

51. Available sans Rx : OTC. Marti is skiing somewhere in Austria/Germany.

53. Hogwarts motto language : LATIN. What's their motto?

54. On a rampage : BERSERK

58. Oatmeal cooker : POT

59. Corp. leader's degree : MBA. Both Jazzbumpa and Marti have a "Corp. leader's degree".

62. Many a Saudi : ARAB. Strange country.

66. Oscar winner Minnelli : LIZA

67. Brio : ZEAL

68. Harriet's TV hubby : OZZIE

69. Bakery worker : ICER. Not a fan of icing on the cake.

70. Polite rural agreement : YES'M

71. Ceaselessly : NO END

Down:

1. One-named singer with the debut album "Leave (Get Out)" : JOJO. Here she is.

2. __ the crack of dawn : UP AT

3. Moon landers, briefly : LEMs

4. Internet __ : ERA. Internet and Jeggings are the best inventions to mankind.

5. Pal : PAISANO. Rooted in Spanish. "Peasant".

6. Play exchange : DIALOG

7. Noun modifier: Abbr. : ADJ

8. Spring tide counterpart : NEAP

9. Allow entry : ADMIT

11. On a liner, say : ASEA

12. Cameron on camera : DIAZ. Still dating A-Rod.

13. 1998 insect-world animated film : ANTZ. Hi there Ant! Tell us a bit about you. Musician?

18. Seed used in sauerkraut : CARAWAY. No idea. The seed is too strong for my taste.

23. Cagey locale? : ZOO

25. C or D, to old Romans : NUMERAL. C= 100. D = 500.

27. A cappella group bookings : GIGS

28. Confederacy foe : UNION

29. Start of a Flintstone cry : YABBA. "Yabba dabba doo!"

30. Brynner of "The Ten Commandments" : YUL

32. Dimin.'s opposite : CRESC. Crescendo. Dimin = Diminuendo.

33. Andrea __: ill-fated ship : DORIA

36. Nuclear test unit : MEGATON

38. Yale Univ. state : CONN. For Hondo & LaLaLinda. Where are you originally from, Jayce?

41. Yule's mo. : DEC. Timely.

46. Textbook update specification : EDITION

48. Got into a stew? : ATE. Fun clue.

50. Flamethrower fuel : NAPALM. "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning".

52. __ eights : CRAZY

54. Indonesian island : BALI

55. "Modern Family" actor Stonestreet : ERIC. One of Barbara Walters's "10 Most Fascinating People of 2011".

56. Demolish, as a building : RAZE

57. Bauhaus painter Paul : KLEE

59. Pencil puzzle : MAZE

60. Pancake with caviar : BLIN. Caviar? Nope, never had it this way.

61. In the sack : ABED

64. Eng. majors' degrees : BAs

65. Nitrogenous dye : AZO. Azo-dye.

Answer grid.

Happy Birthday to our always cheerful Lucina and our LA Times constructor Donna Levin!

C.C.