Monday, December 26, 2011 Victor Barocas

Theme: Bill of Rights - "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

20. 2010 Best Picture about a stammering royal : "THE KING'S SPEECH"

35. United Nations budget overseer : GENERAL ASSEMBLY

41. Gospel classic : OLD TIME RELIGION

52. Where the freedoms that end 20-, 35- and 41-Across are found : FIRST AMENDMENT

Argyle here. Some slight nits can be forgiven to provide us with two spanners and two near spanners. I didn't have the theme before the unifier but I didn't need it anyway. In fact, I didn't see several answers until I did the write-up.

Across:

1. Abbr. in an abbreviated list : ET AL.

5. In the dumps : GLUM. I discovered I still had the red letter help on when I entered BLUE.

9. Tore down, as a building : RAZED

14. Lucy Lawless role : XENA. TV series.

15. Not often seen : RARE

16. Verdi aria that means "It was you" : "ERI TU". Robert Merrill- live 1955 "Eri tu" (Verdi, "Ballo")(6:21)

17. Stevie Wonder's "__ She Lovely" : ISN'T. Stevie Wonder - Isn't She Lovely (Live in Japan, 1990)(3:23)

18. Oklahoma city : ENID

19. "Network" actor Peter or a songbird : FINCH

23. Lawyers' org. : ABA. The American Bar Association.

24. 1040-issuing org. : IRS

25. Followers of els : EMs. Alphabetically.

28. Newspaper revenue source : AD SPACE

32. Massage reaction : "AAH"

38. Like the Reaper : GRIM. Note that Reaper is capitalize, indicating a particular REAPER.

39. Georgia summer hrs. : EDT

40. Up to the task : ABLE

46. Born, in bridal bios : NEE

47. Party food provider : CATERER

48. Seventh Greek letter : ETA

49. Stylist's stuff : GEL

50. Two-time loser to DDE : AES. 1952 & 1958. Correction:1956 (Thank you, Abejo. Whoever heard of six years between presidential elections?)

60. Old Testament prophet : MICAH

61. "By __!" : JOVE. Interesting pairing.

62. Water color : AQUA

63. __ Lodge: budget chain : ECONO

64. "Planet of the __" : APES

65. Gather selectively : CULL

66. Brand at www.rootbeer.com : A AND W

67. Apartment payment : RENT

68. Pass idly, as time : KILL

Down:

1. Way off the road : EXIT

2. Pianist John : TESH

3. Henry VIII's second or fourth wife : ANNE. Anne Boleyn, m. 1533 - 1536, Executed - Anne of Cleves, m. 1540 Jan. - July, Divorced.

4. Andy Kaufman's "Taxi" character : LATKA. He was a "love him or hate him" individual. Clip.(1:52)

5. Caribbean island nation : GRENADA. Map.

6. "Auld __ Syne" : LANG. Next week.

7. "Battle Cry" author Leon : URIS. His two bestselling books were Exodus, published in 1958, and Trinity, in 1976. "Battle Cry" was his first novel.

8. Pills from docs : MEDS

9. Basketball official : REFEREE. Not sure if I've seen the whole word before. Usually we only get REF.

10. Astrological Ram : ARIES

11. Brass component : ZINC

12. Engrave with acid : ETCH

13. Response to the obvious : "DUH". D'OH! would be Homer's oblivious response.

21. Construction beam : I-BAR

22. Photos : PICS

25. Encourage : EGG ON

26. Country superstar Haggard : MERLE

27. Disparaging, as remarks : SNIDE

29. Wintry mix component : SLEET

30. Military chaplain : PADRE

31. Starlike flower : ASTER

32. Hoffman of the Chicago 7 : ABBIE. Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner. (1968 Democratic National Convention)

33. Distribute in shares : ALLOT

34. Carrion eater : HYENA

36. Ambulance worker, briefly : EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.

37. Cosmo, for one : MAG. Both are shortened words, Cosmopolitan and magazine, but not considered abbreviations.

42. Revue with skaters : ICE SHOW

43. Brewery supply : MALT

44. Least fatty, as corned beef : LEANEST

45. Inflamed : IRED. Did you get caught thinking of a medical condition?

49. Word with jury or piano : GRAND

51. Lips sound : SMACK

52. PR tax with a Medicare component : FICA. PR stands for Payroll. This definition appears very rarely. Per www.acronymfinder.com.

53. Screen symbol : ICON

54. Not quite shut : AJAR

55. Sulk : MOPE

56. Break __: neither win nor lose : EVEN

57. Prefix with distant : EQUI

58. Partner of void : NULL

59. Like difficult orders : TALL

60. "Cry __ River" : ME A. Michael Bublé.(4:28)

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday Dec 25, 2011 Doug Peterson

Theme: Christmas Potluck - All the 7 food theme entries are humorously interpreted and clued as if they're brought by the usual holiday favorite characters.

23A. The Little Drummer Boy brought __ : BREAD STICKS

34A. Tiny Tim brought __ : LITTLE SMOKIES

51A. Cupid the reindeer brought __ : ARTICHOKE HEARTS. Too stringy for my taste, Steve!

66A. Jack Frost brought __ : COLD-CUT SANDWICHES

86A. The Nutcracker brought __ : SHELLS AND CHEESE. Never had it. Don't eat cheese.

99A. Rudolph brought __ : RED VELVET CAKE

117A. The Salvation Army volunteer brought __ : BELL PEPPERS

C.C. here. Merry Christmas!

I bet Doug considered putting the cake as the last theme entry, but settled down on the current layout as it produced the smoothest fill. I could be wrong. Maybe Doug wants us to think BELL PEPPERS actually taste better. After all, Gisele Bündchen has been misleading her son (with Tom Brady) that broccoli is "dessert".

Here are more Christmas-related fill Doug gave to us:

1A. Enjoy a home-cooked Christmas dinner, say : EAT IN

25A. "The stockings were __ ..." : HUNG

61A. Santa __ : ANA

89A. "A Christmas Carol" epithet : BAH

122A "Four Christmases" actress Witherspoon : REESE

4D. Kid's Christmas Eve cry : I CAN'T WAIT. I can picture how excited Barry G's Joshua is this morning.

6D. Like Kris Kringle : ROTUND

24D. Nick's status? : SAINTHOOD. St Nick.

69D. "The Gift of the Magi," e.g. : TALE. Such a moving love story.

Across:

6. Linear opening : RECTI. Rectilinear. Prefix for "straight".

11. "Don't leave!" : STAY

15. Pretense : SHAM

19. "Funny Girl" subject : BRICE (Fanny)

20. Midnight follower : ONE AM

21. 2011 Home Run Derby winner Robinson __ : CANO. Second baseman for the Yankees. Doug & Tinbeni's team.

22. Dustin's "Tootsie" co-star : TERI (Garr)

26. Barrel of laughs : RIOT

27. Come by honestly : EARN

28. War hero Murphy : AUDIE. I saw this Life magazine with him on the cover at the flea market once. Very musty.

29. Baby barker : PUP

30. In the thick of : AMIDST

32. Kerbside container : DUST BIN

37. 81-Down scanners : WANDS. And 81D. Bag-checking agcy. : TSA.

39. Bosox legend : YAZ. Carl Yastrzemski. Another great player who spent his whole career with one team. LaLaLinda's husband might have no problem spelling his Polish surname. I just can't.

40. See-through piece : PANE. Oh, not this, Splynter!

41. Easily influenced : PLIANT

44. In a frenzy : AMOK

47. 1974 Peace Nobelist from Japan : SATO. Guessed. #1 surname in Japan. ITO is popular there also. Li/Lee is #1 in China.

48. Smartphone component, for short : CPU

55. "__ Theme": "Doctor Zhivago" tune : LARA'S. Love the movie.

57. Military assignment : POST

58. Drums out : OUSTS

59. Scuff, say : MAR

60. Song title words before "music" or "rock 'n roll" : I LOVE. Only know the latter.

62. Fire starter? : BON. Bonfire.

63. Serving to punish : PENAL

65. Prominent landmark : TOWER. Like the Eiffel Tower.

74. Point-and-click shopping : E-TAIL

75. Videotape format : VHS

76. Groovy : FAB

79. Orange-skinned Muppet : ERNIE

80. Word of unanimity : ALL

81. "Of __ Sing" : THEE I

84. Carter of "Gimme a Break!" : NELL

85. Runs through a sieve : RICES

90. Brickmaker's oven : KILN

92. Verdi villain who sings "Era la notte, Cassio dormia" : IAGO. In "Otello". We often has it clued as "Shakespearean villain".

93. Display deference : KOWTOW. Brought back my childhood.

94. "Bossypants" author Fey : TINA. So witty. Dennis loves her.

95. Humanities degs. : BAs

97. One-horse carriages : SHAYS

105. Get comfortable with : ADAPT TO

109. 1992 Wimbledon champ : AGASSI. Wow, he and his wife has been hot in Xword lately.

110. Kitty, maybe : PET

111. Dinero : LUCRE

113. Illegal USMC status : AWOL. Illegal in every military branch.

114. Attention : CARE

115. Glittery mineral : MICA

119. Change one's story? : EDIT. Great clue.

120. Period of prosperity : BOOM

121. Followers of various animals? : EIEIO. Another fun clue.

123. HR dept. data : SSNs

124. Inning sextet : OUTS

125. 2001 bankruptcy filer : ENRON. We have the Crooked E golf balls in our display case.

126. "What the Butler Saw" playwright : ORTON (Joe). Forgot. This guy stumped me last time.

Down:

1. Drew away : EBBED

2. Horowitz contemporary : ARRAU (Claudio). Chilean pianist.

3. Fan belts? : TIERS. Oh, in the stadium.

5. Marge's TV neighbor : NED

7. Seat of Oklahoma's Garfield County : ENID

8. Director DeMille : CECIL

9. He played Sulu on "Star Trek" : TAKEI (George)

10. Facebook exchanges, briefly : IMs

11. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" writer : SCHULZ (Charles). Grew up here in MN.

12. Hosiery hue : TAUPE. Like the color of her dress.

13. Raggedy redhead : ANN

14. Pad for posers? : YOGA MAT. Ha ha, Marti, JD and Lucina are all posers!

15. Light, as a match : STRIKE

16. Temple title role : HEIDI. Shirley Temple is still alive.

17. Developed : AROSE

18. Hands, slangily : MITTS

29. Sch. meeting group : PTA

31. Yosemite's El Capitan and others : MONOLITHS. Same as obelisks, right?

33. French bench : BANC. And "French bank" is "banque".

35. Trike rider : TYKE

36. Getaway destinations : SPAs

38. The shoe department in its flagship store has its own zip code : SAK'S. 10022 SHOE.

41. Storybook bear : PAPA

42. Scientology guru Hubbard : L RON

43. "No sweat!" : IT'S A CINCH. Great entry.

45. Encountered : MET

46. Noncommittal comments : OHs

47. Manger bedding : STRAW. Interesting for me to read your STRAW & HAY education a few days ago. Avg Joe is no ordinary guy.

48. Squinter's lines : CROW'S FEET. Annoying wrinkles.

49. Cover with concrete : PAVE

50. Icon clicker : USER

52. Gold unit : OUNCE

53. Mass conclusion : AMEN

54. Mapmaker __ McNally : RAND

56. Itch soother : ALOE

62. What are "smiling at me" in an Irving Berlin classic : BLUE SKIES. Like the song, Bill G? So cheery.

63. Amigo : PAL

64. Subsisted (on) : LIVED

67. Route 66 migrant : OKIE

68. Many a Jazz fan : UTAHN. Utah Jazz.

70. Threshold : SILL

71. Songbird with an onomatopoeic name : CHICKADEE. What tree is this?

72. Basil or rosemary : HERB

73. Teatro Rossini highlight : ARIA

77. "And don't forget ..." : ALSO

78. Cooled, in a way, with "on" : BLEW

82. "Macbeth" trio member : HAG. Argyle knows the "Macbeth" lines quite well.

83. Grandson of Eve : ENOS

84. Times, at times : NEWSPAPER. And 88D. The __: Georgetown University 84-Down : HOYA.

86. Balkan native : SLAV

87. Grace's "Rear Window" role : LISA. Another great movie. My favorite Grace Kelly movie is "To Catch a Thief". Yours?

91. Left hanging : IN LIMBO

94. Sports bar array : TV SETS

95. Second-string squads : B TEAMS

96. Charade : ACT

98. Obsess over : HARP ON. I'm obsessed over Mac's Lady Gaga pink lipstick. I'm not HARPING ON it though.

99. Olympic events : RACES

100. Old-school oath : EGADS

101. "Mack the Knife" singer : DARIN (Bobby). Boomer's Karaoke must-sing song.

102. Lake Buena Vista attraction : EPCOT

103. Anne or Calvin of couture : KLEIN. Love Anne Klein's silk scarves, the solid color ones.

104. Swiss mathematician : EULER

106. Message since 2006 : TWEET

107. Statue subject : TORSO

108. Pal of Kent and Lane : OLSEN (Jimmy). "The Daily Planet".

112. Adman's award : CLIO

116. Broke poker player's note : IOU

117. Blossom buzzer : BEE. Hi there Melissa!

118. Debate side : PRO. And CON.

Answer grid.

I'd like to share with you this HAIKU (72A. Three-line verse) from the wonderful "Baseball Haiku" book Ant kindly sent to me:

home run drive
into the cornfield-
fielder and girlfriend disappear

Happy Birthday to Fermatprime and Yellowrocks! Make today special!

C.C.