Tuesday, January 3, 2012 Bernice Gordon

Theme: Fed Ex Delivery - I think this video explains the theme.

20A. Sounding relieved : HEAVING A SIGH

25A. Doing witch's work : CASTING A SPELL

42A. Preparing greens : TOSSING A SALAD

47A. Losing it : THROWING A FIT

Argyle here with our birthday girl, Bernice Gordon. I don't know the exact date but she will be 98 this month. We had one from her last winter(here) on a Wednesday and some of today's felt like a Wednesday. The grid has 10 cheater squares. (Because of the themes being close to each other?)

Across:

1. Terminer's partner, in law : OYER. The designation "court of oyer and terminer" is French, to hear and decide.

5. Arouse from sleep : WAKE 9A. What insomniacs count : SHEEP. Now that's a cute pairing.

14. Present : HERE

15. Leaf-to-branch angle : AXIL

16. Terra __: pottery clay : COTTA

17. User's morning reading : MAIL

18. French-American soprano Lily : PONS. She specialized in the coloratura soprano repertoire. A nice write-up goes with this clip.(3:32)

19. Ran competitively : RACED

23. Favorite : PET

24. News agcy. since 1958 : UPI. United Press International.

32. "What light through yonder window breaks?" speaker : ROMEO

33. Arizona natives : YUMAs. Also called the Quechan. Make a note of it; it could be in a puzzle late in a week. That reminds me this puzzle is just short a Q from being a pangram.

34. Corn unit : EAR

36. Like the Gobi : ARID

37. "King Solomon's Mines" hero Quatermain : ALLAN. Always reminds me of Alan Quartermaine, a soap opera character on General Hospital.

38. Snug and comfy : COZY

39. Get some morning exercise : JOG

40. Apply for __: try to borrow money : A LOAN

41. Transplant recipient : DONEE

45. Purring pet : CAT

46. Conclusion : END

53. Louisiana marsh : BAYOU. Blue Bayou.(2:29)

55. Baseball family name : ALOU

56. Carbon compound : ENOL

58. Flynn of film : ERROL

59. Like much early TV : LIVE

60. Neutral shade : ECRU

61. Jules's 43-Down : ÉCOLE

62. New Zealand parrots : KEAs

63. Strong taste : TANG

Down:

1. Electrician's unit : OHM. Unit of electrical resistance.

2. Slangy assent : "YEAH"

3. Lake where Perry achieved an 1813 victory : ERIE. Funny coincidence, the Battle of Lake Erie is also called the Battle of Put-in-Bay. It resulted in the famous message: We have met the enemy and they are ours.

4. Became ill again : RELAPSED

5. Antlered animal : WAPITI. Elk

6. Nerve cell transmitter : AXON

7. Certain monarch : KING of the jungle and 8D. Lioness in "Born Free" : ELSA

9. Big name in newspaper publishing : SCRIPPS. Founded by Edward W. Scripps, U.S. publisher and media financier, in 1878.

10. Sub in a deli : HOAGIE

11. Emulate Rembrandt : ETCH

12. Summer along the Seine : ÉTÉ

13. Hippie's home : PAD

21. Presidential power : VETO

22. Lazy gal? : SUSAN. Lazy Susan - A revolving tray for foods, condiments, etc., placed usually at the center of a dining table.

25. French landscape painter : COROT. Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot(1796 – 1875)

26. Cancún comrade : AMIGO

27. Parachute fabric : NYLON

28. Soviet labor camp agency : GULAG

29. Radarange maker : AMANA

30. British singer/songwriter Lewis : LEONA. Leona Lewis performing Better In Time.(3:56)

31. Took it easy, with "around" : LAZED

32. British rule in India : RAJ

35. Sandwich choice : RYE

37. 2005 Bush Supreme Court nominee : ALITO (Samuel)

38. Last-minute loss of nerve : COLD FEET

40. Usually : AS A RULE

41. Delany of "China Beach" : DANA. The ABC TV drama aired for three years, from 1988 to 1991, but in that time there were four seasons. Dana.

43. Word after high or tech : SCHOOL

44. Smooth transitions : SEGUEs

47. Beginner : TYRO

48. Base on balls : WALK. What's a crossword without some sports related clues.

49. Nastase of tennis : ILIE

50. __ Scotia : NOVA

51. Andean native : INCA

52. Struggling with choices : TORN

53. Spelling contest : BEE

54. Pop-up path : ARC. A baseball pop-up.

57. Loutish type : LUG

Answer grid.

Argyle

From C.C.:

1) Thanks for the newspaper information yesterday. I've updated the list.

2) Please click here for an in inspiring article about today's constructor Bernice Gordon. Bernice and the LA Times should have the "oldest constructor" record unless she will be published by the NY Times again this year.

Monday, January 2, 2012 Steve Blais

Theme: Tootsies - I wonder if there is any society that doesn't have a version of this nursery rhyme. Clip.(0:24)

39A. Tot's chant suggested by the starts of 17-, 24-, 49- and 60-Across : THIS LITTLE PIGGY

17A. Percentage of industry sales : MARKET SHARE

24A. Commodore 64, e.g. : HOME COMPUTER

49A. Offering at Arby's : ROAST BEEF SUB

60A. Hardly certain : NONE TOO SURE

63A. When tripled, cry near the end of 39-Across : WEE, WEE, WEE! All the way home.

Argyle here. It appears to be a debut for this constructor. Cute theme, a nice spanner in the middle, perhaps a few too many abbreviations and a touch harder than a normal Monday but I liked it.

Across:

1. Drink made with steamed milk : LATTE

6. Prefix meaning "ten" : DECA

10. 1970 hit that asks about its title, "What is it good for?" : WAR. Edwin Starr clip.(3:26)

13. Under way : AFOOT

14. Fred's "I Love Lucy" wife : ETHEL

16. Dublin's land: Abbr. : IREland

19. Shaq's former org. : NBA. Shaquille O'Neal / Basketball.

20. Get on one's knees, perhaps : PRAY

21. Roosters' mates : HENS

22. Plantation house : MANOR

27. "__ the ramparts ..." : O'ER

28. Many an Iraqi : ARAB

29. Internet commerce : E-TAIL

33. Simile words : AS AN

36. Narcotics squad action : RAID

42. Circle dance with a chair, often : HORA

43. Oscar winner Patricia : NEAL. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the middle-aged housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud. (1963)

44. Me.-to-Fla. highway : US ONE

45. Wrestling successes : PINS

47. Put a stop to : BAN

54. Brittany or Normandy, once : DUCHY. It is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.

55. __'acte: intermission : ENTR

56. Get ready, as for surgery : PREP

59. Seek information : ASK

64. __ de menthe : CREME

65. Robber James : JESSE. Died 1882. He and his brother, Frank, had an outlaw gang.

66. Prime meridian std. : GST. Greenwich Sidereal Time, a variant of Greenwich Mean Time used in astronomy.

67. Astronomical dist. : LT-YR. Light-Year.

 

 

68. None of the above : OTHER

Down:

1. Desk light : LAMP

2. Some distance away : AFAR

3. Sacred Judaic scroll : TORAH

4. Japanese metropolis : TOKYO

5. Québec summer : ÉTÉ

6. Defile, as something sacred : DESECRATE

7. Prefix with -centric : ETHNO

8. Deep gorge : CHASM

9. __ Lingus : AER. Aer Lingus Group Plc(an anglicisation of the Irish Aer Loingeas meaning roughly "air fleet") is the flag carrier of Ireland.

10. Motor home brand : WINNEBAGO. The company history.

11. Shady recess : ARBOR

12. Hitchcock's "__ Window" : REAR. (1954) The film received four Academy Award nominations.

15. Madagascar primate : LEMUR

18. What you used to be? : THEE

23. Classic video games : ATARIs

25. Gangster's gal : MOLL

26. Window section : PANE

29. Country N. of Kenya : ETHiopia.

30. However, briefly : THO. (although)

31. Cause of a sudden drop in altitude : AIR POCKET

32. Hebrew prophet : ISAIAH

34. RR stop : STAtion.

35. Completely healed : ALL BETTER

37. Engine starter: Abbr. : IGNition.

38. Source of much blonde hair : DYE

40. The "I" in MIT: Abbr. : INSTitute.

41. Some George Carlin jokes : PUNS

46. "Bye Bye Bye" pop group : *NSYNC

48. Bushy hairdo : AFRO

49. Deceptions : RUSES

50. Poet Stephen Vincent __ : BENÉT. Not to be confused with Edna St. Vincent Millay.

51. Foe : ENEMY

52. Surprise victory : UPSET

53. Dense overgrowth : BRUSH

54. "Deputy __": TV toon : DAWG. Interesting. We had this clue/answer on Jan. 1, 2010.

57. Gaelic tongue : ERSE

58. House of Lords member : PEER

61. Florida 19-Across team, on scoreboards : ORLando Magic.

62. Spanish eye : OJO

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

I'd like to update papers that carry LA Times Daily crossword. Please click here and leave a comment if your local paper is missing from the list or the paper listed no longer has LA Times puzzle. Thanks.