Thursday, January 19, 2012 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: "Wanna play a round?" (Classic duffer's pick-up line...) The word PLAY is positioned AROUND the ends of the theme entries:

17A. Nuts : PLAIN CRAZY. Am I nuts, or just plain crazy?

25A. Switching device : POWER RELAY. I drew this, just to show you an example:

37A. Keeps at it : PLUGS AWAY. Originally a seaman's term from 1627 meaning to use a "stopper". Classic example is Hans Brinker, who "plugged" the hole in the dike...

50A. "We want you here" : PLEASE STAY. Even Anons are welcome in this corner (as long as you PLAY nice!)

And the unifier:

60. Dally, and a literal hint to 17-, 25-, 37- and 50- across : PLAY AROUND

Marti here, with another fun Thursday offering from our dynamic duo!!

Across:

1.Fair color? : AZURE. The blue of a fair, or cloudless sky.

6.Skippy rival : JIF. Do you like chunky or creamy peanut butter? Then we have 6D. 6-Across container: JAR. And 31A. Cover: LID. Perhaps on a JAR of JIF or Skippy?

9.Gillette razor : ATRA

13.Moses' mount : SINAI

14.Like the Gobi Desert : ARID

16."House" actor Robert ___ Leonard : SEAN. This guy, who plays Dr James Wilson, Dr. House's confidante. (From C.C.: Shout-out to Seen.)

19.Agcy. whose seal features a shock of corn : USDA. United States Department of Agriculture.

20.First area to fill in on a form : LINE A. Is anyone getting their tax forms together yet?

21.Harry Potter series ender? : ZED. British "Z"

23.Up to, briefly : TIL

24.Street Cry, to Street Sense : SIRE. "Street Cry" and "Street Sense" are both racehorses. Devious clue, that I needed every perp to solve...

29."Here Come the ___":1945 college comedy : COEDS. This one, OTOH, was sussed simply from the word "college".

32."Leda and the Swan" poet : YEATS. Did anyone else fill in "Keats"?

33.Swing voter: Abbr. : IND. -ependent.

34.Store sign : OPEN

36."Yeah, right!" : I'LL BET

39.Jackie Chan genre : ACTION. Loved him in "Shanghai Noon" with Owen Wilson.

42.Four-legged king : LION

43.Fruit often dried : FIG

46.Novel opening : PART I. "Don Quixote" is an example of a novel that was published in two parts.

47.Row of seats : PEW

48.___ queen : DRAMA

53.Targets : AIMS

54.Texas Rangers manager Washington : RON

55.Pat-down org. : TSA. I bet Dennis would make a good TSA agent...

56.Golfer's feat : EAGLE. Have you ever had one, Husker G or Boomer?

58.Table scraps : ORTS

64.Stringed instrument : VIOL

65.Bygone Dodge : OMNI

66.One may bring eternal bad luck : CURSE

67.Selection word : EENY. meeny, miny, moe...

68.William, to Charles : SON. Princes of the British Empire.

69.Cold metal? : STEEL

Down:

1.Egyptian cobra : ASP

2. Umpteen, with "a" : ZILLION. I used to say a "gazillion".

3.Not made public : UNAIRED

4.Came down : RAINED.

5.Mozart's "___ kleine Nachtmusik" : EINE. Yay, a chance to link one of my favorite compositions, with an interesting bar graph visual. 6:01

7.Tax-sheltered savings, briefly : IRA. Individual Retirement Account. For those filling in Line A...

8.Effervesced : FIZZED. Like soda in scotch...Oh, the horror! (per Tinbeni)

9.SW school whose mascot carries a pitchfork : ASU. Arizona State University. The Sun Devils.

10.Research site : TEST LAB

11.Give off : RADIATE

12.Word with stock or market : ANALYST

15.Yarn colorer : DYER

18.Graduation flier : CAP. Like these at 2:50, from "Legally Blonde". 3:49

22.Terra firma : DRY LAND

24.Phys., e.g. : SCI. -ence

26.Jackie's designer : OLEG. Cassini. Of course, C.C. knows all the designers.

27.Actress with six Oscar nominations by age 33 : WINSLET. Kate. Her first oscar was in 2009 for "The Reader".

28.Hard to grasp : EELY

30.Cadenza performer : SOLOIST. According to Merriam-Webster, a cadenza is a "Technically brilliant sometimes improvised solo passage toward the close of a concerto".

35.One may not be intended : PUN

36.WWII battle site, for short : IWO. Jima.

37.Fillable bread : PITA

38.Old Sony brand : AIWA

39.Give the okay : APPROVE

40.Unit often burned off : CALORIE. I burn off my calories on the treadmill, yoga mat, and now with my X-box 360 Kinect.

41.Capital nearest to Philadelphia : TRENTON. WAG for me.

43.What "you always pass...on your way to success": Mickey Rooney : FAILURE

44.Vast : IMMENSE

45.Electric alternative : GAS. I burn oil, and wince every time I hear the oil truck pull up to the driveway.

47.Book of sacred poems : PSALMS

49.Seasoned stew : RAGOUT

51.Hockey Hall of Fame nickname : ESPO. Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins Hall of Famer.

52.Thumbs-up vote : YEA

57.Curved pieces : ARCS

59.Devilish : SLY. Or, a description of the Arizona State University team...

61.Roberto's 2012, e.g. : ANO. "Roberto" indicates a Mexican name. So, 2012 would be a "year" in Spanish.

62.One of two complementary Asian forces : YIN. and its counterpart: Yang.

63.___ Monte Foods : DEL. I don't serve any canned vegetables in my house.

Answer grid.

And that wraps up this Thursday puzzle. I can't wait to hear what you all thought of it!

Hugs,

Marti

Constructor's note from C.C.:

"This is one of the very earlier puzzles Don and I collaborated. We tried to find a nice mix of P*LAY, PL*AY and PLA*Y 2-word phrases. PLASTIC SURGERY & PROFANITY DELAY were the two other candidates we considered but discarded. I want to thank Dudley for giving us a detailed explanation of POWER RELAY". (Note from Marti: Dudley did not help me with my drawing.)

Wednesday Jan. 18, 2012 Jeff Stillman

C.C. needed a pinch hitter and looked down the bench and all she saw was a Husker Gary just called up from the Nebraska League. So here I am taking my first swings at bat in the LA Times League.

Jeff's fun puzzle contained the theme in the clues and then the superfluously unnecessary answers. Very nice.

20A. Redundant position?: CLOSE PROXIMITY. Is there a far proximity?

25A. Redundant alert?: ADVANCE WARNING. Would spotting a zero on Dec. 8th would be late warning?

42A. Redundant habit?: REGULAR ROUTINE. A rut or a groove?

48A. Redundant guesses?: ROUGH ESTIMATES. Don't trust any estimate but Splynter's

Let's start on my initial first puzzle (huh?)

Across:

1. Summoned, with "for" : RANG. Lurch - "You rang?"

5. Skedaddle : SCAT. You kids get out of my yard!

9. Travolta facial feature : CLEFT.

14. Symphony member : OBOE

15. Okla., from 1890 to 1907 : TERR. The shameful Trail of Tears ended here

16. Pick up : LEARN. Granddaughter is LEARNing to drive in my PICKUP

17. Carnival sight : TENT

18. Slight advantage : EDGE

19. Plus : ASSET

23. "The Time Machine" people : ELOI

24. Low in a lea : MOO

32. Traffic stopper : SIREN. A red light or a well turned ankle!

33. Beauties : GEMS

34. South American vacation spot : RIO. A city to blame it on

35. IRS employee : T-MAN. Not even they understand the tax code

36. Pay : WAGES

38. Pizzeria fixture : OVEN. Me when I was 18!

39. Poetic time of day : EEN

40. View from Toledo : ERIE. Look, you can see Klinger's house by the lake.

41. Sitcom set at Mel's Diner : ALICE

46. Nothing but __: perfect hoops shot : NET

47. Kiss and cuddle, British-style : SNOG

55. Trunks : COREI New to me (Correction: The answer is TORSI)

56. Prefix with stat : RHEO. Home of the OHM

57. All-night party : RAVE. I'm cashin' in at 11 pm

58. Oscar night VIP : EMCEE

59. Detective Peter of old TV : GUNN. Great Theme!

60. Canadian tribe : CREE. Helped wimpy me fish in Saskatchewan.

61. Hamlet in "Hamlet" and others : LEADS

62. Auto pioneer : OLDS

63. Driven drove : HERD

Dow:

1. VMI program : ROTC. Now coed

2. Victim in Genesis : ABEL. No advance warning for this attack either.

3. Taboo : NO-NO. Also a baseball no-hitter.

4. Settles a score : GETS EVEN. Bama did that on Jan. 9

5. Apply, as a brake : STEP ON

6. Comedian __ the Entertainer : CEDRIC

7. Golden Fleece vessel : ARGO. Always a home port for you here Jason!

8. "Jurassic Park" menace, briefly : T-REX. Great movie!

9. Dins : CLAMORS

10. Tissue abnormality : LESION.

11. Houston-to-Tampa direction : EAST. My first Florida groups flew from Houston to Orlando over the gulf. Next time I'll look for Tin!

12. Glenn of The Eagles : FREY

13. Explosive letters : TNT. Trinitrotoluene.

21. Stylish vigor : ELAN

22. Mosque officials : IMAMS

25. Anouk of "La Dolce Vita" : AIMEE. Ah, the sweet life!

26. Sturm und __ : DRANG

27. Halloween vandal, perhaps : EGGER

28. Teeny : WEE

29. "The Empire Strikes Back" director Kershner : IRVIN. Not a clue.

30. Reunion attendee : NIECE. Of course in France, she'd be a Nice niece.

31. Departed : GONE

32. Silver fineness meas. : STER

36. Ire : WRATH

37. __ Jordan: Nike brand : AIR. Their re-release caused riots in malls

38. Member of a small ruling class : OLIGARCH. Common pejorative word in elections

40. Poetic laments : ELEGIES

41. Speck : ATOM

43. New : UNUSED

44. Belgian seaport : OSTEND. Find it?

45. Marriages : UNIONS.

48. 1960 Olympics city : ROME

49. Sea predator : ORCA. New cautions are now taken at Sea World. They call them KILLER whales for a reason.

50. Consequently : ERGO. Ergo, C.C. had to settle for Gary

51. Rabbi's house of worship : SHUL. Ok.

52. Container weight : TARE

53. Penultimate fairy tale word : EVER. Like the Kardashian marriages?

54. Future flower : SEED

55. Address bk. entry : CEL. House wall phone may be going bye bye (Correction: Should be TEL)

Answer grid.

This was fun to do and beat the 2o line limit! I hope to get better in the future. C.C. was a fabulous and patient tutor!

Husker Gary