Monday, January 30, 2012 Kevin Christian

Theme: Feathered Homonyms - Three birds that can also be used as verbs. They are in all capitals to show the clues could have been the answer and the answers could have been the clues. The answers are all in the pattern of "verb + ONE'S + noun".

20A. DUCK : LOWER ONE'S HEAD

41A. CRANE : STRETCH ONE'S NECK

60A. QUAIL : LOSE ONE'S NERVE

Argyle here. Bird is the Word(1:06) Kevin used a similar gimmick back in 2010. Link He gave us another puzzle last year; maybe he can squeeze in two this year. I'd like that. A grid spanner, no cheater squares, and just a 'Q' short of a pangram.

Across:

1. Fashionable : CHIC. A young quail is called a chick.

5. __ Blanc, the Alps' highest peak : MONT

9. Wintry mess : SLUSH

14. Prolonged unconsciousness : COMA

15. Confess openly : AVOW

16. Like horror film music : EERIE

17. Practice boxing : SPAR

18. Luke Skywalker, e.g. : JEDI. The Force is with him.

19. Postal service symbol : EAGLE. Another bird.

23. The NFL's Cowboys : DALLAS

25. Energy : ZEST

26. Snake's warning : "SSS!"

27. "Can __ honest with you?" : I BE

28. 2011 World Series champs, on scoreboards : STL. St. Louis Cardinals.

30. Rogue : CAD

32. Ring loudly : PEAL

34. "Othello" villain : IAGO. He hates Othello and devises a plan to destroy the Moor by making him believe that his wife, Desdemona, is having an affair with his lieutenant, Michael Cassio(who we see in later in the week puzzles).

37. Fits of anger : RAGES

44. Actor Davis : OSSIE. He married actress Ruby Dee, you might remember. (You should.)

45. __-poly : ROLY. And here's a little ditty I'll bet you haven't heard. Clip(2:41) 49A. "__-haw!" : YEE

46. Yours, to Yves : À TOI

47. Presidents' Day mo. : FEB.

51. Any nonzero number divided by itself : ONE

52. Arafat's org. until 2004 : PLO. Palestine Liberation Organization. Yasser Arafat.

55. Remove, with "off" : TAKE

58. "Key Largo" 54-Down winner Claire : TREVOR, 54D. Hollywood award : OSCAR. She was in "Stagecoach" with John Wayne.

63. Not shortened, as a film : UNCUT

64. Suit to __ : A TEE

65. "Joy of Cooking" writer Rombauer : IRMA

68. Stiller's comedy partner : MEARA. Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.

69. iPhone message : TEXT

70. Cowardly film beast played by 29-Down : LION, 29D. Actor Bert (see 70-Across) : LAHR

71. Swashbuckler Flynn : ERROL

72. Brother of Cain and Abel : SETH

73. "Ignore that editing change" : STET

Down:

1. IV amounts : CCs

2. "__ on Pop": Dr. Seuss : HOP

3. "Lay it on me!" : "I'M ALL EARS!"

4. Christmas song : CAROL

5. Like the Grand Canyon : MAJESTIC

6. Higher than : OVER

7. All-nighter pill : NODOZ. NoDoz® Alertness Aid Caffeine Caplets.

8. Bale binder : TWINE

9. Reel from a blow to the head : SEE STARS

10. Wife of Jacob : LEAH

11. Involuntary impulses : URGES

12. Eliot's "__ Marner" : SILAS

13. Obeys : HEEDS

21. Used to be : WAS

22. Upper-left PC key : ESC

23. Tippler, for short : DIPSO. Short for dipsomania, a compulsive desire to drink alcoholic beverages. And 42D. Abstain from alcohol : TEETOTAL

24. Helps with a heist : ABETS

31. Carvey or Delany : DANA. Twins? Not!

33. Explorer Ericson : LEIF

35. Moo __ gai pan : GOO

36. The "O" in SRO : ONLY

38. "Time to move on" : "GET OVER IT"

39. Money-saving, in product names : ECONO

40. Downhill racer : SKIER

43. Canines metaphorically exchanged for something desired : EYE TEETH. So named because they are directly below the eyes. I was expecting more.

48. Prohibit : BAN

50. Goof : ERR

52. Nom de __: pen name : PLUME

53. Solitary man : LONER

56. Grecian urn poet : KEATS

57. Cosmetics giant Lauder : ESTÉE

59. Lesser of two __ : EVILS

61. French franc successor : EURO

62. Deli counter call : NEXT

66. One of the Stooges : MOE

67. Picnic undesirable : ANT

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday January 29, 2012 John Lampkin

Theme: "Oh, You!" (O U) - OO is replaced by OU in each familiar phrase, all resulting in sound change.

23A. Parasite extermination overkill? : LOUSE CANNON. Loose cannon.

34A. Lead actor in a war movie, at times? : SHOUTING STAR. Shooting star.

56A. Bit of culinary class practice? : FLOUR EXERCISE. Floor exercise.

75A. Do-gooder's long-term goal? : ROUT OF ALL EVIL. Root of all evil.

96A. Cause for repeated whistle-blowing? : CHAIN OF FOULS. Chain of Fools. This refers to the Aretha Franklin song, no?

110A. Lily-livered takeover? : CHICKEN COUP. Chicken coop. Vowel sound is the same, P becomes silent.

42D. Stratosphere or euphoria? : HIGH NOUN. High Noon. Quite a suspenseful movie.

53D. Gloomy train station? : DOUR STOP. Door stop. Very seldom do we see non-theme entries have the same number of letters as the theme entries. But the ? marks in today's theme clues should prevent any theme & non-theme confusion.

Most of the sound changes involve long /oo/ to /ow/, right? Pronunciation remains the most difficult part in my English learning. My spoken English is so poor that I'm often quiet in gatherings. You'd think I have autism.

Quintessential John Lampkin puzzle. A pangram. Fun theme. Light and witty clues. No helper squares. The more I construct, the more I realize how much discipline it needs and how much extra work it involves not to use helper squares.

Across:

1. One may be shot on location : SCENE. "Shot"/"Shooting" often refers to movie/TV/photo in Xwords.

6. High seas cries : AHOYS

11. Its debut airing was "Gone With the Wind" : TCM. And 72. "Gone With the Wind" plantation : TARA.

14. Runs in place : IDLES

19. Ready followers? : OR NOT. Here I come.

20. Disney duck : DEWEY. Donald Duck's nephew. Huey, Dewey & Louie.

21. "I get it now!" : OHO

22. Quaffed : DRANK

25. Web : NET

26. Half an ice cream flavor : TUTTI. Tutti-frutti.

27. Front : FORE

28. Plus and minus: Abbr. : OPPS. Opposites? I was thinking of "Antonyms".

29. Striped cat : TIGER

31. "__ trifle!" : A MERE

32. Speaker's opening, often : ANECDOTE. Boomer has a lot.

36. Mouse catcher : OWL

37. Cavs, on scoreboards : CLE. Cavaliers/Cleveland.

39. Patriot Silas : DEANE. First US diplomat.

40. Word after a trip : OOPS. Not traveling trip.

41. Togo neighbor : GHANA

44. Easily startled : SKITTISH

46. Mart opening : WAL. Walmart pays lot of taxes, unlike the likes of Google, Apple & Microsoft, which seek tax haven offshore. Ireland, wherever they can get a tax holiday.

48. Not exaggerated : LITERAL. Billions of tax cheat for the above companies, no exaggeration.

50. '30s Army bomber : B-TEN

51. Shapes again : REMOLDS

55. Insurance fig. : AGT

60. Games org. : IOC (International Olympic Committee)

61. Kids often groan about them : CHORES

63. Borscht base : BEET. I like pickled beets.

64. Boot from office : OUST

65. Blue shade : AQUA

66. How Santa dresses, for the most part : IN RED. Hi Santa!

67. Building sites : LOTS

68. Say "yea," say : VOTE

69. Rashly reveal, with "out" : BLURT.

70. Ages and ages : EONS

71. Shed : MOLT

72. Slapstick actor Jacques : TATI. Of "Mon Oncle" fame. Learned from doing Xword.

73. Not apt to crow : MODEST

74. Bemoan : RUE

78. 4 x 4, for short : UTE. Only in Xword.

79. __ of Hanover: pretzel brand : SNYDER'S. I don't eat pretzels. Wiki said it's "the #1 pretzel company in the United State".

81. Detroit River outlet : ERIE

82. Off base : IN ERROR

84. Former rib? : EVE. Funny clue. Eve was made of Adam's rib.

85. Brutus, for one : ASSASSIN

88. Sounds of hoarse play? : RASPS. Great wordplay. Very Lampkin.

89. Email: Abbr. : MSGS

92. Searches thoroughly : SIFTS

94. Foreigners' subj. : ESL. English as a Second Language.

95. Dairy aisle amt. : DOZ (Dozen)

99. Exposes : LAYS OPEN

104. Three-time Oscar-winning composer Maurice : JARRE. Unknown to me. He composed "Lara's Theme". "Dr Zhivago" is so good. Some classic movies, like CrossEyedDave's "African Queen" & "To Kill a Mockingbird", just do not resonate with me.

105. Metaphor, e.g. : TROPE

106. Drop shot : DINK

107. Enjoyed a Harley : RODE. And 109. Harley, e.g. : HOG. Look here. Marisa Miller is Harley's spokesmodel & Dennis' favorite Angel. I bet Splynter likes her too. He seems to like girls with long legs.

108. Juke box favorite : OLDIE

113. Smooth combination : BLEND

114. Dodge City-to-Topeka dir. : ENE

115. App for European train travelers : iRAIL. Gimme for Marti, who just traveled there. I'm in awe of Marti's talents. She speaks French, German, Finnish and some other languages.

116. Partly edible agave that sounds disgusting : YUCCA. Yuck.

117. Belts out : SINGS. 120. Belter Merman : ETHEL. She sure could belt.

118. Some Windows systems : NTS

119. Pasta al __ : DENTE

Down:

1. System of musical syllables : SOL-FA. New word to me.

2. Emulate Harry Connick Jr. : CROON. He's quite handsome.

3. Make used (to) : ENURE. And 6. Get used (to) : ADAPT

4. Payload container : NOSECONE. Rocket.

5. When a chanteuse gets hot? : ETE. Another fun clue. Very very hot song.

7. Nag : HENPECK.

8. Has title to : OWNS

9. USN clerk : YEO. No abbr. hint is needed, Spitzboov/eddyB/D-Otto? (Added later: My bad. USN is a hint. Thanks, Grumpy.)

10. Versatile instrument, briefly : SYNTH. Alright, synthesizer.

11. They wag at parties : TONGUES. Got me.

12. Fastest feline : CHEETAH

13. Aleve alternative : MOTRIN

14. Dog collar dangler : ID TAG

15. Jam session feature : DRUM SOLO. Dennis idolized Gene Krupa when he was a kid.

16. Not on time for : LATE TO

17. Snare : ENTRAP

18. Ones needing a lift : SKIERS. Ski lift for Marti.

24. Chilly : COOL. 34. Chilling spots : SETTEES. Another great clue.

30. Salt additive : IODINE

33. Towered over : DWARFED

35. Most fresh : NEWEST

38. Opera 45-Down : LIBRETTO. 45. Original words : TEXT. I don't get the "Original" part.

41. Harding Icefield sights : GLACIERS. Alaska.

43. Court figure : ATTORNEY. 62. Court matter : RES

44. __-mo : SLO

47. __ Zion Church : AME

49. Green and Gore : ALS

51. Get up : RISE

52. Cordials : LIQUEURS

54. Disperses : SCATTERS

57. Aptly named fastener : U-BOLT. U-shaped.

58. Like transients : ROOTLESS

59. __ pie : CUTIE

65. Munic. official : ALD

67. Reed and Rawls : LOUs

68. Carousel circlers : VALISES. Baggage carousel.

69. Lively Spanish dances : BOLEROS. Jackets too.

71. To a greater degree : MORE SO

73. Not maj. : MIN (Minor)

75. Give some gas : REV

76. Come clean : FESS UP

77. Sportscaster Scully : VIN. Been with the Dodgers forever.

80. Wanting : DESIRING.

83. Salon option : RAZOR CUT

85. Insult : AFFRONT

86. Slapstick trio : STOOGES

87. Like hanky-panky : ILLICIT

89. Taking orders at the drive-thru window, etc. : McJOBS

90. "Want me to?" : SHALL I

91. Herb __ : GARDEN. None here. I only like chives.

93. Like some logical propositions : IF THEN

95. '60s sitcom star Dick Van __ : DYKE

97. Essentials : NEEDS

98. Massenet opera about a legendary Spaniard : LE CID. No idea. About El Cid. Very helpful clue.

100. Joint just above ground : ANKLE. I felt stupid not nailing this one.

101. Dog : POOCH

102. Elicit : EDUCE

103. Sherpas' land : NEPAL

106. Zoologist Fossey : DIAN

111. Otto I's realm: Abbr. : HRE (Holy Roman Empire)

112. "The Eyes of __": 2005 PBS science show : NYE. Featuring Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Answer grid.

I'd like to share with you this wonderful clip Bill G brought to us last week.

C.C.