Tuesday, February 7, 2012 Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

Theme: Article 17 of the Geneva Convention - The first words of the theme entries are the three things(split into four parts) that the unifier(in the center) is required to give interrogators.

20A. *Reason consumers purchase certain brands : NAME RECOGNITION

28A. *Bumbling beginner : RANK AMATEUR

39A. Mil. detainee who may reveal only the starts of the answers to starred clues : POW

48A. *Hookups for computer peripherals : SERIAL PORTS

54A. *Financial analysts : NUMBER CRUNCHERS

Argyle, corporal, 2083472. OK, I'll talk. I liked this one better than yesterday's, as one might expect from Bruce and Gail. Tight theme, minimum crosswordese, strong corners, classic grid. Two grid spanners.

Across:

1. Hook or Cook: Abbr. : CAPT. Spelling it Cap'n reflects sailors' pronunciation, as in Cap'n Horatio Magellan Crunch.

5. For the calorie-conscious : LITE

9. Purse handle : STRAP

14. Fairy tale baddie : OGRE

15. Ugandan baddie : AMIN. Idi

16. Remove pencil marks : ERASE

17. Completely destroy : RUIN

18. Rikki-Tikki-__: Kipling critter : TAVI. A story from the Jungle Book describing the mongoose's, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, fight with Nag, the big black cobra.

19. __ Carlo: Grand Prix setting : MONTE. It is part of Monaco, the sovereign city state on the French Riviera.

23. Ankle artwork, briefly : TAT

24. Fathers and grandfathers : MEN

25. Bks.-to-be : MSs. (manuscripts)

35. Historic WWII bomber : ENOLA GAY. Always good to see both names.

37. Threat punctuator : OR ELSE. Yes, punctuator is in the dictionary, as a related noun form.

38. Timber wolf : LOBO

41. Paper purchase : REAM. International standards organizations define the ream as 500 identical sheets.

42. Poll findings : TRENDS

45. Island state of Australia : TASMANIA

50. Dadaist Jean : ARP. When Arp spoke in German he referred to himself as "Hans", and when he spoke in French he referred to himself as "Jean".

51. Wish undone : RUE

52. Opposite of 'neath : O'ER

63. Inventor Howe : ELIAS. American inventor and sewing machine pioneer.

64. Winslet of "Titanic" : KATE. At age 11. Image.

65. "The rest __ to you" : IS UP

66. Insurance giant : AETNA

67. "Did You __ See a Dream Walking?" : EVER. Clip(6:43) but you might want to stop when Ginger Rogers starts singing at 1:03.

68. Int'l alliance : NATO

69. "Our Gang" dog : PETEY

70. Ph.D. hurdle : DISS. (dissertation)

71. Remove from power : OUST

Down:

1. Ear on your plate : CORN

2. Isla surrounder : AGUA. Spanish island/water.

3. Stiffly neat : PRIM

4. Religious belief : TENET

5. Infielder's untimely move : LATE TAG

6. 1998 Apple debut : IMAC

7. DVR pioneer : TIVO. Digital Video Recorder (DVR).

8. Tough nut to crack : ENIGMA

9. Advanced study group : SEMINAR

10. Relaxed pace : TROT

11. Hindu princess : RANI

12. Regarding : AS TO

13. Rounded end of a hammer : PEEN

21. Uncommon, avis-wise : RARA. Latin: rara avis - rare bird

22. Much sought-after clownfish of film : NEMO

25. Gets all gooey : MELTS. Tinbeni doesn't want his avatar gooey so he stays away from ice.

26. Nocturnal noise : SNORE

27. Clearheaded : SOBER

29. Brit : lie-down :: Yank : __ : NAP

30. Former Japanese capital : KYOTO. Some say that Tokyo and Kyoto are simultaneously capitals of Japan. Not me, I only know what I read in Wikipedia.

31. Trillion: Pref. : TERA

32. Kagan of the Supreme Court : ELENA

33. TWA competitor : USAIR

34. Plot a new route : REMAP

36. Actress Anderson : LONI

40. Serious conflict : WAR

43. Assume as probable : DARESAY

44. Disparaging remark : SLUR

46. Habitual pot smokers : STONERS. "Dudes!"

47. Fraction of a min. : MSEC (millisecond)

49. Ate like a bird : PECKED

53. Thick-skinned beast : RHINO

54. Kind of tide : NEAP

55. Fonda's beekeeper : ULEE. From the movie, "Ulee's Gold".(1997)

56. Oven user's accessory : MITT

57. Thorn in one's side : BANE

58. Shankar with a sitar : RAVI. Strangely alliterated clue.

59. Western natives : UTEs

60. Biblical twin : ESAU

61. Grooves in the road : RUTS

62. Carpet cleaner's concern : SPOT

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, February 6, 2012 Carl Esposito

Theme: puzzle² - 1 through 4 squared and the unifier.

16A. *Start of a Jackie Gleason "Honeymooners" catchphrase : ONE OF THESE DAYS (1²)

29A. *Vivaldi classic, with "The" : FOUR SEASONS (2²)

36A. *Cat's blessing, so it's said : NINE LIVES (3²)

46A. *Tennessee Ernie Ford hit about coal mining : "SIXTEEN TONS" (4²)

59A. What the starred answers start with : PERFECT SQUARES

Argyle here with PSD - post-Superbowl Depression. Sorry to say but this puzzle doesn't lift my spirits. It is an ambitious debut but the theme seems like it's been done before and there are too many abbreviations.

Across:

1. PC screens : CRTs. Can you even buy a cathode ray tube(CRT) anymore?

5. Bumbling types : OAFS

9. Washer or dryer: Abbr. : APPL. (appliance)

13. Banister : RAIL

14. "Deck the Halls" syllables : FA LA

15. Cuba, to Castro : ISLA. Spanish for island.

19. Capone associate Frank : NITTI. "The Enforcer" was in charge of all strong-arm and 'muscle' operations.

20. Political satirist Mort : SAHL

21. Pale : WAN

23. "Be right with you!" : "IN A SEC!"

25. Moe, Curly or Larry : STOOGE

28. Space-saving abbr. : ETC.

33. Pot-scrubbing brand : S.O.S. An abrasive cleaning pad made from steel wool saturated with soap.

34. Fencing sword : EPEE

35. King with a golden touch : MIDAS

39. Brainstorms : IDEAs

42. Company with a "swoosh" logo : NIKE

43. "The Racer's Edge" : STP

49. Musician's asset : EAR

50. Big name in tea : TETLEY

51. New Orleans university : TULANE. The nickname of sports teams at Tulane University is the Green Wave.

53. Orch. section : STR. (strings)

54. Coarse file : RASP

58. Pantyhose that came in a shell : L'EGGS

63. Upscale hotel chain : OMNI

64. Potatoes' partner : MEAT

65. Post-Christmas retail event : SALE

66. Bog fuel : PEAT

67. Hwy. accident respondents : EMTs. (Emergency Medical Technicians)

68. Managed care gps. : HMOs. (Health Maintenance Organization)

Down:

1. Chums : CRONIES. You don't hear CRONIES that much and when you do, it often has an unsavory connotation.

2. Met by chance : RAN INTO

3. Men's wear accessories : TIE TACs

4. Bandits in Vegas? : SLOTS. One-armed bandits.

5. More than occasionally, to a bard : OFT

6. Oohs' partners : AAHs

7. Circus insect : FLEA

8. Scout uniform component : SASH

9. Help : AID

10. Free TV ad : PSA

11. Layered building material : PLYWOOD

12. Layered ristorante offering : LASAGNA. Interesting clecho.

17. Feudal estate : FIEF. The property granted to a vassal in return for service

18. "Do it, or __!" : ELSE. Something you might hear on a fief.

22. Loch of legend : NESS. Scottish legend.

24. Filmmaker Ethan or Joel : COEN

26. Domesticated : TAME

27. Suffix with psych : OSIS

30. Ivy League sch. in Philly : UPENN. (University of Pennsylvania)

31. Got going again, as a fire : RELIT

32. Fancy watch : SEIKO

36. NHL part: Abbr. : NATL. (National Hockey League)

37. "Understood" : "I SEE"

38. Dryer outlet : VENT

39. Followers: Suf. : ISTs

40. Low-cal soda : DIET POP

41. Radical : EXTREME

43. Company associated with the alcoholic "7" in a "7 and 7" : SEAGRAM. An extensive but interesting history of Seagrams. site I am still searching for the reason it's called 7 Crown.

44. Citrus hybrid : TANGELO

45. Gets the creases out of : PRESSES

47. Brontë's "Jane __" : EYRE

48. "Star Trek" helmsman : SULU. George Takei has been receiving a lot of press lately.

52. Dog restraint : LEASH

55. Zenith : ACME. I tried APEX first.

56. Goblet feature : STEM

57. Jr.'s exam : PSAT

60. Cell "messenger," briefly : RNA

61. Tailor's concern : FIT

62. Fourths of gals. : QTs. (quarts)

Answer grid.

Argyle