Thursday, March 8, 2012 Julian Lim

Theme: Hot to Trot. The first theme entry had me going all DF...

3D. 2000 Ben Kingsley crime drama : SEXY BEAST

5D. "Who shot J.R.?" e.g. : BURNING QUESTION

9D. People, for one : POPULAR MAGAZINE

15D. Piquant sushi choice : SPICY TUNA ROLL

And the unifier:

33. Easily angered, or what the answers to 3-, 5-, 9- and 15-Down appear to be? : HOT HEADED. The four theme entries are "headed" by synonyms for "hot": sexy, burning, popular or spicy. I'll take it any way I can get it!!

Hearti here, with another fun Thursday offering from Julian Lim. It's been a while since I blogged one of his puzzles, but I never forget his wit. Let's see what he has for us today...

Across:

1. Condiment often mixed with soy sauce : WASABI. I mix a drop of soy sauce to a tablespoon of wasabi. DH mixes a drop of wasabi to a tablespoon of soy sauce.

7. Cowboys-and-Indians toys : CAP GUNS. Wow, what a blast from the past, playing with the neighbor kids. I can still smell the sulfur from those rolls of caps!

14. Help, metaphorically : A LEG UP. More legs for Splynter...

15. Scrape together : SCROUNGE. Great word. I used to scrounge money from my sister to go to the movies on Saturdays.

16. Bobby ___: '40s-'50s adolescent girls : SOXERS. Remember poodle skirts?

17. Teen dieter's target, perhaps : PUPPY FAT. More familiar with "baby fat", but I guess puppies can be overweight, too. I think he needs to 21A...

18. "Stop right there!" : HEY.

19. Classic pop : NEHI. Radar's drink.

21. Start of a personal trainer's motto : USE IT...and lose it!

22. ASCAP competitor : BMI. Broadcast Music Inc. collects license fees for musicians, as does the American Society of Composers, Artists and Publishers.

24. Phrase from one who sees : I CALL. Poker. And 65A. Dealer's demand : ANTE UP.

27. ___-wop music : DOO. Remember poodle skirts?

28. Song of thanksgiving : PAEAN. Song from a paisan? 3:50

30. Workaholic's personality : TYPE A

31. Talk on the street? : SLANG

32. Zoom : TEAR

33. Santa's laughs : HOs. Hey, Argyle!

36. And the following, in a bibliog. : ET SEQ. "et sequens" or "et sequentia". Latin.

37. James Bond's outfit : TUX. Who else wanted MI6? But the clue refers to the outfit he is wearing.

38. Given to gloom : MOODY.

40. Spot for a snooze : COT

41. Asian soup noodle : UDON. Wheat-flour noodles, usually served hot, in soup. Yummm!

43. Trump's "The ___ the Deal" : ART OF. His blueprint for rising to the top. Anyone read it?

44. Vex supremely : EAT AT.

46. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao architect : GEHRY. Frank, who designed this masterpiece in Spain:

47. OPEC measure : BBL. Why two "b"s for "barrel"? Find the answer here!

50. Campfire treat : SMORE. Yummm!

51. Dogfish Head product : ALE. Craft-brewed ales, for melissa and Abejo.

52. Sought-after group : A LIST. ...or "A-listers", who are the crème de la crème of society.

54. Courtroom cry : OYEZ. Not to be confused with "oyer", which is an open hearing. OYEZ is called three times to bring the court to session.

56. "That's the spot!" : AHH

59. Watchman : SENTINEL

62. Much-anticipated time : BIG DAY

64. Like Little League World Series qualifying games : REGIONAL

66. One who decks the halls, say : ADORNER

67. Tachometer part : NEEDLE

Down:

1. Household chore : WASH. Iron, dust, cook...

2. Healthy smoothie ingredient : ALOE. Aha! So it's not just a soothing lotion additive!

4. ___-appropriate : AGE.

6. ___ dixit: unfounded claim : IPSE

7. Hosp. area for heart patients : CCU. Coronery Care Unit. Stay out of there, Lemonade!

8. Alsatian dadaist : ARP. Our old favorite dada guy.

10. Male people : GUYS. Uh-uh, I use it for both male and female. "What's up, guys?"

11. Needing nourishment : UNFED. (Needing S'mores?)

12. Marsh of mysteries : NGAIO. Not familiar with him. (Update from Fermatprime: Marsh is a dame!) And 45D. Mystery writer Josephine : TEY. Not familiar with her, either.

13. Squabble : SET TO

20. Google success : HIT. They actually have a site that tracks these things.

23. Hair very apparent? : MANE. A pun-ny take on "heir apparent". I guess if you have a mane of hair, it would be quite apparent!

25. Zenith : APEX

26. Field for a fold : LEA. A fold can either be the pen that sheep are kept in, or the flock of sheep.

28. Infinitesimal division of a min. : P-SEC. Pico-second?

29. Middle harmony part : ALTO

34. Stink : ODOR

35. "Ghost Hunters" network : SY-FY. Evidently, the #1 paranormal show on TV.

37. Dog in Kansas : TOTO

39. Sports analyst Hershiser : OREL

42. River project : DAM

47. Iraqi seaport : BASRA. Geography lesson for the day. Zoom out, and you will see that it is not a seaport, after all.

48. Go through the page : BLEED. Like ink.

49. Techspeak, e.g. : LINGO

53. Cup-a-Soup direction : STIR

55. Abba of Israel : EBAN. This guy. Ambassador to the US and UN.

57. Lug : HAUL

58. Publicist's job : HYPE. Hurry, hurry, step right up!!

60. L.A.-to-Helena dir. : NNE

61. Kernel holder : EAR. Don't you hate it when you get kernels of corn in your ear?

63. Merged comm. giant : GTE. GEE, are we done already? See you next week!

Answer grid.

Hugs,
Marti

Wednesday, March 7 2012, Erik Agard

theme: zip it.

17A. 1981 Richard Pryor film : BUSTIN' LOOSE. during the shooting of this film richard pryor caught himself on fire while freebasing cocaine. article.

24A. Band whose frontman passes through the audience in a plastic bubble, with "The" : FLAMING LIPS. wayne coyne, in his famous bubble.

46A. "Everything but" item : KITCHEN SINK. 'everything but the kitchen sink.'

58A. Jolly Roger fliers : PIRATE SHIPS. skull and crossbones flag.

60A. The word, as suggested by the saying formed by the ends of this puzzle's four longest answers : MUM. according to wikipedia, loose lips shink ships is an american english idiom meaning 'beware of unguarded talk,' which originated on propaganda posters during WWII.

seemed a bit easier than a wednesday level to me, but still provided some learning moments. haven't seen this constructor's name before, might be his debut.

Across:

1. Taj Mahal city : AGRA. always nice to start with a gimme.

5. Merry : JOVIAL. like santa.

11. One doing serious crunching in 29-Down : CPA (certified public accountant), and 29d. Busy mo. for 11-Acrosses : APR. timely.

14. Perturb : ROIL

15. Hang on a clothesline : AIR DRY

16. One of a swiveled pair : HIP. technically, the hip is a ball-and-socket joint.

19. Sit-__: protests : INS

20. Ancient Greek theater : ODEON. beautiful.

21. Merry old king : COLE. nursery rhyme, 'old king cole was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he.'

22. In a funk : BLUE

23. Managed : RAN. can anyone identify this quote without googling? 'he ran spain.' 'spain?' 'the country, he ran it, it was his job.'

27. Typical "Twilight" fan : TEEN. i haven't seen any of them, have you?

28. Billy of "Titanic" : ZANE. yummy.

29. Daisylike blooms : ASTERS

32. Pipe dream : DELUSION. haha.

36. Bartlett, e.g. : PEAR. a different kind of yummy.

37. Distress signal : SOS

38. Pop : SODA

39. Chew out : REPROACH. to express dissolution.

42. Chic : TRENDY

44. "How steak is done" sauce : A-ONE. good steaks are like good men ... better undressed.

45. Like a battery needing a charge : DEAD

50. "Don't __": 2005 R&B hit : CHA. pussycat dolls.

53. Dull discomfort : ACHE

54. Chess ending : MATE

55. Cultural values : ETHOS

57. King of Spain : REY. spanish.

61. Cab rider-to-be : HAILER. went to new york for the first time last month, got to be a pretty good hailer.

62. Sheltered, at sea : ALEE

63. Mimic : APE

64. Lover of Tristan : ISOLDE. vagner opera.

65. Student's stressor : TEST

Down:

1. Shady alcove : ARBOR

2. Dutch cheese : GOUDA. named after the city of gouda in the netherlands. gouda cheese market.

3. Gotten up : RISEN

4. Choir member : ALTO

5. "The Brady Bunch" girl : JAN

6. Tin Woodman's saving grace : OIL CAN

7. Auto race noise : VROOM

8. Puts on a pedestal : IDOLIZES

9. Arms supply : ARSENAL

10. Caustic substance : LYE

11. It's measured in alarms : CHILI. cliff huxtable's 8-alarm chili (from the cosby show).

12. Man cave hanging : PINUP

13. Church areas : APSES

18. Suss out : INFER

22. Leading a charmed life : BLESSED

25. Guitar great Paul : LES. died in 2009.

26. Novel-sounding beast : GNU. also called a wildebeest.

27. Outdoor dining spot : TERRACE. just did so yesterday, gotta love california.

30. Notice : SEE.

31. Percussive dance : TAP.

32. Homer call? : D'OH. Homer Simpson.

33. Charged particle : ION

34. Like 2011, e.g. : ODD

35. Anti's cry : NAY

37. Plot outline : SCENARIO

40. "Delightful!" : OOH

41. Causes of pallors : ANEMIAS

42. Phil Rizzuto's number : TEN. Retired by the Yankees in 1985.

43. Fall implements : RAKES

45. Tried to lose, in a way : DIETED

46. Fate : KARMA

47. Freeze, as a road : ICE UP

48. Herb in a bouquet garni : THYME

49. Slot in a stable : STALL

50. Country that's nearly 25 times as long as its average width : CHILE

51. Crosses one's fingers : HOPES

52. Liability's opposite : ASSET

56. The other one : THAT

58. Key letter : PHI

59. Before, to a bard : ERE

Answer grid.

melissa