Monday, March 19, 2012 Patti Varol

Theme: P?CK* - Vowel progression in the first syllable of the five theme entries.

17A. Airfare-plus-hotel stay, say : PACKAGE DEAL

24A. Poultry hierarchy : PECKING ORDER

35A. Soul food pork snack : PICKLED PIGS FEET

47A. Coins in one's pants : POCKET CHANGE

57A. Ready to be kissed : PUCKERING UP

Argyle here. "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." There, got that out of my system. 61 theme squares, one a spanner.

Across:

1. Subdued color : PASTEL

7. Take a breather : REST

11. Marx's "__ Kapital" : DAS

14. Christmas carol start : ADESTE. Fideles.

15. Green Gables girl : ANNE. Bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Many films and TV specials have been made using Prince Edward Island as a backdrop.

16. All-Star starting pitcher : ACE

19. Convent dweller : NUN

20. Invoice total: Abbr. : AMT.

21. Thrilla in Manila fighter : ALI

22. "I'd be delighted!" : "GLAD TO!"

27. Camaro and Corvette : CHEVYS

29. Sound from a snout : "OINK"

30. Comic actress Oteri : CHERI. From SNL.

31. RR stop : STN. (station)

32. Diagnostic scanner, briefly : MRI

40. Comics cry of disgust : "ACK!"

41. Cold War KGB rival : CIA

42. Stop in the Sahara : OASIS

43. Commotions : ADOs

45. Beachgoer's souvenir : SUNTAN

51. Texas city on the Rio Grande : EL PASO

52. NFL drive killer : INT. (interception)

53. "My lips __ sealed" : ARE

56. Note after fa : SOL

61. Capote's nickname : TRU. (author)

62. "It's her __": relationship ultimatum : OR ME

63. Lack of comfort : UNEASE

64. Has way too much, briefly : OD's

65. Bygone royal Russian : TSAR. and 44D. 65-Across, e.g. : DESPOT

66. Main course : ENTRÉE

Down:

1. Mama's main man : PAPA

2. Noted rib donor : ADAM

3. Religious splinter group : SECT

4. "For shame!" : "TSK!"

5. Seventh Greek letter : ETA

6. Inheritance : LEGACY

7. Pizza slice edges, geometrically : RADII

8. 180 degrees from WSW : ENE

9. Becoming tangled, as a fishing line : SNAGGING. Like first attempts at casting, lines can be entangled without snagging a thing.

10. Rat out : TELL ON. Reminds of the joke Spitzboov posted last night.

11. Classic role-playing game, for short : D AND D. (Dungeons & Dragons)

12. Extreme, as pain : ACUTE

13. Barcelona mister : SENOR

18. Yellowstone grazers : ELKS. It would be correct without the S as a collective noun, too.

23. Noah's handiwork : ARK

24. On-the-job extra : PERK

25. Like villains : EVIL

26. "Don't look at me!" : "NOT I!". and 46D. "That's a lie!" : "UNTRUE!" : Things villains might say.

27. Elegant and stylish : CHIC

28. "Darn!" : "HECK!". Mondays are rated PG.

30. Yr.-end auditor : CPA. Isn't that an odd way to indicate an abbreviation?

31. Hot springs facility : SPA

32. Flat-topped elevation : MESA

33. Equestrian's control : REIN. (rain, reign, rein : puzzle seed?)

34. "Baby __ You": Shirelles hit : IT'S

36. Trips to environmentally protected areas : ECOTOURS

37. Part of CD : DISC

38. iTunes download : SONG

39. Destiny : FATE

43. Alias, to the LAPD : AKA. Also Known As.

45. All there, so to speak : SANE

47. Fettuccine topping : PESTO

48. Prayer starter : O LORD

49. Slightly above average grade : C-PLUS

50. Backpack toter : HIKER

53. Petri dish gel : AGAR

54. Bit of chicanery : RUSE

55. Sport with swords : ÉPÉE

58. Nashville-based awards org. : CMA. Country Music Association.

59. Country stopover : INN

60. Badminton divider : NET

Argyle

Sunday March 18, 2012 John Lampkin

Theme: How to Finish This Puzzle -Every "Don't give up" phrase is interpreted as if it's related to the profession in the clue.

24A. Persevere, like a teamster? : KEEP ON TRUCKIN'

39A. Persevere, like a stand-up comic? : NEVER SAY DIE. I don't quite get this one. Is it because comics slay (amuse) their audience?

68A. Persevere, like a frequent flier? : CARRY ON

95A. Persevere, like a very loud organist? : DON'T STOP NOW. Those organ knobs are called "stops". That's all I know.

113A. Persevere, like a golfer? : STAY THE COURSE. Golf course.

3D. Persevere, like a boxing promoter? : PUT UP A GOOD FIGHT

6D. Persevere, like a judge? : TRY, TRY AGAIN. Ha ha!

47D. Persevere, like a lightning rod installer? : STAND YOUR GROUND

70D. Persevere, like a museum curator? : HANG IN THERE

Fun theme. Don G and I had a similar gimmick a while ago, except we clued each answer as related to the animal. Our HANG IN THERE clue is "Advice to a monkey"? Didn't interest Rich enough.

John is an artist. He pays attention the visual aspect of his grid. The arraignment of the theme entries in this grid shows his taste, skills & perseverance. How he consistently avoids cheater squares for Sunday grids is beyond me. This one has a low back square count also. Only 64. Our norm is 74.

Across:

1. Bestows on, with "to" : IMPARTS

8. Forgoes scissors : TEARS. And 11D. Forgo scissors : RIP. Clecho (clue echo). All in green highlight in my write-up.

13. Captivates : ENAMORS

20. Fashionista's field : COUTURE. As in "Haute couture". "60 Minutes" had a good segment on Anna Wintour a while ago.

21. Bring to the mix : ADD IN

22. "Sorry, Charlie" : NO SIREE

23. Start to finish, e.g.? : ANTONYM. Start & Finish are antonyms. Great clue.

26. It may be abstract or concrete : NOUN. I like this clue too.

27. Stopwatch users : TIMERS

29. Intent : AIM

30. "Gladiator" composer Zimmer : HANS. No idea. But John is a musician. As I said before, clues often reflect constructors' interests.

31. Examines closely : PEERS AT. And 49. Examination : TEST.

33. Raise a glass to : TOAST. 103. Where glasses may be raised? : OPERA. Opera glasses.

36. Clerical residence : MANSE

37. Really boring : DEADLY

42. Lang. of Jamaica : ENG. "One Love"!

43. Dora the Explorer, for one : LATINA. Dora Marquez, "the first animated Latina character in a leading role".

45. Cartoonist Keane : BIL. Died last Nov.

46. Ready : ALL SET

50. Place for a plunger in Plymouth : LOO. Plymouth, England.

51. It's wet in Oaxaca : AGUA

52. Infatuated, old-style : SMIT

54. Display irritation : BRISTLE

55. Sea debris : FLOTSAM. And Jetsam.

57. Warmup for college hopefuls, briefly : PSAT. And 40D. Poughkeepsie college : VASSAR. Another clecho with the previous "Aussi college" for UNI (89-A).

58. Diamond strategy : BUNT. Bunts are boring to watch, unless the bunter is Ichiro, right, LaLaLinda?

59. Morning hrs. : AMs

60. "Voilà!" : TA DA

61. Hand-on-chest words : I SWEAR

63. Careerbuilder.com listing : JOB

64. Contingency phrase : IF NOT

66. Writer Lebowitz : FRAN. She's in "Law & Order".

70. Challenging : HARD

71. Impose fraudulently : FOIST. On or upon.

73. Rams' city: Abbr. : STL. St. Louis Rams.

74. Musician awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 : YO-YO MA. Yo means "friendly". Chinese nickname usually is a repeat of the last word of the given name. Hence the panda name Ling Ling. My sister-in-law calls me Chin Chin (a repeat of my Cantonese name Chow Chin).

76. Julio's yesterday : AYER. Spanish.

79. Neighbor of Uru. : ARG

80. Isaac's eldest : ESAU

82. Aussie runners : EMUS. And 89. Aussie college : UNI. That's convenient. Hi there Kazie!

83. Nonnegotiable, as a plan : IN STONE

85. Queequeg crewmate : ISHMAEL. "Moby Dick".

87. Suds : BREW

88. Utah state flower : SEGO. Ours is Lady's slipper.

90. Do routine tire maintenance : ROTATE

91. Inspired mixture : AIR

92. Strands at a chalet, maybe : ICES IN

94. Carpet : RUG

98. Bean or noodle : NOGGIN

100. Leipzig legwear : HOSEN. German for "hose"? I know lederhosen.

104. Strove to attain : WENT FOR

106. Dip __ in: test the water : A TOE

107. Manage moguls : SKI. Marti knows how to manage them.

108. Full of school spirit : RAH RAH

110. Wealthy "Wind in the Willows" character : TOAD. Mr. Toad.

117. Longtime CBS golf analyst Ken : VENTURI. I like Johnny Miller. He can be brutally honest.

119. Nintendo game with Pikachu : POKEMON

120. Nasty smile : SNEER

121. Hall of talk : ARSENIO. I thought Clinton was really cool when he appeared in this guy's show.

122. Scaredy-cats : SISSIES

123. Surfer wannabe : HODAD

124. Hero's hero : LEANDER. Such a moving love story.

Down:

1. "If __ make it there ...": "New York, New York" lyric : I CAN

2. Like old records : MONO

4. Set things right : ATONED

5. Make tracks : RUN

7. Weigh station visitors : SEMIs

8. Grab a coffee, say : TAKE TEN

9. Central German river : EDER

10. "__ Fideles" : ADESTE

12. Cat lead-in : SNO. I'm already wearing short shorts. Hot here.

13. Sum of all parts : ENTITY. Drew a blank.

14. Cliff's pal on "Cheers" : NORM

15. Sun Devils' sch. : ASU

16. "Where Creativity Happens" retail chain : MICHAELS. I like their flowery notebooks. Very pretty.

17. Mork, by birth : ORKAN

18. Harness straps : REINS

19. Get the feeling : SENSE

25. Nosy? : NASAL. Fun clue.

28. Craze : MANIA

32. Fitzgerald et al. : ELLAS

34. Planetary path : ORBIT. Quite a few alliteration in the clues today.

35. "__ turns out ..." : AS IT

36. Revolutionary army : MILITIA

37. Dutch city in many Vermeer paintings : DELFT. Did you watch "Girl with a Pearl Earring"?

38. First name in bombers : ENOLA

41. "Nerts!" : DARN

44. Antacid choice : TUMS

48. Pal of Grover : ELMO

53. Proposal with a nice ring? : MARRY ME. Sweet! It does have a nice ring to it. And 57. Ring out : PEAL

54. Buster : BUB. Did not know this meaning of "Buster".

56. Works on the road : TARS

58. One-named rocker : BONO

62. Carrie Nation's org. : WCTU. No idea. Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Wikipedia says it still exists.

63. High points : JOYS

65. Kegger locale : FRAT

67. Pigged out : ATE A TON

69. "Oh, I give up!" : YOU WIN

71. Susceptible to sunburn, probably : FAIR

72. Roughly : OR SO

73. "Exodus" actor Mineo : SAL

75. Architect __ van der Rohe : MIES

77. The blahs : ENNUI. Is anyone wearing Eclat?

78. Rule : REIGN

81. Beheld : SEEN

82. Computer message : ERROR

84. Arabic : ibn :: English : __ : SON OF

86. Flirted with, with "at" : MADE EYES. Made me think of Jeannie.

87. Calamine target : BITE

88. Thread puller : SEWER

91. Gelatin garnish : ASPIC. What? Garnish only? Aspic is the gelatin to me.

93. Branding iron wielder : COWHERD. I always want to watch "Brokeback Mountain", but Boomer says "No".

96. Mementos : TOKENS

97. Nearly birdied : PARRED. True when you had a tap-in par.

99. Understood : GOTTEN

100. Hinged fasteners : HASPS

101. 10th-century Roman emperor : OTTO I. How should we clue our own D-Otto? 21st-century Crossword Corner emperor?

102. Drenches : SOAKS

105. Involving warships : NAVAL

107. Dealer's dispenser : SHOE. Gambling.

109. No longer in port : ASEA

111. Soul singer India.__ : ARIE. A gimme for most constructors, same with yesterday's SCREAM QUEEN, a term forever associated with Fay Wray. Not many ways to clue FAY.

112. Poison and Pure Poison creator : DIOR. Miss Dior last time.

114. "OMG! Spare me!" : TMI

115. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH

116. Card game shout : UNO

118. DOD division : NSA. DOD= Department of Defense.

Answer grid.

1) Happy Birthday to dear Warren! Hope Ruth makes this day very special to you.

2) From John Lampkin:

Greetings from Florida, where I’m doing a week-long series of presentations to Nature groups based on my book of macro-photographs of insects, “Bugged Beyond Belief.” Blog regulars Lemonade and Annette and I are meeting Wednesday night, March 21 for dinner in Hollywood, FL. Please email me at JohnLampkin@JohnLampkin.com for details. You are all welcome to join us if you promise to behave. Or not.