Wednesday, March 21, 2012 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: ONE BILLION - a thousand times a thousand times a thousand. (Why settle for addition when multiplication is so much quicker?)

First, the Unifier - otherwise it's all too mysterious.

64A. Spectacular concert ender, or what 17-, 26- and 51-across numerically contain : GRAND FINALE. Each of the theme entries ends in a single letter signifying 1000. Isn't that grand?

17A. With "The", Bette Middler debut album : DIVINE MISS M. Lady with a big set of pipes. This spectacular concert starter is sort of a WTH?!? M is the Roman Numeral for 1000. But M is also used as a symbol for one million, so mind your significant digits.

26A. Kellogg's cereal : SPECIAL K. You can start your own SPECIAL K plan right here. K, meaning 1000 comes form the Greek Kilo, and is often used as a prefix. The metric symbol for the prefix KILO is "k", not "K" - OK?

51A. Riboflavin: VITAMIN G. Of course, I wanted VITAMIN D. The elusive VITAMIN G, aka riboflavin, aka VITAMIN B2 is sensitive to light, but not to heat. It also comes from almonds, grains and some green vegetables. G, in U.S. slang, denotes one thousand dollars. This probably is simply an abbreviation for GRAND, meaning - tad-ah - $1000.

Hi, gang - JazzBumpa here, to guide your tour of this GRAND offering from our own dynamic duo. Let's go.

Across:

1. 17-time NBA champs: CELTS. Named for the Celtics of British isles history. It says here that "the Iron Age CELTS lived in Britain before and after Jesus." I never knew Jesus lived in Britain. The things you learn . . .

6. Stern with strings : ISAAC. Here, playing Kreisler's Schoen Rosmarin (2:00)

11. Hrs. before noon : AM'S. Good Morning America!

14. Filing board : EMERY. For nail filers, not tax filers nor rank filers.

15. Word of praise for el niño : BUENO. El niño is a boy, en Español, and in this case, a GOOD boy.

16. House plant's housing : POT. Don't get excited, it's just a terra cotta container for a potted plant.

19. Gun lobby org : NRA. National Rifle Association.

20. Funny Idle : ERIC. Of Monty Python fame.

21. Regarding : AS TO, a.k.a. IN RE

22. Classic name in toys : IDEAL. They started making dolls in 1907, and 60 years later came out with KerPlunk.

24. Floors : KO'S. Knock Outs. This one had me floored for a while. Perps to the rescue. "Floors" is a verb here, as in knocks one to the _______. Boxing reference.

28. 1-Across, e.g : PRO TEAM. Replacements would be a PRO TEAM PRO TEM.

31. Govt. cryptanalyis org. : NSA. The National Security Agency

32. Bar graph, say : CHART. If you want to get graphic.

33. Alluring : SEXY. If you want to get graphic . . .

35. Purely academic : MOOT.

39. Ones making deliveries at colleges? : LECTORS. My favorite is Hannibal.

41. Lady in a Beatles song : MADONNA. See how they run.

43. Carafe cousin : EWER. Just some kind of a pitcher.

44. First razor with a pivoting head : ATRA

46. Acquire, as debt: INCUR.

47. Austrian article : EIN. One in German.

49. Conceals from the enemy, in a way : ENCODES. Call in the NSA.

55. An ace has a strong one : ARM. BASEBALL! Nate has been working on his pitching all winter. Here he is with his sis - the divine miss Em.

56. Italian violin craftsman : AMATI.

57. Sci. with cliff notes? : GEOL. Geology. Note Abbrv. Cliffs are geological formations. Love this clue!

59. Shia Islam is its religion : IRAN.

63. Slangy refusal : NAH.

67. Self-esteem : EGO. I'm gonna go get myself a steam!

68. Caribbean country : HAITI. Site of a tragic earthquake on January 13, 2010.

69. Dry out, in rehab : DETOX. Detoxification to clean out the bad stuff from inside your body.

70. Cross-reference word : SEE. See 55 Across for a gratuitous family reference

71. "__ were the days!" : THOSE. See this link for another Family reference.

72. Plus : ASSET. The plus side of the ledger.

Down:

1. Give up : CEDE. From the Latin cēdere, meaning yield.

2. Muslim noble : EMIR.

3. Jeans pioneer Strauss : LEVI. Forever in Blue Jeans. And just to be fair. (Yikes - had to turn safe search to STRICT!)

4. October custom done in costume : TRICK OR TREAT. Halloween.

5. Dict. entry : SYN. Synonym. Or something similar.

6. Some PCs : IBMS. From back in Aesop's time.

7. "I'm fine with that" : SUITS ME.

8. Greek with 12-Downs : AESOP. Teller of fables.

9. Crossword entry : ANS. Answer - or to those of us in the know - FILL.

10. Funny pages : COMICS.

11. Sleep disorder : APNEA. Respiratus interruptus. This potentially dangerous involuntary breathing disorder is nothing to sneeze at.

12. Point : MORAL. The MORAL to the story is, don't count your chickens before they cross the road.

13. Pursue, cat-style : STALK. Or pursue Euell Gibbons style.

18. The life of Riley : EASE. A retirement spent playing music, working X-words and viewing the grandchildren's performances and activities. What could be EASIER?

23. De Beers properties : DIAMOND MINES. That's rich. See 3 D.

25. Hall of Fame quarterback Graham : OTTO. He was drafted by the Lions, but played for the Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1955. His 57-13-1 record represents the highest winning percentage of any quarterback. He also won a professional basketball championship with the Rochester Royals in 1945. Thank you Wikipedia.

27. One-named Irish singer : ENYA. That makes her a Celt.

28. "Close call!" : PHEW. PHEW is an interjection indicating relief.

29. Political contest : RACE. No comment..

30. __ D.A. : ASST. Abbrv. for assistant.

32. Largest OH airport: CLE. Cleveland, and 'n'ther abrv.

34. Marvel superhero : X-MAN. I only know of them in the plural.

36. Tots' story starter : ONCE. Once upon a time, Aesop walked into a bar, having left his morals at home. No - wait that's an adult story.

37. Burden : ONUS. Derived from the Latin, onus, meaning - of all things - a burden.

38. Roof application : TAR.

40. Rajah's wife : RANI. An Indian queen.

42. Big name in couture : DIOR. Hey - isn't this French?

45. University officers : REGENTS.

48. "Perhaps." : I MIGHT.

50. Young dolphin : CALF. Yes, mamma tursiops truncatas is, indeed, a cow.

51. Windmill blades : VANES. Don't go tilting at them.

52. Public relations concern : IMAGE. Much more important than reality.

53. 2nd deepest U.S. lake : TAHOE. Crater Lake is the deepest.

54. New Zealand-born crime writer Marsh : NGAIO. She wrote the "Dead Letter" mysteries. Anybody read them?

58. 10-Down drooler : ODIE. Not the brightest of canines.

60. "Bah!" : RATS. Expression of dismay, Charlie Brown style.

61. Natural skin treatment : ALOE. A green succulent, on its way to being a crossword evergreen.

62. "Who's turn is it?!": NEXT. Batter up!

65. Stadium sound : RAH. Could be baseball.

66. Wyo. neighbor : IDA. Idaho. Home of hot springs, spuds, and the National Old Time Fiddlers Contest. They have a law there that forbids a citizen to give another citizen a box of candy that weighs more than 50 pounds. Seven Devils' Peaks, one of the highest mountain ranges in Idaho, Includes Heaven's Gate Lookout, where sightseers can look into four states. RAH!

Answer grid.

Cheers!

JzB

Note from C.C. & Don:

"When I first proposed this idea to Don, it's a mishmash K-RATION, G-STRING, GEE WHIZ, GRAND JURY, etc. Don simplified the key word to one letter. We had fun making this puzzle."

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: Densmore, Krieger, Manzarek and Morrison - Better known as "The Doors" and whose song, Love Me Two Times(3:20) is appropriate because each theme is a pair of doors.

17A. *Where some carry keys : FRONT POCKET. FRONT door needs no explanation but POCKET door may, except for Splynter. A POCKET door is the type that slides into the wall. I hope you can look at this video(0:26) and not think the Starship Enterprise; I couldn't.

26A. *Behind-the-scenes area : BACKSTAGE. BACK door, STAGE door

37A. *Peugeot or Renault, e.g. : FRENCH CAR. FRENCH doors, may be exterior or interior. Who remembers CARs with suicide doors?

51A. *Campaign in rural areas : BARN STORM. BARN door, STORM door

60A. School entrances, or, in a way, what each answer to a starred clue has : DOUBLE DOORS

Argyle here. I hope Pam will forgive my facetious theme interpretation. I doubt The Doors ever crossed her mind. I'm always impressed by these doubled theme entries. Throw in some decent fill, no Naticks that I could see and you have a very good Tuesday puzzle.

Across:

1. Stove fuel : GAS. "Now we're cooking with GAS." Things in the kitchen became much easier once the wood/coal stoves were replaced by GAS.

4. Consent (to) : ACCEDE

10. Sauna sounds : AHs

13. Tiny troublemaker : IMP

14. Drink ordered dry or dirty : MARTINI. A dirty martini contains a splash of olive brine or olive juice.

16. Cheer word : "RAH!"

19. Pie __ mode : À LA. The Cambridge Hotel(NY), said to be the birth place of this dessert is to appear on Chef Ramsay's "Hotel Hell" later this spring.

20. New Mexico art colony : TAOS

21. Volcano output : ASH

22. Flavor : SAPOR

24. Author Ferber and actress Best : EDNAs

29. Reno roller : DIE. Nice alliteration.

30. "Now I __ me down ..." : LAY

32. One more : ANOTHER

33. Two-time N.L. batting champ Lefty : O'DOUL. He started as a pitcher, left because of a sore arm and came back as a power hitter. Won the batting title in 1929 and 1932.

35. The Beatles' "__ Love You" : PS I. This version(2:08) has Andy White on drums. Trivia runs on the screen during the song. Andy White now lives in New Jersey. link.

36. Physics particle : ION

40. Coppertone letters : SPF. (sun protection factor)

42. Remote batteries : AA's

43. Krispy __ doughnuts : KREME. Mmmmmm, donuts.

46. Nonbeliever : ATHEIST

48. "This __ ripoff!" : IS A

49. Farm worker? : ANT. Did anyone actually have an ant farm?

53. Slow, to Schumann : LENTO. Schumann was a German composer.

55. Brazilian writer Jorge : AMADO. Took all the perps to bring him in.

56. Velvet finish? : EEN. Velveteen.

58. "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" singer : CHER. This clip was the most visually interesting that I found.

59. Grafton's "__ for Corpse" : C IS

64. One for Monet : UNE. French.

65. Evaporated : DRIED UP

66. MGM mascot : LEO. The lion.

67. Airline to Stockholm : SAS. Scandinavian Airlines or SAS, previously Scandinavian Airlines System.

68. Trattoria desserts : GELATI. Well! It appears it is both singular and plural. Help?

69. Time workers: Abbr. : EDs (Editors). The magazine.

Down:

1. Like geniuses : GIFTED

2. Medium with a lot of talk : AM RADIO

3. Ate, as soup : SPOONED

4. Price to pay: Abbr. : AMT. (amount)

5. Bullfighter's cloak : CAPA. Spanish for cape.

6. "Road" film co-star : CROSBY. "On the Road to..." pictures starred Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour.

7. __ Sketch: drawing toy : ETCH A

8. Hägar creator Browne : DIK. His son, Chris Browne, continues the strip.

9. Suffix with benz- : ENE

10. Wind River Reservation tribe : ARAPAHO. In the heart of Wyoming. Map.

11. Kind of lamp with a tungsten filament : HALOGEN

12. One who doesn't hog : SHARER

15. "__ Easy": Ronstadt hit : IT'S SO. Clip.(2:41)

18. Decoding org. : NSA. (National Security Agency)

23. Something to wear : ATTIRE

25. Sot's speech problem : SLUR

27. Money : CASH

28. Atlantic Division NBA team : KNICKS. The New York Knickerbockers, commonly known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City.

31. Balt. Orioles' div. : AL EAST. The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

34. Step on someone's toes, so to speak : OFFEND

35. Mac alternatives : PCs. (personal computer)

38. Brussels-based defense gp. : NATO

39. Shrinking sea : ARAL

40. Marathoner's need : STAMINA

41. They may be coined : PHRASES

44. Street opening : MANHOLE

45. Became a contestant : ENTERED

46. Gadget you can count on? : ABACUS

47. "This ___": "How strange" : IS ODD

48. Well-heeled Marcos : IMELDA. She is an elected Congresswoman - in the Philippines.

50. Sculptors' subjects : TORSOs

52. Resist authority : REBEL

54. Earth-friendly prefix : ECO

57. Neither an ally nor an enemy: Abbr. : NEUTral. Only three more letters, seems unnecessary to abbreviate. Fixed: with a tip of the hat to D-otto.

61. Common URL ender : .ORG

62. Slangy about-face : UIE

63. Printer resolution meas. : DPI. (dots per inch)

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Spitzboov (Al), who sent me this beautiful Annin flag when I became a US citizen in 2010. Spitzboov often finds delightful clips for us to enjoy. Off the blog, he always gives me wise advice and solid feedback on various crossword ideas.