Wednesday, Oct 3 2012, Michael Dewey

Theme: knight in shining armor

17A. Endures an onslaught of criticism : RUNS THE GAUNTLET. a gauntlet is a glove worn with medieval armor to protect the hand. or, a double file of men facing each other and armed with clubs or other weapons with which to strike at an individual who is made to run between them - thus, to 'run the gauntlet'

26A. Kind of contact banned by the NFL : HELMET TO HELMET. so dangerous.

46A. Use a sun visor, say : SHIELD ONE'S EYES

60A. Vulnerable spot : CHINK IN THE ARMOR

and to tie it all together ...

37A. Cyclist Armstrong, or what completes the ensemble found in the four long across answers : LANCE

melissa here. a little cloak and dagger for your wednesday morning - with a few enchanting references.

Across

1. Hunger hint : PANG. right about now.

5. Shorn shes : EWES. cute.

9. Indonesian island : JAVA. home of the buddhist monument borobudur.

13. Pinza of "South Pacific" : EZIO. italian opera singer, turned broadway star. died in 1957.

14. Pulsate : THROB

16. Yaks, e.g. : OXEN. noun, not verb.

20. Prognosticator : PROPHET

21. RR terminus : STA. railroad station.

22. Center opening? : EPI. epicenter.

23. Aus. setting : EUR. austria is in europe.

24. Puts the kibosh on : STOPS

32. Golden Bears' school, familiarly : CAL. berkeley.

33. "Joanie Loves Chachi" co-star : BAIO. scott.

34. Like James Bond : SUAVE

35. Carpeting computation : AREA

40. It may be impish : GRIN

41. 24-hr. news source : MSNBC

43. "If __ a nickel ..." : I HAD

45. Category : ILK

50. Currently occupied with : DOING

51. She, in Lisbon : ELA. portuguese.

at 2:47 ...

52. Justice Dept. bureau : ATF. alcohol, tobacco and firearms.

55. Greeting card figure, maybe : AGE. oh, figure. i get it.

56. Pacific Surfliner and Acela : AMTRAKS

63. Muslim pilgrim : HAJI. remember him?

64. Passover month : NISAN

65. Melville South Seas novel : OMOO

66. Candy bar with a cookie center : TWIX

67. More than just hard to find : LOST

68. Stir-fry cookware : WOKS

Down

1. Cop's quarry : PERP. ha!

2. Côte d'__: French resort area : AZUR

3. Padre's boy : NIÑO. spanish.

4. Mass reading : GOSPEL. nice clue.

5. Unworldly : ETHEREAL. i could sit and stare at a tank of jellies for hours.

6. Spark, as an appetite : WHET

7. Unit of energy : ERG

8. Such that one may : SO AS TO. alright.

9. Put (down) on paper : JOT

10. Car bar : AXLE

11. Prez's backup : VEEP

12. Opponent : ANTI

15. "__! that deep romantic chasm ...": Coleridge : BUT OH. from samuel taylor coleridge's poem kubla kahn, or a vision in a dream.

18. Hitchhiker's aid : THUMB

19. Neck parts : NAPES

24. Lining with decorative rock : STONING. tricky.

25. Slimy garden pest : SLUG. ew.

26. Severe : HARSH

27. Nicholas Gage memoir : ELENI

28. Mexican aunt : TIA

29. Antarctica's __ Byrd Land : MARIE. had no idea. 

30. Pandora's boxful : EVILS. greek mythology.

31. Six-mile-plus run, briefly : TEN K

32. Rotating machine parts : CAMS

36. In the sack : ABED. 

38. Activist Guevara : CHE

39. Nonowner's property right : EASEMENT

42. Commonly long garment : CLOAK. makes me think of jane eyre, speaking of ethereal.

44. __ blues: Mississippi genre : DELTA

47. "Eat up!" : DIG IN

48. Frequent final soccer score : ONE-NIL

49. Peter who co-wrote "Puff, the Magic Dragon" : YARROW. how can i not ....

52. Berliner's eight : ACHT. german.

53. Leave out of the freezer : THAW

54. Pacific archipelago : FIJI. wow.

56. Triumphant cries : AHA'S

57. Magazine filler : AMMO

58. Eccentric sort : KOOK

59. B'way hit signs : SRO'S. standing room only.

61. Veto : NIX

62. General linked with chicken : TSO

Answer grid.

melissa

Tuesday, October 2, 2012 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

 Theme: Uh O's - The last word in each theme entry ends with ?O. No O ending answer for non-theme fill.

17A. Wagon boss's directive : "WESTWARD, HO!"

39A. Replay type, briefly : SLO-MO

61A. "See?" follower : "I TOLD YOU SO"

11D. "War on Drugs" slogan : "JUST SAY NO"

28D. Nickname in Olympics sprinting : FLO-JO. Florence Griffith-Joyner

34D. "Hold on!" : "DON'T LET GO!". Music video.(4:40)

Argyle here. That is a neat crossing in the middle. No duplication of the letter preceding 'O' either.

Across:

1. Funnylady Rudner : RITA

 

 

5. Pack the groceries again : REBAG

10. Eyes, to Juanita : OJOs. Spanish.

14. Oodles : ALOT

15. Condescend : DEIGN

16. Ivory soap ad word : PURE

19. Suffix with opal : ESCE. Makes it a verb.

20. Arnaz of "Here's Lucy" : LUCIE. Lucie Désirée Arnaz is the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz

21. "Bewitched" witch : SAMANTHA. With Endora, her mother, and Tabitha, her daughter.

23. PennySaver listing, usually : SMALL AD. Anybody doesn't have a PennySaver in their area?

26. Pitches well? : SELLS

27. Lacking direction : ADRIFT

29. Home of Dolphins and Marlins : MIAMI. Football and baseball teams.

32. Bunch of bills : WAD

35. Potted herb spot : SILL

36. Deep valley : CANYON

37. Winged deity : EROS

41. Cabinet dept. concerned with power : ENER. (energy)

42. Symbolize : DENOTE

44. Cup of joe : JAVA. (battery acid, brew, caffeine, café, café au lait, café noir, cappuccino, decaf, decoction, demitasse, espresso, forty weight, hot stuff, ink, jamocha, java , joe, mocha, mud, perk, varnish remover)

46. Singleton : ONE. For those who would rather use a long word.

47. Failed to act : SAT BY. Usually idly.

48. One of the M's in MoMA : MODERN (Museum of Modern Art)

50. "The Hunger Games" actor Kravitz : LENNY. Actor and so much more. Wiki.

52. Places in a pyramid : ENTOMBS

56. Scrambled alternative : OVER EASY

59. Give a hoot : SHOUT. Like, hootin' and hollerin'.

60. River isles : AITS. British Dialect.

64. Prego rival : RAGU

65. Nixon staffer G. Gordon __ : LIDDY

66. Get ready, as for surgery : PREP

67. Food for hogs : SLOP. Slopping the hogs(0:55)

68. Close call : SCARE

69. Discontinues : ENDS

Down:

1. "Unmistakably Lou" Grammy winner : RAWLS

 

 

2. Intestinal section : ILEUM

3. Puccini classic : TOSCA

4. Head Hun : ATTILA

5. Dietary guideline letters : RDA. (recommended daily allowance)

6. Always, to Pope : E'ER. Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744) English poet.

7. Many eBay clicks : BIDS

8. Filled with horror : AGHAST

9. Pointy-hatted garden character : GNOME. One gnome's story. Link.

10. Talk show caller's opportunity : OPEN LINE

12. Theater sect. : ORCH. (orchestra) "Down in front"

13. "__ penny, pick it up ..." : SEE A. "and all the day you'll have good luck."

18. Uses a blowtorch on : WELDS

22. Soprano Gluck : ALMA.(1884 – 1938) She lives on in crosswords.

24. Give up one's seat, say : ARISE

25. Herb used in borscht : DILL. Not in all borscht recipes; for a simple beet soup, there sure are a lot of variations.

30. Big name in faucets : MOEN

31. Memo starter : IN RE

32. Marries : WEDS

33. Field of study : AREA

36. Witches' assembly : COVEN

38. Recovers from a night on the town : SOBERS UP

40. Whipped up : MADE

43. Actress Daly : TYNE. Still not appearing on TV's "Burn Notice". (Thank you, Irish Miss.)

45. Pretentiously highbrow : ARTSY

48. "__ River": 2003 drama directed by Clint Eastwood : MYSTIC. IMDb.

49. Pessimist's phrase : "NO HOPE"

51. Catches red-handed : NAILS

53. Weep for : MOURN. Don't Cry for Me, Argentina.(5:54) Elaine Page.

54. Cleared tables : BUSED. Just one S because BUSSED as a whole different meaning.

55. Calls it quits : STOPS

56. Rowboat pair : OARS

57. Perfume container : VIAL

58. "Star Wars" philosophizer : YODA. "Do, or do not. There is no 'try'."

62. Pres., for one : LDR. (leader)

63. Hide the gray, maybe : DYE

Answer grid.

Argyle

1) Note from C.C. & Don:

Don came up with this theme. This is our original grid. As you can see, we have more theme entries, but also EGO, USO, ERATO and other O ending non-theme entries. Rich thought the theme is subtle and should not contain any O-ending non-theme fill. So, a total re-do. Twice actually. The grid was challenging to fill without OREO, ONO, ADO, and other small *O words that we depend on so often.

2) Yesterday Boomer and I met the delightful Lucina and her three lovely sisters at Mall of America. Click here to see a few more pictures. Lucina is just as warm and witty as she is on the blog.