Wednesday, Oct 10 2012, Matt Skoczen

theme: smile to hide the tears

17A. *Role in the films "Wichita" and "Tombstone" : WYATT EARP

3D. *Protection for jousters : PLATE ARMOR

9A. *2000s documentary whose first episode was "From Pole to Pole" : PLANET EARTH

24A. *One who was held up, most likely : LATE ARRIVAL

30A. *Indoor antenna : RABBIT EARS

62A. Rip to pieces, and a hint to what's hidden in the answers to this puzzle's starred clues : TEAR APART

melissa here. i love theme-heavy puzzles, so this was fun for me. just right wednesday level. definitely needed perps for the theme answers. what's not to love about a full grid with long downs & theme entry intersection?

gonna be quick today,  internet connection a bit unstable, and it just started raining, which seems to make it worse (?). all my fault - i washed my car yesterday. 

Across

1. Aphid's meal : SAP. i only know they like tomato plants, never knew it was the sap they were feeding on.

4. Marsh bird : EGRET

9. Neil Simon's "__ Suite" : PLAZA. simon's early work is stellar. especially love this scene from the odd couple.

14. Communication at Gallaudet U. : ASL. graduate school for deaf and hard of hearing students. did anyone know this?

15. Concert venue : ARENA

16. Bona fide : LEGIT

19. Opposite of après : AVANT. french for after / before.

20. Place for un chapeau : TETE. more french. head / hat.

21. Miracle-__ : GRO

22. Get-up-and-go : ENERGY

23. Opera featuring Iago : OTELLO. based on shakespeare's othello.

25. Lint collector : NAVEL. snort.

27. It may be set or set off : ALARM. off is best.

29. Glowing, perhaps : LIT. no comment.

30. Cleaning closet item : RAG

33. Nautical pole : SPRIT. had no idea. where's jeannie? 

35. Spry : AGILE

37. Will Smith title role : ALI

38. French noble : COMTE. new to me. also a french raw milk cheese.

39. Trail behind : LAG

40. Grape-growing spot : ARBOR

42. Back when : AGO

43. Put to shame : ABASH

45. Mutineer : REBEL

46. Neither mate : NOR

47. Noisy quarrel : ROW

48. "Hotel Rwanda" tribe : TUTSI

50. Compote ingredient : FRUIT

52. Fired on : SHOT AT

55. __ of Gibraltar : STRAIT

58. Source of lean red meat : EMU. tastes like chicken?

60. Pertaining to planes : AERO. hmm. i thought it was relating to air …?

61. Pope after Sergius II : LEO IV. don't have these things memorized.

64. Lexus competitor : ACURA

65. Malady with swelling : MUMPS

66. "Norma __" : RAE

67. Potter's apparatus : WHEEL. as in pottery.

68. "Count me out" : I PASS

69. Part of DOS: Abbr. : SYS. the old days … disk operating system. anyone else feel old?

Down

1. Managed : SAW TO

2. So far : AS YET

4. "Mangia!" : EAT. italian.

5. Genetics pioneer Mendel : GREGOR. i'm studying anthropology and environmental science right now, otherwise i wouldn't have known this. the father of genetics - he studied pea plants. quite fascinating.

6. Derrière : REAR

7. 2001 bankruptcy filer : ENRON

8. Brew source : TAP

10. Video game stage : LEVEL

11. Ice cream thickener : AGAR. more science. a polymer, made from algae.

12. Criticize with barbs : ZING

13. DOJ employee : ATTY. department of justice - attorney.

18. "We want to hear the story" : TELL IT

22. Devil's work : EVIL

26. Land : ALIGHT. verb.

28. Mozambique neighbor : MALAWI

31. Lotion addition : ALOE

32. Gibson __ : GIRL

33. Diagnostic test : SCAN

34. Comic strip possum : POGO

36. Beetle juice? : GAS. ohhhh …. vw beetle. beetle juice is pretty spendy these days.

41. Lather again : RE-SOAP. 

44. Flu fighter's episode : BOUT

49. Seizes unlawfully : USURPS. never knew the 'unlawful' part ….

50. Renaissance __ : FAIRE. 

51. Start a hole : TEE UP. reminds me of work. the fry's tournament is this week. will be glad when it's over.

53. Variety : ARRAY

54. Big name in raingear : TOTES

55. Picnic side : SLAW

56. One helping after a crash : TECH. computer crash.

57. Cad : ROUE. beast!

59. Cass's title : MAMA. for eddyb:

62. "Spare me the details," in brief : TMI. too much information.

63. Backpacked beast : ASS

Answer grid.

Melissa

Note from C.C.:

I'm sorry to inform you the passing of dear Clear Ayes, whose wisdom and advice I relied on in the early days of this blog. Thanks for letting us know, Windhover.

                     Clear Ayes (Lois) & GAH (Golf Addicted Husband) Fred

Tuesday, October 9, 2012 Neville Fogarty

Theme: Aerated - The word, AIR, may be added to both halves of the starred entries.

18A. *Ginger ale brand : CANADA DRY. Air Canada, our northern neighbor's largest airline and Air dry, Hanging the wash on the line.

20A. *It gets you a ticket to ride : BUS FARE. Air bus, Image and Air fare, what it would cost to ride the Air Canada airbus.

34A. *Hold that might precede a noogie : HEAD LOCK. Air head, not really a loon, and Air lock, often seen in sci-fi movies.

41A. *Umpire's call : PLAY BALL. Air play, time sought by politicians this time of year and Air ball, a basketball that misses completely.

55A. *Sack with letters : MAIL BAG. Air mail, doesn't mean so much today as most first-class mail goes by air anyway and Air bag, those automotive devices that might save you in a serious crash and harm you in a minor crash.

60A. *Neck-and-neck election campaign : TIGHT RACE. Air tight, a frequent claim of plastic bag manufacturers and Air race, flying planes too fast, too close to the ground.

61D. Word that can precede either part of each starred clue's answer : AIR

Argyle here. Overslept, no time to talk. Good job, Neville.

Across:

1. Actor Lorenzo : LAMAS. IMDb.

6. Crumbly cheese : FETA. Strong taste.

10. Mt. Rushmore's state : S. DAK. (South Dakota)

14. Where Crockett famously fought : ALAMO. Mission in Texas.

15. Disappearing Asian sea : ARAL. East of the Caspian Sea.

16. Running rate : PACE

17. Design theme : MOTIF. From French.

22. Badminton target : BIRDIE. Also called the shuttlecock.

23. "Arrested Development" star Jason : BATEMAN

 

26. Rushing units: Abbr. : YD's. Ground gained in football, measured in yards.

27. "Star Trek" weapon : PHASER. Could be set from mild tingle to deep fry.

31. Makes an appearance : COMES

33. Investor's online destination : E*TRADE

38. Give out, as a signal : EMIT

39. Loser to DDE : AES. (Dwight D. Eisenhower/Adlai E. Stevenson)

40. School near Burlington, North Carolina : ELON

44. Fix on a stake : IMPALE. "Vlad, don't look at me that way!"

46. Loggers' contest : ROLEO. A little reinforcement of our recent entry. Clip (0:34)

47. Get the better of : OUTFOX

48. Cup rim : LIP

51. Tom Brokaw's domain : NBC NEWS

53. French president's palace : ÉLYSÉE

 

 

63. "Cheers" barmaid : CARLA. (Carla Maria Victoria Angelina Teresa Apollonia Lozupone Tortelli LeBec)

64. Broadway auntie : MAME. 1,508 performances.

65. Bleacher feature : TIER

66. To no __: fruitlessly : AVAIL

67. Nestlé ice cream brand : EDY'S or Dreyer's.

68. Air France hub : ORLY. A little more air?

69. Drink with steamed milk : LATTE

Down:

1. Baby bleater : LAMB. A round-about shout-out to Windhover.

2. 1966 N.L. batting champ Matty : ALOU

3. Protective floor coverings : MATS

4. "I __ you are!" : AM IF

5. Convenience for an overnight guest : SOFA BED

6. Emerald side : FACET. or any cut gem stone.

7. Hurler's stat : ERA. (earned run average) Important but not as important as the win/loss figure.

8. Sunbather's shade : TAN

9. The Heart of Dixie : ALABAMA

 

 

10. Practice with gloves : SPAR

11. Papa : DADDY

12. Harsh-smelling : ACRID

13. Conservative pundit Alan : KEYES. This man.

19. Ate in style : DINED

21. Hard to come by : RARE

24. Level of authority : ECHELON

25. "The Simpsons" watering hole : MOE'S

27. Nestling noise : PEEP

28. Webmaster's file type : HTML. (HyperText Markup Language)

29. Verdi's "Caro nome," e.g. : ARIA

30. Lascivious cloven-hoofed creature : SATYR

32. Took a siesta : SLEPT

35. Name of several Norwegian kings : OLAF

36. Neb. neighbor : COLO.rado. and 44D. Nebraska neighbor : IOWA

37. Plastic construction toy : K'NEX

39. Novelist Waugh : ALEC

42. Lisa of "A Different World" : BONET. and the Cosby Show.

43. 2005-'07 attorney general Gonzales : ALBERTO

45. Broadway fare : MUSICAL

48. "I insist!" : "LET ME!"

49. Trojan War epic : ILIAD

50. Miniature : PYGMY

52. Nail file material : EMERY

 

 

54. Mariners' pronouns : SHEs

56. Volcanic flow : LAVA

57. Sitter's handful : BRAT

58. Hit the ground : ALIT

59. Powerful wind : GALE

62. Animation frame : CEL

Answer grid.

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

Thanks for the touching words on Eddy yesterday. I'd like to share this story with you:

Eddy went into a self-exposed exile in the summer of 2010 due to an incident on the blog. But he could not resist the pull of the blog, one day he left a couple anonymous comments. I recognized him immediately (as his style was so unique), so I wrote to him & teased him about the posts. I started calling him Lurker B from then on.

Some of you might remember these wonderful sand sculpture picture I linked on August 23, 2010. It's an email forward from Eddy. He commented at 12:07pm (as Lurker B). Read also Tinbeni's comment @1:24pm (You knew our little secret?!).

I was pleased and comforted that Eddy was later welcomed back as eddyB and enjoyed his time in the Corner. He'd love what Yellowrocks said yesterday: "We are a true virtual community. I eagerly look forward to sitting at the table with you daily."

Eddy, JD & Chickie attended Warren & Ruth's pottery & jam sale last September. Here is a photo of them together. From left to right: Warren, JD, Eddy & Chickie.