Monday, October 29, 2012 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Full Stop - Three synonyms for the punctuation known as full stop, appropriately placed at the end of the theme entries.

20A. Do-or-die moment : CRITICAL POINT

38A. When the Brontës wrote : VICTORIAN PERIOD

59A. Precisely : RIGHT ON THE DOT

Argyle here(stop) Dynamic duo(stop) Stop with the stops! No stopping the grid spanner while the other entries stop at thirteen. Eases us into the week while we have other things on our minds.

Across:

1. Golf pros regularly break it : PAR. While some of us struggle to break 100.

4. Gemologist's weight : CARAT

9. Force back : REPEL

14. "__ had it up to here!" : I'VE, said the woman in the milk bath. (pasteurized)

15. Single-celled critter : AMEBA

16. Bo's'n's "Hold it!" : "AVAST!"

17. Blink of an eye : SEC

18. Rocky, for one : BOXER. More of a brawler, some might say.

19. Midterms and finals : TESTS

23. "Para __, oprima numero dos": customer service option : ESPANOL. "For Spanish, press number two"

24. Woos : COURTS

27. Crystal ball consulter : SEER

28. Bringing up the rear : LAST

31. Cut back : PARE

32. Offbeat : ODD

35. Cowboy's footwear : BOOT

37. Pieces on a board : MEN

43. Cannes crony : AMI. Cannes is a city located in the French Riviera.

44. Arrow-shooting god : EROS

45. Prez before Jack : IKE. (JFK/DDE)

46. Prefix with second : NANO

48. Computer operator : USER

50. Bottom-line concern : LOSS

54. Hole for a shoelace : EYELET. Bonus point: name the end of the shoelace.

56. Heart, soul, or heart and soul : ESSENCE

62. Cheer for a diva : BRAVA

64. Fragrant compound : ESTER

65. Game based on crazy eights : UNO. There are no bonus points in crosswords, sorry.

66. Seethed : FUMED

67. Underground Railroad traveler : SLAVE

68. Fort Worth sch. : TCU. (Texas Christian University)

69. Stockpile : AMASS

70. Repaired, as a shoe : SOLED

71. "But then again ..." : YET

Down:

1. The Fishes of the zodiac : PISCES

2. Opposed (to) : AVERSE

3. Bon Appétit offering : RECIPE. "Bon Appétit" is a magazine and website.

4. Mountain retreat : CABIN

5. BP merger partner : AMOCO

6. Drugstore name derived from the prescription symbol : REXALL

7. Genesis sibling : ABEL

8. Infield protection : TARP

9. Betting odds, e.g. : RATIO

10. Bring into balance : EVEN UP. (50/50 odds)

11. Deli meat : PASTRAMI

12. Body shop quote: Abbr. : EST. (estimate)

13. Many USMA grads : LT's. (Lieutenant/United States Military Academy)

21. Card worth a fortune? : TAROT

22. Squid relatives : OCTOPI

25. Palm smartphone : TREO. Replaced in June 2009.

26. Mail out : SEND

29. Belittle : ABASE

30. Trinity member : SON. With the Father and the Holy Spirit.

33. Deer mom : DOE

34. "Sex for Dummies" author, familiarly : DR. RUTH. Listen up!

36. "__War": Shatner novel : TEK

38. Rooftop rotator : VANE

39. Uncertain response : "I MAY"

40. Wide-screen technique introduced in the '50s : CINERAMA

41. Island in the Aegean : IOS. Map.

42. CSA general : R.E. LEE

47. Antipasto tidbits : OLIVES

49. Beach house, maybe : RENTAL

51. At one's post : ON DUTY. Yes, I am.

52. Wall-mounted candleholder : SCONCE. Some may be using them by day's end.

53. Embark : SET OUT

55. "Holy moly!" : "EGADS!"

57. "Date Night" actor Carell : STEVE. (from "The Office") IMBd.

58. Destroy, as documents : SHRED

60. Miss Trueheart of "Dick Tracy" : TESS

61. Nobel Peace Prize city : OSLO

62. Painter's deg. : BFA. (Bachelor of Fine Arts)

63. Caribbean liquor : RUM. Cheers!

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) The theme came to me while my pen ran out of ink. Click here to see the original grid Don and I submitted. Rich wisely pointed out that those long Across (18A & 51A) might "obscure the theme" since we don't have a reveal entry.

2) Happy 87th Birthday to dear Dodo, who's been having problem with her computer. Hopefully she'll return to us soon. Thanks again for checking on Dodo, Chickie.

(L-R back row: Chickie, Clear Ayes, Garlic Gal; Front: JD, Lucina, Dodo. 

 

Picture taken on June 23, 2011

Sunday Oct 28, 2012 Elizabeth C. Gorski

(If your paper does not carry the puzzle we're blogging on Sundays, click here to solve on line or print out a copy.)

Theme: "Having the last Laugh" - HA is contained at the end of each theme entry.

21A. Imposing WWI weapon : BIG BERTHA. Also a Golf club brand. Boomer bought an almost new Big Bertha driver at a garage sales for $5 earlier this year. He still slices, but is very happy with his distance.

27. Kim's "Sex and the City" role : SAMANTHA.  Relatively short theme entry, but if you try yourself, you'll realize that Liz's *HA choices are limited.

39. "The Impossible Dream" musical : MAN OF LA MANCHA. Still remember Susan Boyle?

53A. Barista's chocolaty creation : CAFE MOCHA

65A. Bumbling fictional spies : BORIS AND NATASHA

   

83. "Righto!" : YOU BETCHA. The first Minnesotan phrase I learned.

97A. Warren Buffett's nickname : ORACLE OF OMAHA. I have his autographed photo.

105A. Longfellow hero : HIAWATHA. "The Song of Hiawatha",

119A. Lover of 105-Across : MINNEHAHA. Literally "laughing water". Lucina visited our Minnehaha Falls last time she was here.

Notice there's no HA ending word in non-theme entries? No AHA, OSHA or ALOHA that constructors use frequently. It's a conscious decision Liz took. So the theme is not distracted.

I sensed what the theme was after reading the title. It has to be *HA, since *LOL is impossible.

Across:

 1. Islands with giant tortoises : GALAPAGOS.  Stumped from the start. Look, it's huge.

 

10. Annual report feature : GRAPH

15. Big Ten sch. : PSU. Penn State. The Nittany Lions. I feel sorry for Joe Paterno. I shouldn't, but I do.

18. Drunk : INEBRIATE

19. Blues legend Smith : BESSIE. Faintly recall this name.

20. Batting material, perhaps : WOOL

22. Thing : ENTITY

23. Football fan's channel : ESPN

24. In __: actually : ESSE

25. 1985 Chevy Chase film : FLETCH. What's the film about?

29. Step between stories : STAIR. Nice clue.

31. Air balls miss them entirely : RIMS. Jeremy Lin's rookie card reached over 20K in those Linsanity days. Nuts!

34. Scraps for Lassie : ORTS

35. Hard-rock link : AS A

38. Geographical suffix : ERN. Western, for example.
  

44. Sam who employed Diane and Carla : MALONE.  Never saw "Cheers".

46. Screwdriver, for one : HAND TOOL. Well, Splynter, COCKTAIL fits also.

  

47. Part of Chagall's theater work : MURAL

48. Turner autobiography : I, TINA. This used to stump me in my early crossword solving days, in 2008. How long have you been solving Xwords?

49. To a greater extent : MORE SO

50. "Body of Proof" network : ABC. Starring Dana Delany.

52. Floor square : TILE
  

55. U.K. defense gp. : RAF

57. One having trouble with his sisters? : LISPER. Clever clue.

59. IOC part: Abbr. : INTL

60. Garden product word : GRO. I'm letting my overabundant Thai chili air-dry. I pickled some. Still pretty hot.

61. Give __: care : A FIG

63. __ in Juliet : J AS

64. Explosive stick : TNT

70. Otto's "Oh!" : ACH. Hi there, D-Otto, another cat lover.

73. Chem class component : LAB

74. Stable environment? : BARN. Oh, that stable.

75. Switch settings : ONs

76. "Space Ghost" cartoonist Alex __ : TOTH. No idea. EddyB would have got him easily.

80. Not on the level : SLOPED

 82. Purring pet : CAT. Cute. Mart will love this.

85. Four: Pref. : TETR

86. Half an attention-getter : YOO

88. Leggy waders : HERONS. And 26D. Leggy wader : CRANE. 

91. Modern data units : BYTES

92. 5:1, e.g. : RATIO
 
94. Intervals between related events : TIME LAGS

96. Go bananas : LOSE IT

99. Time line period: Abbr. : CEN (Century).

100. Square root of nove : TRE. Alright, nove is 9 then. Chinese for "three" is very simple: San.

101. RAM units : MEGS. Megabytes? Shouldn't it be MBs?

102. Haydn sobriquet : PAPA

103. Stock deal : TRADE

109. "Not so fast!" : SLOWER

111. Butter amt. : TBSP

115. Land in el mar : ISLA

116. Jet-setter's destination : EUROPE. Did you read "A Year in Provence"? Lovely.

121. Fishing spot : PIER

122. Omits in speaking : ELIDES

123. "The Accidental Tourist" author : ANNE TYLER. She was born in MN.

124. Flat sound : SSS

125. Miata maker : MAZDA

126. Sees the point of the discussion? : READS LIPS. Nice clue also.

Down:

1. Taunt : GIBE. I always confuse this word with JIBE.

2. Licorice-flavored liqueur : ANIS

3. Piano parts : LEGS

4. French clerics : ABBES

5. Beginning of school? : PRE. Pre-school.

6. Travelocity quote : AIR FARE

7. Larry of country : GATLIN. Well, to me, it's this guy, Larry in real life.

8. Remaining : OTHER

9. Subway commuter's hope : SEAT

10. Mil. bigwig : GEN

11. 18 to 20 in a sequence : RST. Alphabetically.

12. Yard sale caveat : AS IS

13. Fillable bread : PITA

14. Kid's attention getter : HEY MOM

15. One may follow a signature : POSTSCRIPT. Consonant-heavy.

16. Junior-to-be : SOPH

17. Forearm bone : ULNA

19. Derrieres : BEHINDS. I just mentioned to JD the other day that I did not know Italy is so hilly. No wonder girls there all have sexy behinds.

20. Flipped : WENT NUTS
 
28. Composer Khachaturian : ARAM

30. Popular coffee hr. : TEN AM

32. Stop along the highway : MOTOR INN

33. Bay Area airport letters : SFO

35. Friends in Rome : AMICI. The single is Amico then?

36. Evil guy : SATAN

37. "Need __?" : A LIFT

39. "The Social Network" actress Rooney __ : MARA

40. Rye buy : LOAF

41. Priest's robe : ALB

42. "Jump" band Van __ : HALEN

43. Wide-awake : ALERT

45. Hamburger order, perhaps: Abbr. : ONE LB

46. Santa's favorite snack cakes? : HO HOS. Yes, Argyle?

49. Adam's favorite fast food sandwich? : McRIB. Funny.

51. Stock designation : CLASS B. Well, Tinbeni knows. CNBC & Crosswords & Coffee are his breakfast.

54. Sweet Rosie of song : O'GRADY. Drew a blank. Never heard of the song.

56. Turkish title : AGA

58. Boy chaser? : ISH. Boyish.

61. Cursed thing : ANATHEMA

62. Manhattan's __ Drive : FDR. Guessed.

63. Two-faced deity : JANUS

66. Flamenco concert shout : OLE

67. Legal gp. : ABA. Lemonade is going to be a new grandpa next week. 69. 67-Down mems. : ATTYs

68. Bugs and Elmer, e.g. : TOONS

70. Elroy Jetson's dog : ASTRO

71. See-through : CLEAR

72. "3 Alarm" candies : HOT TAMALES. Strange name for candies.

77. Large chamber music group : OCTET

78. "A League of __ Own" : THEIR. Did any of you like "Little Big League"?

79. Speed : HASTE

81. Mall battle : PRICE WAR

82. Salon creation : COIF

83. Stretching discipline : YOGA

84. WWII saver's purchase : E-BOND

87. Plains Indian : OTO

89. Goes by : ELAPSES

90. 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby : RAHAL. EddyB would have nailed this entry. Man, I missed his cryptic comments.

93. Big name in lingerie : OLGA. Not fond of this brand.

95. Clean, in a way : MOP

96. Found out : LEARNED. Was shocked when I learned of Mo Yan's Nobel Prize award.

98. Hold in high regard : ESTEEM

99. Richard of "The Flamingo Kid" : CRENNA

103. Tie that binds : TWINE

104. __ alcohol : ETHYL

105. Swinging joints? : HIPS. Mo Yan also wrote this book. Most of his books have a raw, sexual content.

106. Fertility goddess : ISIS. As you know, religion was forbidden when I grew up. You seldom see God or Goddess reference in Chinese literature.

107. Hilo dance : HULA

108. Painted Desert st. : ARIZ

110. Barbra's "Funny Girl" co-star : OMAR

112. Tourist haven east of Java : BALI. Bra brand also.

113. "George of the Jungle" elephant : SHEP. No idea.

114. What many players shoot for : PARS. I think Boomer has 3 or 4 birdies this whole summer.

117. Unmatched : ODD

118. Stew veggie : PEA

120. UFO drivers, ostensibly : ETs. You can now find them in Madame Tussauds Museums.

C.C.

 

JD's Italy series continues. Today, we visit Florence. JD said:

"After reading "The Agony and the Ecstasy" I was anxious to see Florence. Unfortunately the Statue of David was in a museum that was closed, but in the square there were many statues, and one was a replica of David. In the photo of the parade, he is on the left. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is their main church. It is covered in various shades of green, pink and white marble. Santa Croce Basilica was filled with so many sculptures, paintings, and is the burial place of Michelangelo, Galileo, Rossini and many others. There is way too much to see in a day." Click here for more photos.