Wednesday, November 7, 2012, James Sajdak

Theme: i'd like to buy a vowel

ok, sorry, i know that's a lame title. but hey, it's election night and i'm a little distracted.

18A. Tropical headgear : PANAMA HATS.  wikipedia: a traditional brimmed hat of
ecuadorian origin that is made from the plaited leaves of the toquilla straw plant. 

27A. Deal-closing aids : SWEETENERS. 'sweeten the deal.'

36A. Urbana-Champaign NCAA team : FIGHTING ILLINI. complete unknown to me. illini (pronounced "ih-LIE-nee") is a european adaptation of the illinois indians' original word for themselves, illiniwek, which means "the best people".

50A. Powerful pin cushion? : VOODOO DOLL. i'm guessing there are a few voters who wish they had one about now.

58. False : UNTRUTHFUL

melissa here.

this had to be a bear to construct, with every theme answer having only one repeating vowel, with those vowels appearing in alphabetical order. very impressive. the middle one is an even 14-letter answer, hence the grid is 15*16 (16 columns).

there were several unknown / obscure entries that delayed my solve time a bit - guess you gotta expect that in order to pull this off.   

across:

1. Dash, e.g. : RACE. timely entry.

5. Head-hanging emotion : SHAME

10. Altoids alternative : CERTS. mints.

15. Fan favorite : IDOL

16. Earthling : HUMAN

17. Absorbed the loss : ATE IT

20. Passover ritual : SEDER

21. Dix halved : CINQ. french, dix = 10, cinq = 5.

22. Calendar abbr. : TUES

24. Prior to, in verse : ERE

25. Low-tech note taker : STENO.  short for stenographer or stenotype.

30. Unblemished : PURE

31. Line winder : REEL

32. Baking by-products : AROMAS

33. Creative enterprise : ART

34. On the fence : TORN. like all those undecided voters.

35. Six-stringed instrument, usually : VIOL

41. Two pages : LEAF. wikipedia: A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page. i guess thats where the phrase 'turn over a new leaf' comes from.

42. "Zip-__-Doo-Dah" : ADEE. from 1946 disney movie 'song of the south".

43. Tram car filler : ORE. mining car.

45. Totally absorbed : ENRAPT

48. Hon : DEAR. aw.

49. Pontiac muscle cars : GTO'S

52. "It __ hit me yet" : HASN'T

53. Mao follower? : IST. maoist.

54. Scientology's __ Hubbard : L. RON

55. Sushi bar soup : MISO

56. Cook-off potful : CHILI

63. Mixer for a mixologist : TONIC

64. Boyfriends : BEAUS

65. Couple in a rowboat : OARS

66. Run through a reader, as a debit card : SWIPE

67. Footlocker : TRUNK

68. Sandstorm residue : GRIT

down:

1. Split : RIP. i guess.

2. Org. concerned with crowns : ADA. american dental association.

3. Mozart works : CONCERTI

4. Pal of Jerry Seinfeld : ELAINE

5. Retired seven-foot NBAer : SHAQ

6. "Say that again?" : HUH

7. "I __ Rock" : AM A. 

8. Fisher-Price parent company : MATTEL

9. Follow logically : ENSUE

10. Potluck staple : CASSEROLE

11. Summer on the Seine : ETE. french.

12. Turn in for cash : REDEEM

13. Spain's __ de Campos : TIERRA. another unknown for me.

14. Underline, say : STRESS

19. Trio on a phone keypad : MNO. #6 key.

23. Online shopkeeper : E-TAILER

25. Place for pampering : SPA

26. Area of expertise : TURF

27. Calligrapher's flourish : SERIF

28. Question of time, to Telemann : WENN. this seems both really obscure, and a little weak … but maybe i'm missing something. so georg philipp telemann was a german composer (1681-1767), and "when" in german is wenn. 

29. __ me tangere : NOLI. more obscurity.

31. Barbecue spit, e.g. : ROTATOR

34. "Every Breath You Take" band : THE POLICE

35. "Myra Breckinridge" author : VIDAL

37. Tickled pink : GLAD. roughly half of america today.

38. Scottish Celt : GAEL

39. "As of yet, no" : NOT SO FAR

40. Pressing need? : IRON. cute.

44. Inexact fig. : EST. estimate.

45. Throws out : EVICTS

46. Reservation waster : NO SHOW. ugh - i get those a lot.

47. Spiral pasta : ROTINI

48. One of Dancer's partners : DONNER. two of santa's reindeers.

49. Far-from-efficient vehicle : GAS HOG

51. Reservations : DOUBT. partial clecho.

52. Best-seller : HIT

55. Perfumery scent : MUSK

57. Blistex target : LIP

59. Frat house letter : TAU

60. Flee : RUN

61. The Rams of the NCAA's Atlantic 10 Conf. : URI. another unknown to me, university of rhode island.

62. D-Day vessel : LST. landing ship tank.

 melissa

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 Neville Fogarty

Theme: "O, say can you see" - Various terms for flags are the ends of the theme entries.

18A. Real attitude underlying a facade : TRUE COLORS

25A. The Hulk's alter ego : BRUCE BANNER

45A. Song covered by Michael Bublé, say : POP STANDARD

57A. Aunt Jemima competitor : HUNGRY JACK

65A. Flier on a pole, and at the ends of 18-, 25-, 45- and 57-Across : FLAG

Argyle here. Get out and vote. This Tuesday is a good companion for yesterday's puzzle so let's run it up the flag pole and see who salutes it.

Across:

1. Things to wear : GARB

5. Chemists' rooms : LABS. They wear lab coats.

9. One who asks too many questions : PRIER. Where do the pollsters go now?

14. Campus sports gp. : NCAA. (National Collegiate Athletic Association)

15. Irish name for Ireland : ÉIRE

16. Christina of "Speed Racer" : RICCI. IMDb

17. Dough dispensers : ATM's

20. Letter to Santa, essentially : WISH LIST. Seasonal work.

22. Pennsylvania in Washington, for one : AVENUE

23. Summer in Lyon : ÉTÉ. Clearer than when Nancy cooks, eh?

24. Sent a quick note online : IMed. (Instant Message)

30. Barnyard brayer : ASS

33. Woman in Poe's "The Raven" : LENORE

34. J. Paul Getty or J.R. Ewing : OIL BARON. But only one is real.

36. Dubai bigwig : EMIR

37. "... to __ it mildly" : PUT

38. Piece of ice : CUBE

39. Revolutionary toy of the '70s-'80s? : SIT'N SPIN. Cute play on revolutionary.

42. "Boyfriend" singer Justin : BIEBER. This is the first of many musical links today. Link.(2:53)

44. Fr. holy woman : STE.

47. Glasgow vetoes : NAEs

48. Toronto's prov. : ONT. (Ontario)

49. Dining room necessities : CHAIRS

52. Photos at the precinct : MUGSHOTS

59. Auth. unknown : ANON. We all got this one.

60. Perfumer Lauder : ESTÉE

61. "As I see it," online : IMHO. (in my humble opinion)

62. Maker of Duplo toy bricks : LEGO. Duplo is the preschool size of Lego.

63. Just behind the runner-up : THIRD

64. Overly compliant : MEEK

Down:

1. Emulate a beaver : GNAW

2. Play beginning : ACT I

3. Farm butters : RAMS. They butt-ers.

4. Big party : BASH

5. Beatles tune that starts, "When I find myself in times of trouble" : "LET IT BE". Link.(4:09)

6. Like some Navy rescues : AIR/SEA

7. Champagne designation : BRUT. Unsweetened; very dry.

8. Set eyes on : SEE

9. "Ignorance is bliss," e.g. : PROVERB. "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." - Thomas Gray

10. Upset : RILED

11. Clickable pic : ICON

12. Sandy-colored : ECRU

13. Levitate : RISE

19. Humped beast : CAMEL. Also ecru.

21. Sidelong look : LEER

24. Mid. name substitute : INIT. (initial)

25. Anoint : BLESS

26. Put the check in the mail : REMIT

27. Bring together : UNITE

28. Veggie on a cob : CORN

29. Pride and prejudice, e.g. : NOUNS. Such trickery on a Tuesday!

30. Caribbean resort : ARUBA

31. Like a teetotaler : SOBER

32. Bergen's dummy Mortimer : SNERD

35. Scored 100 on : ACED. Do they still score tests this way?

37. Domino dots : PIPS

40. Practiced in the ring : SPARRED

41. Art of verse : POESY. Really.

42. Thailand's capital : BANGKOK. Musical link. (3:57)

43. QB's mistakes : INT's. (Quarterback/interception)

46. "Well said" : "TOUCHÉ". French fencing term.

47. African river : NIGER. Map.

49. Atkins of country : CHET. Link.(2:09)

50. Silence : HUSH

51. Pro debater : ANTI

52. Auntie of the stage : "MAME". Link(2:45)

53. 45 minutes, in soccer games : HALF

54. Scott Turow work : "ONE L": The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School.

55. Roman robe : TOGA

56. Smooch, in Staffordshire : SNOG. Learned from Harry Potter.

58. __-dandy : JIM. Final link.(2:13)

Argyle