Monday, November 19, 2012 Lila Cherry

Theme: Boomers - A shout out to C.C.'s husband?

20A. One who can talk you to sleep : CRASHING BORE

33A. Audible sign of hunger : RUMBLING STOMACH

41A. Flappers’ decade : ROARING TWENTIES

56A. Weather event where you’d hear the starts of 20-, 33- and 41Across : THUNDER STORM

Argyle here. I was going to link some storm sounds for you to hear here but this is just not the season for thunder storms. Did you know YouTube has a eight hour downloads of storm sounds? East Coasters are probably not ready to hear that right now.

Oh, and the puzzle; it is from Lila Cherry("Really Rich"), a pseudonym of Rich Norris, our editor. He has fit two grid spanners in the center. Some of the fill is ho-hum but there's not a Natick in the bunch.

Across:

1. Part of PGA: Abbr. : ASSN. (Professional Golfers' Association)

5. Desert tableland : MESA

9. Character weakness : FLAW

13. Chase away, as a fly : SHOO. Anybody having shoofly pie for Thanksgiving?

14. Plot surprise : TWIST

16. “Queen of Country” McEntire : REBA

17. A psychic may read yours : PALM. No, not your palm tree.

18. Yemen’s capital : SANA'A

19. With 8-Down, really simple : EASY and 8D. See 19-Across : AS ABC

23. Pellet shooter : AIRGUN

24. AFL partner : CIO. (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations)

25. Madrid Mrs. : SRA. (Señora)

28. Tabula __: blank slate : RASA

31. “That’s enough out of you!” : "STOW IT!"

38. Cruising on the briny : ASEA

39. Org. offering motel discounts : AAA. (American Automobile Association, also called "Triple A")

40. Chat room “Here’s what I think ...” : IMHO. (in my humble opinion)

46. Present from birth : INNATE

47. Salinger title teenager : ESME. "For Esmé – with Love and Squalor"

48. Court divider : NET

49. “Criminal Minds” network : CBS. (Columbia Broadcasting System)

51. Bible book of 150 poems : PSALMS

59. It might begin, “Knock knock” : JOKE

62. Word after maternity or shore : LEAVE

63. Prefix with dextrous : AMBI. (ambidextrous: able to use both hands equally well.)

64. Allies’ opponents : AXIS. us/them.

65. City that inspired van Gogh : ARLES. Wheat Fields near Arles.

66. Banister : RAIL

67. Old wives’ tale : MYTH

68. Lions’ homes : DENS. No, it's Detroit; watch 'em play on Thanksgiving.

69. “Bus Stop” dramatist William : INGE

Down:

1. Critters’ rights gp. : ASPCA. (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Kill your turkey humanely or have tofurkey.

2. Lewis with Lamb Chop : SHARI. PLEASE, no Lamb Chop for dinner.

3. From the sun : SOLAR

4. Asian menu assurance : [NO MSG]

5. Where Moses received the Commandments: Abbr. : MT. SINAI

6. Actor McGregor : EWAN

7. Croon a tune : SING

9. At no cost : FREE

10. Grazing area : LEA

11. Middle muscles : AB's. (abdominal muscles)

12. Method : WAY

15. Follower of Laotzu : TAOIST. Déjà vu?

21. Throw hard : HURL

22. __-Rooter : ROTO. The company originally specialized in clearing tree roots and other obstructions from sewer lines.

25. Hindu guru : SWAMI

26. Rolling in French euros : RICHE. French for rich, if you couldn't guess.

27. Pal of Porthos : ATHOS. The Three Musketeers (with Aramis)

29. Unexpected problem : SNAG

30. Colorful marble : AGATE

32. Neglect to include : OMIT

33. __ to go: ready for action, in dialect : RARIN'. Rarin' for a big dinner and good football.

34. Me.-to-Fla. highway : U.S. ONE

35. Intended : MEANT

36. Old-time actress Theda : BARA. Don't be late if she's cooking!

37. Tree cutters : SAWS

42. Restless desire : ITCH

43. Cosmic cloud : NEBULA

44. Catherine the Great, to Russia : EMPRESS

45. Eliot of the Untouchables : NESS

50. Wooden Mortimer : SNERD. Déjà vu?

52. Pong producer : ATARI

53. Fictional salesman Willy : LOMAN. (from Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman)

54. Boss, slangily : MR. BIG

55. Photographer’s request : "SMILE"

56. New Age musician John : TESH

57. Chip’s chipmunk pal : DALE

58. Neck and neck : EVEN

59. Traffic trouble : JAM

60. Natural Skin Science company : OXY. A line of acne care products. Web site. I'm not sure the CA company is the same one.

61. First-aid aid : KIT

Argyle


Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Creature! Long time regulars know how sweet and caring she was when she was active on the blog. I sure miss her warm presence.

I mentioned in one of Splynter's write-ups ( See 20-Across KLU) earlier this month that Creature still solves LAT & reads our blog every day. She wrote a short comment the next day.

I hope you do something special for yourself today, Creature. We all look forward to your return.

Sunday Nov 18, 2012 Steven J. St. John

Theme: "Flipping Out" - A (Verb) THE B (Noun) is flipped into B (Verb) THE A (Noun)

24A. Pay attention to a word game? : MIND THE BOGGLE. I find Boggle difficult. Scrabble is more fun. Boggle the mind.

38A. Ask, "Is this really diet?" : QUESTION THE POP.  Pop the question.

57A. Trade with Marineland? : DEAL THE SEAL. Seal the deal.

59A. Find out whether a strikeout king is doping? : TEST THE ACE. Ace the test. Don't know whether I should trust Roger Clemens.

72A. Advertise some prime real estate? : MARKET THE CORNER. Corner the market.

90A. Present a styling award? : HONOR THE DO.  Gisele's hair is to be honored. Do the honor. I use the plural "honors" though. Do the honors.

93A. Fill a cargo bay? : LINE THE HOLD. Hold the line.

108A. Move a chess piece? : POSITION THE MAN. So I googled Man the position, and was surprised by what came up.

127A. Redecorate a castle? : CHANGE THE KEEP. Keep the change.

Lots of work went into this puzzle. Steve had to mine all the A THE B phrases and eliminated entries like "Bite the bullet" where B can't be a verb or does not make surface sense when flipped.

The grid design is also masterful. Heavy themage & cheater-free. Look at the 16 seven-letter entries in this grid, esp those stacked in upper left/middle & lower middle/right & the intersecting entries. Just beautiful. BRIOCHE!

The clues are also entertaining. My favortie is PUN (80A. "Doing a crossword with a broken pencil is pointless," for example).

 

Across:

1. Psychiatrist's diagnosis : COMPLEX. Excellent 1-Across entry.

8. Biblical patriarch : ABRAHAM

15. Jet set : ELITE. So that's how military brass connect with the local community. Valet parking!

20. How shrimp cocktail may be served : OVER ICE

21. Period named for an element : IRON AGE

22. Flash lamp gas : XENON

23. Join, as a lucrative deal : GET IN ON

26. Culinary tide-me-over : SNACK. What's your favorite snack? By the way, Michele, I like Miso soup also.

27. __-ran : ALSO

29. Critic, at times : HATER

30. "Stand" band : R.E.M.

31. Mentalist's claim : ESP. I told Boomer on the morning of Nov 7th that we needed a big scandal, since the election was over and I had nothing to be occupied with. Boom! The Petraeus Gate broke. I'm amazing!

33. Like Charles Bronson : MACHO. OK, then.

36. Fellowship : SOCIETY

44. Sympathetic : KIND

45. Lines at the market? : UPC. Like ATM, this answer is fun to clue.

46. Where many races are seen, briefly : OTB (Off-Track Betting)

47. Evergreen shrubs : ERICAs. New to me.

49. High roller's quarters : SUITE. Brilliant clue.

52. "Stupid __ stupid does": Forrest Gump : IS AS. Gary Sinise, Lt Dan in the movie, is a workhorse for the wounded soldiers.

54. Picnic remnants : COBS

62. Has permission to : MAY

63. Loose things to tie up : ENDS

64. One might be significant : OTHER. Significant other.

65. Busts : BOSOMS

69. Little rascal : IMP. That's Spitzboov!

71. Inventing initials : TAE. Thomas Alva Edison.

77. Yang counterpart : YIN. Ginger is Yang, so are dates. Cucumber is Yin.

81. It may share a kit with a 113-Down : TOM TOM. And 113. Percussion pair : HI-HAT

82. Djokovic rival : NADAL (Rafael). Man, I'm glad we don't need to fill in DJOKOVIC.

86. Cicero's love : AMOR

88. "Gimme a __" : SEC

98. Corduroy feature : PILE

99. Delay cause : SNAG

100. With 116-Across, noted finger-pointer : UNCLE. 116. See 100-Across : SAM. Love this poster Marti created.

101. Sands of Chad : SAHARA

103. Connections : INs

105. Texter's "two cents" lead-in : IMO (In My Opinion)

106. Made haste : HIED

112. So on : WHAT NOT

115. Godzilla creator, in the story : H-BOMB

117. Suffer : AIL

118. Baldwin and Guinness : ALECs

121. Somber genre : NOIR

123. Jewish teacher : RABBI

131. Ruling periods : EMPIRES

133. West of hip-hop : KANYE. Dating Kim K.

134. Payback : REVENGE

135. Butcher's array : FILLETS

136. Amusing zoo creature : OTTER

137. Indulged at Thanksgiving : ATE A TON. I'm good at pigging out on authentic Wonton noodles & Rice noodle rolls, not Thanksgiving food.

138. Skeptic's retort : SAYS WHO

Down:

1. Minor players : COGS

2. Item most frequently heated up for dinner? : OVEN. Our oven is underused. Stove is often enough for me.

3. Intro to physics? : META. Metaphysics.

4. Comparison shopper's data : PRICES

5. Connects with : LINKS TO

6. "Baudolino" author : ECO (Umberto). Has anyone read the book? Irish Miss?

7. Gabrielle's rescuer : XENA

8. Targets : AIMS AT

9. Café pastry : BRIOCHE. Have some!

10. Howard of Hollywood : RON. 35. 10-Down played him : OPIE

11. "So?" : AND

12. Possesses, biblically : HATH. This reminds me of the Mo Tzu we had on Thursday. See, in modern China, we use Pin Yin system, so it's Mo Zi, not Mo Tzu. The other philosopher is Lao Zi, not Lao Tzu. Wade–Giles romanization of Chinese is old & outdated & Cantonese heavy, since Wade lived in south China in the 19th century.

13. Ottoman VIP : AGHA

14. Assembles : MEETS

15. Cast out, as demons : EXORCISE

16. Relay race part : LEG

17. Piece of the pie? : INGREDIENT. Great clue.

18. Sign of a clean apartment? : TO LET. Another great clue.

19. Opposition : ENEMY

25. "It's going to __" : BE OK

28. K-O connection : L M N. Alphabetically.

32. Selling technique : PITCH. Very classy for Rick Porcello to agree to trade his No. 48 to Torii Hunter and donate the money to Hurrican Sandy relief.

34. Do the impossible with cats, proverbially : HERD

37. Restroom door sign : IN USE

38. Capital at 9,350 feet : QUITO. Capital of Ecuador. La Paz even higher.

39. Improbable win : UPSET

40. PayPal currency : E-CASH

41. Wind in a pit : OBOE

42. Andean staple : OCA. Like this. 

43. Hurricane-resistant tree : PALM. Wow, I did not know this. Palms are never uprooted?

48. It takes you up and down but never moves : STAIR. In case you think of elevator.

50. "Look!" : TA DA

51. Besides : ELSE

53. Apple projection : STEM. Real apple!

55. Infant : BABE

56. Big name in paper products : SCOTT. Argyle's real name. Here is young Scott and his dog Rags.

58. Choir selection : HYMN

60. It may be laid or set : TRAP. I find "It may be this or that" type of clue challenging.

61. This, in Seville : ESTO. ESTA too.

66. Unit of resistance : OHM

67. Christian denom. : METH. Steve/Rich  probably does not like the drug reference.

68. Parlor utensil : SCOOP

70. Restricted, with "up" : PENT

73. Exhilarated reaction : RUSH

74. Many pray on them : KNEES. When I was a kid, we had to kneel down to pay respect to old relatives. How things have changed.

75. Potent start? : OMNI. Omnipotent.

76. Bleachers support : RAHS

77. Chinese border river : YALU. Between North Korea and China. Literally "Duck Green". Ya =Duck. Lu = Green.

78. "Sign me up!" : I'M IN

79. Careless? : NONCHALANT. Great clue/Answer.

83. Biker's fabric : DENIM

84. "Battlestar Galactica" commander : ADAMA. No idea.

85. Enter one's credentials : LOG ON

87. Ignited again : RE-LIT

89. Dry and crack : CHAP

91. Actress Lena : OLIN

92. Allows to use temporarily : RENTS

94. "Glee" extra : TEENAGER. The show gives us the beautiful LEA Michele. Ewe can forget the "Grazing area".

95. "Well now!" : OHO

96. Lid hair : LASH. Oh eyelid.

97. Bit : DRIB

102. In a single attempt : AT ONE GO. Can't parse my answer.

104. How the riot act is usually read : SHARPLY

107. 1996 runner-up : DOLE (Bob). "Easy, Boy!"

109. "Nothing on my calendar" : I'M OPEN

110. Asian sash : OBI

111. Weightless correspondence? : EMAILS. Enlighten me, I'm not seeing anything clever here with the ?.

112. Not firing on all cylinders : WACKO

114. Aquarium favorite : TETRA

119. Jazzman Baker : CHET

120. Golfer Ballesteros : SEVE. Excellent short game.

122. Ones on the field who aren't team players? : REFs

124. Coffee or tea : BREW. Tea please!

125. "Little Women" woman : BETH

126. Playground rebuttal : IS SO

128. Science guy Bill : NYE

129. Mauna __ : KEA. Literally "White", so "White mountain". LOA means "Long".

130. Tolkien tree creature : ENT

132. Fla. airport : MIA. Steve lives around this area, I think.

C.C.

Happy Birthday to dear Jimbo! I miss your comments. How's bowling this year?

Left to right, Jimbo's son, Jimbo's granddaugter, his grandson and Jimbo