Friday Jan 4, 2013 Gareth Bain

Theme: GAIN WEIGHT (56A. What 18-, 23-, 37- and 46-Across do to become puns?) - TON is added to the last word of each common phrase.

  

18A. Center of Swiss Oktoberfest celebrations? : BEER CANTON. Beer can.

 23A. Tiny sea thugs? : GANG PLANKTON. Gangplank. One word.

 37. More equitable church official? : THE FAIRER SEXTON. The fairer sex.

 46A. Cigarette buyer's bonus? : BUMPER CARTON. Bumper car.

C.C. here, giving the hard-working Lemonade a break. Blogging once is fun. But blogging every week under time pressure is certainly not an easy job. Somehow Lemonade always achieves a nice balance of seriousness in his theme/entry explanations & whimsy humor in his links and passing remarks.

So, it's Friday, the theme is, more often than not, letter(s) addition/deletion/replacement, mostly "addition", since they produce more colorful and fun phrases (while deletion tends to offer dry and boring phrases). Marti is our expert in this theme type.

Today's reveal, GAIN WEIGHT, elevates the normal Friday for me. It gives a rationale why TON is added. Five theme entries with 59 squares is a lot, but Gareth delivered. He always does. You don't see light theme in his grids. Always meaty.

 Across:

1. RR sched. listings : STAs

5. Hollow stone : GEODE

10. Some Siamese : CATS. Then we also have 54. King Mongkut's domain : SIAM. Slight dupe.

14. Flamingo hue : PINK.  "Gentlemen Prefer Pink"!

15. Memorable number : OLDIE

16. Vibes : AURA

17. Queen, in some Indo-Aryan languages : RANI

20. Like the Baha'i faith, by origin : IRANIAN. Hey, no IRANI today.


22. Kicks out : BOOTS

27. "Phat!" relative : RAD

28. Friend abroad : AMI

29. Punching tool : AWL

32. Filmmaker Coen : ETHAN. Born and raised here in MN.


35. Fed. agent : G-MAN

36. Pre-coll. catchall : EL-HI. It just won't go away.


40. Cover, as with paint : COAT

41. Rail family bird : COOT

42. Ecological community : BIOME

43. Drillmaster's syllable : HUP

44. Tight do : BUN. I like loose buns. This is flawless.

45. Boozer : SOT

52. Totally flummoxed : AT SEA. Does today feel like Friday, Argyle?


55. Erode : EAT AWAY

60. Mange cause : MITE

61. Computer science pioneer Turing : ALAN

62. '90s FBI chief : FREEH (Louis). From September 1993 to June 2001. I have no memory of him. I came to the US in May 2001. Never paid attention to politics or news until Sept 11th.

63. __-à-porter: ready-to-wear : PRET. Also a star-studded fashion movie. Our Xword staple Stephen REA is in it too.

64. 18th-century French winemaker Martin : REMY

65. "La __ Nikita": 1997-2001 TV drama : FEMME. Oh, I loved it. I watched the Cantonese version.

66. Some 35mm cameras : SLRs
        
Down:

1. Hint of mint : SPRIG. A sprig is more than a hint to me.

2. Part of a princess costume : TIARA

3. 2001 Nobel Peace Prize recipient : ANNAN (Kofi). He studied here in MN too. Nice! Minnesota Nice!

4. Plastic surgeon's procedure : SKIN GRAFT. Sounds painful.

5. Become unlocked? : GO BALD. Fun clue. Why do men go bald? We don't.

6. John Paul's Supreme Court successor : ELENA (Kagan)

7. Shelley work : ODE

8. Hollywood VIP : DIR (Director)

9. Continental trade org. : EEC

10. Lexmark rival : CANON. Printer.


11. Prefix with pilot : AUTO

12. Bouncy gait : TROT

13. __ serif : SANS

19. Blood typing system : ABO

21. Hygiene product with a Disney-created mascot : IPANA. Bucky Beaver.

24. "Give me an example!" : NAME ONE. Excellent entry.

25. Craftsman tools seller : KMART

26. Pantry array : TINS

29. __ sax : ALTO

30. It's "no longer current in natural colloquial speech," per the OED : WHOM. Hard clue.

31. Place to wait : LINE

32. Write permanently : ETCH

33. Commandment word : THOU. Thou shalt not steal others' identity on this blog.

34. Car that's seen better days : HEAP

35. Put together : GROUP

36. Cloverleaf components : EXIT RAMPS. Great answer as well.

38. SDI defense target : ICBM

39. WWII torpedo craft : E-BOAT. Or U-BOAT. I don't really know the differences, Spitzboov!

45. Verbally attack : SCATHE

46. Hope contemporary : BENNY (Jack). Bob Hope.

47. Motor City org. : UAW

48. Turn into a mini, as a midi : RE-HEM

49. Spin : TWIRL

50. Wayne feature : OATER. Never liked John Wayne.

51. Politburo objections : NYETs. "No" in Russian.

52. Petri dish gel : AGAR

53. Chaucer chapter : TALE

57. Gee preceder : EFF. Alphabet.


58. Fury : IRE

59. Bit of treasure : GEM

Here is an adorable picture of the cute Charlotte, Lemonade's granddaughter.

Two month ago, she was only a tiny baby:

Click here for more Charlotte pictures.

Thursday, January 3, 2013 Donna S. Levin

Theme: "Critical Reviews"

20. Critic's complaint about the new restaurant "Godot"? : ENDLESS WAITS. Refers to the book titled "Waiting for Godot." No one likes to wait for service.

28. Critic's complaint about the new restaurant "Charley Horse"? : CRAMPED SPACE. Leg cramps are a common football injury. Is the etymology the same as for confined spaces?

43. Critic's complaint about the new restaurant "Moon"? : NO ATMOSPHERE. Well, I guess the restaurant would have to have air, otherwise the soufflé wouldn't puff up! But the atmosphere in a restaurant is the ambiance.

52. Critic's complaint about the new restaurant "Double Fault"? : INEPT SERVICE. I just had a mental picture of a waiter flinging the food orders to the tables using a tennis racket! That would really be inept!

Marti here to clear up, or in some cases - obfuscate - otherwise perfectly reasonable clues and answers!

Across:

1. Old Italian capital : LIRA.

5. "See ya!" : CIAO.

9. Head lights : HALOS. Were you fooled by this clue?

14. Land with a red, white and green flag : IRAN. And a clecho with 16-Across. One whose land has a red, white and green flag : OMANI.

15. Monroe of the NBA : EARL. National Basketball Association's Vernon EARL Monroe, known for his flamboyant dribbling. He scored over 1,000 points in nine of his thirteen professional seasons!

17. King whose true height is the subject of much discussion : KONG. It ranges from 18 to 60 feet, depending on the setting.

18. Urban hazard : SMOG.

19. Watch from hiding : SPY ON.

23. Clooney/Damon film about the oil industry : SYRIANA. No idea. Generally positive reviews, though.

24. Like some German nouns : NEUTER.  Interesting GIF showing the differences among language groups. But, take it with a grain of salt as there seems to be some dispute about its accuracy.

31. Druid or Wiccan : PAGAN.

34. Baseball stats : RBIS. Run Batted In(s).

35. Ad trailer? : HOC. Not a commercial teaser, but a word that comes after ("trails") the word "ad." Ad hoc committees are typically designated for one purpose only. Latin for "to this" (purpose.)  All clear now? Or just obfuscated?

36. Like two, say : EVEN.

37. Biblical queendom : SHEBA.

39. Cuba libre ingredient : COLA. I think the "l" in "libre" should be capitalized in the name of the drink.  But maybe that's just a...

40. Tiny gripe : NIT.

41. Seaman's saint : ELMO. AKA "Saint Erasmus."

42. Censor : BLEEP. I hope C.C. doesn't have to BLEEP anything I have written here!

47. Snare : ENTRAP.

48. The Beatles' Rigby : ELEANOR. Now for a musical interlude. 2:07

55. Buccaneers' home : TAMPA. Josh Freeman is their first 4,000 yard passer, but he is still questionable as next year's QB because of his erratic performance.

58. Univ. drilling gp. : ROTC. Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

59. Pre-deal request : ANTE.

60. Glorify : EXALT.

61. "___ Plenty o' Nuttin": Gershwin song : I GOT. From the American opera "Porgy and Bess." 2:40

62. Nerd : GEEK.

63. Conical abode : TEPEE.

64. Ages : EONS.

65. They aren't exact: Abbr. : ESTS. Estimates.

Down:

1. Approves, on Facebook : LIKES.

2. Swift strength : IRONY. Jonathan Swift's best-known work, "Gulliver's Travels," is more satirical than ironic, IMHO.

3. Time off, briefly : R AND R. Rest and Recreation.

4. The Archbishop of Canterbury, e.g. : ANGLICAN.

5. Big name in small planes : CESSNA. I learned the other day that they are also a big name in jets...

6. First line of a Seuss classic : I AM SAM.

7. "... maids all in ___" : A ROW.

8. Contemporary of Nadia : OLGA. Nadia Comaneci and OLGA Korbut, who won hearts in the '70s with their sparkling gymnastics routines during the summer olympics.

9. Bankrupt baker : HOSTESS. Don't worry, any remaining Twinkies on store shelves will still be good into the next century.

10. Increases a few notches : AMPS UP.

11. Nonexpert : LAY. Not only a religious connotation.  It also refers to anyone who is not schooled in the technicalities of a specific field.

12. 2011 Hiroshima Art Prize winner : ONO. A Thursday-level clue for a Monday-level entry.

13. Go astray : SIN.

21. Work for : EARN.

22. Taj Mahal locale : INDIA. More specifically, Agra.

25. Chevy SUV : TAHOE.

26. Place to learn in Lyons : ECOLE. French for "school."

27. Postgame staple : RECAP. Like putting their kneecaps back on after a rough football game?

29. Prepping place : PRE-OP. For re-capping knees?

30. Wane : EBB.

31. Pasta often served alla vodka : PENNE. Yummm. I could eat pasta every night of the week!

32. Air France fleet member : AVION. French for "aircraft."

33. Imply : GET AT.

37. Incline : SLOPE. I'll be hitting the slopes this weekend!

38. Pinafore opening : HMS. Cute clue for the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta.

39. Décolletage revelation : CLEAVAGE. Ugly dress. Does the cleavage make up for it, guys?

41. Spring (from) : EMANATE.

42. Uncle Remus title : BR'ER. Short for "brother."

44. Rare hit for most catchers : TRIPLE.

45. "Ben-Hur" Oscar winner : HESTON. Charlton. More décolletage, but this time for the ladies.

46. Votes in : ELECTS.

49. Dressing extreme? : NINES. Did everyone dress to the nines for New Year's Eve?

50. Two trios and a duo : OCTET.

51. Stinks : REEKS.

53. ___-dieu : PRIE. French for "Pray [to] God."

54. Ghana's neighbor to the east : TOGO. They have great take-out, I understand...

55. Vietnamese celebration : TET.

56. Tool that's swung : AXE.

57. Navigator's guide : MAP. I rely on Siri to guide me.

See you all next week!

Marti