Monday, February 25, 2013 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: A Trip Down Lover's Lane - Follow the three steps found at the end of the first theme entries and you will arrive at the fourth.

17A. Soft hit that barely makes it over the infield : BLOOP SINGLE

28A. Archaeological age-determination process : CARBON DATING

45A. Completely absorbed : FULLY ENGAGED

59A. Sign in a limo that aptly concludes the sequence formed by the last words of 17-, 28- and 45-Across : JUST MARRIED

Argyle here. Straightforward Monday. A little something for everybody. Easy to find cheater squares. An obscure name or two. A bit of crosswordese. If you can't find a nit, you're not trying but you would be hard-pressed to say you couldn't get it done.

Across:

1. Apt. parts, in ads : BR's. (bedrooms)

4. Talking head : PUNDIT. Originally meant "learned Hindu" before sinking down to a talking head.

10. Big name in ATMs : NCR. (National Cash Register)

13. Charged particles : IONs

15. Black-and-blue mark, e.g. : BRUISE

16. Suffix for pay : OLA. Payola/Graft

19. Cranberry-growing area : BOG

20. Africa's Sierra __ : LEONE. On the west coast. Map.

21. Fed. retirement org. : SSA. (Social Security Administration)

22. "T" on a test, usually : TRUE

23. Like dodos and dinosaurs : EXTINCT. But not 'our' Dodo.

26. Foray : INROAD. (encroachment, raid)

31. Texting units: Abbr. : MSG's. (messages)

34. Rowboat mover : OAR

35. Wish granter : GENIE

36. "How was __ know?" : I TO

37. Abrasions : SCRAPES

40. Sinus doc : ENT. (ear, nose, and throat)

41. Not exactly robust : FRAIL

43. Simpsons neighbor Flanders : NED

44. Makes really angry : IREs

49. Lawyer's customer : CLIENT

50. Accessory often carried with a wallet : KEY CASE. So you won't jangle when you walk.

54. Merle Haggard's "__ From Muskogee" : OKIE

55. N.J. neighbor : DEL.

57. Lightened : EASED

58. Libertarian politician Paul : RON. And small-government proponent. (yesterday)

62. Mystery novelist Grafton : SUE. 'S' is for Sue.

63. Houston team : ASTROS

64. Statistician's input : DATA

65. NHL tiebreakers : OT's

66. Tinkers (with) : MESSES

67. Figs. : NO's. (figures/numbers)

Down:

1. The Good Book : BIBLE

2. Pricey watch with a gold crown logo : ROLEX

3. Nose-in-the-air type : SNOOT

4. "Nova" airer : PBS

5. Ocean State sch. : URI. (University of Rhode Island)

6. Convent dwellers : NUNS

7. Starts to eat with gusto : DIGS IN

8. Manhattan is one : ISLAND. The Manhattan I like.

9. Golf ball's perch : TEE

10. Choice you don't have to think about : NO BRAINER

11. Metaphorical state of elation : CLOUD NINE. This site explains (sort of) where the term comes from.

12. Violent anger : RAGE

14. Former (and likely future) Seattle NBA team : SONICS

18. '90s Cabinet member Federico : PENA

22. Lug : TOTE

24. Gator's kin : CROC

25. Skier's way up : T-BAR. Back to our usual.

27. Glad __: party clothes : RAGS

29. Long-armed primate : ORANG. Informally; an orangutan.

30. Comprehends : GETS

31. Tick off : MIFF

32. Went down swinging : STRUCK OUT

33. Touchdowns require crossing them : GOAL LINES

37. Leonard __: Roy Rogers's birth name : SLYE. Trivia.

38. Mountain top : PEAK

39. Advantage : EDGE

42. Nastase of tennis : ILIE

44. Security checkpoint request : ID CARD

46. Ultimate application : END USE

47. Big bomb trials : N-TESTS

48. Binoculars user : EYER

51. Made in China, say : ASIAN

52. Look after : SEE TO

53. Icelandic sagas : EDDAs

54. Estimator's words : OR SO

56. P.O. box inserts : LTR's. (letters)

59. Printer problem : JAM

60. Stooge with bangs : MOE

61. Pack animal : ASS

Argyle

Sunday Feb 24, 2013 Melanie Miller

Theme: "Excess Baggage" - BAG is added to each theme entry.

23A. Self-defense overkill? : HANDBAG GRENADE. Hand grenade. Hottest handbag at the moment.

33A. Red wines aged in autos? : AIRBAG PORTS. Airports.

50A. KEGO on your radio dial? : GASBAG STATION. Gas station. What is KEGO?

70A. Direct route to Loserville? : DIRTBAG ROAD. Dirt road.

90A. Entertaining show in a run-down hotel? : FLEABAG CIRCUS. Flea circus.

104A. Consumer Reports first aid recommendations? : ICE BAG PICKS. Ice picks.

121A. Activist grocery clerk? : PAPER BAG PUSHER. Paper pusher.

Normally puzzle titles do not repeat the key words of the themes. But "Excess Baggage" captures the gimmick so well.

Easier than our normal Sunday, probably because the theme came to me early on.

  

Across:

1. Corn at a picnic : EARS
 

5. Proofer's mark : STET
 

9. Wind surge : GUST
 

13. Protozoa genus : AMOEBA. The spelling Barry G prefers.

19. First Nations tribe : CREE

20. Kitchen aid : CAN OPENER

22. Elephant in the Jungle of Nool : HORTON. Dr. Seuss's "Horton Hears a Who"

25. Because : IN THAT
 

26. Secure : OBTAIN
 

27. Orbital extremes : APOGEES
 

29. The ones right here : THESE
 

30. Shocked, in a way : TASED

35. Water carriers : PIPES

38. Garbage collectors : BINS

41. Rose to great heights : SOARED

42. Dashboard Confessional music genre : EMO. Guessed.

43. Expanding concern? : OBESITY. And 32D. Plan to take off : DIET. Both fun clues.

46. Edible mollusks : ABALONES. I lived in a small city near Tsingtao for half a year. Amazing seafood/beer/government corruption there.
 

54. Get stuck (on), mentally : FIXATE

55. Ocean gathering : SCHOOL
 

56. Thread holder : ETUI
 

57. Series of turns, usually: Abbr. : RTE
 

58. Secret alternative : BAN
 

59. Solar __ : PLEXUS. OK, it's located in your stomach area.

 

63. Foreword, briefly : INTRO
 

65. Takes to the streets : RIOTS
 

67. Part of the Constitution that describes Cong. powers : ARTI. Short for article?

 

73. Stockings : HOSE
 

74. They may have spurs : BOOTS
 

76. Unfamiliar : ALIEN
 

77. How chicken may be served : ON RICE. I'd like some  UNAGI (10D. Eel, at sushi bars)  on my rice.

79. Bugler with horns : ELK
 

80. Chicago-based superstation : WGN. I wonder why Chicago is always so corrupt, TTP/Abejo?
 

82. Growing business : FARM

84. California peak rumored to hide advanced beings called Lemurians : SHASTA. Melissa knows this.
 

88. Giggle : TEE HEE
 

94. Vending machine options : SODA POPS
 

97. After Effects and Final Cut Pro : EDITORS. Both video editors. I googled.
 

98. Mount Rushmore prez : ABE. Did you know he's the most written person after Jesus and Shakespeare?
 

99. Pabst brand : STROHS. Windhover/Abejo is our authority on beers.
 

101. Large green moth : LUNA
 

102. Mythical enchantress : MEDEA. Lemonade's wife, in myth.
 

109. Rear-__ : ENDER

111. Retail benchmark : SALES

112. Close enough : IN RANGE. Made me think of Chris Kyle. Bradley Cooper is going to play him in the movie "American Sniper".

115. "Shortly" : IN A SEC

119. Like some domestic help : LIVE IN

124. "The Human Condition" writer Hannah : ARENDT. Haltoola might know her. Not me.

125. Contraption : APPARATUS
 

126. Italian capital : EURO. Money. Not ROME/ROMA.

127. They're popular in Japanese gardening : MOSSES

 

128. Unusable, as a cellphone : DEAD
 

129. It may be used to walk the dog : YO YO
 

130. Obey a red light : STOP
 

Down:

1. Chamber bouncer : ECHO

2. Many a Yemeni : ARAB

3. Borrow for a price : RENT

4. Unflappable : SEDATE

5. Checks out, as groceries : SCANS

6. Hash attachment : TAG
 

7. H.S. course : ENG

8. __ Bora: Afghan region : TORA
 

9. Italy's largest seaport : GENOA
 

11. Ritual meals : SEDERS
 

12. South American arboreal snake : TREE BOA. So they live in trees?
 

13. Hawaiian tuna : AHI
 

14. Least populous state capital : MONTPELIER. Wiki said "The population was 7,855 at the 2010 census".

15. Traditional : ORTHODOX
 

16. Wild blue yonder : ETHER. I don't understand this clue. Why "Wild"?
 

17. Sing one's own praises : BOAST. So Boomer now has 14 perfect games. Lumpy, one of his friends, has 75. Can you believe it? Lumpy is not tall, nor does he look muscly. He does manage a bowling center.
 

18. Kitty starters : ANTES
 

21. Verve : PEP
 

24. Leaning : BIAS
 

28. Swedish import : SAAB
 

31. Dies down : EBBS
 

34. Payola, e.g. : GRAFT
 

35. Correctly assesses : PEGS
 

36. Apple variety : iMAC
 

37. Elegant : POSH
 

39. Cryptologic govt. org. : NSA
 

40. Something to build on : SITE
 

43. Checked out : OGLED. For our leg-loving Splynter.

44. Hair color immortalized by a Renaissance painter : TITIAN RED. Did you all get this easily?
 

45. In its early stages : YOUNG
 

 47. Jar Jar Binks's home planet : NABOO. Strange land to me.

48. Virginie et Floride : ETATS. States, in French.
 

49. Horse __ : SENSE
 

51. Hasbro reaction game : BOP IT. New to me. Is it played alone?

52. Email letters : AOL
 

53. Short blaster? : NITRO. The N in  TNT.
 

57. Revved engine sound : ROAR
 

60. Capital of Shaanxi province : XI'AN. Yeah, my hometown. Capital of Zhou & Qin Dynasties, hence my Mandarin name Zhouqin. So, when you Google "Xi'An Zhouqin", what's the first image you see?

61. Modern search result : URL
 

62. Strong, drinkwise : STIFF
 

64. Small-government proponent Paul : RON
 

66. "__ the train a-comin'": Johnny Cash lyric : I HEAR.
 

67. Covers for a crook, say : ABETS
 

68. Battle on a log : ROLEO. Learned from doing Xwords.
 

69. Tipped, as a dealer : TOKED
 

71. Bluesy Memphis street : BEALE
 

72. Some are compact : DISCS
 

75. Brushed off : SWEPT ASIDE. Nice answer.
 

78. Vital life force, to acupuncturists : CHI. Literally "breath"/"air". It's different from the Chi in Tai Chi, which means "Grand".

 

81. Storied officer __ Ludwig von Trapp : GEORG. "The Sound of Music".
 

83. Junk __ : MAIL
 

85. Gob : SCAD. Often in plural.
 

86. Den focus, familiarly : TUBE. Not the "Scout den".
 

87. Sailing : ASEA
 

89. Stars no longer shining : HAS-BEENS
 

91. A/C measure : BTU
 

92. Unrivaled : A-ONE
 

93. Nana : GRAN

95. 1969 Arkin/Moreno comedy : POPI. Never heard of it. Alan Arkin/Rita Moreno.
 

 

96. Soccer protection : SHIN PAD
 

100. Minor injury : SCRAPE. I'm amazed by how stubborn my hamstring injury is. Still a  dull pain when I do some leg stretch.
 

102. Options list : MENU. Options is under Tools in my Firefox browser.

 

103. Takes out mistakes : ERASES
 

104. Faith of nearly a quarter of Earth's population : ISLAM
 

105. Where "Aida" premiered : CAIRO
 

106. Rivendell inhabitants : ELVES. Gimme for Marti/Jazzbumpa. Both avid fans of "The Lord of Rings".

 

107. Key letter : KAPPA. This Greek "Key" clue often stumps me.
 

108. "Golf Begins at Forty" author : SNEAD (Sam). Could be HOGAN, judging by the title.
 

110. Souse : DIPSO
 

113. Lab warning : GRR. Dog!
 

114. Cybermarket since 1995 : eBAY
 

116. Latched, say : SHUT
 

117. Designer Saarinen : EERO
 

118. Prune : CROP. Trim.
 

120. Some Windows systems : NTS
 

122. From __ Z : A TO
 

123. Chap : GUY

C.C.