Monday, April 1, 2013 Patti Varol

Theme: Themeless - April Fool! Four synonyms for fool.

16A. *Evangelist honored with a basilica in Venice : SAINT MARK

10D. *Trapshooter's target : CLAY PIGEON

24D. *Tapped maple fluid : TREE SAP

29D. *Lightweight, crinkled material used for suits : SEERSUCKER

60A. Cry heard today, and a hint to the ends of the answers to the starred clues : APRIL FOOL

Argyle here. No kidding. The large white area in the middle is a bit unusual. Nice eclectic fill but already an 'a'-word. It is in common use though.

Rabbit, rabbit.

Across:

1. Bouncing toy : BALL. Rubber Ball(2:19)

5. What waiters wait for : TIPS

9. Finishes making, as a black-and-white cookie : ICES. Black-and-white cookie : OREO. wait, not so fast.

13. ___ vera lotion : ALOE

14. Length times width : AREA

15. Arm of a sea : INLET

18. Resell at a big profit : SCALP. Thin line between legal and illegal.

19. Flatter the boss for personal gain : KISS UP

20. English class assignment : ESSAY

22. Huck Finn's ride : RAFT

25. Astrological edges : CUSPS

27. Pyromaniac's crime : ARSON

31. Lock horns (with) : ARGUE. The Lockhorns.

33. Figs. well above 100 in Mensa : IQ's

35. Marsh grasses : REEDS

36. BBC nickname, with "the" : BEEB. (British Broadcasting Corporation)

37. Juan's water : AGUA

38. Spawned : BRED

39. Ice show site : ARENA

40. "Hud" Best Actress Patricia : NEAL. "Hud" was a 1963 film starring Paul Newman.

41. Yours and mine : OURS

42. Dean's ___ : LIST

43. Inelegant laugh : SNORT

44. ICU personnel : RN's

45. Campaign sticker, e.g. : DECAL. Not very collectible once they're on the bumper.

46. Cold hard cash : MONEY

47. Cubes in a bowl : SUGAR

49. Folk icon Seeger : PETE

51. Spiteful, as gossip : CATTY

53. Antitheft noisemakers : ALARMS

58. Bracelet site : ANKLE. It use to be a fashion statement but now....

63. Deep trepidation : DREAD

64. Not hypothetical : REAL

65. "Not only that..." : "ALSO..."

66. Mayo holders : JARS

67. Beaver-built barriers : DAMS. Excellent alliteration.

68. Conserve energy : REST. Ok, a little nap before I continue.

Down:

1. Soak up the sun : BASK. But don't forget the SPF.

2. Jai ___ : ALAI

3. Superman's Lane : LOIS. Santa has his own Lois.

4. Binoculars part : LENS

5. ___ Bay Rays : TAMPA

6. Composer Gershwin : IRA. His younger brother is George.

7. Pay-___-view : PER

8. Sushi bar cupful : SAKE

9. Machu Picchu builders : INCAs

11. Snakelike swimmer : EEL

12. Longtime auto racing sponsor : STP. Often with an Unser driving.

15. Newsletter edition : ISSUE

17. Spins in board games, say : TURNS

21. Reef explorer's gear : SCUBA

23. Seamstress's purchase : FABRIC

26. Unhip type : SQUARE. Huey Lewis disagrees.

27. Ann ___, Michigan : ARBOR

28. "Seinfeld" episodes, now : RERUNS. And YouTube clips.

30. Betting info : ODDS. How are your brackets doing?

32. Soft-hearted : GENTLE

34. Thirst-inducing, like potato chips : SALTY

37. Year, on monuments : ANNO

39. Vigilant : ALERT

43. Aroma : SMELL

45. Passé : DATED

48. Grand parties : GALAs

50. Coin toss choice : TAILS

52. Scotland ___ : YARD

54. Quite a distance : AFAR. Legitimate 'a' word?

55. Actor's cameo, e.g. : ROLE

56. Forest-floor plant : MOSS

57. One-armed bandit : SLOT

58. Descriptive wd. : ADJ. (adjective)

59. Org. that created American Hunter magazine : NRA. (National Rifle Association)

61. Potpie veggie : PEA

62. Chrysler truck that sounds hard-hitting : RAM. The real deal.

Argyle

Sunday March 31, 2013 Andrew J. Ries

Theme: "Support Group" -  12 AA meets in the middle of each theme entry.

23A. Tibetan breed : LHASA APSO. In Tibetan, Apso means "bearded".

24A. Cinematographer's concern : CAMERA ANGLE

30A. First Bond girl : URSULA ANDRESS. Looking for shells?

45A. Orange County seat : SANTA ANA

47A. Max Ernst, for one : DADA ARTIST

55A. Crimson Tide's home : TUSCALOOSA ALABAMA. Marti's husband's alma mater.

 

80A. "The Voice" coach : CHRISTINA AGUILERA. She is taking a break now. Shakira is in.

 

87A. Interactive website plug-in : JAVA APPLET

91A. Unusual thing : RARA AVIS

106A. Its largest hub is in Atlanta : DELTA AIRLINES

113A. First Japanese car to be produced in the U.S. : HONDA ACCORD

116A. Mozart highlight : OPERA ARIA. Is there any non-opera ARIA?

Reveal entry:

69A. Event where the number 12 is important, and a feature of 12 two-word answers in this puzzle : AA MEETING. Their 12-step progress.

I counted 145 theme squares. This is crazily brilliant. Normally we have around 100. Unlike the scrabbly KK's, AA's are easier to deal with, but it takes skill to make the grid so smooth.

Today's constructor Andrew Ries is from Minnesota. I glanced at his website before but never went to "About me". After looking at his picture this morning, I realized he's the host of the Minnesota Crossword Tournament. So I met you, Andrew!

Across:

1. Festive occasion : GALA

5. Stinging remark : BARB

9. Italian for "small rolls" : PANINI. I had an eggplant panini once. Pretty good. Hard to make eggplant tasty.

15. Epps of "House" : OMAR

19. One working on figures? : ICE SKATER. Not Weight watchers.

21. Knocked the socks off : AMAZED

22. Goody-goody's "headwear" : HALO

26. Patriotic org. : DAR. Daughters of the American Revolution.

27. Starts the haggling at : ASKS. Is the "at" needed in the end?

29. Powerful perch : THRONE

36. Let the tears go : SOB. Sad. "Nothing Compares 2 U"!

37. In the past : AGO

39. Rocker Young : NEIL

40. Real estate listing abbr. : RMs

41. Palm tree nut : ARECA. Did you want BETEL as well?

43. Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks, e.g. : OWNER. Mark Cuban.

50. Bases-loaded walk stat : RBI

51. Well-stated : APT

54. Literally, "the tar" : LA BREA

61. Mao's successor : HUA. Gimme! Hua Guofeng. He ended Cultural Revolution in 1976. But ousted by Deng Xiaoping in 1978. I remember this poster vividly. The guy in the middle is Hua. Extremely loyal to Mao.

64. Jobs offering of 2007 : iPHONE

65. Former Bears coach : DITKA (Mike)

66. Full or half holds : NELSONs

68. Train-stopping spots: Abbr. : STAs

72. Once, archaically : ERST

73. Texas Hold 'em variety : NO LIMIT

76. Believing in the green-cheese moon, say : NAIVE

77. Smoothing tool : PLANER. Splynter probably uses it everyday.

79. Leveling initials : TNT

84. Rub with oil : ANOINT
 

85. Evelyn Waugh, but not George Eliot : MAN. George Eliot's real name is Mary Anne Evans.

86. Pujols blasts: Abbr. : HRS. Pujols is Boomer's favorite player.

96. Scare : ALARM

97. Reacted to a massage : AAHED

100. __-de-France : ILE

101. Wolfe who tracks crooks : NERO

102. "Licensed to __": Beastie Boys album : ILL. Doesn't make sense grammatically.

103. Sea-Tac posting : ARR

109. Turtledove : DEARIE

111. Hair disheveler : GUST. Oh, you need So Sexy serum. It smells amazing. 

112. Ambulance VIP : EMT

122. Ancient Andean : INCA

123. Just as prescribed : TO A TEE. We often see TO A T.

124. Save a date, say : MAKE PLANS

125. Consider : DEEM

126. Bugs : ANNOYS

127. Flower stalk : STEM

128. Wrist-directed reprimand : SLAP

Down:

1. "The Simpsons" real estate agent Gunderson : GIL. No idea. The only Gunderson I know is Jerome.

2. Hamburger beef? : ACH. Ha ha. Ham & pineapple for us today.

3. Shows the way (to) : LEADS IN. Is "to" necessary here?

4. Military attack : ASSAULT

5. Ovine bleat : BAA. MAA too.

6. Men's tennis org. : ATP. Association of Tennis Professionals. And 44D. 6-Down counterpart founded by Billie Jean King : WTA. Women's Tennis Association.

7. Thing in court : RES

8. Like some shoulders : BROAD

9. Lambeau Field pro : PACKER. Quite a few Packers' flags/signs in our neighborhood.

10. Saved up : AMASSED

11. Site of '60s action : NAM

12. Modern ending? : IZE. Modernize.  

13. "Darn it!" : NERTS.  In Chinese, it's "Ta Ma De", pronounced just like it's written. Urban dictionary has it wrong. It's not the F word. Just "Dammit!"

14. State with a panhandle : IDAHO. Which state do you think is the most popular in Xword?

15. [Gasp!] : OH NO

16. Oscar winner Anna : MAGNANI. Alien to me. Wiki says she won Oscar for "her portrayal of a Sicilian widow in The Rose Tattoo".

17. Asserts sans proof : ALLEGES

18. Fish eggs : ROE

20. Bush advisor Rove : KARL. Big fund raiser.

25. Like koalas : ARBOREAL

28. Mexican Mrs. : SRA

30. Young __ : UNS

31. "Bloom" star Stephen : REA. I've only seen his "The Crying Game" & "Michael Collin" & "Prêt-à-Porter".

32. Ideal for growing : ARABLE

33. OB/GYN test : AMNIO

34. Org. in the film "Sneakers" : NSA

35. Italy's La __ : SCALA

38. Morsel : ORT

42. Very little : A DAB

46. Ireland's __ Islands : ARAN. Stumped me last time.

48. Go out with __ : A BANG

49. Soldat's weapon : ARME. Soldat = Solider. French.

51. "__ sure you're aware …" : AS I'M

52. One of Edison's 1,000-plus : PATENT

53. Put in the crosshairs : TAKE AIM
 

55. Quaint "Not so" : 'TISN'T

56. B.J. or Justin of baseball : UPTON. They're brothers.

57. Commandment verb : SHALT

58. Mozart's "__ fan tutte" : COSI

59. Seraglio room : ODA

60. J.Lo, for one : LATINA

61. Mezzo Marilyn : HORNE

62. Racing great Bobby : UNSER. Brother of Al.

63. Stars at the Forum? : ASTRA. Latin.

67. Official emblem : SEAL

69. Aweigh : ATRIP. And APEAK. Real words in Spitzboov's world. Let's see if we can have a week sans A* words next week.

70. US Open champ between John and Mats : IVAN (Lendl). OK, John McEnroe. Mats Wilander is a stranger to me.

71. Grant-providing gp. : NEA

74. '60s defense secretary : McNAMARA (Robert). No escape from Vietnam.

75. Chain with stacks : IHOP. What's your favorite food at IHOP?

77. Coddled kitty, e.g. : PURRER

78. Crossword-solving Simpson : LISA. This is the episode with Merl Reagle & Will Shortz. Maybe someone can dig out the YouTube clip.

81. At a Lakers home game, e.g. : IN LA. Hi there, Bill, have you ever been to a Lakers' game?

82. Place : STEAD

83. '90s U.N. secretary-general Boutros-__ : GHALI. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. I just found out that Boutros is Arabic for "Peter". 

84. River past Berne : AAR
 

87. Start of a rhyming Basque game : JAI. Jai alai.

88. Finished : ALL DONE!

89. Element's combining power : VALENCE

90. 2011 Liam Neeson film involving a wolf pack : THE GREY. Never saw the movie. Gray wolves.

91. Fjord-like inlet : RIA

92. Pink Floyd album including "Dogs" and "Sheep" : ANIMALS. Very helpful clue.

93. Abdominal : VENTRAL. Also a new word to me.

94. Mad-as-all-get-out state : IRE

95. Tapped-out letters : SOS. D'oh!

98. Gets away from : ELUDES

99. Boozer's affliction : DTS. Delirium tremens. The shakes.

104. Stampede rope : RIATA

105. Casing outing, briefly : RECON. Reconnaissance.

107. Physics bits : ATOMS

108. Spring : LEAP

110. Pop singer Lambert : ADAM. Runner-up of "American Idol" 8th season. Noted for his use of eyeliner.

 

113. Kept under wraps : HID

114. Crushable container : CAN

115. Native Nebraskan : OTO

117. Search, with "down" : PAT

118. Scratch (out) : EKE

119. Sleep lab acronym : REM. Rapid Eye Movement.

120. TV chef Garten : INA. Love her "Barefoot Contessa".

Guess who this lady is? Don't raise your hand, D-Otto!
 

121. Cause of Cleo's demise : ASP

C.C.