Monday, April 15, 2013 Patti Varol

Theme: No Kidding - Four leaders you should follow or else.

16A. *Comforter-and-sheets set for a large mattress, say : KING-SIZE BEDDING

22A. *Gaga way to be in love : HEAD OVER HEELS

36A. *Big tourist draw : MAJOR ATTRACTION

50A. *Industry-spanning work stoppage : GENERAL STRIKE

59A. Simon Says relative, and a hint to what happens after the starts of 16-, 22-, 36- and 50-Across : FOLLOW THE LEADER. "Mother, May I?" is in the same family.

Argyle here. While the theme doesn't do much for me, the three grid spanners on a Monday is impressive. The fill is consistent, user-friendly. All and all, a pleasant start to, for some, an unpleasant day.

Across:

1. Wynonna or Naomi of country music : JUDD. Country music's mother and daughter duo. Mama He's Crazy(3:08)

5. "Doctor Zhivago" heroine : LARA. Many versions! This is an instrumental. Lara's Theme(3:32)

9. Files opened with Adobe, for short : PDFS. (Portable Document Format)

13. Licked cookie : OREO. Ho! Ho! Ho!

14. Underage person : MINOR

15. La Scala showstopper : ARIA

19. Enter gingerly : EASE IN

20. Bigfoot cousin : YETI

21. "__ Misérables" : LES

25. Follow one's new job, in Realtorese : RELO. Realtorese? Really?

26. "Cheerio!" : "TA TA!"

27. Sci-fi vehicle: Abbr. : UFO

30. Attention from Dr. Mom : TLC

32. Answers an invite, for short : RSVP's. You notice; three ways to clue an abbreviation.

41. Movie trailer, e.g. : PROMO. Not an abbr. so much as a shortened word.

42. Sun, in Spain : SOL

43. Sea shocker : EEL

44. Hieroglyphic snakes : ASPS

47. Lovers' spat, say : TIFF

55. Right-angle piece : ELL

56. Pamplona runner : TORO. Have you seen the ad where the hook is "Now the bulls run from US!"

57. Professor's security : TENURE

62. Shade provider : TREE. In another month, maybe.

63. In __: mad : A RAGE

64. Not right in the head : LOCO

65. "Auld Lang __" : SYNE

66. Nevada gambling city : RENO

67. Auto repair figs. : ESTS. (estimates)

Down:

1. Comic's delivery : JOKE

2. Dickens villain Heep : URIAH

3. Like a thicket : DENSE

4. Folded corner : DOG-EAR. A way to mark your page and a bane to librarians everywhere.

5. Tina's "30 Rock" role : LIZ

6. "... for __, a tooth ..." : AN EYE. Old school, Old Testament.

7. Poet Frost : ROBERT. My kind of poet.

8. Franklin of soul : ARETHA. My kind of soul singer.

9. Hippie's digs : PAD. My kind of living quarters.

10. Dentist's tool : DRILL. Not kind.

11. Traffic violation consequences : FINES. Not kind, either.

12. Slumps : SAGS. See 5_Down.

14. Camera maker that merged with Konica : MINOLTA

17. Fries, for one : SIDE

18. Coke Zero competitor : DIET RC

23. Battery unit : VOLT. Standard automotive battery is 12 volts.

24. Sunup point : EAST

27. Baseball official : UMP

28. Gary Larson's "The __ Side" : FAR. Oh, how I miss it.

29. Pedro's peeper : OJO. I knew better but stuck in ORB anyway. D'oh!

31. Dol. parts : CT's. $ and ¢

33. Compete : VIE

34. "The Raven" poet : POE

35. NBC sketch show : SNL

37. Yemen neighbor : OMAN

38. Met, as a difficult challenge : ROSE TO

39. Decays : ROTS

40. Somewhat : A LITTLE

45. Like political hawks : PRO-WAR

46. "Hell is other people" French dramatist : SARTRE. (two R's, two R's)

48. At no charge : FREE

49. Big operatic ending : FINALE

50. Morning __: flower : GLORY

51. DeGeneres's sitcom : ELLEN. Only her talk show now, right?

52. Actress Lindsay : LOHAN

53. Praise : KUDOS

54. Straight up : ERECT

55. Young newts : EFTS

58. Greek Cupid : EROS

60. Golfer Trevino : LEE. I get a kick out of this ad.

61. Self-importance : EGO

Argyle

Sunday April 14, 2013 Amy Johnson

Theme: "Subway Series" - ELS is added to each theme entry.

23A. "I say! Lovely places to worship!"? : JOLLY GOOD CHAPELS. Jolly good chap.

36A. Teflon advisory groups? : NON-STICK PANELS. Non-stick pans.

 

57A. IOU? : VOWELS OF POVERTY. Vow of poverty. Great clue!

81A. Really bad nursery color schemes? : CRIMINAL PASTELS. Criminal past.

99A. Ones who control the markets? : GROCERY CARTELS. Grocery cart.

120A. What to grab for an early morning flight? : BAGELS AND BAGGAGE. Bag and baggage.

I always try to guess the theme after I download the puzzle and read the title. So my mind immediately went to the baseball Subway Series! But the theme quickly revealed itself. Loved the title!

Only 6 theme entries, but they're all quite long, a total of 90 squares. Rich's minimum is 6 entries with 84 squares.

Across:

1. "___ Mia!" : MAMMA

6. Botanist's study : FLORA. I'm going to plant yellow tea roses this year, if spring ever comes to Minnesota. Still snow on the ground. I can almost smell the scent.

11. Economics pioneer Smith : ADAM

15. Evite letters : RSVP

19. Victim of Artemis : ORION. She unwittingly killed him. Love stories often have a sad ending.

20. Chewy chocolate treats : ROLOS

21. Wrap alternative : PITA. Do you like alfalfa sprouts? I don't. Bean sprouts, yes.

22. Sport with touches : EPEE

26. Summers of Food Network's "Unwrapped" : MARC. I like "Unwrapped". Fun to learn food history.

27. Ancient concert venues : ODEA

28. European chain : ALPS. Mountain chain. Not IKEA.

29. Functional clothing accessory : TIE TAC

30. Mount near Olympus : OSSA

31. __-am: kids' book character : SAM I

33. Symphonic finale : CODA

34. Sleep inducer of a sort : SANDMAN. Mr. Sandman.

42. Cry over, maybe : RUE

43. Division word : APIECE

44. Surg. workplaces : ORs

45. Concerns in substance abuse therapy : ENABLERS. Not an easy clue for me.

50. Insert "@#$%!," say : CENSOR. Shouldn't you remove the curses rather than insert?

51. RAZR MAXX manufacturer : MOTOROLA. They have a big factory in Tianjin, hometown of Barry G's wife. Hope everyone is feeling better today, Barry.

55. Its first maps were pub. in 1905 : AAA

56. Central Eur. power until 1806 : HRE

61. Western treaty gp. : OAS

62. Speakeasy difficulty : RAID. "Difficulty" did not make me think of RAID.

64. Horn of Afr. country : ETH

65. King and queen : TITLES. So literal.

66. Filled Italian fare : RAVIOLI. Like Chinese dumplings, except no cheese in Chinese cooking.

69. Showed (in) : USHERED

72. White House middle name : DELANO. The D of FDR.

75. Religious sch. with the motto "Make no little plans here" : ORU.  I like the new clue.

77. Latin I word : AMAS

78. Pod resident : PEA

86. 24-hr. banking service : ATM

87. She played Mia in "Pulp Fiction" : UMA

88A. It was held outside of California only once, in 1942 : ROSE BOWL. From Wiki: "Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 1942 game was moved to Duke University's Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, as officials were wary of allowing such a large crowd to congregate anywhere on the West Coast due to World War II security concerns."

89. "Memoirs of a __" : GEISHA. The Geisha's real name was disclosed in the book. A big no-no. She later did write her own biography "Geisha, a Life". Yellowrocks probably read it.

92. Ristorante topper : PARMESAN

96. Comfy top : TEE

97. Salon supplies : RINSES

98. Pretense : ACT

104. Curious box opener : PANDORA. Also the music station.

108. February deity : EROS. For Marti, who was born on Valentine's Day.

109. Frankfurt's river : ODER

110. Suffix with smack : EROO. Smackeroo.

111. "Food, Glorious Food" musical : OLIVER

113. Lyon lover's word : AIME. "Je t'aime."

115. Shopping list entry : ITEM

119. __ hall : TOWN

123. Agt. after tax evaders : T-MAN

124. DOE part: Abbr. : ENER

125. Half a historic bomber : ENOLA. Enola Gay.

126. VW and BMW : AUTOS

127. Sisterhood name in a Rebecca Wells novel : YA-YA. "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood".

128. Hardly leave wanting : SATE

129. Latin for "he holds" : TENET. Etymology!

130. Food often spilled? : BEANS. Not MILK.

Down:

1. Charm : MOJO

2. Fading star of the East? : A-ROD. AL East. So true.

3. 1,760 yards : MILE

4. Sugar refining byproduct : MOLASSES. Important part of Spitzboov's breakfast.

5. Whichever : ANY

6. Gambol : FROLIC

7. Roller coaster inversion : LOOP

8. Road travel pioneer : OLDs

9. Mythical flying giant : ROC

10. Kutcher of "That '70s Show" : ASHTON

11. Word with sex or snob : APPEAL

12. Downsizing program? : DIET. Another great clue.

13. World carrier : ATLAS

14. Maybelline purchase : MASCARA. Lots of LIARs (74. Makeup artist?) tout Maybelline's Great Lash mascara. It smudges so badly. Get yourself a water-proof Clinique.

15. Update, in a way : REMODEL

16. Muscle malady : SPASM

17. Vice __ : VERSA

18. Pie nut : PECAN. Never liked pecan.

24. More sordid : GAMIER
 

25. Helper : AIDE

32. Onetime Yes label : ATCO. ATlantic COrporation. So, what's the most famous song of Yes?

33. Social group : CASTE

35. Crux : NUB

36. Cheese-topped chip : NACHO

37. Palais Garnier performance : OPERA. I always call it Opéra de Paris.

38. Tiger's front and back? : NINES. Tiger Woods. So strange what he did on Friday. He knew the rules.

39. Dragon's island : KOMODO. Komodo dragon is a giant lizard. Is that a dead tree branch in his mouth?

40. Figurehead place : PROW. Wiki said "A figurehead is a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships largely made between the 16th and 19th century".

41. Confident leader? : SELF. Self-confident.

46. Siesta : NAP

47. Eponymous inventor Tupper : EARL. Tupperware. Did not know this trivia.

48. It might be going : RATE. Going rate.

49. What Simon does : SAYS

52. Soccer stadium shout : OLE

53. Alphabetic run : RSTU

54. July 4th reactions : OOHs

57. Jury trial Amendment : VII. Here is a detailed list.

58. Señorita's other : OTRA

59. Joins the race : VIES

60. SFO approximation : ETD

62. Indian royal : RANI

63. Lady's business? : AVON. Avon lady.

66. St. Louis player : RAM.  Originally Cleveland Rams (1936–1945), then LA Rams (1946-1994).

67. Prunes : LOPS

68. Wrath, in a hymn : IRAE. Dies Irae.

70. Eponymous comet tracker : HALLEY

71. Maximum trio? : EMS

72. Bra spec : D-CUP. And 102. Victoria's Secret purchase : CORSET.

73. Funny Bombeck : ERMA

76. PC port : USB

78. Far from in vogue : PASSE. Splynter linked a similar shoe image a few weeks ago. Lady Gaga is actually a sweet person.

79. Merman of Broadway : ETHEL

80. Squirrel away : AMASS

82. College Football Hall of Fame inductee 29 years after Knute : ARA (Parseghian). Notre Dame.

83. Like epics : LONG

84. Beach bags : TOTES

85. Still-life vessel : EWER

89. Like drinkable milk : GRADE A. Did you ever drink sheep milk?

90. Beckett's homeland : EIRE

91. Mystery writer's forte : INTRIGUE.  Yes, Gary, “What's up, Tianlang?”. Or possibly "What's up, Ah Lang", or "What's up, Lang Zai". Cantonese like to add "Ah" in front or "Zai" after the last character to show familiarity.

93. Frequent child companion? : MADONNA. Oh, Madonna and Child.

94. Earth-friendly prefix : ECO

95. Some disco lighting : STROBES

100. Admire to the max : REVERE

101. Hurler Hershiser : OREL

103. Fight : COMBAT

104. Picayune : PETTY

105. Therapy prefix : AROMA. Aromatherapy.

106. "When pigs fly!" : NO WAY. NO CHANCE yesterday.

107. Ex of Rod Stewart : ALANA

112. "__ a Kick Out of You": Cole Porter : I GET

113. Soon : ANON

114. Like chitchat : IDLE. And 122. Chitchat : GAB. Look forward to Lucina & California Coven's gabbing report! Argyle has been thinking of a similar gathering in NY area. Anyone interested?

116. "Bye" : TA TA

117. Bespectacled Ghostbuster : EGON. Got me last time.

118. Neatnik's bane : MESS

121. Prop- suffix : ANE

C.C.