Monday, April 22, 2013 Drew Banneman

 

Theme: Help - The start of the unifier can also precede the first word of the themes.

20A. Behavior of a community : GROUP DYNAMICS. SUPPORT GROUP.

30A. "Star Trek" catchphrase : "BEAM ME UP". SUPPORT BEAM.

36A. Storage items near outdoor faucets : HOSE REELS. SUPPORT HOSE. (my favorite)

48A. Military officer's ride : STAFF CAR. SUPPORT STAFF.

55A. Nurturing network of family and friends, and a hint to the starts of 20-, 30-, 36- and 48-Across : SUPPORT SYSTEM

Argyle here. A Monday debut for Drew, gender unknown. I hope Splynter may find a suitable pic for SUPPORT HOSE. Two corners with 7-letter vertical stacks with the long themes connected to them. All-in-all, a good Monday debut puzzle. I hope Drew will drop by.

Across:

1. Switchblade : SHIV

5. French revolutionary who was murdered in a tub : MARAT. (Jean-Paul Marat) More of a Tuesday entry.

10. Hard to outwit : WILY. Wile E. Coyote

 

14. Trumpet muffler : MUTE

15. Rolled out of bed : AROSE

16. One-named Gaelic folk singer : ENYA. I'll come back and link her song if I don't find anything else.

17. Bear in two constellations : URSA. Major and minor.

18. Pro cager : NBAer

19. Folksy Joan : BAEZ. I like Joan.

23. Martini liquor : GIN. Or...

 

24. AOL chat components : IM's. (Instant Messages)

25. Turkish __: spas : BATHS

28. 24-hour auto race city : LE MANS. South-west of Paris. 67A. 500-mile race, familiarly : INDY. Indianapolis, Indiana, a long way from France.

33. Standing straight : ERECT

34. Aim for pins : BOWL. Get 'em all, Boomer.

35. "How come?" : "WHY?". It comes after the "NO!"s of the terrible twos.

40. Satisfied sigh : "AAH!"

43. Sox player, e.g. : ALer. First basketball, now baseball.

44. Preface, briefly : INTRO

51. Attempt to cool, as steaming hot soup : BLOW ON

52. Prefix with foam : STYRO

53. Maglie or Mineo : SAL. Ball player or actor.

54. Unlock, poetically : OPE

60. Corncob pipe part : STEM

62. "The First Time __ Saw Your Face" : EVER I. Forget Enya.

 

63. Speech problem : LISP

64. Stay fresh : KEEP

65. Dig artifact : RELIC

66. Send out, as rays : EMIT

68. Phones on stage, e.g. : PROPS. Maybe we can get some links to when props fail. I'd look now but I probably wouldn't come back.

69. Contradict : DENY

Down:

1. Bring across the border illegally : SMUGGLE. There have been some horror stories about smuggling people.

2. One in a rush : HURRIER. Clunk! We were doing so good. Why not HARRIER?

3. "Your money's no good here!" : "IT'S ON ME!"

4. Calf meat, in Provence : VEAU. French veal.

5. Coated buttonlike candies : M AND Ms. I read it as candles; that gave me a pause!

6. "Slicing Up Freshness" fast-food chain : ARBY'S

7. Reddish horse : ROAN. 21D. Ford named for a horse : PINTO

8. On the ocean : ASEA

9. __ paper: school composition : TERM

10. Device for a Skype chat : WEBCAM. Marvelous device, I understand.

11. Very agitated : IN A STEW

12. Soap ingredient : LYE

13. '60s-'80s Red Sox legend, familiarly : YAZ. Carl Yastrzemski, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

22. Selectric maker : IBM

26. "Whadja say?" : "HUH?"

27. Double agent : SPY

29. "Oh" de Cologne? : "ACH". Cute clue but doesn't make up for HURRIER.

30. Drilling tool : BORER

31. Potter's pitcher : EWER. Alliteration.

32. Tavern brew : ALE

34. Lugosi who played Dracula : BELA

37. Cul-de-__ : SAC

38. Pharmaceutical giant Eli : LILLY

39. __-Globe: shakable collectible : SNO. I remember Grandma's. Today's don't cut it.

40. Balaam's mount : ASS

 

41. Lawyer: Abbr. : ATT.

42. Country bumpkin : HAYSEED

45. Double-cross : TWO-TIME

46. Lures by phishing, say : ROPES IN

47. Afraid of running out, gas gauge-wise : ON EMPTY

49. Drably unattractive : FRUMPY. A descriptive word.

50. Ascot wearer : FOP. FOP-a man who is excessively concerned with fashion and elegance.

51. Fundamentals : BASICS

53. Word after comic or landing : STRIP

56. Cop's suspect : PERP. Perpetrator, to a cop; perpendicular, to us.

57. Eggs __ easy : OVER

58. Move, in brokerese : RELO

59. Winter toy : SLED. Sledding is a gateway sport to skiing?

60. Tackle a slope : SKI

61. Olympic diver's perfection : TEN. On a one to ten scale.

 

Argyle

Sunday April 21, 2013 Robin Stears

Theme: Herbal Tease - One word in each theme entry is replaced by a sound-alike herb.

23A. Observation about sprouting aromatic plants? : SOMETHINGS ARE MINT-TO-BE. Somethings are meant to be.

36A. "Yes, I'm positive this seed is in five-spice powder"? : THAT'S MY FENNEL ANSWER. That's my final answer. Not fond of fennel or the Five-spice powder. My dad used star anise in meat dishes.

55A. "We should whip up some pickle flavoring"? : LET'S MAKE A DILL. Let's Make a Deal.

80A. Like something even better than a pungent herb? : BEYOND BAY LEAF. Beyond belief.

 

96A. Incense hung in two places? : MYRRH MYRRH ON THE WALL. Mirror Mirror on the Wall. Never thought of Myrrh as herb.

117A. Getting by with a loaner herb? : LIVING ON BORROWED THYME. Living on borrowed time. Pure homophone.

Very nice puzzle title!

Grid spanners can make things easier on a week day puzzle, but they're tricky to grid for a 21*21. Plus, Robin has a couple long 19's to deal with. Hence, 6 theme entries today. An extra 7th in the very middle row would make this extra tough, even if it's short.

Across:

 

1. Pricey sweaters : MOHAIRS. Angora goats.

8. They remove bad marks : ERASERS

15. Vertebral bones : SACRA

20. "__ Flame": Bangles ballad : ETERNAL

21. One in the running : NOMINEE

22. Blood of the gods : ICHOR. Learned from doing Xword.

26. Elementary fivesome : A E I O U. And 49. Alphabet trio : BCD

27. Roo's refuge : POUCH

28. Soul-searching events? : SEANCES. I love "Ghost". So good.

29. XIII x IV : LII

31. __-mo replay : SLO

32. "Washboard" muscles : ABS. Which angel do you like the best?

35. __ y Plata: Montana motto : ORO

43. Period relative : ERA

44. Trifle : SOU

45. Ultimate goal : END ALL

46. Easy target : SAP

48. Where It.'s at : EUR. Pay attention to the . in It.

51. Chinese tea : CHA. Literally "tea". Yum Cha ("Drink tea") is a daily activity for retired people in Guangzhou/Hong Kong. Dim sum & Cha & lots of idle gossip. It often takes 2-3 hours. Young people usually "Yum Cha" on weekends.

52. "Sideways" co-star Paul : GIAMATTI

60. Proceed (from) : EMANATE

61. Mythical sea nymphs : NEREIDS. This word reminds me of RESTAURANT in my early days of English learning. Hard to spell. Now looking back, nothing complicated in RESTAURANT.

62. Yield to gravity : SAG

64. 2005 Nobel-winning dramatist : PINTER (Harold). He wrote "The French Lieutenant's Woman".

65. Tears down, in Dover : RASES. Our Razes.

68. Broadband letters : DSL

69. Hägar creator Browne : DIK

71. Can't forgo : NEEDS

72. Bear witness : ATTEST

74. "My country, __ ..." : TIS

76. Every garçon has one : CEDILLA. The mark under that c. I bet this clue will stump some garçons. "I have a what?"

78. Pasture critters : GRAZERS

85. Black-and-tan terrier : AIREDALE

87. Center of gravity? : VEE

88. "__ rang?" : YOU

89. Aladdin's monkey : ABU

90. California's Big __ : SUR

91. Patio-brewed beverage : SUN TEA

93. Many IRA payees : SRS

95. Stimpy's sidekick : REN. "Ren & Stimpy".

103. Sushi tuna : AHI

104. Part of MYOB : OWN

105. "Nerts!" : BAH

106. Poetry Out Loud org. : NEA

107. Working like a dog : SLAVING

111. Prevent : DEBAR

113. Razzle-dazzle : ECLAT

122. __ acid : AMINO

123. Groundbreaking Reagan appointee : O'CONNOR. First woman on the Supreme Court. Tough lady. I think she intimidated even Terry Gross.

124. Showed disdain : SNEERED

125. Forms : MODES

 
126. Positively charged particles : PROTONS

127. Leather treaters : TANNERS

Down:

1. Cactus League spring training city : MESA. Cactus League is in Arizona. Grapefruit League is in Florida.

2. Native Oklahoman : OTOE

3. Half up front? : HEMI. As in, Hemisphere. Tricky, as DEMI, SEMI fit too.

4. Biological ring : AREOLA

5. Goes with one's gut : INTUITS

6. "Yay, team!" : RAH

7. Maidenform buy : SLIP

8. Swamp : ENGULF

9. The "R" in Edward R. Murrow : ROSCOE. Never knew this.

10. Eastern nursemaid : AMAH. Lots of Filipino AMAHS in Hong Kong. Cheap labor. Plus, they speak English.

11. McCartney title : SIR

12. San Diego-to-Albuquerque dir. : ENE

13. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" band : REM

14. Jorge's half-dozen : SEIS

15. Bollywood strings : SITARS. 65. Music for 15-Down : RAGAS

16. Urgent come-on : ACT NOW

17. Prefix with -aholic : CHOC

18. Boxer's attire : ROBE

19. Olympian warrior : ARES. 86. Warrior companion of 19-Down : ENYO. Learning moment for me.

24. Always butting in : NOSY

25. Old electronic display source : NEON LAMP

30. Weatherman's line : ISOBAR

32. They're history : ANNALS

33. Murphy __ : BED. Never saw one in person.

34. Blast furnace refuse : SLAG

36. Honest : TRUE

37. "The Wizard of Id" co-creator Johnny : HART. The "B.C." cartoonist.

38. Tossed in, as a losing poker hand : MUCKED. Don't know this term.

39. Radar's soda brand : NEHI

40. Byron's words before "'Tis but the truth in masquerade" : A LIE. "And, after all, what is a lie? 'Tis but the truth in masquerade." Don Juan.

41. Probate concern : ESTATE

42. Snitched : RATTED

43. Flotsam or Jetsam in "The Little Mermaid" : EEL. Nice new clue!

47. Beach resort strolling spots : PIERS

50. Jefferson, for one : DEIST

51. MP3 holders : CDS

53. As a rule : MAINLY

54. Temper : ANNEAL

56. Earn a blessing? : SNEEZE. Not sure what Boomer is sensitive to. He sneezes a lot. Probably some kind of scents. Going to Kohl's or some other department stores can set him off.

57. __ around: wasted time : MESSED
 

58. Wing it : AD LIB

59. Weighed down : LADEN

63. Euphoric : GIDDY

66. Lobby brightener : ATRIUM

67. Characterized by twinkling : STARRY

70. Put the __ on: quash : KIBOSH

73. Criticizing harshly : TRASHING

75. U.K.'s longest river : SEVERN

76. Country singer David Allan __ : COE. Never heard of him. Not a country music fan. Wow, look at his hair!

77. Polo VIP : LAUREN. Ralph Lauren. Polo shirt.

79. Gentrification target : SLUM

81. "You betcha!" : YEAH

82. Viscount's superior : EARL

83. Third man? : ABEL

84. Kicks : FUN

92. Credit checker Experian, pre-1996 : TRW

94. Equal-ize? : SWEETEN. Equal sweetener.

97. Gorge : RAVINE

98. Safari sights : RHINOS. JD had a few Safari trips.

99. Moon of Uranus : OBERON. Named after the king in "A Midsummer Night's Dream". 

100. Pyle portrayer : NABORS (Jim)

101. Leave out of the freezer : THAW

102. City SW of Essen : AACHEN. See Essen a bit to the east?

 

107. Bridge feat : SLAM. Hi there Spitzboov!

108. Chauffeured car : LIMO

109. Voracious : AVID. Anyone noticed the similarities between Clear Ayes & Yellowrocks? Both knowledgeable, curious & voracious readers.

110. Gunk : GOOP

111. Villain on Crab Key : DR NO. Thanks for the "Villain" hint.

112. Symbol on a staff : REST

114. Ancient harplike instrument : LYRE

115. AKC part: Abbr. : AMER

116. Nugent and Turner : TEDS

118. ATM maker : NCR

119. Heckle : BOO

120. Fort Erie's prov. : ONT. China uses provinces too. 23 provinces. Lu Lingzi is from Shenyang Province. Due to China's One-Child policy, she was her parents' only kid.

121. Letters from your parents? : DNA. Nice clue.

C.C.