Monday, April 29, 2013 Patti Varol

Theme: Breakfast treat - A puzzle that passes the breakfast test with flying colors. The theme entries end in varying shades of the unifier.

17A. Lacking a strong foundation, metaphorically : BUILT ON SAND

24A. Snoopy's WWI plane : SOPWITH CAMEL

38A. Shutterbug : PHOTOGRAPHY BUFF

48A. Farina-based hot cereal : CREAM OF WHEAT

60A. Ideal toast color, and a hint to the ends of 17-, 24-, 38- and 48-Across : GOLDEN BROWN

Argyle here. It would be only fitting that I should have some toast as I type this up but, alas, I am at the tail end of my loaf of bread. Oh well. It was a fun solve with a grid spanner in the middle.

Across:

1. Under-the-table money : BRIBE. Not the same as in-the-seat-cushion money.

6. Teamster's rig : SEMI. (truck)

10. Tight-lipped : MUM. Yes, mum's the word.

13. Dubuque natives : IOWANS. Native American Siouan people.

15. "Once __ a time ..." : UPON

16. Chowed down : ATE

19. Corp. board member : DIR. (director)

20. __ over backward : BEND

21. "That feels good!" : "AAH!"

22. Florence's country : ITALY. (Firenze, Italia)

Click to enlarge.

28. Prize on the mantel : TROPHY

31. Hors d'oeuvre cracker : RITZ. Golden brown cracker.

32. Northwestern Canadian territory : YUKON. (Yukon gold)

33. Naval hoosegow : BRIG

35. Brew in a bag : TEA

42. Mork's planet : ORK. (TV show)

43. Senate staffer : AIDE

44. Lusterless finish : MATTE. As opposed to gloss.

45. Windy day toy : KITE. We've had a few good kite flying days.

47. Put the blame on : ACCUSE

53. Egypt neighbor : LIBYA

54. Subway whose first line had a terminus at NYC's City Hall : IRT. (Interborough Rapid Transit)

55. Suffix with wagon : ETTE. A light four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle with two lengthwise seats facing each other behind a crosswise driver's seat.

59. Before today : AGO

64. Hamlet, to Gertrude : SON

65. Change a manuscript : EDIT

66. "I, Robot" author : ASIMOV. (Isaac Asimov)

67. Butt in : PRY

68. 2013 Oscars host MacFarlane : SETH

69. Pert : SASSY

Down: (as in down to the heel of my loaf of bread)

1. Light-green lettuce : BIBB

2. Disreputable fellow : ROUE

3. "Heads __, tails you lose" : I WIN

4. Rogaine target : BALD SPOT

5. Dr. who treats snorers : E.N.T. (ear, nose, throat)

6. Bite-size raw Asian dish : SUSHI

7. Water quality org. : EPA. (Environmental Protection Agency)

8. Start of a wk., workwise : MON. Today

9. Formally charge, in court : INDICT

10. Sir's counterpart : MADAM

11. More than decorative : UTILE

12. Streep of "The Iron Lady" : MERYL

14. All lathered up : SOAPY

18. Folksy negative : "NAW"

23. Whirling toon devil, for short : TAZ

25. "How awful!" : "OH, NO!"

26. Hogwash : TRIPE

27. "__ Noon": Gary Cooper Western : HIGH

28. Printing error, perhaps : TYPO

29. German mining region : RUHR

30. "Quit nagging! I'll do it!" : "OK! OK!"

33. To the point : BRIEF

34. "Way cool!" : "RAD!"

35. "Black Swan" skirt : TUTU

36. Immature newts : EFTs

37. Set __: name the price : A FEE

39. Ratón chaser : GATO. Spanish mouse and cat.

40. Org. that usually has a community pool : YMCA

41. Neosporin target : BACTERIA

45. Mary __ cosmetics : KAY

46. Publicists' concerns : IMAGES

47. Blue Cross rival : AETNA

48. Anklet fastener : CLASP

49. Strictness : RIGOR

50. Dense black wood : EBONY. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. (I didn't know that)

51. Boot spec : WIDTH

52. Otto I's realm: Abbr. : HRE. (Holy Roman Empire)

56. Male turkeys : TOMS

57. What Noah counted by : TWOS. "...and two by two my human zoo

They'll be running for to come

Running for to come out of the rain" - Queen

58. Covet : ENVY

61. "__ to Joy" : ODE. Don't be afraid to join in.

 

 

62. Set ablaze : LIT

63. Undergrad tech degs. : BSs. Plural of BS.

Toast is gone. Now for some golden griddle cakes.

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

Here is a picture of Husker Gary and his lovely wife at their granddaughter Elise's 8th birthday last Friday. 

Sunday April 28, 2013 Julian Lim

Theme: "It'll Have to Do" - TLE is added to the end of each theme entry.

22A. Container for mystery meat? : SPAM BOTTLE. Spambot, which send out spam. That's why Captcha is used in our blog.

31A. Action scene in "True Blood"? : VAMPIRE BATTLE. Vampire bat.

49A. Courage of Manhattanites? : NEWYORK METTLE. New York Met.

71A. Cloak for a road trip? : HIGHWAY MANTLE. Highwayman.

92A. Reaction to an alarm? : RISING STARTLE. Rising star. 

102A. Baby's pre-vacation note to self? : PACK RATTLE. Pack rat.

 

3D. Venue for poetry readings in space? : SLAM SHUTTLE. Slam shut.

62D. Livestock kept between buildings? : ALLEY CATTLE. Alley cat.

Fun theme. Reminds me a bit of this BLE added NYT puzzle. And the theme set is tighter here, with TLE added to the second word only.

Also, fantastic grid design. Noticed how four of the theme entries intersect? I'd probably try a paralleled two 9's in the upper right and lower left corners, not 3. Julian Lim is so good. That's why our Lucina loves him!

Across:

1. Skip it : PASS

5. Jotting on a Post-it : MEMO

9. Lowest of the low : NADIR

14. Artist who was an admirer of Freud : DALI. He was? I know Dali and Mia Farrow were close friends. Surreal!

18. Partner : ALLY

19. Invites over : HAS IN

20. "Invisible Cities" author Calvino : ITALO

21. Well-versed in : UP ON

24. How some sleep : NAKED. Do you?

25. Nanny __: security devices : CAMS

26. Fiddled (with) : TAMPERED

27. Word repeated after "que," in song : SERA

28. Lure into crime : ENTRAP

30. Rapture : ECSTASY

34. Pakistani city : LAHORE. Capital of Punjabi.

35. Order to pounce : SIC 'EM

36. Like some personalities : DYNAMIC

37. Fluent speakers avoid them : UMs

38. Dull finish : MATTE. 72. Bright finish : GLOSS

39. Runner on snow : SKI. We went on a long nature walk yesterday. Still ice and snow on some lakes. 

41. Out of breath : SPENT

42. Ones giving marching orders: Abbr. : SGTs

44. Like NES video games : RETRO

45. Pulitzer winner Walker : ALICE. The organic food pioneer is Alice Waters. I used to confuse those two.

47. Opposite of exo- : ENDO

48. Hamilton's prov. : ONT. "Prov." sure helped.

52. Crew member : TAR. Sailor.

53. Topple : FALL OVER

55. Satan's little helpers : IMPS

56. Mil. decoration : DSM

58. Wrote with limited characters : TWEETED. Information overload.

59. Vineyard grape : PINOT

61. Assess flight risk, in a way : SET BAIL

65. Crossword heading: Abbr. : ACR (Across)

66. Weirdo : WACK

67. Panaceas : CURE-ALLS. Looks strange piled together.

68. Report card calamities : EFs.

75. __ Fáil: Irish "stone of destiny" : LIA. Our old puzzle used to feature this word often.

76. Villain's base : LAIR

78. Architect Saarinen : ELIEL. Eero's father.

79. High-ranked Atlanta school : EMORY

80. Bane for bugs : DEET

81. Wrapped up : ENDED

83. Windy City airport code : ORD

84. Water filter brand : BRITA

85. Pivotal : KEY

86. Paleness causes : ANEMIAS. Did not know this word is plurable.

88. __ Manor: "Batman" setting : WAYNE

89. High light? : BEACON. Great clue.

95. Two guys out to dinner, say : MAN DATE. Wanted BRO DATE.

96. Noted lawmaker : NEWTON. Law of gravity. I was thinking of DRACO-like lawmaker.

97. MLB credits : RBIs. Twins beat the Rangers yesterday, Bill.

98. Concert setup, briefly : PA SYSTEM

99. "Look no further than me" : I'M IT

100. Require : EXACT

104. What a ponytail covers : NAPE. "Do you know my name?"

105. River measure : WIDTH

106. "Coffee __?" : OR TEA

107. Earthenware pot : OLLA

108. Turned right : GEED. Gee = Right. Haw = Left.

109. Puréeing aid : SIEVE

110. Hardy's "Pure Woman" : TESS.  "Tess of the D'Urbervilles".

111. Drudge : PEON

Down:

1. Washed-out shade : PASTEL

2. Andean herd member : ALPACA

4. Diagnostician's clues : SYMPTOMS

5. Brit's bro : MATEY

6. Abbr. before a year : ESTD

7. Part of a GI's URL : MIL. For Military.

8. Late lunch hour : ONE. And 9. Late dinner hr. : NINE PM

10. __ 2600: old video game console : ATARI

11. Capital NW of Monrovia : DAKAR. Capital of Senegal. Click on the map. It'll enlarge.

12. Loire land : ILE

13. Passed on a 19-Down : RODE BY. 19. Silver in movies : HORSE. Lone Ranger's horse Silver.

14. Versatile roll : DUCT TAPE

15. Common rental : APARTMENT

16. California city name meaning "pretty knoll" : LOMA LINDA. Loma means "knoll" then. New to me.

17. Yard worker? : INSPECTOR. OK, Scotland Yard.

23. Is worthy of, as repeating : BEARS. It bears repeating that...

27. Hook underling : SMEE

29. Persian breads : NANS.  I always thought of NAN as Indian bread. Has no idea that the Iranians eat Nan too. Chinese Muslims call theirs Nang. Delicious.

31. In __ fertilization : VITRO

32. One may be supporting : ACTOR. Nice clue.

33. Queen's decree : EDICT

35. Dionysian reveler : SATYR

38. Asked to be stroked, perhaps : MEWED

39. Pursued one's dreams? : SLEPT. Sweet!

40. Press packets : KITS

42. Out of shape : SOFT. Huh? Never heard "Out of shape" expressed as "SOFT". Long winter here. I'm SOFT.

43. Eat like a chinchilla : GNAW

44. Stargazer's state : REVERIE

45. Supplies for Rambo : AMMO

46. Geriatrician's concern, with "the" : ELDERLY

49. V-shaped mark : NOTCH

50. Twisted : KINKY

51. First name in makeup : ESTEE. To me, this is their best product. Get this for your wife/girlfriend. They'll love you.

54. Cow patch : LEA

57. Wharton Sch. conferral : MBA

59. Played with, cat-style : PAWED

60. Alphabet addition? : ICAL. Alphabetical.

61. Kama __ : SUTRA

63. Rival of Bjorn : ILIE (Nastase)

64. Some srs.' source of stress : LSAT

66. Propeller noise : WHIR

67. Thou tenth : C-NOTE. Sometimes it's C-SPOT. Thou is Thousand here.

68. Webinars, e.g. : E-LEARNING. I guess we e-learn every day.

69. Mortgage acronym : FANNIE MAE. So is Freddie Mac.

70. Glancing blow : SIDESWIPE

73. Sophie player : MERYL. "Sophie's Choice". Pure talent.

74. Nitrogen compound : AMINE

77. Sent payment : REMITTED

80. What bad traffic sometimes comes to, with "a" : DEAD STOP

82. "The Flintstones" answer to Fido : DINO

84. Swings at home : BATS. Home plate.

85. Maasai Mara game reserve locale : KENYA

87. '60s-'70s veep and family : AGNEWS. Spiro Agnew.

88. Twist in agony : WRITHE

89. City about 300 miles from Baghdad : BASRA.  Iraq's  second largest city, after  Baghdad.

90. 1887 La Scala premiere : OTELLO. Based Shakespeare's "Othello".

91. Like the lion slain by Hercules : NEMEAN. Nemean lion.

93. __ union : TRADE

94. "Suburgatory" airer : ABC TV. Never watched "Suburgatory". Wiki says it's a portmanteau of "suburban" and "purgatory".

95. Nets : MAKES

98. Statistician's figs. : PCTs

101. It may be seen opposite VI : XII. Clock.

102. Nursery container : POT

103. "The Kids __ All Right": 2010 Best Picture nominee : ARE

C.C.