Monday, June 10, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: On The Refrigerator Door - The four theme entries are comprised of two words. The first starts with TO and the second starts with DO. The reveal is in the center.

17A. '70s-'80s Dallas Cowboys running back : TONY DORSETT

24A. The highest price : TOP DOLLAR

34A and 36-Across. Agenda that consists of 17-, 24-, 51- and 59-Across : TO-DO. 36-Across : LIST

51A. "Hang down your head" guy in a Kingston Trio #1 hit : "TOM DOOLEY"

59A. Comes in for a landing : TOUCHES DOWN

Argyle here. If you don't have a to-do list, you're one of few. I think C.C. missed a chance to add some other terms, like CLEAN, PAINT, WASH, but then, who wants to be reminded? We come here to forget those things for a while and enjoy a nice crossword puzzle. Strong stacks fill two corners and, how does Splynter put it, two more inside the other corners. C.C. also has a similar style of theme in the NYT today. Congratulations.

Across:

1. Operatic superstar : DIVA

5. Home of principal Norse gods : ASGARD

11. Long, fluffy wrap : BOA

14. Cries of discovery : AHAs

15. Sporty Mazdas : MIATAs

16. Towel holder : ROD

19. "That feels so good!" : "AHH!"

20. Jetties : PIERS. Dock of the bay.

21. Shade of color : HUE

22. Nail shaper : FILE

23. American rival : DELTA. Airlines.

26. Communication syst. for the deaf : ASL. (American Sign Language) and for the blind, 11D. Alphabet read with the fingers : BRAILLE Another type of code. 57A. Samuel with a telegraph code : MORSE

27. Sailor's jail : BRIG

29. Decorative metal grate : GRILLE. example

30. Extinct New Zealand birds : MOAs

32. Sci-fi visitors : ET's

33. Sandwich loaf : BREAD. Odd clue.

38. Moth-repellent closet wood : CEDAR

41. Tend a tot : SIT

42. Use UPS, say : SHIP

46. Unmanned planes : DRONEs

48. Swiss painter Paul : KLEE. Not my kind of art.

50. Alias letters : AKA. (also known as)

53. Cher's TV partner : SONNY. They actually dressed like that, back in the day.(like a Klee painting)

55. Bluesman Redding : OTIS. Find him on the dock of the bay.

56. Tippler : SOT. (heavy drinker)

58. Take the title : WIN

62. Prefix with system : ECO

63. Title for Nature : MOTHER. Don't mess with her ecosystem.

64. Nobelist Wiesel : ELIE

65. Dorm mgrs. : RA's. (Resident Assistant)

66. On the same page : IN SYNC

67. Mechanical learning : ROTE

Down:

1. "Who __?": Saints fans' chant : DAT. (New Orleans Saints)

2. "Fingers crossed!" : "I HOPE SO!"

3. Basic ice cream flavor : VANILLA

4. Up to now : AS YET

5. "Famous" cookie guy : AMOS. More cookies! 35D. Pulled-apart cookie : OREO

6. Madam's partner : SIR. This Madam will partner with any "Sir".

7. Fuel guzzlers : GAS HOGS

8. Really enjoyed : ATE UP

9. Like movies for the whole family : RATED G

10. This year, it ends Nov. 3rd : DST. (Daylight Saving Time)

12. "Très chic!" : "OOH LA LA!"

13. Stuck as if glued : ADHERED

18. Far from flashy : DRAB

22. Bats one's eyelashes, say : FLIRTS

23. River blocker : DAM

24. Jackson 5 brother : TITO. (the third eldest)

25. Planets : ORBs

28. Sunburn color : RED

31. Place for fans to sit : STANDS. Bit of silliness.

36. __ of the valley : LILY

37. Suffix with Canaan : ITE

38. Tall media storage cabinet : CD TOWER. (compact disc)

39. Blue writing? : EROTICA

40. Pizza chain with a rectangular three-dot logo : DOMINO'S

41. Merely outlined : SKETCHY

43. Princess Leia rescuer : HAN SOLO. (Star Wars)

44. "You didn't fool me!" : "I KNEW IT!"

45. Pony up : PAY

47. "Already?" : "SO SOON?". Yes, we are almost done.

49. Those, to Juan : ESOS

52. Oafs : LOUTs

54. Judge's demand : ORDER

57. Autodom's Cougar, briefly : MERC. (Mercury)

59. 1979 Pa. meltdown site : TMI. (Three Mile Island)

60. Layer in a coop : HEN

61. Word between surnames : NÉE

Argyle

Sunday June 9, 2013 Ed Sessa

Theme: "Strictly Speaking" -  Clues are key here. Each consists of 2 words. The second word describes each spoken phrase type: words/expression/request/talk/assertion/statement; the first word aptly describes the content of each phrase.

 

24A. Heated words? : GREAT BALLS OF FIRE. Heated, FIRE. 

32A. Blanket expression? : I'VE GOT YOU COVERED. Blanket, COVERED. 

56A. Formal request? : SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME. Formal, DANCE.

82A. Frank talk? : HOT DOGS, GET YOUR HOT DOGS. Frank, HOT DOGS.

110A. Bald assertion? : THAT'S GOT TO BE A WIG. Bald, WIG.

118A. Mission statement? : REMEMBER THE ALAMO. Mission, ALAMO.

Hard to describe this theme succinctly & clearly. Thank God for Argyle, who's always there for me. 

Ed gave us 2 grid spanners & lots of nice long words today. The grid only has 68 black squares. I definitely need 76 to 78.

 

Across:

1. "Thick & Fluffy" breakfast brand : EGGO

5. He edged TED in 1948 : HST. I don't know who TED is. OK, Thomas Edmund Dewey.

8. __ out: thoroughly : INSIDE

14. Brutus accomplice : CASCA. He was the  first to stab Caesar.

19. Mouthy minor : BRAT

20. 18-Down reaction : OOH. And 18D. Wonder : AWE

21. British magazine founded in 1709 : TATLER. Click here. The magazine was founded in 1901. But the first issue was 1709? Needs Yellowrocks' though research.

22. On the bias : ASKEW

23. Head honcho : BOSS. And 64. Head honcho : MR. BIG

27. Symbolic yet insubstantial : TOKEN

29. Dash letters : RPM

30. Kitty's bit : ORT

31. Performed an entrechat : LEAPT. I'll leave the comment to Pas de chat.

37. Winding way, maybe : ROAD. And 39. Winding way, maybe : DETOUR.

40. Tulsa sch. : OSU

41. One rushing into a relationship? : ELOPER

43. Pinocchio's peccadillo : LIE

44. Plural maker : ESS. Can't be more straightforward.

45. Big oil source : GUSHER

47. Luau garland : LEI

48. Justice Kagan : ELENA. I linked the love letter Ruth Bader Ginsburg's husband Marty wrote to him shortly before he died. No one commented? Sigh. It was so moving.

50. "What __ God wrought?" : HATH

51. Org. with an Arrow of Light award : BSA

54. Hook's mate : SMEE

66. Peterhof Palace resident : TSAR. Oh, I just noticed yesterday that the newspaper call Putin's soon-to-be-ex-wife Putina. Does it mean that my surname would be Burnikel-na in Russian?

67. Foundry waste : SLAG

68. "La Bohème" heroine : MIMI

69. News item : REPORT

70. Where most states have their own page : ATLAS

72. Sky : FIRMAMENT. Oh well, you guys never said "blue firmament" on the blog. How could I know?

75. "First Blood" hero : RAMBO

76. Opening bout, briefly : PRELIM

78. Verging on : NEAR

79. 1-Down relative : NEAP.  1D. Coastal recession : EBB TIDE

81. Dancer's restraint : REIN. Santa's Dancer.

86. One way to make up for lost time : RUSH

87. Suggest, as a price : ASK

88. Unfolds, in verse : OPES. Opens.

89. White House nickname : DUBYA. He'll be sad to learn that Mel Brooks refused the earlier Kennedy Center honor because he was the president.

92. Mil. support gp. : USO

95. Old Flatbush field : EBBETS. Ebbets Field.

98. First word of Dante's "Inferno" : NEL. Who knew?

101. Dossier letters : AKA

102. New Hampshire city : NASHUA. Looks pretty. What is it famous for?

105. Miss Piggy's pronoun : MOI

106. Comfy (with) : AT HOME

108. Friends : BUDS

113. Not the best plan for becoming a millionaire : LOTTO. Our neighbor won 100K then gambled all his money away. He even lost his house.

115. Orch. section : STR

116. Confessional music genre : EMO

117. Ecuadoran province once famous for its gold : EL ORO. Makes sense. Do you use Ecuadorian or Ecuadoran as the adjective?

123. Preceders of las : TRAs

124. Coeur d'__ : ALENE

125. Fluoride beneficiary : ENAMEL. And 126. Fluoride-in-water meas. : PPM. Man, parts per million.

127. Italian noble family : ESTE

128. Mortise mate : TENON

129. One-person craft : KAYAKS. For Marti.

130. Gender-specific pronoun : SHE. She's in Italy right now.

131. It's in Off! : DEET

Down:

2. Record tracks : GROOVES

3. Seals that avoid water? : GASKETS. Not the cute seal.

4. Cooperstown's Lake : OTSEGO. Anyone visited Cooperstown?

5. Slop slurper : HOG

6. Rueful : SORRY

7. Winnie's title? : THE POOH

8. Old comm. giant : ITT. GTE for Abejo.

9. Queen Amidala's "Star Wars" home : NABOO. I forgot. We had this before.

10. Crave, with "for" : STARVE

11. Schoolyard threat : I'LL TELL

12. Sun City developer Webb : DEL. Lucina might know him.

13. Interjections of indecision : ERs

14. Stylish eatery : CAFE

15. Equidistant : AS FAR

16. It's planted in the snow : SKI POLE. Needs Lucina's V-8 Splash.

17. Sure : CERTAIN

25. Play the jester : AMUSE

26. Like many shoppes : OLDE

28. Chewy confection : NOUGAT. Do you have a sweet tooth?

33. Aphorisms : TRUTHS

34. Sidewalk sides : CURBS

35. Eggs from the sea : ROE

36. Protestant denom. : EPISC

38. Latin goddess : DEA. Feminine form of DIO?

42. Pea jacket relative : REEFER

46. China supporter : SHELF. Most of the starting China in clues is just china.

49. Smallest of the roaring cats : LEOPARDS. What are the biggest?

50. Coat-of-arms science : HERALDRY

52. Common church name : ST. MARY'S

53. Take __ view of : A DIM

55. La Méditerranée, e.g. : MER

56. Bacteria in grapelike clusters : STAPH

57. Houston player : ASTRO. Gary mentioned that Ed Grimes (who? from me too) holds the MLB record of 17 consecutive games with an RBI. Click here. Look at the stats on the right. Total 18 career RBIs.

58. Double-parker who gives out tickets : VALET

59. "The Divided Self" author R.D. : LAING. No idea. Scottish psychiatrist.

60. Come to terms : AGREE

61. Waiter's question ending : A MENU

62. Forty-__ : NINER

63. He said "I die," and then did : ROMEO. Thus, with a kiss I die.

65. School collars : ETONs

71. Great Plains language family : SIOUAN

73. First name in spydom : MATA. Mata Hari.

74. Sierra Nevada resort : TAHOE

77. Classic British two-seaters : MGs

80. Can opener : POP TAB

83. "Cut out the racket!" : SHUSH

84. Vermont ski resort : OKEMO. Wanted STOWE.

85. One who sits for SATs : TESTEE

89. Brief application : DAB

90. A pricey one may be made of koa wood : UKULELE. Gary showed  this clip of Warren Buffet playing ukulele on CCTV last time. What a classic guy, esp the way he handled his unusual love affair.

91. Broken mirror, for some : BAD OMEN

93. __ Na Na : SHA

94. Remain beyond, as one's welcome : OUT-STAY

96. Waterside stopover : BOTEL

97. Computer image formats : BITMAPS

98. Stable : NO WORSE

99. Dubai or Sharjah : EMIRATE. All parts of UAE, whose official religion is Muslim. Man, can you imagine US has an official religion?

100. You can build a 5,922-piece Taj Mahal replica with the largest one ever made : LEGO SET. Nice trivia.

103. First step in a progression : A TO B

104. Often-allergic condition : ASTHMA

107. Suspended : HALTED

109. Note taker using symbols : STENO

111. With "The," L.A. theater at which Neil Diamond recorded "Hot August Night" : GREEK. Is this very well-known?

112. Pizazz : OOMPH

114. Govt. agents : T-MEN

118. See 119-Down : RAT. 119. Reaction to a 118-Down : EEK. No-clue clue.

120. Genetic building blocks : RNA

121. Michaels and Franken : ALs

122. Partner of 'earth? : 'OME. Hearth & home.

Happy Birthday to dear Annette, who was very active on the blog for some time. Any special plans today, Annette?

Annette & Lemonade, April 2012

C.C.