Wednesday July 3, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: VILLAGE PEOPLE (36A. Disco-era group known for the starts of 18-, 20-, 54- and 57-Across). Y, M, C, A starts each theme entry.

18A. What makes a man a man : Y CHROMOSOME. So what came to your mind first?

20A. 1988 Tony-winning play inspired by a Puccini work : M BUTTERFLY. Inspired by Puccini's Madama Butterfly. See here. Read the plot. Astonishing. Are you guys familiar with Beijing opera? In old days, the females were all played by males.

 

54A. Duracell R14's : C BATTERIES

57A. First of a planned 26-book mystery series : A IS FOR ALIBI

C.C. here. Melissa gets intermittent power due to excessive heat in CA, so I'm here to sub.

I made this puzzle sometime last summer, so I could not remember the details. Ideally the reveal entry should be placed as the last theme entry. But VILLAGE PEOPLE has 13 letters, so it could not go to the standard Row 13, hence its current middle row. 

I normally don't stack theme entries as they often force compromised fill. But stacked this one due to necessity.

I mentioned before that Rich always changes at least 50% of my clues. He adds interesting trivia. He corrects my grammatical errors. He succinctly expresses what I try to say in a long-winded way. He just adds so much color to my puzzles and always makes me look better.

 

Across:

1. Close one : PAL

4. Stout sellers : PUBS. I had "Stout spots" originally.

8. Archie Bunker's wife : EDITH. I had Edith Head reference.

13. Its members employ hygienists: Abbr. : ADA

14. Six-time All-Star Moises : ALOU

15. Transit systems in Delhi and Paris : METROS. I had no "Delhi" in. I'm prone to grammar mistakes.

17. Campfire seat : LOG

22. Parroted : APED

23. Golf course regular, often : SENIOR. Yep! Husker Gary and Boomer.

24. Backpacked beast : ASS

26. Hard water? : ICE. Repeat of a clever clue some other constructors used before. But worth repeating. It's good.

27. Fan mail encl. : SAE (Self-Addressed Envelope)

28. Noisy bird : JAY

30. NATO alphabet word after November : OSCAR.  Originally just "O, in NATO alphabet".

32. Reef material : CORAL. I had the nail color reference. I was obsessed with coral last summer.

35. Sanctuary sections : ALTARS

39. Subject of the sports film "42" : RACISM. Great clue. I referred "American History X". 

40. Nemo's creator : VERNE

41. Obviously impressed : AGAPE. You were impressed I had the dreaded A* words, right?

42. Just out of the shower : WET

43. You, to Yves : TOI

46. Scathing review : PAN

47. Tandoori bread : NAN. In China, the Muslims spell it as NANG.

49. Get even for : AVENGE

52. Span. miss : SRTA. My clue "She's available in Barcelona, briefly".

59. NHL tiebreakers : OTs

60. Use a ring in a crib : TEETHE. I had "Need a ring?". Does not make sense now.

61. Devastated Asian sea : ARAL. I had a wordy "Lake that lost 75% of its water volume since 1960".

62. "Are We Done Yet?" actress Long : NIA

63. Baseball features : SEAMS. I had "Baseball bracelet features", since I have a beautiful #33 baseball bracelet.

64. Pulls in : NETS

65. Muddy home : STY. I had "Home, sweet home, for pigs". And 38D. Four-footed friend : PET. My clue: "Pig, to Clooney".

Down:

1. Where to find dates : PALMS

2. Pueblo homes : ADOBES

3. __ Beach: Southern California resort : LAGUNA

4. Words before "the order of" : PAY TO

5. Stress-related ailment, possibly : ULCER

6. Physics Nobelist Niels : BOHR

7. Wander online : SURF

8. Ed Asner has seven : EMMYS. That's a record for a male actor.

9. "Gloria in Excelsis __" : DEO

10. "__ ripoff!" : IT'S A

11. Like many bright aquarium fish : TROPICAL. I clued it as "Like the weather in Bangkok." Steamy there.  "... One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble..."

12. Post-hospital recovery program : HOME CARE

16. Matzo meals : SEDERS

19. Big name in facial cleansers : OLAY. Facial cleaners, scrubs, defoliators, toners, eye gels, eye creams...  It's not easy to be a woman.

21. Accessory with a suit : TIE CLIP

25. Athenian lawgiver : SOLON

28. Binge : JAG

29. Painkiller with an Easy Open Arthritis Cap : ALEVE. Rich's clue. I simply had "Arthritis pill".

31. Heaven's gatekeeper : ST. PETER

33. Designer Mary-Kate or Ashley : OLSEN. I had "Boho Chic icon Mary-Kate ".  She's probably still a kid in your mind. But she and Sienna Miller inspired this whole Boho Chic style.

34. Chrysler truck : RAM

35. __ Lingus : AER

36. Unpredictable occurrences : VAGARIES.  "Vagaries of life". Boomer said I could not pluralize "Vagary". I just ignored him.

37. Complaint about blocked vision : I CAN'T SEE

39. Knocks on : RAPS AT

42. Minnesota Lynx org. : WNBA. Oh man, I thought this is my clue as a shout-out to our MN team. But it's not. I had "Org. for some female guards". Thanks, Rich! The Lynx and Timberwolves have the same owner.

44. Risotto ingredients : ONIONS 

45. "That makes sense" : I GET IT

48. Ranch measures : ACRES

49. Awaiting a pitch : AT BAT. I had "Up time".

50. Facial cover-ups : VEILS. I did not have extra "Facial".

51. Swift work : ESSAY. Rich's clue.

53. Old Spice rival : AFTA

55. King of comedy : ALAN

56. Lose steam : TIRE

58. Electrical unit symbolized by omega : OHM

C.C.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013 Amy Johnson

Theme: Might is Mite - Common phrases take on new meanings when the last word is replaced with a homophone.

20A. Bad web designer's product? : NOT A PRETTY SITE. SIGHT > SITE

37A. Start the service ceremonially? : LEAD WITH A RITE. RIGHT > RITE

56A. Dieter's hope when entering the brewpub? : LET THERE BE LITE™. LIGHT > LITE™

Argyle here. Quite a range of entries; programing, pugilism, and pubs. The resulting homophones, (a word that is that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning) change the original meaning. The only nit might be whether LITE is a legitimate word. Mad Men would say yes.

Across:

1. Mama who sang with the Papas : CASS. Elliot

5. Mercury and Saturn : ORBs. Clecho: 14A. Mercury or Saturn : AUTO

9. "What a tragedy" : "SO SAD"

15. Picnic spot : PARK

16. Revise, as text : EMEND

17. Mine car : TRAM

18. Pincushion alternative : ETUI. Strange, I never really looked at ETUIs before. They aren't pincushions but may contain one.

19. Maternally related : ENATE

23. Extreme anger : IRE

24. Boy : LAD

25. Hanoi holiday : TET. Clued this way should keep someone happy.

26. Sandwich shop letters : BLT

28. Cut companion : PASTE. My friends.

30. Heavy herbivore : RHINO. Cute alliteration.

32. Greek goddess of the dawn : EOS. Near clecho: 2D. Roman goddess of the dawn : AURORA

33. Coll. dorm mentors : RAs. (Resident assistants)

35. Essen-to-Leipzig direction : OST. Headed east in Germany.

36. Food for Fido : ALPO

41. "Roger that" : "COPY". Radio talk.

42. Keats wrote one to a nightingale : ODE

43. Funnyman Caesar : SID. With Imogene Coca.

44. Prefix with duct : OVI

45. Melbourne marsupial : KOALA

47. Discourage : DETER

51. Get hitched : WED

52. Shimon Peres's land: Abbr. : ISR. He is the current President of Israel.

53. Cosmo, e.g. : MAG. Cosmopolitan/Magazine

55. Delighted utterance : "AAH!". and "OOH!" Get ready for the fireworks.

60. Shoot for : AIM AT

61. Like some support : SOLE

62. Crack pilots : ACES

63. Flambé : AFIRE

64. Laos location : ASIA

65. Unlike a dead end, briefly : THRU. (through)

66. Spy mission, in brief : RECON. (reconnaissance)

67. Cornerstone datum : YEAR

68. Boo relative : HISS. Did you see that some military bases are cutting out fireworks this year?

Down:

1. It makes a feline frisky : CATNIP

3. Declares : STATES

4. Dream-inducing "Brave New World" drug : SOMA. "take a trip and never leave the farm"

5. Puccini work : OPERA

6. Like slasher films, typically : RATED R

7. Champagne designation : BRUT

8. Very jumpy : SKITTISH

9. Deals with : SEES TO

10. Present opening? : OMNI. Omnipresent.

11. "Click It or Ticket" device : SEAT BELT

12. Range playmate of song : ANTELOPE. Range companion of deer.

13. JFK's predecessor : DDE

21. Profess one's innocence, perhaps : PLEAD

22. Grapevine starters? : YENTAs. Word Origin & History. "yenta" : "gossip, busybody," 1923, from Yente Telebende, comic strip gossip in 1920s-30s writing of Yiddish newspaper humorist B. Kovner (pen-name of Jacob Adler) in the "Jewish Daily Forward." It was a common Yiddish fem. proper name, alt. from Yentl and said to be ult. from It. gentile "kind, gentle," earlier "noble, high-born".

27. Chinese menu surname : TSO. (General)

29. Cafeteria convenience : TRAY

31. Monopoly miniature : HOTEL. You need four houses on each of your color group before you can get a hotel.

34. "Just Do It" logo : SWOOSH

36. Guy or gal Friday : AIDE

37. Topic for advice columnists : LOVE LIFE. And for yentas.

38. Serious flu outbreak, e.g. : EPIDEMIC

39. Start of a speculation : "I DARE SAY ..."

40. Blue __ Mountains : RIDGE

41. Chick-fil-A spokescritter : COW

45. "Awww"-inducing pet shop resident : KITTEN

46. Earhart in the air : AMELIA

48. Chinese martial art : TAI CHI

49. Diner patrons : EATERS

50. Monkey used in research : RHESUS

54. "Fuzzy Wuzzy was __" : A BEAR. "Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear, fuzzy wuzzy had no hair, fuzzy wuzzy wasn't fuzzy was he?"

57. Luau staple : TARO. Must be cooked thoroughly to leach out the calcium oxalate.

58. Fragrant flower : ROSE. Shout out to ARBAON.

59. Strip of latticework : LATH

60. Swiss river : AAR

Smooth sailing today.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Eric Wells, who reads but has never posted on our blog. Eric told me "The coolest part about my birth date is that it's also my mother's birth date. I was her (best?) gift on her 29th birthday (many years ago!)" Happy 83rd Birthday to Eric' mom as well!