Monday, July 15, 2013 MaryEllen Uthlaut

Theme: Tinnitus - Four sets of rings.

18A. Banner passed from host city to host city : OLYMPIC FLAG

38A. Things associated with 18- and 57-Across and 3- and 34-Down : RINGS

57A. A bride and groom may write their own : WEDDING VOWS. And exchange rings.

3D. Samsung product : CELL PHONE. With some rings that hardly resemble a ring.

34D. Big top performance : CIRCUS ACT. Traditionally in a ring and a big circus would have three rings under one tent.

Argyle here. The grid is arrayed with the themes forming a ring around the unifier. Our constructor has given us three Sunday puzzles in the past. Interestingly, all, like today's, includes the whole phrase as the theme entry, not just one part. Nothing fusty here.

Across:

1. Baglike structure : SAC

4. Frozen drinks : ICEEs

9. Perp's fake name : ALIAS

14. "__ before beauty" : AGE. “Pearls before swine” Dorothy Parker.

15. Religious doctrine : DOGMA

16. Island nation near Fiji : TONGA. It is in the pink area on this MAP.

17. Nothing : NIL

20. Right-angle pipe joint : ELL

21. More than trot : LOPE

22. Take turns : ROTATE

23. Issue a new copy of : REPRINT

25. Female sib : SIS

26. Soggy : WET

27. Unclear, as the future : HAZY

28. Stale-smelling : FUSTY. Related to old wine casks while musty indicates a more moldy source.

30. Make amends : ATONE

32. Taxi customer : FARE

33. Unreturned tennis serves : ACES

37. Venom dispenser : FANG. (or Dorothy Parker)

39. Fair-weather system : HIGH

40. Arborist's concern : TREE

41. Formerly : ONCE

42. "__ and Bess" : PORGY. Opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin.

43. Pass along : RELAY. Pass the baton.

45. Swamp reptile, for short : CROC

46. "Oh, sure!" : "HAH!"

49. Every bit : ALL

50. Take for granted : PRESUME

53. Melodious piece : ARIOSO

55. Historic periods : ERAs

56. Prodigal __ : SON. Luke 15:11-32 - The Parable of the Prodigal Son.

59. Malt brew : ALE

60. Genuflect : KNEEL

61. Grocery walkway : AISLE

62. Pic taker : CAM

63. Having a lot of cheek : SASSY

64. Post-sneeze word : BLESS

65. Attempt : TRY

Down:

1. More rational : SANER

2. Like a twinkletoes : AGILE

4. Place on a pedestal : IDOLIZE

5. One of the original 13 : COLONY

6. Land of pharaohs and pyramids : EGYPT

7. Plus-size supermodel : EMME

8. Plant juice : SAP

9. For no profit : AT COST

10. Barn story : LOFT

11. Relative by marriage : IN-LAW

12. Striped stone : AGATE

13. TV comedian Bob : SAGET

19. Showy spring flowers : IRISES

24. The Lone __ : RANGER

25. Storm-caused sea rise : SURGE

28. __ Feast: cat food : FANCY

29. Yokels : YAHOOs

30. Sternward : AFT

31. Driveway covering : TAR

32. Critical test : FINAL

35. Breakfast staple : EGG

36. Bashful : SHY

38. Deodorant type : ROLL-ON

42. Removes wrinkles from : PRESSES

44. Without difficulty : EASILY

45. Moves like a baby : CRAWLS

46. Keen-sighted birds : HAWKS. Little something for Windhover.

47. Gladiators' venue : ARENA

48. Keeps out of sight : HIDES

50. Ordinary language : PROSE

51. Grinding tooth : MOLAR

52. Nemesis : ENEMY

54. "To a" poems : ODEs

55. Black-hearted : EVIL

58. Chatterbox's "gift" : GAB

Argyle

Sunday July 14, 2013 Matt Skoczen

Theme: "Border States" -State postal codes bookend each theme entry.

24A. Land on the Red Sea : ARABIAN PENINSULA

39A. Eponymous Italian educator : MARIA MONTESSORI

57A. Time Warner, to CNN : PARENT COMPANY. Still remember Jerry Levin?

104A. Rioter's weapon : MOLOTOV COCKTAIL

87A. Periodic "Top Chef" judge with a restaurant in Manhattan : WYLIE DUFRESNE. He looks familiar, but I don't recall his name. 

122A. Macro, e.g. : COMPUTER SHORTCUT. I never really understood what Macros are, TTP. By the way, belated Happy One-Year Anniversary! What a great asset you've been to our blog and myself.

3D. She voiced Princess Fiona in "Shrek" : CAMERON DIAZ

75D. Under-the-hood cleaner : WASHER FLUID

Oh I love this theme. Notice the two states in each theme entry do border each other and there are no repeats of state abbreviations?

With 48 states to work with, you can imagine the amount of work involved in getting the best set of answers.

Across:

1. Filled fast food : TACO. All alliterative.

5. Orange County city : ANAHEIM. Angels.

12. Picks, with "for" : OPTS

16. Improv piece : BIT

19. Algerian seaport : ORAN

20. Brand formerly marketed as Philishave outside the U.S. : NORELCO. Unaware of this trivia. Made by Philips.

21. __-mutuel : PARI

22. Fruity finish? : ADE. Lemonade, e,g.

23. Way off the highway : RAMP

27. Pick up the tab for : TREAT TO

29. Homeowner's burden : LIEN

30. They include skateboarding and snowboarding : X GAMES

31. "__ Angel": doo-wop classic : EARTH. Who made it famous?

32. __ about : ON OR

36. Genus subdivision : SPECIES

38. Mall unit : STORE

44. Yule quenchers : NOGS

46. Ben Gurion airline : EL AL

47. '60s activist gp. : SDS. I used to confuse this with SLA the '70s radical gp.

48. Fancy pitcher : EWER

49. Laura Bush's birth city : MIDLAND. I only know she was born somewhere in Texas.

52. Turow work about first-year law students : ONE L

54. About to come up : ON DECK

56. "I'd like to buy __" : AN I. "Wheel of Fortune".

62. Driller's deg. : DDS

63. Diagnostic test : SCAN

65. Sling spirits : GIN

66. Rise dramatically : SPROUT UP

68. Driver's license word, maybe : HAZEL. Mine is BLK.

70. "Horton Hears a Who!" villain : VLAD

73. "Don't change that" : STET. And 90D. 73-Across writer : EDITOR

74. New Zealand exports : KIWIS

78. Wrongly left the base : GONE AWOL. I was shocked to learn that there were about 50,000  military deserters during WWII.

81. Russian fighter : MIG

83. Rain block : TARP

84. MC's aid : MIC

91. Wee : SMA

92. Orbital extreme : APOGEE

94. Una y __ vez: time after time : OTRA. Once and again, right?

95. Grabbed the chance : MADE HAY

97. Golfer Aoki : ISAO

98. Yukon winter hrs. : PST

101. Smaller serving : SIDE

103. Learned : WISE

109. City on the Po : TURIN. Po River.

112. California city associated with the founding of Hells Angels : FONTANA. Another unknown trivia to me.

113. Normandy river : ORNE.  And 135. River in central Germany : EDER. So many European rivers have 4-letter words.

114. "Friend __?" : OR FOE

115. Not vulnerable (to) : IMMUNE

118. Score symbol : REST

120. Ford and others : GERALDs

127. Bedtime in Burgundy : NUIT. "Bonne nuit!".

128. Music-licensing org. : BMI

129. Affectedly quaint, in Colchester : TWEE

130. "Great show!" in headlines : IT'S A HIT

131. Theater : CINE. Shoudn't this have a French/Spanish hint in the clue?

132. Utmost : MAX

133. Word often written diagonally on signs : SOLD

134. Taboo : NOT DONE. And 6D. Bad news at the inn : NO ROOM

Down:

 1. Linzer treats : TORTES. Marti must have had Linzer tortes before.

2. Biblical landfall : ARARAT

4. Policing the area : ON PATROL

5. Future MD's course : ANAT

7. Altar constellation : ARA. Three letter constellation is always ARA.

8. N.T. epistle : HEB

9. Actor Wallach : ELI

10. Myth ending : ICAL. Mythical.

11. Philosophy espousing a single reality : MONISM

12. Like some auto leases : OPEN END

13. Kitchen cooker : PAN

14. Upstairs neighbor of Ralph and Alice : TRIXIE. "The Honeymooners".

15. Sears : SINGES

16. "Queen Zixi of Ix" author : BAUM. L. Frank Baum. He was also the author of 119D. Dog who reveals he can speak in "Tik-Tok of Oz" : TOTO. I don't remember Toto speaks in the movie at all.

17. Not going : IDLE

18. Brews for parties : TEAS. Amazed this did not come to me immediately. I guess I don't associate teas with parties.

25. Gourd fruits : PEPOS. New word to me. This is from the Free Dictionary:  PEPO refers to the fruit of any of various related plants, such as the cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumber, squash, pumpkin, and melon, having a hard or leathery rind, fleshy pulp, and numerous flattened seeds.

26. Got fresh with : SASSED

28. Thing to mind, on train platforms : THE GAP. Mind the gap.

33. Captain Kidd's negative : NAE

34. DuPont acrylic : ORLON

35. Cheerful : RIANT. No one uses this word in real life.

37. Amt. after a period : CTS

40. Smart ones? : ALECS. Smart alecs.

41. Due : OWED

42. Stamp on a packing list : RECD

43. Peeves : IRKS

45. Catch : SNAG

49. Sour __ : MASH

50. Worshipper of the sun god Inti : INCA

51. Hooey : DRIVEL

53. Hacks : LOPS

54. CN Tower prov. : ONT

55. Stooge chuckle : NYUK. "Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk!

58. Zhou of China : ENLAI. Zhou is Mandarin. Chou is Cantonese.

59. He played Clubber Lang in "Rocky III" : MR T. 

60. Vichy verse : POEME. French "poem".

61. Temple Grandin's disorder : AUTISM

64. Below zero: Abbr. : NEG

67. Stomach part? : PIT. Clever clue.

69. Actor Rob : LOWE

71. Bowl over : AWE

72. Lamebrain : DODO. Not ours.

76. Culinary author Rombauer : IRMA

77. Fix, as a pet : SPAY

79. TV's "Science Guy" : NYE (Bill)

80. Ukraine city : LUTSK. Learning moment for me. Lots of V's in their city names.

82. Eat away : GNAW

84. Seriously injure : MAIM

85. __ facto : IPSO

86. Stove fuel : COAL

88. It can be dipped in dip : FRITO

89. Meteorologist's tool : RADAR

93. Err : GOOF UP

96. Allstate online subsidiary : ESURANCE. Helpful clue.

98. Many a GI : PVT

99. Like Capone's face : SCARRED. Hence the nickname "Scarface".

100. Moderates, with "down" : TONES

102. A, in Augsburg : EIN

105. From soup __ : TO NUTS. 6-letter partial is allowed in LAT. But don't abuse. One is enough.

106. Punch combo : ONE TWO

107. Make bread from chips? : CASH IN. Nice clue.

108. "Earthsea" series author Ursula : LE GUIN. I forgot. We had URSULA clued as "Sci-fi author ___ K. Le Guin" a while ago.

110. First-aid kit staple : IODINE

111. Empty __ : NESTER

115. SALT weapon : ICBM

116. NYC cultural center : MOMA

117. International Year of Astronomy year : MMIX. 2009. Non-clue for me.

121. Kitchen add-on? : ETTE. Kitchenette.

123. Sushi selection : EEL

124. What U can follow : RST. Alphabetically.

125. Mite : TAD

126. Sulu player John : CHO. Gimme! He was born in Seoul. More than a milllion people have surname CHO in Korea. It's spelled as CAO or CHAO (as in Elaine Chao, Bush's Secretary of Labor) in Chinese. Chinese has 4 tones, the name CAO has rising tone. CAO with the falling tone is the F word.

C.C.