Wednesday, July 17, 2013 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

theme: ring my bell - the last part of each theme entry can precede "BELL".  Theme entries are placed vertically for the "BOTTOMS" visual.

3d. "Ally McBeal" genre : COMEDY-DRAMA BELL. great entry. comedy-drama is also called a dramedy. "ma bell" refers to the bell telephone company.

9d. Skunk, literally and figuratively : REAL STINKER BELL. funny.

23d. Harbor hauler : GARBAGE SCOW BELL. i coulda used a little more cow bell.

33d. Pachyderm friend of Zephir the monkey : BABAR BELL.

27. Popular '60s-'70s pants, and what can be found in 3-, 9-, 23- and 33-Down? : BELL BOTTOMS

melissa here. what a treat, another joint effort by don hard-g and our own cc. some of these clues required some serious head-scratching. also makes me wonder if cc ever wore bell bottoms. (From C.C.: Nope, Melissa, never wore those. Don might have. He came up with this theme.)

across:

1. Pearl Harbor mo. : DEC. 12/7/1941.

4. Pearl Harbor presence : NAVY

8. Cuts into : ERODES. tricky.

14. Singles out : ISOLATES

16. League of Nations home : GENEVA. headquarters.

17. "Right back atcha!" : SAME HERE

18. Came down and delayed the game : RAINED. (cc and/or don, is this original clue?) (From C.C.: Our original clue is "Caused Tin Man to rust".)

19. Capital on the Dnieper : KIEV. needed perps.

20. Bay window : ORIEL

22. Prepare for an attack : DIG IN. had trouble with this.

25. Words on some blue balloons : IT'S A BOY. nailed it.

30. Ruler in un palacio : REY. rey is spanish for king.

32. Story including a time and place : ALIBI. love this clue.

34. "Finished!" : THERE

35. Bring down the curtain on : END

36. Almond __: candy : ROCA. 

37. Quran religion : ISLAM

38. Antilles native : CARIB. had no idea.

40. Penny prez : ABE. 16th president.

42. "Affliction" Oscar nominee : NOLTE. nick.

43. Name on a range : AMANA. radarange. seems ancient now.

44. Berserk : AMOK. love both of those words.

46. __ vivant : BON. "a person having cultivated, refined, and sociable tastes especially with respect to food and drink ."

47. Chinese menu promise : NO MSG

48. Hag : CRONE

49. "Wish you were here—__ were there" : OR I

50. Cirque du Soleil staple : TRAPEZE. was thinking acrobat.

52. Medium's medium : TAROT. fortune teller's cards.

54. Longtime Chicago Symphony conductor : SOLTI. Sir Georg Solti.

56. Organ knob : STOP. okay ...

59. Seattle ballpark, familiarly : SAFECO

63. Forgo accomplices : ACT ALONE. filled in slowly.

66. Sinuous course : SLALOM. "having many curves, bends, or turns. winding."

67. It bodes well : GOOD OMEN

68. Table no-nos : ELBOWS. punishable by a fork in the forearm. or was that just me?

69. Bygone blade : SNEE

70. Watched kids : SAT. babysat.

down:

1. Frisbee, e.g. : DISK

2. Hollywood's Morales : ESAI. rawr.

4. "Forget it!" : NAH

5. Took the cake? : ATE

6. Riverdale High brunette of comics : VERONICA

7. North Sea feeder : YSER. nailed it.

8. Wetlands nester : EGRET

10. Secretive maritime org. : ONI. office of naval intelligence.

11. Cozy retreat : DEN

12. Anticipatory time : EVE

13. In a funk : SAD

15. Strauss of denim : LEVI

21. Sundial number : III

24. U.N. anti-child-labor agcy. : ILO. international labor organization.

26. Nodding words : AH SO. interesting.

28. Henry Clay, for one : ORATOR. here.

29. Sana'a citizen : YEMENI. sana'a is the capital of yemen.

30. Eat one's words : RECANT

31. Fill with love : ENAMOR

39. Javert's rank: Abbr. : INSP. character in les miserables.

41. :-( is one : EMOTICON. here are some others:

45. "Not __ bet!" : ON A

48. Animation still : CEL

51. Speeds : ZOOMS

53. Capital formerly named Christiania : OSLO. norway.

55. Puts (out) : TAGS. i'm envisioning a yard sale. (note: the clue refers to baseball)

57. __ Day vitamins : ONE-A

58. Cooped (up) : PENT

59. Leeds-to-London dir. : SSE

60. Without exception : ALL

61. "Groovy!" : FAB

62. "Out of the Blue" rock gp. : ELO

64. Pump part : TOE

65. Lime ending : ADE

melissa

Tuesday, July 16, 2013 David Poole

Theme: Vowel Progression, with a Twist. - The theme entries begin with an H, followed by a long vowel sound, progressing from A to U.

18A. Subjects for Monet : HAYSTACKS. And if he were still painting today, would it be these?

                                     Source

22A. Sounded like an donkey : HEE-HAWED. Another update.

38A. Like someone needing a lot of attention : HIGH MAINTENANCE. Like Lisa Douglas.

49A. Barn dances : HOEDOWNS

58A. "Love Actually" actor : HUGH GRANT

Argyle here.(no video) A few crunchy nuggets to break a tooth on but a grid spanner to make it better. Nearly a pangram, to boot.

Across:

1. Oxymoronic shrimp type : JUMBO

6. Sets, as a price : ASKS

10. Overcast : GRAY

14. Opera solos : ARIAs

15. Chop __ : SUEY

16. The stuff of legends : LORE

17. Fish organs : GILLS. The equivalent of our lungs.

20. Pocketed, as a pool ball : SANK. If you sank the 8-ball on the break, did you win or did you lose? The start of many a bar fight.

21. Broke the Tenth Commandment : COVETED

24. Wimp : SISSY

28. Tanzania's __ es Salaam : DAR. MAP.

29. Thomas More's perfect world : UTOPIA

30. With 41-Across, thing sometimes resisted : THE. 41A. See 30-Across : URGE

33. Words welcoming speakers : INTROS

37. Pre-Easter season : LENT

42. Gourmet's prefix : GASTRO

43. __ Moines : DES. Iowa.

44. Self-described "short, stocky, slow-witted bald man" of "Seinfeld" : GEORGE

46. Bankbook cred. : INT. (credit/interest)

48. Taste, e.g. : SENSE

54. Lame excuses : COP-OUTS

56. Absorbs, as a loss : EATS

61. State whose motto is "Friendship" : TEXAS

62. Kin of -trix : ENNE

63. Willy of "Free Willy," e.g. : ORCA. Hey, we haven't seen an ORCA in a while. Or OKRA, for that matter.

64. Embellish : ADORN

65. Umpire's call : FOUL

66. Turns green, say : DYES

67. Quintet of assassins? : ESSes

Down:

1. Sprees : JAGS

2. Awful Heep : URIAH

3. Hundred Acre Wood creator : MILNE

4. Refused to cooperate : BALKED

5. Covert WWII agcy. : OSS. (Office of Strategic Services)

6. Vote by __ of hands : A SHOW

7. Like Cary Grant characters : SUAVE

8. Excited, with "up" : KEYED

9. Part of TBS: Abbr. : SYST. (Turner Broadcasting System)

10. Flower with sword-shaped leaves : GLADIOLA. Today's flower.

11. Legendary bird : ROC

12. Noah's boat : ARK. No rocs in the boat.

13. "You betcha!" : "YES!"

19. Midterm, say : TEST

21. 2011 Polanski comedy with an ironically violent title : "CARNAGE". IMDb LINK.

23. "The Lost Boys" actor Corey : HAIM. A short life. Wikipedia LINK.

25. Go on a shopping spree : SPEND

26. Because : SINCE

27. David who directed four Harry Potter films : YATES. From Order of the Phoenix to the last Deathly Hallows.

29. Log-in needs : USER IDs

30. Hooligans : THUGS

31. Newly employed person : HIREE

32. Goad : EGG ON

34. Alejandro's aunt : TÍA

35. ER VIPs : RNs

36. Giant star Mel : OTT

39. Astronomer who discovered Uranus : HERSCHEL. Sir William Herschel, 1738 – 1822

40. "Mustn't do" thing : NO-NO

45. Trivial Pursuit category: Abbr. : GEOG. (Geography)

47. Stereotypical professorial attire : TWEEDS. With leather patches on the elbows.

49. White with age : HOARY

50. 1/16 of a pound : OUNCE

51. James and Jones of jazz : ETTAs. Both were American singers.

52. Greek vacation island : NAXOS. The largest island in the Cyclades island group in the Aegean. Travel guide LINK.

53. Fixed look : STARE

55. Poke : PROD

57. IRS identifiers : SSNs. (Social Security number)

58. Publisher wearing p.j.'s : "HEF". Hugh Hefner

59. 108-card game : UNO

60. Bearded beast : GNU

61. __ kwon do : TAE

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few pictures of Montana's beautiful grandkids: Diana Nicole, born on July 13, 2013 (last Saturday) &  Gabrielė.

 Diana Nicole

 Gabrielė, age 22 months

 Gabbie checking out her new sister, Diana.