Monday, August 5, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Victor Juliet - The two word theme entries begin with the same letters.

18A. Funny bits you need to see : VISUAL JOKES

28A. Personal assessments of worth : VALUE JUDGMENTS

47A. V8 Spicy Hot, e.g. : VEGETABLE JUICE

60A. Music channel host whose abbreviation hints at this puzzle's theme : VIDEO JOCKEY

Argyle here. Another ten days and this could have been clued as V-J Day. Oh well.

Across:

1. Abbr. on old Eurasian maps : SSR. (Soviet Socialist Republic)

4. Video game area : ARCADE

10. Dashboard gauge, briefly : TACH. (tachometer)

14. Green org. with a floral logo : EPA

15. Honeybunch : DEARIE. When a waitress calls me Dearie, why should she get mad when I call her Sweet Cheeks?

16. Scandinavian capital that uses garbage to generate energy : OSLO. But they don't have ENOUGH! LINK.

17. Stephen Colbert asset : WIT

20. Bangkok native : THAI

22. T-shirt size array, briefly : SML. (small, medium, large)

23. Online finance company : E-LOAN

24. Building blocks of matter : ATOMS

25. Cheerios grain : OAT

27. Prefix with verse : UNI

33. Eisenhower and Turner : IKEs

34. Tolkien monster : ORC. Definitely not short for orchid. SCENE(2:59)

35. Post- opposite : PRE-

36. Arnaz of Hollywood : DESI

37. "I give up!" : "UNCLE!"

39. H.S. exam : PSAT

43. Gov. Cuomo's domain : NYS. (New York State)

45. Inner tube filler : AIR

46. Nobelist Morrison : TONI. (1993 Nobel Prize for Literature) She previously won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved in 1988.

51. Animation frame : CEL

52. Govt.-issued ID : SSN. (Social Security number)

53. Often-pressed key : ENTER

54. Negative particle : ANION

56. Former NBAer __ Ming : YAO. What is he doing now? Follow on Twitter.

59. Tapped barrels : KEGS

63. Cooperstown Hall of Famer Mel : OTT

65. Sealed, as a win : ICED

66. "Man of the House" author Tip : O'NEILL. He served as Speaker of the House from 1977 until his retirement in 1987.

67. Division of history : ERA

68. Subtraction word : LESS

69. "Stop dreaming!" : "BE REAL!"

70. Roget entry: Abbr. : SYN. (synonym)

Down:

1. Attach a button, say : SEW

2. Bit of physical comedy with a sprayed beverage : SPIT TAKE

3. Entry points for some rodent nests : RAT HOLES

4. Provide counsel to : ADVISE

5. Portuguese king : REI. Yes, now we need to learn Portuguese.

6. Pop's Mama : CASS. (Cass Elliot)

7. Calla lily family : ARUM

8. Conversation in a screenplay : DIALOG

9. Cooked sushi fish : EEL

10. Hammer or saw : TOOL

11. Invite to dinner, e.g. : ASK OUT

12. Spruces up : CLEANS

13. Egypt's Mubarak : HOSNI. Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak is a former Egyptian President, leader and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Wikipedia

19. Yankee shortstop Derek : JETER. Derek Jeter has strained calf, return uncertain. SI

21. Funny : AMUSING

24. Enthusiastic : AVID

26. Electric current unit : AMPERE. Named after French physicist André Marie Ampère.

29. Knight games : JOUSTS

30. Decorative vase : URN

31. 1983 Mr. T film : DC CAB

32. Planet farthest from the Sun, now : NEPTUNE

38. "__ Abner" : LI'L

40. "C'est la vie" : "SO IT GOES"

41. Family tree subject : ANCESTRY

42. Bleacher part : TIER

44. Simple question type : YES/NO

47. Grand Canal city : VENICE

48. Slurs over : ELIDES

49. "I wouldn't do this for just __" : ANYONE

50. Hyde was his alter ego : JEKYLL. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is the original title of a novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson that was first published in 1886. Wikipedia

51. Raise petty objections : CAVIL. (strange word) Word Origin & History "cavil" 1548, from M.Fr. caviller "to mock, jest," from L. cavillari "to satirize, argue scoffingly," from cavilla "jeering". Etymonline

55. Weighty Brit. references : OEDs. (Oxford English Dictionary)

57. Masterful server : ACER. (tennis)

58. Dust Bowl migrant : OKIE

61. LinkedIn listing : JOB. For awhile, I was recieving spam claming to be LinkedIn.

62. She, in Lisbon : ELA. See, more Portuguese.

64. Beachgoer's goal : TAN

Argyle

Sunday August 4, 2013 Paul Hunsberger

Theme: "Lip Service" - X is removed from each theme entry.

 23A. Intuition of some "Star Wars" villains? : THE SITH SENSE. The Sixth Sense.

34A. Weaknesses of a prof's helper? : TA LIABILITIES. Tax liabilities.

 59A. Holiday elves who can't get along? : ARCTIC FOES. Must be Santa's fault! Arctic foxes.

 

81A. Coughing and sneezing? : STATE OF FLU. State of flux.

98A. Fashion collaboration of actor James and a one-named rock-'n'-roller? : MASON-DION LINE. Mason–Dixon line. James Mason & Dion.

 

22D. "Stop adding milk and sugar to these brews!"? : DON'T MESS WITH TEAS. Exactly how I drink tea. Only tea. Don't Mess with Texas.

32D. Dutch South Africans in need of exercise? : HEAVYWEIGHT BOERS. Heavyweight boxers.

115A. Unexpected affection, and an alternate title for this puzzle : STOLEN KISSES

Another grid with theme entry intersection. Lovely. Seldom can I make this approach work, so I'm always in awe when others make it happen.

Also loved the fact that the constructor stole all the kisses away. You can find 25 letters in this grid. Just no X. Tough love!

Across:

1. Sphere of influence : AMBIT. Not an easy start for me.

6. Making waves? : ROWING. great clue.

12. Inbox clogger : SPAM

16. Solstice mo. : DEC

19. Video game princess : ZELDA. And 80. "Super Mario" brother : LUIGI. And 10D. 19- and 80-Across letters : NES.

20. One making bread : EARNER

  

21. Wiry-coated terrier : AIREDALE

25. Bullied : HECTORED 

26. Airport pickup concern, briefly : ETA

27. Good things to keep about you : WITS. Keep your wits about you. 

28. Bob or weave : COIF

30. Actress Campbell : NEVE. Loved "Party of Five".

31. Lint roller target, maybe : CAT HAIR

39. Stage direction : ENTER

41. Back : REAR

42. Purell target : GERM

43. Showy display : ECLAT. There is a booth at the flea market yesterday with "Free Tattoo" sign on. I'm going to explore more next week.

46. Church official : DEACON

48. Penniless one : HAVE NOT

52. Surrendered : WAIVED. Look what's in his hands? Ready to surrender! Dudley, maybe Dave or Gary can teach you how to upload pictures. Or you can just open a blogger account.

CrossEyedDave

54. Hibachi residue : ASH

55. Help-wanted ad periods : AFTs

57. Not all : SOME

58. Daytime __ : EMMY

63. Mane character in Narnia : ASLAN

64. Gush : SPEW

65. Posthumous 2009 George Harrison album : LET IT ROLL. No idea. Wiki said "The track list was selected by George's widow, Olivia Harrison, with some assistance from close friends and family."

66. To the sky : UPWARD

67. British heiress __ Khan : JEMIMA. Lots of tabloid coverage when she dated Hugh Grant, who's now dating a Chinese.

69. Stud spot : EAR

70. Find on the dial : TUNE IN

72. Ten-armed species : SQUIDs

74. Goalie's protective wear : NECK GUARD. For Splynter. Did you listen to our advice and give up the Home Depot girl?

77. See 85-Across : TRUE. And 85. With 77-Across, "Amen!" : TOO

82. Flashy promotion : HYPE

83. Hardly hard up : RICH

84. Wisecrack : JEST

86. Call for : ENTAIL

88. Cowboy hat : STETSON

90. Doyle's narrator : WATSON

93. Wee : EENSY

94. Tug or tub : BOAT

95. Roof rim : EAVE

96. Led Zeppelin's "Whole __ Love" : LOTTA

103. Much-kneaded treatment? : MASSAGE. Nice clue also.

107. Up to it : ABLE

108. Little cut : NICK

109. Like eyes "you can't hide," in an Eagles song : LYIN

111. Time chunk : ERA

112. "Ghastly grim and ancient" poem title critter : THE RAVEN

120. Jersey output : COW'S MILK. Jersey cows. Like HEN'S EGG I saw in a grid sometime ago, COW'S MILK strikes me as redundant, as I connect milk with cows, and eggs with hens. GOAT MILK/GOAT'S MILK is fine.

121. Fancy : ORNATE

122. Verbatim line : QUOTE

123. MD office posting : HRS

124. Skip over : PASS. Good advice to some grumpy anons. Skip over! We like our tomato & pizza & mundane talks.

125. Monster's nickname : NESSIE

126. Flower part : SEPAL

Down:

1. Montezuma subject : AZTEC

2. Maestro Zubin : MEHTA. He's an Indian Parsi. Freddie Mercury is another one. Vidwan said Parsis are very talented or some other adjective.

3. Pasture cry : BLEAT

4. Dog tags, say : IDs

5. __ chi ch'uan : TAI

6. Put back to work : RE-HIRED

7. Brewer's kiln : OAST

8. Pull with effort : WREST

9. Country stopover : INN

11. Like Keats's urn : GRECIAN

12. Indian title : SAHIB

13. Battles with thrown weapons : PIE FIGHTS

14. Orbit bit : ARC

15. 49-Down, as a rookie : MET. And 49. Holder of numerous pitching records who never won a Cy Young Award : NOLAN RYAN. You all nailed this, right? At least, TTP did. I asked on the blog a few months ago how many Cy Young Awards Nolan Ryan won.

16. "Is this too big a chance?" : DARE I

17. French student : ELEVE

18. Hands over : CEDES
24. Noodlehead : TWIT

29. Boathouse item : OAR

33. Get in the game : ANTE

35. Pritzker Prize winner : ARCHITECT. Their Nobel. The Pritzker family owns the Hyatt hotels.

36. Name of 13 popes : LEO

37. Green expanses : LEAs

38. Journalist Kupcinet : IRV

40. Chemical experiment substances : REACTANTS

43. Pasture moms : EWES

44. Tent site : CAMP

45. Gimlet ingredient : LIME JUICE. I like lemon, but not lime.

47. European wine region : ASTI

50. General Bradley : OMAR

51. Lean : TEND. I don't get how these two are equivalents.

53. Some surrealist works : DALIs

55. IM pioneer : AOL

56. Was embarrassed : FELT A FOOL

60. Sleep lab letters : REM. Rapid Eye Movement.

61. Coot relative : CRAKE. Learning moment for me.

62. Overlooked : FORGOTTEN

63. O'Neill's "The Hairy __" : APE

66. Inordinate : UNDUE

68. Early 16th-century date : MDI. 1501.

71. High-tech address : URL

72. Some 35mm cameras : SLRs

73. Pack it in : QUIT

75. Scarf down : EAT

76. Crop circle makers, supposedly : UFOs

78. "Breaking __ Hard to Do" : UP IS. I used to think Neil Sedaka has Japanese roots because of his surname.

79. Long and slimy : EELY

81. Guards : SENTINELS

84. Fonda's "The Grapes of Wrath" role : JOAD

87. Acrobats' gear : NETS

89. Lamont, to Fred Sanford : SON. Sanford and Son.

90. Continues strolling : WALKS ON

91. Prefix with fauna : AVI

92. One who is honored and hopeful : NOMINEE

95. Cause of an env. bulge : ENC. Mine is mainly because of baseball cards inside.

97. Do miserably, in slang : TANK

98. Stick in a box : MATCH. D'oh moment.

99. Not fancy at all : ABHOR

100. Gobs : SLEWS

101. Porcine patter : OINKS. This meaning of "patter" is new to me. I thought it's just a made-up word (one who pats).

102. Those girls, in Oaxaca : ELLAs

104. Memorable moralist : AESOP

105. Actress Scacchi : GRETA. Never heard of her. Italian-Australian.

106. Gallery item : EASEL

110. "Tintin in Tibet" creature : YETI. Onager guess.

113. "MTV Unplugged" lack : AMP

114. Through : VIA

116. Uno e due : TRE

117. Clip-__: ties : ONs

118. High nos. for rocket scientists? : IQs

119. Try to take to the cleaners? : SUE

C.C.