Monday, September 2, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Honey, your folks are here - Phrases with Ma and Pa at the head of the line.

18A. *File folder material : MANILA PAPER

24A. *Halloween bash with costumes : MASQUERADE PARTY

39A. The Kettles, or a hint to the answers to starred clues : MA AND PA

52A. *Law firm bigwig : MANAGING PARTNER

61A. *Foam bedding item : MATTRESS PAD

Argyle here with a C.C. Monday gem. It helped if you remembered who the Kettles were but the starred clues didn't really need the central reveal. It does tie the theme tighter. Two grid spanners and two strong climbers tie it up tight. Should be a speed run for regular solvers but still a pleasant result.

 Bill G, you listening?

Across:

1. Beach lotion letters : SPF

4. Piece of information : DATUM

9. Like a visit from Francis : PAPAL

14. Lao Tzu principle : TAO

15. Really angry : IRATE

16. Musical in which Madonna set a Guinness World Record for "Most costume changes in a film" : "EVITA"

17. That, to Teresa : ESO. (Spanish)

20. Book of maps : ATLAS

22. Police force member : COP

23. Eye drop : TEAR

28. Only brother not in any Marx Brothers films : GUMMO. If you missed CED's link to Harpo, go back to yesterday's comments at 8:25 PM.

29. Belgian river : YSER

30. "Stop, horse!" : "WHOA!"

32. The Spartans of the Big Ten: Abbr. : MSU. (Michigan State University)

34. Old Russian leaders : TSARs

38. "You've got mail" company : AOL

42. Lav of London : LOO. Lav is short for lavatory.

43. Cowboy contest : RODEO

45. Onassis nickname : ARI. (Aristotle Socrates Onassis)

46. Barristers' degs. : LLBs. (Bachelor of Laws)(Legum Baccalaureus Latin)

47. Norse prankster : LOKI

50. First of four Holy Roman emperors : OTTO I

58. Bird sacred to Tut : IBIS

59. T, to Socrates : TAU. Not the hemlock tea that did him in.

60. Pong producer : ATARI

65. Fishing pole : ROD

66. Trap during a winter storm, maybe : ICE IN

67. Chopin work : ETUDE

68. "__ to Joy" : ODE. I know you like a good flash mob.

69. About, date-wise : CIRCA

70. Managed somehow : COPED

71. Filmmaker Craven : WES. Well-known horror director.

Down:

1. Cook, as asparagus : STEAM

2. Carb-loader's entrée : PASTA

3. Forty-niner's disillusionment : FOOL'S GOLD. (Pyrite)

4. Bite-sized Chinese dish : DIM SUM

5. Parseghian of football : ARA

6. Light brown : TAN

7. Mohawk River city : UTICA. Shout out to the Mohawk Valley.

8. Something to hum : MELODY. Like "Ode to Joy" for the rest of the day.

9. Energy : PEP

10. Blog posters' self-images : AVATARs

11. Peter, the pickled-pepper picker : PIPER. A lot of alliteration.

12. Dined in : ATE AT. A misfire.

13. Comedic Cable Guy : LARRY

19. Jungle swingers : APEs

21. Color of water : AQUA

25. Actress Thompson : EMMA

26. Civil rights pioneer Parks : ROSA

27. Animal rights org. : PETA. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) Pronounced the same? 41D. Pocket bread : PITA

30. Civil __ : WAR

31. "Yoo-__!" : HOO

33. One, to Juanita : UNA. More Spanish.

35. Aligned perfectly : ALL IN A ROW

36. Hold up : ROB

37. Sailor's distress signal : S-O-S

39. Synthesizer pioneer Robert : MOOG

40. Fall : DROP

44. Stretchy, as a waistband : ELASTIC

46. Former Senate majority leader Trent : LOTT. Senator from Mississippi.

48. Flying toy : KITE

49. "Be right there!" : "IN A SEC!"

51. Dealt players : TRADED

52. Act like : MIMIC

53. Calculators often made with bamboo frames : ABACI

54. Compound in fireworks : NITER

55. Exuberance : GUSTO

56. Gradually wear away : ERODE

57. Fair attractions : RIDES

62. Genetic letters : RNA

63. Newborn dog : PUP. Nap time.

64. Fruity drink : ADE

Argyle

Sunday September 1, 2013 Margaret Hannan

Theme: "Division of Labor" - Each "Labor" word is divided into two parts by a black square.

23A. Brown outburst : GOOD GRIEF  FORT BENNING (24A. Georgia military post)

 

40A. '90s three-door SUV : MAZDA NAVAJO  BUBBLE GUM (45A. Bazooka output)

61A. High class : UPPER CRUST  RAIN BARREL (64A. Runoff collector)

85A. Getaway with horses : DUDE RANCH  OREGON DUCKS (87A. Washington Huskies rival)

108A. Frequent button-presser : COUCH POTATO  I'LL BE BACK (110A. Arnold's catchphrase)

So these are essentially grid-spanning 21-letter entries broken up by a black square. A perfect 100 theme squares.

I've mentioned this before. Grid spanning 15's often ease up a weekday grid, but 21's are somehow hard. And the constructor has 5 to deal with today.

I think this is Margaret Hannan's LAT debut. Congratulations!

 

Across:

1. Traveling like Columbus : ASEA

5. Seniors' advocacy org. : AARP. Few like them on our blog.

9. Many a commuter's home : SUBURB

15. Beltmaking tools : AWLS

19. Still at the lost and found : UNCLAIMED

21. One who overdoes a privilege : ABUSER

22. Actress Perlman : RHEA. Back together with Danny DeVito after a short separation.

26. Googling result : URL

27. Defense team: Abbr. : ATTs

28. "Twilight" heroine : BELLA (Swan).  Look here.  It has no mention of his relationship with Kristen Stewart. How could that be? I like Wiki bio where there's a clear "Personal life" segment.

29. Kook : WEIRDO

30. Space capsule transition : RE-ENTRY

32. It may be a surprise : PARTY

33. Hawker's talk : SPIEL

34. __ moment : AHA

35. Moral misstep : SIN

36. Nobelist Bellow : SAUL. Better call this Saul. Breaking Bad.

37. Airport security requests : IDs

47. Inter __ : ALIA

48. Toledo title : SENOR

49. Action film weapons : UZIs

50. Water container? : DIKE. Nice clue.

51. Good __/bad __: interrogation method : COP

52. Thanks/thanks link : BUT NO.

54. Org. with HQ on Manhattan's East Side : THE UN

56. "Bummer" : AW GEE. Do you guys all like the stupid Gmail new format? I can't even find the CC button.

57. Big name in escapes : HOUDINI. I thought of Alcatraz.

59. Lamb cut : SHANK

60. Glamorous Gardner : AVA

69. Storage media, briefly : CDs

70. Civil rights org. : NAACP

72. Follow : ABIDE BY

73. Groundwork : BASIS

76. Game on skates : DERBY. Roller derby.

77. Windshield sticker : DECAL

79. Head of London? : LOO. Did you want ELL also?

80. "I say!" : EGAD

81. Western landscape feature : MESA

82. Like some luck : TOUGH

84. Zero-spin particle : PION. No idea. What does "Zero-spin" mean?

90. Match, as a bet : SEE

91. Sony co-founder Morita : AKIO. Literally "bright man".

92. Enlistees : GIs

93. Oklahoma resource : OIL

94. Plant tissue : XYLEM. New word to me also.

96. Cover used during zapping : SARAN

99. "Gerontion" poet : T. S. ELIOT

103. Opens, as a beer : UNCAPS

105. Required situation for a two-run homer : ONE ON. Oh, I'd like you to know that I'm now a Pirates fan. Bye, Twins!

106. Roll call replies : AYES

107. Sgt. or cpl. : NCO

112. Verdant : LUSH

113. Decks out : ADORNS

114. Sneak out : STEAL AWAY

115. "I'd hate to break up __" : A SET

116. Accommodate, in a way, as a restaurant patron : RE-SEAT

117. "CSI" actress Helgenberger : MARG.  Pronounced with a hard "G". She's wearing nipple concealers, Argyle, in case you wonder.

118. Sticky Note, e.g. : MEMO

Down:

1. Soothsayer : AUGUR

2. Nocturnal noise : SNORE

3. Nice school : ECOLE. French city Nice.

4. City council rep. : ALD

5. Dallas-based budget carrier : AIRTRAN

6. Accord : AMITY

7. Welsh actor Roger : REES

8. Adobe format : PDF

9. More conservative, investment-wise : SAFER

10. Horseshoe-shaped hardware item : U-BOLT

11. Thickset : BURLY

12. Venus's org. : USTA (United States Tennis Association). Venus Williams.

13. Gray : REB. This "Gray" clue gets me all the time.

14. Stout servers : BREW PUBS

15. Onetime rival of Jack and Gary : ARNIE (Palmer). Gary Player.

16. Pinwheel : WHIRLIGIG. Lovely entry.

17. Advance : LEND

18. Palm tree starch : SAGO

20. First name in whodunits : AGATHA

25. Sam who played Merlin in "Merlin" : NEILL

28. It has strings attached : BANJO. The dreaded "Deliverance".

31. Nothin' : NADA

32. Cliburn's instrument : PIANO

33. Oral polio vaccine developer : SABIN

35. Cinematographer Nykvist : SVEN. Known for his for his work with Ingmar Bergman, according to Wiki.

36. Ichiro of baseball : SUZUKI. My very first baseball card is a Ichiro rookie.

38. British nobleman : DUKE

39. Barrie pirate : SMEE. Peter Pan.

40. __ Picchu : MACHU

41. Knock for __ : A LOOP

42. Mom's winter morning reminder : ZIP UP

43. Up and about : ASTIR

44. Surg. specialty : ORTH

45. Lake __ Vista : BUENA

46. __ Bear, original name of Winnie-the-Pooh : EDWARD. Did not know this.

52. Bath visitors : BIRDS. "Visitor" made me think of the British city Bath.

53. Members of the fam : UNCS (Uncles). Meh fill. Unavoidable in a Sunday grid.

55. Source of a Marxian nickname : HARP. This refers to Harpo Marx, right?

56. Be helpful to : AVAIL

58. Rule : DECIDE

59. You might take one before giving up : STAB. Please give Young & Beautiful

a stab. Best song I heard this summer. So haunting.

60. "SOS" singers : ABBA

62. World Heritage Site org. : UNESCO

63. Immortal actress Bernhardt : SARAH. It amuses me every time Rich uses "Immortal" in a clue. Wiki said she's "the most famous actress the world has ever known." Died in March 1923. French.

65. Salsa holder : NACHO

66. Museum item : RELIC

67. Nook download : E-BOOK

68. City north of Marseilles : LYONS. I wonder why English adds S to both Lyon and Marseille.

71. Plasm lead-in : CYTO. "Cell".

73. Hospital count : BEDS

74. Chills and fever : AGUE

75. Lousy example : SAD EXCUSE.  Always thought "sad excuse" = "bad explanation".

76. Jean-etic material? : DENIM. Got it.

77. Expected to arrive : DUE IN

78. Breakfast staple : EGGS

81. Matches the scorecard, so to speak : MAKES PAR. I tend to say "I made a par/birdie/bogey" on that hole, with "a".

83. Bach's instrument : ORGAN

84. Clout : PULL

86. Friend of Potsie in "Happy Days" : RALPH

88. Steed feeder : NOSEBAG

89. Semi filler : DIESEL

95. America's Cup entry : YACHT

96. It's a trap : SNARE. Great clue.

97. UnitedHealthcare rival : AETNA

98. High bar : ROOST

99. First president who wasn't elected : TYLER (John). Because of Harrison's death.

100. Amazed : IN AWE

101. Eponymous William's birthplace : OCCAM. William of Occam, known for his razor principle.

102. Capital east of Seoul : TOKYO

103. Campus south of Sunset Blvd. : UCLA

104. We, to Henri : NOUS. Oui!

105. Plains people : OTOS

106. Mont. neighbor : ALTA (Alberta)

109. Wordsworth work : ODE

110. Philosophy : ISM

111. Emeril catchword : BAM. This simple Quinoa salad deserves a "Bam" from Emeril! I always "Kick it up a notch" with a few slices of avocado.

C.C.