Monday, September 23, 2013 Jeff Stillman

Theme: Pet Food - The theme entries can begin with "I AM" (IAMS is a pet food brand).

17A. Ending from Ali : THE GREATEST. Former boxing champion, Muhammad Ali.

21A. Ending from Nixon : NOT A CROOK. Former President, Richard Nixon.

39A. Ending from the Elephant Man : NOT AN ANIMAL. His real name was Joseph Merrick and died at 27 from his deformities. The quote comes from a movie about him.

57A. Ending from Lennon and McCartney : THE WALRUS. From a 1967 song by the Beatles, goo goo g'joob.

64A. Ending from Beyoncé : SASHA FIERCE. Recording artist Beyoncé Knowles' third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. Beyoncé says Sasha Fierce is who she becomes when she performs on stage.

71A. Beginning for this puzzle's five endings : I AM

I am Argyle. Where should I begin. What a Monday. Two overlaps of theme entries on a Monday?! I admit I never heard of the last theme entry but it doesn't surprise me; not in my wheelhouse. There are a lot of three letter words (28) but offset by strong fill. Should be many comments.

Across:

1. Clods : OAFS

5. Got a chuckle out of : AMUSED

11. Roulette bet : ODD. I bet on RED and lost.

14. Lawyer's assistant, for short : PARA. (paralegal)

15. Vox __: voice of the people : POPULI. Rare crossword.

16. Architect I.M. : PEI

19. Plumbing pipe initials : PVC. Poly(vinyl chloride), the white, solid pipe.

20. Very long time : EON

23. Civil War soldier : REB. First name, Johnny.

25. Unhittable serve : ACE

27. Proverbial waste maker : HASTE

28. Ship's front : PROW

30. Dilbert creator Scott : ADAMS

34. Poet's "at no time" : NE'ER

35. Abandon on an isle : MAROON

37. Superman and Batman wear them : CAPES

42. Parcels (out) : DOLES

43. Car window adornments : DECALS

46. Atlas pages : MAPS

49. Boss's nervousness-inducing note : [SEE ME]

51. Banjo support of song : KNEE. "Oh Susanna"

52. "It's __!": warning shout : A TRAP

54. Humanities major : ART

56. Archer's wood : YEW

61. Miss. neighbor : ALA. "I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee."

63. Salt, in Quebec : SEL. (French)

68. One: Pref. : UNI

69. Copenhagen's __ Gardens : TIVOLI

70. Hullabaloos : ADOs

72. Annie, for one : ORPHAN

73. Sibilant "Hey, you!" : [PSST!]

Down:

1. Make a choice : OPT

2. Backrub response : "AAH!"

3. Not a child of bondage : FREEBORN. Rare crossword.(if ever)

4. Pudding starch : SAGO

5. King Kong, e.g. : APE

6. Sounded ghostly : MOANED

7. Until : UPTO

8. Bird feeder filler : SUET

9. Movie lioness : ELSA. "Born Free"

10. Roadside depression : DITCH

11. Go up against : OPPOSE

12. Spend, as time : DEVOTE

13. Haggle : DICKER

18. Genetic letters : RNA

22. Plunder : RANSACK

23. Turntable no. : RPM

24. Time in history : ERA

26. Ear passages : CANALS

29. Carpentry tool : WOOD SAW

31. __ of mistaken identity : A CASE

32. "Oh, brother!" : "...MAN!..."

33. "Itsy bitsy" waterspout climber : SPIDER

Itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout

Down came the rain

And washed the spider out

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain

And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

36. Plains native : OTO

38. Suffix with phon- : EME. PHONEME - "distinctive sound or group of sounds,"

40. Born, in society pages : NÉE

41. Refs' whistle holders : LANYARDS

44. Grant's opponent : LEE

45. Put in stitches : SEW

46. 2009 World Series MVP Hideki : MATSUI. C.C.? (Yankees had a Hideki Matsui Bobblehead Day on July 28 this year to honor his retirement as a Yankee.)

47. Goddess who advised Odysseus : ATHENA

48. Bout before the main event, briefly : PRELIM. (preliminary)

50. Garam __: Indian spice mixture : MASALA

53. Meal, in Milan : PASTO

55. Mai __: cocktail : TAI

58. Bear's home : LAIR

59. "We'd appreciate your answer," on invitations : RSVP

60. "This is bad!" : "UH OH!"

62. Vault : LEAP

65. Half a sawbuck : FIN $10 / $5

66. Comedian Bill, informally : COS. William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr.

67. Repair quote: Abbr. : EST.

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

Crossword LA tournament will be held on October 26, 2013 (Saturday). Please click here for details.

The host Elissa Grossman said "This year's event will include crosswords and puzzle games constructed by Liz Gorski, Jeffrey Harris, Aimee Lucido, Todd McClary, Andrea Carla Michaels, Pete Muller, Trip Payne, John Doppler Schiff, Dave Shukan, Marc Spraragen, David Steinberg and Zoe Wheeler (with development managed by Tyler Hinman). It's likely that Merl Reagle will join us for the event finals. All money raised (over costs) is donated to a great non-profit (Reading to Kids)."

Those are all brilliant constructors. I hope those in Southern California area will participate. You'll have fun! Doug Peterson will there too, and probably our own Steve & Garlic Gal and many other CA area constructors and top solvers.

Sunday September 22, 2013 Julian Lim

Theme: "Hurry!" -RACE can follow the last word of each them entry.

 23A. *Similarly troubled : IN THE SAME BOAT. Boat race.

 38. *Mythological trick : TROJAN HORSE. Horse race.

 63A. *Design on a shield : COAT OF ARMS. Arms race.

 78A. *Most people can't stand to work in one : CRAWLSPACE. Space race.

 100A. *Fire : GIVE THE SACK. Sack race.

 17D. *"Bor-r-r-ring!" : WHAT A DRAG. Drag race.

 82D. *Bad thing to get off on : WRONG FOOT. Footrace.

 119. Embarking on something exciting, and a hint regarding what this puzzle's starred answers' endings have in common : OFF TO THE RACES

Notice each key word has a non-RACE meaning in the theme entry? Nice!

Notice the 48 6+ letter non-theme entries in this grid?  26 of them are 7-letter answers. Julian Lim constantly amazes me with his stacked corners. He's just amazing.

Julian Lim, XWordinfo

Across:

1. Clerics in un monastère : ABBES. French, just for Abejo.

6. Scanner reading : BAR CODE

13. Directory of notables : WHO'S WHO. Do you guys follow this Bo Xilai episode at all?

20. Jeweler's aid : LOUPE

21. "Umbrella" singer : RIHANNA

22. Collaborative instructional website : WIKIHOW. My favorite non-theme entry today.

25. Muslim domain : IMAMATE. I only know IMAM.

26. Like an emcee who's overdoing it : SMARMY

27. Home to millions : SEA. Millions of fish, right?

28. High-tech film effects, for short : CGI (Computer-generated imagery)

30. Worst : PITS

31. Till the cows come home : TO NO END

33. Part of TNT : NITRO

36. Colorado River feeder : GILA

37. Acronymous 13-Down gun : STEN. From Wiki: STEN is an acronym, from the names of the weapon's chief designers, Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and EN for Enfield.  And 13D. Global conflict, briefly : WWII

42. Rapids phenomenon : EDDY

45. "That's so sweet!" : OH YOU

46. Where Rome is : NEW YORK. Gimme for Irish Miss & Argyle.

48. "In Dreams" actor : REA (Stephen). Know him, but not the movie.

49. Coral element : POLYP

53. Donne's "Death Be Not Proud," e.g. : SONNET

55. 1996 Summer Olympics star : MIA HAMM. Bill G met her a few times.

57. Good way to find a relic : IN SITU

59. It might involve a bouncing ball : KARAOKE

62. "Crowd Goes Wild" host, familiarly : REGIS. The new Fox Sports 1 program.

66. Secret observer's opening : SPYHOLE. Same as Peephole?

68. 1998 insect-world animated film : ANTZ

69. Draft status : ONE A

70. Psyche's beloved : EROS

71. Some OR workers : LPNs. What Splynter wanted yesterday.

75. Snaps : HAS A FIT

80. Ames native : IOWAN

83. Coal-rich region of central Europe : SILESIA. Learning moment for me. I bet dear Spitzboov knows. Hopefully he'll be back to the blog soon. His wife Betty had an operation last Thursday.

Spitzboov & Betty

85. How stock may be bought : ON A TIP

86. __ Faso : BURKINA. Meaning "Land of Honest People". Formerly Republic of Upper Volta.

88. Loire Valley city : NANTES. Birthplace of Jules Verne.

91. Latin clarifier : ID EST

92. Nitrogen-based dye : AZO. And 76D. Indigo dye : ANIL

93. Skinks and geckos : LIZARDS

96. Straight up : ERECT

98. Novelist Jaffe : RONA

102. Sponsor of PSAs on DUI : MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)

106. Flow forcefully : GUSH

108. Response to "Clean your room," perhaps : GROAN

109. One adding things up : TOTALER. No one uses this word.

111. Old Spice rival : AFTA

112. Seeking, in ads : ISO. No idea. In Search Of.

113. Some ER cases : ODs

116. "Keep dreaming!" : NO DICE

117. Bread with salad? : CROUTON. Nice clue.

123. Mist-ify? : ATOMIZE

124. Psyched : FIRED UP

125. Church responses : AMENs

126. Post-soak condition : WETNESS

127. "Friends" had 10 of them : SEASONS. I watched the first few in Cantonese.

128. Impetuous : HASTY

Down:

1. Glitterati groups : A-LISTS

2. Bit of wit : BON MOT

3. Lighter liquid : BUTANE

4. "Heartburn" screenwriter : EPHRON (Nora)

5. Words below a bad grade, perhaps : SEE ME

6. Cup holder? : BRA. Ha ha.

7. Strives : AIMS

8. South Korean president, 1948-1960 : RHEE.  Syngman Rhee. Rhee = Lee = Li. Same character.

9. Pool room : CABANA

10. John __ Lennon : ONO

11. Some court evidence : DNA

12. Face up to an embarrassing mistake : EAT CROW

14. "Forget __": 1964 hit : HIM

15. Striped rainforest critter : OKAPI. Hello!

16. Quiet as a mouse, e.g. : SIMILE

18. Have the __ for : HOTS

19. Have a mortgage : OWE

24. Elec. instrument : SYNTH

29. Like the "Saw" films : GORY

32. Prohibition proponents : DRYS

34. __ peace : INNER

35. Angle symbols : THETAS. No idea. I don't even remmeber what's the Chinese for this term.

36. Singer Halliwell : GERI. "Ginger Spice".

39. Love letter symbols : OOO. Marti's hugs.


40. Letters for occupants? : JUNK MAIL. I don't get this clue.


41. By hook or by crook : SOMEHOW

43. Co-star of Tom in "A Few Good Men" : DEMI. Loved the movie. Loved the Kevin Bacon character in it also.

44. Holiday tubers : YAMS

45. Vision: Pref. : OPTO

47. Marx not seen in films : KARL. Funny clue.

49. Type type : PICA

50. "__, you noblest English": "Henry V" : ON ON

51. Future D.A.'s exam : LSAT

52. First name of two Israeli prime ministers : YITZHAK (Rabin). I just don't know how to spell it.

54. __ in November : N AS

56. Shoe insert : HEEL PAD

58. Some sky lights, to some : UFOs

60. Runs : OPERATES

61. Sedgwick of "The Closer" : KYRA. Her Bacon number is 1.

64. Ancient Indians of the Four Corners region : ANASAZI. New word to me also.

65. Int.-lowering option : RE-FI

67. 1952 Winter Olympics site : OSLO

72. Baguette spread : PATE. Must be ages since LaLaLinda tasted baguette. Gluten-free bread just does not taste great.

73. "JAG" spin-off : NCIS

74. 9, perhaps: Abbr. : SEPT

77. Watch over : TEND TO

78. Reds, on scoreboards : CIN. Where is our Seen? He was quite active on the blog for sometime. The eddyB days.

79. Pique : SNIT

80. Support beam : I-BAR

81. Greek spirits : OUZO

84. Ice skater Cohen : SASHA

87. Close at hand : NIGH

89. Notable age : ERA

90. Religious offshoot : SECT

94. MLB nos. : AVGs

95. Puts a new top on : RE-ROOFS. Thought of PK's trouble with her roofers.

97. Designer cologne : CK ONE

99. Fall : AUTUMN

101. Cybermemos : E-NOTES

102. Puccini's "__ Butterfly" : MADAMA

103. Eatery where "you can get anything you want" : ALICE'S . Arlo Guthrie's " Alice's Restaurant".

104. Respectable : DECENT

105. Not casual : DRESSY

107. "Socrate" composer : SATIE. Erik! My favorite! Cool and hard-working.

110. Rabbi's study : TORAH

111. Galleria display : ARTE

112. Model Sastre : INES. Do you like Trésor? She was their spokesmodel.

114. Dimwit : DODO. Here is our Dodo, in red. Anon-T, look at the second picture clearly, you'll see Garlic Gal's spiky hair. Very cool.

L-R back row: Chickie, Clear Ayes, Garlic Gal
   Front: JD, Lucina, Dodo
June 23, 2011

L to R: JD, Garlic Gal, Chickie & Jill

115. Knock for a loop : STUN

117. Harsh bird call : CAW

118. Cologne meas. : OZs

120. Old-style "Tsk!" : FIE

121. Monk's address : FRA

122. Officejet Pro printers : HPs

C.C.