Monday, November 11, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Highest Rating - 5-Star

64A. Headliner, or symbol associated with 20-, 28-, 37-, 42- and 50-Across : STAR

20A. Five-time Super Bowl winners : DALLAS COWBOYS

28A. "It's all about the beer" Dutch brewer : HEINEKEN

37A. "Miracle on 34th Street" store : MACY'S

42A. Big name in sneakers : CONVERSE

50A. Standard flown in Ho Chi Minh City : FLAG OF VIETNAM

Argyle here. C.C. on Monday; could that mean Marti on Tuesday? We should be so lucky.

Definitely needed the unifier today to make the connection between the entries.

Across:

1. Dinner for Mister Ed : OATS. Mr. Ed is a horse, of course.

5. On-the-job extras : PERKS. A short form of the word perquisite.

10. Cave feedback : ECHO

14. Snow remover : PLOW

15. Ice show site : ARENA. C'mon, snow and ice! Pushing the season a little.

16. D'back or Met : NLer

17. "East of Eden" director Kazan : ELIA. 1955 film with James Dean in his first major screen role.

18. Popular half of a 45, usually : SIDE A

19. Time division on a map : ZONE

23. Do a librarian's chore : SHELVE. (the books)

24. Last Greek letter : OMEGA

27. Pipeline product : OIL

31. Tweezer targets : BROWS

34. Club for the supersmart : MENSA. I hope Dennis survived yesterday. 60A. 34-Across member : BRAIN

35. Soccer goal : NET

36. Weight training units : REPS

38. Stand up : RISE

39. Make the most of : USE

40. Obama daughter whose Secret Service code name is "Rosebud" : SASHA. and 48D. Obama daughter whose Secret Service code name is "Radiance" : MALIA. Grew up in front of our eyes.

41. Parcels (out) : METES

44. Droop in the middle : SAG

45. Ford flop : EDSEL

46. Insurance filings : CLAIMS

55. Thug's knife : SHIV

57. Snow-block home : IGLOO

58. Prefix with cast : TELE

59. Not contaminated : PURE

61. Soprano's solo : ARIA

62. Shoe inserts : FEET

63. Road curves : BENDS

Down:

1. Opinion pieces : OP-EDs

2. God of Islam : ALLAH

3. Fabric often decorated with pastoral scenes : TOILE

4. Gulps down : SWALLOWS

5. Whole bunch : PASSEL

6. Guitarist Clapton : ERIC

7. Start all over : REDO

8. Felt in one's bones : KNEW

9. Swedish automaker : SAAB. Not exactly Swedish anymore. National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, abbreviated as NEVS, purchased Saab Automobile's bankruptcy estate. By early 2014, NEVS plans to introduce its first electric vehicle based on the Saab 9-3.

10. Digestive protein : ENZYME

11. Tight, as families : CLOSE-KNIT

12. Lady lobster : HEN. Male lobster is a cock.

13. Find at the mine : ORE

21. "We Try Harder" car rental chain : AVIS

22. Chaplin granddaughter named for her grandmother : OONA

25. V-formation birds : GEESE

26. Gets in the poker game : ANTES

28. Anne of "Donnie Brasco" : HECHE

29. One-named "Orinoco Flow" singer : ENYA. LINK

30. Mag. edition : ISS. (issue)

31. Groundbreaking comic Lenny : BRUCE

32. Put down new grass sections : RESOD

33. Starts to shoot : OPENS FIRE

34. The "m" in E = mc² : MASS. Energy is equal to Mass times the speed of light((c) squared.

37. Make a dent in, say : MAR

38. Rowing races : REGATTAs. Word Origin & History: 1652, name of a boat race among gondoliers held on the Grand Canal in Venice, from It. (Venetian dialect) regatta, lit. "contention for mastery," from regattare "to compete, haggle, sell at retail," possibly from recatare. The general meaning of "boat race, yacht race" is usually considered to have begun with a race on the Thames by that name June 23, 1775 (cf. OED), but there is evidence that it was used as early as 1768.  Per Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

40. Actress Ward : SELA. She has become a crossword staple.

41. Gander or gobbler : MALE. Goose or turkey.

43. Soft-pile fabric : VELVET. Used to paint Elvis on.

44. Offshoots : SCIONS

47. Like neon and xenon : INERT

49. Mascara mishap : SMEAR

51. The Bee Gees' "Gee" : GIBB. Brothers Gibb.

52. Beast of fables : OGRE

53. Spanish dessert : FLAN. But the word isn't derived from Spanish.

54. Partner of null : VOID

55. Coppertone letters : SPF. (sun protection factor)

56. Shade of color : HUE

Argyle

Sunday November 10, 2013 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "Working Overtime" - OT spans across each theme entry.

 27A. Chocolate source : CACAO TREE

29A. One working with hammers : PIANO TUNER. Don G is one.

49A. Pest-snaring device : MOSQUITO TRAP. Summer in MN is lovely, except the mosquitoes. Ferocious.

64A. Classroom reminder : NO TALKING

83A. Cold War concept advanced by Eisenhower : DOMINO THEORY

101A. Outdoor furniture piece : PATIO TABLE. The Amish guy at our Annadale flea market makes beautiful patio furniture.

104A. Martial arts maneuver : JUDO THROW

36D. "That Girl" actress : MARLO THOMAS. Wife of Dr. Phil. (Edited later: She's married to Phil Donahue. Not Dr. Phil. Thanks for pointing out my mistake, D-Otto and others.)

40D. Naval weapons launcher : TORPEDO TUBE. Argyle can tell you more about it.

Reveal entry:

109D. NFL tiebreakers hidden in this puzzle's nine longest answers : OTs

You probably noticed that nearly all theme entries start in Row 3. Gail started this one in Row 4, similar to her "Tee Time" puzzle here.

Many of Gail's weekday 15*15 grids feature the classic pinwheel design, two theme entries Across, two entries Down. And you'll always find two theme answers in Down in her Sunday grids.

Across:

1. Tournament exemptions : BYEs

5. Sourpuss : PILL

9. Evaluate : JUDGE

14. Leaves at the last minute, in a way : JILTS

19. Fly, at times : LURE. Fishing.

20. Trendy berry : ACAI. I love Organix. They have a shampoo with Acai berry ingredient.

21. Australian exports : OPALs

22. Cat Nation people : ERIES. Did not know Cat Nation. Carrie Nation, Yes.

23. Overlook : OMIT

24. Registered, with "in" : SANK

25. __ Bell: Emily Brontë pen name : ELLIS. Here is the first edition of "Wuthering Heights". Ellis Bell. Never knew this trivia.

26. Up to this point : SO FAR

31. Bold move : DARE. Love Spitzboov's Mark Twain quote last week: Explore. Dream. Discover.

32. Suit : BEFIT

33. Enthusiasm : VIM

34. Cath. church eponym : ST. MARY

37. Heart container : CHEST

39. Probate concerns : ESTATES

43. Qualifying races : HEATS

44. Scored 75, say : HAD A "C". This kind of HAD A B/C answer is always hard for me.

45. Stretched to the max : TAUT

47. "Don't think so" : NOPE

48. Spread unit : ACRE

52. Cartoon dog : REN

53. Flyers' org. : NHL. I had this in my LAT on Tuesday. Barry G did not like it as it's an Abbr. It's a perfectly fine entry to me,  and I won't hesitate to use any time. Same with MLB, NBA, NFL, PGA, etc.

54. Sealing supplies : TAPES

55. Museum opening? : ART. Art museum.

56. Gathered : REAPED

58. Anka song with the phrase "kiss me mucho" : ESO BESO

60. Shot with lots of English : MASSE. Here, English is the spin.

62. Underline, say : STRESS

63. Work on an arm, maybe : TAT (Tattoo)

68. Flaky fish : COD

69. African hot spot : SAHARA

72. APB targets : PERPS

73. Galena, for one : LEAD ORE

77. Big name in food safety : ECOLAB. Based here in MN. Huge.

78. P.I. : TEC (Detective)

79. Captain's reference : CHART. Sea captain.

81. Daly of "Wings" : TIM. Tyne Daly's brother.

82. CD-__ : ROM

87. Starkers, across the pond : NUDE. Dictionary says British use "Starkers" for "naked". Learning moment for me, Steve! I actually read the clue as "Stalkers".

88. Snap up : GRAB

90. Vessels at banquets : URNS

91. Golfer's choice : WEDGE. DRIVER, PUTTER, IRON, that's all.

92. Cotton thread : FIBER

93. Like attached baths, in Bordeaux : EN SUITE

95. Ends of the earth : POLES

96. Sunday best : FINERY

97. Retired boomer : SST. This clue always makes me smile.

98. Image Awards org. : NAACP

100. "What __ could I do?" : ELSE

109. Ripley's closing words : OR NOT

110. Cousteau's realm : OCEAN

111. Rush job letters : ASAP

112. O'Neill's daughter : OONA

 

113. O'Neal's daughter : TATUM. Nice pair of clues.

114. "I can't go all my life waiting to catch you between husbands" speaker : RHETT

115. Lowers : DIMS

116. Created fiction? : LIED

117. Whack, biblically : SMITE

118. Rainy day brand : TOTES. Umbrella.

119. Not a challenge : EASY

120. Fraternal group : ELKS. For Abejo. He's very active in volunteer work.

Down:

1. Voting coalition : BLOC

2. Arizona county or its seat : YUMA

3. Stonestreet of "Modern Family" : ERIC. Gimme for Bill G, who's a fan of the show, or maybe just the lady in red.

4. Begin wedding plans : SET A DATE

5. Baklava, e.g. : PASTRY. Its texture seems to be similar to that of moon cakes.

6. Comforting comment : I CARE

7. Roped-off pool area : LANE

8. Facebook option : LIKE

9. "Casino" co-star : JOE PESCI

10. Elevate : UPLIFT.  Terry Gross had a great interview with Chris Hadfield last week. Very uplifting. He lives what Mark Twain preached (Great quote last week, Spitzboov): Explore. Dream. Discover.

11. __ Lama : DALAI. Good guy, though I do strongly believe Tibet is part of China.

12. Sun-on-ocean effect : GLINT

13. Canadian pump sign : ESSO

14. Like Boston College, say : JESUIT

15. Certain triathlete : IRONMAN

16. "... a tale / Told by an idiot": Macbeth : LIFE. How sad!

17. Forgo scissors : TEAR

18. Outdated geopolitical letters : SSR

28. They're secured in locks : OARS. Great clue!

30. Emmy winners, often : TV STARS

32. Inamorato : BEAU

34. Western classic : SHANE

35. Geek Squad pros : TECHS. Costly.

37. Discounted buy : CASE

38. Command posts: Abbr. : HDQS. I just use HQ.

39. Where to leave Port. : EUR. OK, I saw the . after Port, so does Port. here refer to Portugal?

41. Duel tools : EPEES

42. Ships : SENDS

44. Biker's welcome : HOP ON

45. Many sculptures : TORSI

46. When some folks retire : AT TEN. To bed!

49. Postgrad degrees : MAs

50. They may be assigned : TASKS

51. Family adoptee : PET CAT

54. The classical elements, e.g. : TETRAD. Chinese had 5: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water  & Wood.

57. Yankee slugger, familiarly : A-ROD. Here are just 3 of his ex-girlfriends. He dumped Cameron Diaz.

59. False god : BAAL

60. Florida's __ Island, near Naples : MARCO

61. Wildspitze, for one : ALP. We had the same clue earlier this year.

65. Agree to join : OPT IN

66. Typical Nome winter highs : TEENS

67. Driving hazard : GLARE

69. Twilled fabric : SERGE. Left, not the fabric on the right.

70. Squash variety : ACORN

71. On the verge of doing it : ABOUT TO

74. Hatch back? : ERY. Hatchery. Did you read the story about that New Hampshire farmer who feeds beer to his turkeys? 

75. Subway patron : RIDER

76. Rough stuff : EMERY

79. Turn over : CEDE

80. Fails to share : HOGS

84. One of a G.I.'s three squares : MRE

85. Unsolicited opinion : TWO CENTS

86. Toolbar offering : HELP

87. Like a short golf round : NINE HOLE. Gail plays golf. So does Rich, who used to be a scratch golfer. 

89. Escape, as a con : BUST OUT

92. Ring weapon : FIST. OK, boxing.

94. "Am I the problem?" : IS IT ME

95. It's a matter of taste : PALATE

96. Sister of Peter : FLOPSY. Peter Rabbit.

 98. Chip with cheese : NACHO

99. Red as __ : A BEET

100. Coated cheeses : EDAMS

101. Bath buggy : PRAM

102. Foe : ANTI

103. Civil wrong : TORT

104. Shade of green : JADE. Cantonese girls like to wear jade on a red string.  Jade is supposed to bring you good luck.

105. Old Voice of America org. : USIA (United States Information Agency, 1953 to 1999)

106. Muddy up : ROIL

107. .62 mi., in a race : ONE K. It's clued as "Short run, for short" yesterday. You won't find identical clues for the same entry for at least a month in LAT puzzles.

108. Rolls of notes : WADS

C.C.