Wednesday December 29, 2010 Gary Cee

Theme: After our discussion on themes yesterday, and despite other temptations, Eye-yi-yi, I'll just go with the unifier, EYE OPENER. For the asterisked clues, the first word of a common two-word answer can precede the word "EYE," yielding a totally different type of two-word phrase. Lots of times these are RIB TICKLERS, but today they're pretty straight forward.

17A. *Unquestioning devotion : BLIND FAITH. Belief in something, in the absence of evidence, or even disregarding contrary evidence. Don't get me started. BLIND EYE: What the devotee turns to the imperfections of the object of his devotion.

63A. *Knee-slapper : RIB TICKLER. An amusing joke or story that gets your ribs moving with a series of tee-hees. RIB EYE: A boneless, well-marbled steak, cut from the top of a standing rib roast. Cf. 23 D!

10D. *Pitchers and tumblers : GLASS WARE. The clue defines them very well. Vessels made of glass, suitable for transporting libations to and from the table, and thence to the lips. GLASS EYE. A non-functional ocular prosthesis: an artificial EYE made of GLASS, the best material for this application. Sammy Davis Jr. had one. Since I'm an EYE GLASS WEARER, I was tempted to go with the childhood taunt "FOUR EYES" for the theme, but, alas, "EYE" only shows up once - in the unifier.

34D. *Like treatment for visiting dignitaries : RED CARPET. It is literally rolled out for heads of state, and at gala celebrity events. Less formally, it indicates giving someone an unusually high level of hospitality. RED EYE: An overnight flight from point A to point B, implying discomfort and lack of sleep, hence the RED EYES. Probably not the usual means of transportation for someone about to walk the RED CARPET.

And, of course, the unifier, 38 A. A 5- or 40-Down ... or what the start of each answer to a starred clue can be : EYE OPENER. This has a few different meanings. The first is a startling revelation that gets one to see something in a new and unanticipated way. (Those with unquestioning devotion are immune.) The second is an alcoholic drink consumed early in the day, presumable to get one up and at 'em. Third, the stimulants in 5 and 40D. But, here, it also uses a common cross-word trope to cleverly indicate that the beginning of each theme answer can precede "EYE."

The below two entries are symmetrically & related to the theme:

5D. Joe's stimulant : CAFFEINE. A bitter tasting crystalline xanthine alkaloid which occurs in the beans, leaves, and fruits of some plants, notably coffee, aka JOE.

40D. Smoker's stimulant : NICOTINE. Another plant alkaloid, found in the nightshade family, and another clecho! It is what causes tobacco addiction.

Hi gang, It's JazzBumpa, with a tumbler of ginger ale at my elbow. Glenkinchie will come a little later. I don't recognize Gary Cee's byline. This puzzle was a lot of fun, and seemed pretty fresh to me, despite a few common entries. I've been anticipating AGLET for a long time, but don't recall seeing it in a puzzle before. The pinwheel theme answer arrangement is uncommon, as is placing the unifier in the center of the grid intersecting other theme answers.

Across:

1. Sound return : ECHO. I was thinking of investment returns. Now I have my eye open for clechoes!

5. Suspension bridge support : CABLE. Here is an example I get to drive across going to and from visiting my mother.

10. Obtain forcibly : GRAB

14. Miller, for one : BEER. I thought it would be a teller of a Canterbury Tale. But the miller was drunk, so it kind of fits.

15. Shoelace tip : AGLET. For some odd reason, I love this word. "Mom, they're tying the whole world together!"

16. Stubbs of the Four Tops : LEVI. News to me. But he might have just what you need.

19. Scored 100 on : ACED. Perfect!

20. Bozo : GOOF. Or a clown.

21. "When the smog clears in California, UCLA," e.g. : PUN. Sheesh. I read right through this and didn't get it.

22. Hitchcock title : SIR. Good night! I didn't know that. Nice misdirection for the director.

23. Dice-rolling game : YAHTZEE. I haven't played this game in years, and don't recall liking it very much.

26. The King or Prince : POP STAR. A royally clever clue. I think we had Jacko, the King of Pop not too long ago. Prince is the artist formerly known as "The artist Formerly known As Prince," which makes him the once and future Prince, I suppose. Never was a big fan of either. Feel free to provide links in comments.

29. Repugnant reaction : UGH. Not now. I just took a sip of the Glenkinchie!

30. Pound sounds : YIPS. Rhyme time for puppy noises.

32. Treatment plant input : SEWAGE. Now -- UGH!

33. Tie up, in a way : MOOR. I have no idea why this caused me a problem. Maybe our boaters can explain the origin if this word.

35. Home of Duke U. : N CAR. The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill region of North Carolina, a beautiful part of the world with a lot of traffic. Note Abrv. n Cl. & Ans.

37. Looks bad, comparatively : PALES. Someone or something can PALE in comparison. But - no politics - moving right along . . .

41. Parisian daily, with "Le" : MONDE. Lucky guess. No idea where in Le Monde it came from.

44. Singer Amos : TORI. Never paid any attention to her. Here is a song for the season.

45. Latin 101 verb : ESSE. Stock fill.

49. Signs into law : ENACTS. Rumor has it that making law is like making sausage. If you won't ask, I won't tell.

51. Pool room supply : RACK. It's that triangle-shaped thingie that you put all the balls into, then take away so you can hit them.

53. Amigo : PAL. That's right friendly!

54. Reaches : ATTAINS. I always like it in those old westerns when the bad guy pulls out his gun and says, "Attain the sky."

56. Chesapeake Bay city : NORFOLK. Just across the James River is Hampton, where my step son Tom used to live. Now, home is in FLA, and he should be back there by Friday.

58. Televise : AIR. Hmmm. Don't they also AIR radio broadcasts? And 36D. Aired again : RERAN. Is it a clecho if the clue echoes an earlier answer, or just an inelegance?

59. Physicians' org. : AMA. The American Medical Association. Note Abrv.

61. Precisely : TO A "T." Sometimes it's just a "T" and sometimes it's a "TEE." Either way, the origin is disputed.

62. Fall : DROP. I always think of the stock market drop in the FALL of '29.

67. Green climber : VINE.

68. Title owner of a sitcom bookstore : ELLEN. Beats me. I haven't watched sit-coms in 30 years.

69. Homeland of the folk-singing Clancy Brothers : EIRE. Always need perp help to decide between EIRE and ERIN.

70. Two out of three, say : MOST. Is the GLASSWARE MOST full or MOST empty?

71. Teacher's directive : SEE ME. It means (s)he wants to talk. Hope it's something you want to hear.

72. Pringles-like Lay's product : STAX. I really cannot understand what justifies the existence of the Pringle, let alone a competitive product from a company that makes real chips.

Down

1. Flow back : EBB. Like the tide.

2. Place to see Bugs? : CEL. Gary got me here. A CEL is a transparent sheet that animation figures are drawn on. CEL is derived from celluloid, a plastic made from cellulose. Today, the CEL is a relic, due to CGI.

3. Dwarfs' song : HEIGH-HO. Spelling this was a guess. Disney stopped using CELS in 1990, but this was long before.

4. Self-contradictory afterthought : OR NOT. I'm never sure if I should say this, OR NOT.

6. Turkish authority : AGA. If you can't do it, the AGA KAHN.

7. Plane, in a control tower : BLIP. On a radar screen.

8. Relax : LET UP. Or ease up, stop applying so much pressure.

9. Cultural group : ETHNOS. Per the Free Dictionary, "people of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture."

11. Conservatory event : RECITAL. Typically a solo musical performance by a singer or instrumentalist.

12. Like Joe? : AVERAGE. He just an average Joe - but he's also a clecho!

13. Bridge action : BID. The action is an auction, and the players get to bid for the contract. Suits me!

18. Half asleep : DOZY. Pretty much the same thing as DROWSY.

23. "De-lish!" : YUM. RIB EYE, anyone?

24. Gone by: AGO. Long ago, in a galaxie far, far away . . .

25. Theme park acronym : EPCOT. Disney's "Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow." I can never remember that.

27. Toon Le Pew : PEPE. An amorous pole cat with an accent.

28. Hi-__ graphics : RES. For good pictures of THINGS!

31. Flavor : SAPOR. I think we've been disconcerted in the past by SAPID. This looks like the root of all SAPIDITY. SAPOR is the quality of a substance to produce flavor. A hungry insomniac might want a saporific soporific to get DOZY.

39. Bigfoot cousin : YETI. A very distant cousin, since bigfoot is from North America, and the Yeti lives in the Himalayas. Though sometimes he can be found in a CEL with Bugs.

41. "Give __ holler!" : ME A. Give me an "H" . . . That's not very good. My bad. I mean ME A CULPA.

42. Province bordering four Great Lakes : ONTARIO. One of the lakes has the same name. Which Great Lake does it not touch?

43. League of __ : NATIONS. "Distinguished gentlemen" wouldn't fit.

46. What a "Me and My Shadow" singer might be : SPOTLIT. In the lime light, so to speak. Here we have the star of yesterday's theme and the man with a glass eye.

47. Mineo in movies : SAL. He was a singer, too

48. Mountain lion prey : ELK. Pretty ambitious snack, if you ask me, but probably a lot of YUM!

50. Catches : SNARES. Or some drums.

52. Ray who said, "It requires a certain kind of mind to see beauty in a hamburger bun" : KROC. Ray Kroc founded McDonald's. To him I say, "That's a crock!"

55. The parenthesis in :-) : SMILE. Your basic emoticon.

57. Counterfeits : FAKES. We call them ERSATZ.

60. Competent : ABLE. Having a useful skill. One of Adam's sons was competent. The other was ABEL.

62. Pet physician's deg. : DVM. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Note Abrvs. They do not belong to the AMA.

64. Pro __: for now : TEM. Like a committee, PRO TEM, usually set up for a single purpose and dissolved when the task is complete.

65. Pitcher's stat : ERA. 'Nother Abrv. Earned Run Average.

66. Oscar winner Harrison : REX. He was a fair lady's man.

Answer grid.

That was fun and interesting. Hope you liked it too.

Cheers!

JzB

Note from C.C.:

Today we remember Dan Naddor, who passed away last year today. Dan gave us total 30 puzzles in 2010, according to Rich's LAT info, which will be published here this coming Friday.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010 Ed Sessa

Theme: A few words from the Chairman of the Board - The starred clues (I hope you had starred clues) end in homophones of Frank Sinatra's trademark scat.

17A. *Amount of money to pay: BALANCE DUE

24A. *Beach Boys hit with the line "the first mate, he got drunk": "SLOOP JOHN B"

30A. *Shaggy's dog: SCOOBY DOO

44A. *Aggressive African swarmer: KILLER BEE

50A. *Drops on the grass: MORNING DEW

62A. Trademark Sinatra lyric heard at the ends of the answers to starred clues: DO BE DO BE DO

Argyle here. Let's start with a couple of songs. Strangers in the Night(2:46) and Sloop John B.(3:00)

This seems like a bono fide Tuesday level puzzle for a change. I thought it was cute having ARREARS(21A) under BALANCE DUE(17A). Also, the SAY "BOO!"(29A) in front of SCOOBY DOO(30A). Scooby is a real 'fraidy cat, for a dog.

Well, better set to work; now that the wind has died down, there will be more shoveling to do. Plus, I want to find out what twinight is!

Across

1. Six-pack muscles : ABs

4. Gets to fit : ADAPTS

10. Farm country mail rtes. : RFDs. Rural Free Delivery.

14. Prefix with light or night : TWI. It seems a few of you already know TWInight. Baseball – adjective. Pertaining to or noting a doubleheader in which the first game begins late in the afternoon and the second in the evening under lights.

15. Cap'n Crunch, e.g. : CEREAL

16. Skin care brand : OLAY. That would be OIL of OLAY. 35D. Word with pan or paint : OIL

19. Rock group : BAND

20. Popular tattoo spot : ANKLE

21. Amount of money that should have been paid : ARREARS

23. "Divine Secrets of the __ Sisterhood" : YAYA. I understand it is a good film. I haven't seen it. It is based on a novel written by Rebecca Wells.

27. Chinese chairman : MAO. Oh, the other chairman.

29. "__ to the flu": vaccination slogan : SAY BOO

36. Muslim mystic : SUFI. From Arabic sufiy, literally: (man) of wool, from suf wool; probably from the ascetic's woollen garments.

37. Swiss peak : ALP

38. Supporter of Boris Godunov, say : TSARIST. Boris Godunov is a Russian opera based on a real ruler whose career began at the court of Ivan the Terrible. Boris Badenov is a fictional character and much more well known.

41. French article : LES

42. Reindeer herder : LAPP

46. Beethoven's Third : EROICA. Third what? 3rd symphony in E flat major (Op. 55), and we've seen it a lot lately.

49. Lumberjack's tool : AXE

54. Slop eaters : HOGS

58. Dovetailed, in carpentry : TENONED. Not right. Splynter, explain the difference.

59. "Stifle yourself!" : "CAN IT!". Thought of Archie Bunker? I did.

60. Ring match : BOUT

64. Latin moon : LUNA

65. Shady Records co-founder : EMINEM

66. Always, rarely or never: Abbr. : ADV.. They are all ADVerbs.

67. Theater section : TIER

68. Begins, as work : SETS TO

69. Caustic substance : LYE

Down:

1. Cornered : AT BAY

2. Master, in Swahili : BWANA. Call Me Bwana.(1:08)

3. Velvety smooth : SILKY. Granted they are both smooth but interchangeable?

4. Spots in high school? : ACNE

5. New Year's Eve mo. : DEC.

6. "It's been __ pleasure" : A REAL

7. California's San __ Bay : PEDRO. Port district of Los Angeles.

8. Bull: Pref. : TAURO

9. Goes to the land of Nod : SLEEPS

10. Scotch cocktails : ROB ROYs. It is a Scottish Manhattan and an affront to Tinbeni.

11. Outmoded camera accessory : FLASHBULB

12. "Angels & Demons" author Brown : DAN. Book.

13. Guitarist Barrett : SYD. Gunghy, here are all the names that were missing yesterday!

18. Texas mission : ALAMO

22. 1977 Steely Dan album : "AJA"

24. Tofu beans : SOYs

25. Credit card come-on : NO FEE

26. Capital south of Coeur d'Alene : BOISE. Idaho.

28. NYC dance company : ABT. American Ballet Theatre.

30. Witch town : SALEM

31. Mild cigar : CLARO

32. Perfectly timed : OPPORTUNE

33. Terr. now divided into two states : DAK.. The Dakotas.

34. "... __ quit!" : OR I

39. Shredded side : SLAW

40. Cowpoke's nickname : TEX

43. Batter's grip aid : PINE TAR. Brings to mind the "Pine Tar Incident".

45. Detox locale : REHAB

47. Reds, on scoreboards : CIN. More baseball reference.

48. Battery terminals : ANODESs

51. Garden dwarf : GNOME. We're getting overrun by GNOMES.

52. Credit counterpart : DEBIT

53. Idyllic sites : EDENS

55. Ryan of "Love Story" : O'NEAL

56. Lightheaded : GIDDY

57. Housewarming aid? : STOVE

59. "Hot Diggity" singer Perry : COMO. One more song.(2:24)

60. Brief lunch? : BLT

61. Mont Blanc assent : OUI. French? Yes.

63. Dick Tracy, for one: Abbr. : DET.. Detective.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, December 27, 2010 Gail Grabowski

Theme: Stop the Car! - The five longest entries end with what might be a point of interest to tourists.

17A. "Awesome!": "OUTTA SIGHT!"

23A. 2006-'07 Microsoft release: WINDOWS VISTA

37A. Financial projections: ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

45A. Act embarrassingly in public: CREATE A SCENE

58A. Cable TV offering: PAY PER VIEW

Argyle(up to his ... in snow) here. Doing a hurry-up job in case the power goes out. A very decent Monday puzzle.

Across

1. Workshop holder : CLAMP

6. Fairy godmother's magic tool : WAND

10. Chopped-up fare : HASH

14. From around here : LOCAL

15. Son of Seth : ENOS

16. Indy racer : AUTO

19. Singer's syllables : TRAs. They need some LAs to sound good.

20. Rehab woes, briefly : DTs. Delirium tremens, the symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal.

21. Monte __: gambling resort : CARLO

22. In pieces : APART

25. "Oops, sorry" : "MY BAD"

28. Cooped clucker : HEN. Alliteration.

29. Mideast honcho : EMIR

30. Member of the crew : SAILOR

34. Sleuths, for short : PIs. Private Investigator.

40. Coll. helpers : TAs. Teaching Assistant.

41. 1910s-'20s Ford assembly-line classic : MODEL T.

42. Prefix with septic : ANTI

43. Cone dropper : FIR. And needles.

44. Expanse with waves : OCEAN

52. Jaunty tunes : LILTS

53. Fritter away : WASTE

54. Monopoly quartet: Abbr. : RRs. The railroads: Pennsylvania, Reading, B&O, and Short Line.

57. Roller rink shape : OVAL

60. Hairy Himalayan, reportedly : YETI

61. Job site standards org. : OSHA

62. Where D.C. is, familiarly : US OF A

63. Part of a process : STEP

64. Pizza crust order : THIN

65. Out sick, say : NOT IN

Down

1. Wad of dirt : CLOD

2. Boorish sort : LOUT

3. Stops stalling : ACTS. The clue could have been for dry gas!

4. Place to wipe your shoes : MAT

5. Lake __, 1980 Winter Olympics town : PLACID. Adirondacks, NY. They probably have less snow than New York City!

6. Very odd : WEIRD. Indeed.

7. English-speaking : ANGLO

8. "Not gonna happen" : "NO HOW". Some day it will be "No Way".

9. Annual cause of losing an hr.'s sleep, perhaps : DST. Daylight Saving Time.

10. Millinery accessory : HAT PIN. Centuries ago, many of the hats that were worn by European women came from the Italian city of Milan. A person who lives in Milan is a Milaner, and traders who sold hats made in Milan came to be known as Milaners too. Gradually, this word became milliner, and women’s hats are still called millinery.

11. Subtle qualities : AURAs

12. Get going : START

13. Shade-tolerant plant : HOSTA. Image.

18. Start of many California city names : SAN

22. Keep from happening : AVERT

23. Say "Be careful" to : WARN. I was thinking of who you might say it to: WARD.

24. "Fore!" or "Olé!" : SHOUT

25. Encounter : MEET

26. Org. known by its first letter : YMCA

27. Revealing books, briefly : BIOs

30. Campground treat : SMORE. Just one SMORE?

31. Partner of abet : AID

32. Cooler cubes : ICE

33. Online cackle : LOL

34. Fried corn bread : PONE

35. Greek "i" : IOTA

36. Potato part served as an appetizer : SKIN

38. Forgets to mention : OMITS

39. Shoe securer : LACE

43. Scuffle souvenir : FAT LIP

44. What a solo homer produces : ONE RUN

45. Overdoes the sweetness : CLOYS

46. Girder fastener : RIVET

47. Send to cloud nine : ELATE

48. Flooded : AWASH

49. Greet someone casually : SAY "HI"

50. "Washington Journal" channel : C-SPAN

51. Hot time in Toulon : ÉTÉ

54. Unruly outbreak : RIOT

55. New mtge., e.g. : REFI.

56. Graceful bird : SWAN

58. Word with belly or boiler : POT

59. Brandy bottle letters : VSO. The last alliteration. VSO - Very Superior Old

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday December 26, 2010 Kathleen Fay O'Brien

Theme: Many Happy Returns - The last word of each common phrase is spelled backward. The resulted phrases are then humorously clued.

23A. "Honest, Professor, I studied very hard for this test"? : ALLEGED PREP. Alleged perp.

25A. Visibly shaken king? : PALE REGAL. Pale lager.

37A. Rejection at McDonald's? : HAMBURGER SNUB. Hamburger buns.

64A. Error that just got bigger? : DILATED SLIP-UP. Dilated pupils.

91A. What Red Riding Hood wisely didn't do? : GO WITH THE WOLF. Go with the flow.

109A. Green poet? : OLIVE BARD. Olive drab.

112A. Effect of Pepé Le Pew battling a romantic rival? : DOUBLE STINK. Double knits.

40D. Quick look across the moat? : CASTLE PEEK. What is "Castle keep"?

45D. Fowl injustice? : TURKEY TORT. Turkey Trot.

I initially thought the last word is only an anagram and couldn't quite grok the "Many Happy Returns" title.

Neat theme. Must have taken the constructor lots of time to find phrases ending in "returnable" words. I like the grid design too. All theme entries (9) are spread out.

Across:

1. Hussein : Obama :: __ : Garfield : ABRAM. Both middle names.

6. Comforter : DUVET

11. Taking badly? : ABDUCTION. Nice clue.

20. Dunces : BOOBS

21. Informal bid : ONE NO. Bridge bid.

22. Zap : MICROWAVE

26. Circus leaper : FLEA. Not real fleas, right?

27. Ad gp. : AGCY

28. U.S. tender : DOLs.

30. Oddly amusing : DROLL

31. It affects your take-home pay : TAX RATE

33. Civil War authority Shelby : FOOTE. Not familiar with this Civil War historian.

35. Per : A POP

40. Things used in semi circles? : CBs. "Semi circles" = Those who drive semis.

43. Bucky, in "Get Fuzzy" : PET CAT. What's your favorite comic strip?

47. Concludes : ENDS

48. Photographing giraffes, perhaps : ON SAFARI

50. Reunion attendees : ALUMS

51. Technology prefix : NANO. Nanotechnology

52. Pico de gallo holders : TACOS. Is pico de gallo similar to salsa?

54. Pronto, to execs : ASAP

55. Scarlett's refuge : TARA. "Gone With the Wind".

56. Like granola : OATY

57. Deck out : ARRAY

58. Bar orders for the calorie-conscious : LITES

59. Laser alternatives : INKJETS.

61. Expected to land : DUE IN

62. Gloomy atmosphere : PALL

63. Dedicated verse : ODE

68. PC panic button : ESC. I wonder if Al uses this button often.

71. The "Y" in YSL : YVES

73. Wise guys : SAGES

74. Detailed : IN DEPTH

76. Unlock the door for : LET IN

78. House reporter? : C-SPAN. House of Representatives.

79. Harlem sch. : CCNY (City College of New York)

81. Princess born on Polis Massa : LEIA. "Star Wars".

82. Love, to Caesar : AMOR. Then we also have 116. All, to Caesar : OMNIA. "Omnia vincit amor" = "Love conquers all".

83. Acts skittish : SHIES

84. Vidal's Breckinridge : MYRA. Second encounter with the book.

85. Lurches : REELS

86. Fighting practice : WAR GAMES. Nice entry.

88. Kemo __ : SABE

89. Like the Finger of Fate on "Laugh-In" : FICKLE. "The flying, fickle finger of fate". Unfamiliar reference to me.

90. Friday, e.g.: Abbr. : SGT. Sgt Joe Friday."Dragnet".

95. Betty Grable's were insured : LEGS. How tall is Grable?

96. Show again : RE-AIR

97. Source of inside info? : CAT SCAN. Saw similar clue before.

102. Suite spot : HOTEL

105. "Mr. Mom" actress : GARR (Teri)

106. Do some bartending : POUR. Hey, Jerome!

108. Wrist-to-elbow bone : ULNA

115. Pretends to be what one isn't : LIVES A LIE. Funny, I couldn't parse my answer earlier.

117. Els on the links : ERNIE

118. Backyard buildings : TOOL SHEDS

119. One you might not want to meet? : MAKER. Meet one's maker = Die.

120. Carried on : WAGED

Down:

1. Sternward : ABAFT

2. Italian vintner : BOLLA. Got me last time with the "125-year-old wine company" clue.

3. Subject of the book "The Best of Time" : ROLEX. Intuitable

4. Tough test metaphor : A BEAR

5. Stir-fry additive : MSG. No one uses it any more.

6. Former bumper car trademark : DODGEM. Learning moment to me.

7. Like "waitress," e.g. : UN-PC

8. "Ha ha" : VERY FUNNY

9. L.A.-to-N.Y. dir. : ENE

10. Champs : TOP DOGS. I always associate this phrase with big potato/cheese, not champ.

11. More copious : AMPLER

12. Preconception : BIAS

13. MCCC halved : DCL. Half of 1,300= 650

14. Cult following? : URE. Culture. Awesome clue.

15. City on the Guadalquivir River : CORDOBA. Capital of Spain under the Moors. South of Madrid. Another learning moment for me.

16. Insignificant one : TWERP

17. Othello's betrayer : IAGO

18. Like many a palette : OVAL

19. "Little" Dickens girl : NELL. Is this from the book "The Old Curiosity Shop"?

24. Bother : EAT AT

29. Suffix with Capri : OTE. Capriote.

32. Cries of clarity : AHAs

34. Novus __ seclorum: Great Seal motto : ORDO. We just had this a few weeks ago. Ordo = Order.

35. Bother : ANNOY

36. Kisser : PUSS

38. Lick : BEAT. Are you familiar with "smear" meaning "decidedly defeat"?

39. "Me too!" : SO CAN I

41. Bluff in Banff : BRAE. Scottish hillside. Banff is a town in SE Scotland. I always connect it with Canada.

42. Small samplings : SIPS

43. House party setting : PATIO

44. Serengeti grazer : ELAND

46. Key of Bizet's most popular sym. : C-MAJ. No idea.

49. Bomb : FAIL

51. Chicago Sting org. : NASL (North American Soccer League, 1968-1984). Chicago Sting was its last champion in 1984. Complete unknown to me.

52. Hair piece : TRESS

53. Seed covering : ARIL. Classic crosswordese.

56. Publisher Chandler : OTIS. Of LA Times.

57. "September 1, 1939" poet : AUDEN. W. H. Auden. Hahtool might have quoted him before.

58. Lt. Columbo's employer : LAPD. Have never seen "Columbo".

60. Starting place? : EDEN

61. Painter of ballerinas : DEGAS

62. Small and weak : PUNY

65. St. Clare's town : ASSISI. St Clare was a follower of St. Francis (of Assisi).

66. Word with deck or drive : TAPE. Got the answer via crosses.

67. __ colada : PINA

69. Unmoving : STILL

70. Scene with stuntmen : CHASE

72. Shenandoah Natl. Park site : VIRG. Was ignorant of the park, Lois!

75. Wire service?: Abbr. : ELEC (Electricity)

76. Code contents, maybe : LAWS

77. Webzine : E-MAG

78. Scolds, with "out" : CHEWS

79. High tech/lowlife sci-fi genre : CYBERPUNK. Just learned this term not long ago.

80. Hands across the water? : CREW. Oh, sailors.

83. Skyline obscurer : SMOG

84. Half a fish : MAHI. Mahi-mahi.

85. Falling-out : RIFT

87. Eternal : AGELESS

88. "Overnight" surprise for some : STARDOM. Overnight success.

89. Turnpike alert : FLARE

92. Sports page deals : TRADES. Shaq seems to have fun in Boston.

93. Ship designation : HER

94. Eye-related : OCULAR

95. Flatten : LEVEL

98. Kama __ : SUTRA. Then you can't kiss in public in India. What a complicated culture!

99. Stick : CLING

100. "Tomorrow" musical : ANNIE

101. Starkers, across the pond : NAKED. Starkers look like a plural noun rather than an adjective, isn't it, Nice Cuppa?

102. Romance novelist Victoria : HOLT. Alien to me. Man, she had so many pen names.

103. Eclectic assortment : OLIO

104. Show recorder : TiVO

105. Crisscross pattern : GRID. Like crossword.

107. Tony's cousin : OBIE. Tony: Broadway award. Obie is for off-Broadway shows.

110. Dissatisfied cry : BAH

111. Bar quaff : ALE

113. Medical suffix : OMA. "Tumor", like lymphoma.

114. Alter, perhaps : SEW

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday December 25, 2010 Doug Peterson

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 30

Merry Christmas! Today we've got a symmetrically placed Christmas mini theme:

1A. Noted list keeper : SANTA CLAUS. Ho Ho Ho, lovely entry for our Santa Argyle.

60A. Ad exec's pithy description of 1-Across? : NICK AT NITE. Fun clue/answer.

We also have NOEL (3D. "The First __") and NAST ( 14D. Cartoonist credited with the modern image of 1-Across). Thomas Nast.

Doug placed ten 10s in the grid, triple stacks of Acrosses & pairs of Downs. The puzzle is anchored by a flashy grid spanner OFF-SPEED PITCHES (35A. Surprises for some swingers). Curveballs/Changeups, etc.

Across:

11. Deuce follower, at times : AD IN. Tennis. Ad(vantage) In.

15. Depot : STOREHOUSE. Was picturing a train station.

16. Isle of Mull neighbor : IONA. On the lower left. Hebrides isle.

17. Superhero who had an arch foe named Bull's-Eye : GREEN ARROW. Unknown figure to me.

18. Expeditions, e.g. : SUVs

19. Latvian chess champ of 1960-'61 : TAL (Mikhail)

20. Biblical reformer : EZRA. I can only nail EZRA when it's poet Pound related.

21. "Ri-i-ight" : I'LL BET

23. Not well-defined : HAZY

24. Gets down, in a way : KNEELS. Thought it might be duck down.

25A. They might be stolen : BASES. I sure was not thinking of baseball. GOODS popped up in my mind.

28. __ Bass Fishing: video game : SEGA. Educated guess.

29. And such: Abbr. : ETC

31. "Haven't decided yet" : I MAY

32. Battle of Salamis victors : GREEKS. Battle of Salamis is between Greeks and Persians in 400 BC. Also new to me. Salamis is an island west of Athens.

34. Tenn. awards org. : CMA (Country Music Association)

38. Gallic title: Abbr. : MME (Madame)

39. Take over : INFEST

40. Breakfast item : LINK. Felt silly staring at ???K forever. I just don't eat links.

41. Penn. is on it : EST (Eastern Standard Time)

42. Change one's position : STIR

43. Philippics : RANTS. Dictionary says Philippic comes from the Athenian orator Demosthenes, who delivered several attacks on Philip, king of Macedon.

44. "'Tis he, that villain Romeo" speaker : TYBALT. No idea. From "Romeo and Juliet". Tybalt is Juliet's cousin.

46. Time for action : D-DAY

48. Composed : SERENE. Adjective "composed".

49. A-line designer : DIOR. Christian Dior pioneered A-line.

50. "That's odd ..." : HMM

53. __ Mountains: Mt. Narodnaya's range : URAL. Mt. Narodnaya is the highest peak of the Urals. Not in my radar.

54. Military foothold : BRIDGEHEAD. Also a new word to me.

57. Diamond with records : NEIL. Neil Diamond.

58. Bath additive : EPSOM SALTS. I add three big spoons to my bath every night.

59. Nut for drinks : KOLA. Same as cola, isn't it?

Down:

1. Mil. squad leader, perhaps : SSGT

2. Its Plus version has a lubricating strip :.. Was ignorant of Atra Plus.

4. Roman numeral : TRE. Hmm, not III.

5. Trojan War survivor : AENEAS. Protagonist of Virgil's "Aeneid".

6. Palminteri of "A Bronx Tale" : CHAZZ. Gimme for Melissa/Dennis. Both have seen his performance in person.

7. Hampshire hauler : LORRY. Hampshire England.

8. Subtle quality : AURA

9. Private entertainers, for short? : USO. Nailed it.

10. Place for pins and needles : SEWING KIT. Nice clue.

11. Target area : AISLE. Target store.

12. Chewing gum could help prevent one : DOUBLE CHIN. Great entry.

13. Bond, for one : INVESTMENT. Not James Bond.

22. Numerical extreme : LEAST. Don't get the clue.

23. Cries for attention : HEYs

24. Doesn't go bad : KEEPS

25. Tundra or coral reef, e.g. : BIOME

26. Auto feature : AM/FM STEREO. Lots of nice multi-words in the grid.

27. Toddler's bed attachment : SAFETY RAIL.

28. Meal during Nisan : SEDER

30. Staved containers : CASKS

32. '60s TV role for Bruno the Bear : GENTLE BEN. Blind spot for me.

33. Ready for another voyage : REFIT

36. Fibonacci, by birth : PISAN. Fibonacci is also known Leonardo of Pisa, Italian mathematician. Total foreign to me.

37. Makeup of Martha's Vineyard's Gay Head Cliffs : CLAY. Tough clue for me.

43. Hardest to get hold of : RAREST

45. "Twilight" protagonist : BELLA. Have never seen "Twilight".

46. Got by : DID OK

47. Bane of liberal religion : DOGMA

48. Doomed : SUNK

49. Piece in the game Reversi : DISC. First encounter with Reversi.

50. Pad opener : HELI. Helipad.

51. Simpsons creator Groening : MATT

52. Inventory abbr. : MDSE (Merchandise)

55. Tech sch. overlooking the Hudson : RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). OK, another shout-out to Splyinter who graduated from there.

56. Solo in sci-fi : HAN. "Star Wars".

Answer grid.

Safe travels, Dennis. You've made it. Have fun in Florida!

C.C.

Friday December 24, 2010 Kenneth J Berniker

Theme: Y me? - The letter Y is added to the start of the first word of each common phrase to create a new phrase which is quite punny. A very simple theme (add a “Y”) executed to entertain. This is only our second puzzle from Mr. Berniker, who brought us the What’s in a Name Puzzle (WOODY, ROCKY and SANDY) back in April, though this emergency room physician has had a number of NYT and other puzzles published, the theme is simple and clean.

17A. Those who outwit safecrackers?: YEGG BEATERS. The lazy man’s egg product, meets a safecracker, better known as a YEGG. YEGG has been in detective fiction from the early 1900’s, but no one is quite sure where it came from.

26A. 1945 view for Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin?: YALTA VISTA. YALTA was the site of the second of three wartime conferences between the leaders of Great Britain, Russia and the US. Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt, were present, and the meeting took place on the black sea because the powerful dictator Stalin was afraid to fly. ALTA VISTA was one of the very early search engines for the world wide web, which like LYCOS, faded away under the Google onslaught.

39A. Chronologists?: YEAR SPECIALISTS. Chronology is the study of the sequence of events, and I bet you all know what an Ear Specialist is.

50A. Core of the dark side?: YIN ESSENCE. I really like this multi level clue, as it teases us with Star Wars like reference to the dark side, while literally meaning just dark. We recently discussed YIN being the shadowy side and YANG being the bright side, and of course, the essence of something is its core.

60A. Paradise brewing aid?: YEAST OF EDEN. Okay, I cannot help it, these puzzles just seem to hone in on me and my family, especially now that they both are beer maestros, with yeast the key to fermenting combined with the John Steinbeck novel East of Eden (which was made into a motion picture with James Dean) transformed into some biblical yeast to make great beer. Since beer predates wine, I guess it all makes good sense. When CAIN was exiled, it was to the east of Eden, to the land of Nod, which I mention since the book is sort of a retelling of that story. It is rumored a remake of the movie is in the works.

Lemonade here, and I enjoyed the cluing, lots of literary references with some deception and wit, for example:

33A. Bucks: BREAD. As the old joke goes, “What is a buccaneer? A really high price for corn.”

71A. Parts of pig tales: OINKS. The tails – tales reference is cute.

My favorite, 31D. Paper cutters, briefly?: EDS. Newspaper editors, tipped off by the “?” and the briefly…

38D. Lamb piece: ESSAY. Wonderful, no baa baa, but, the writer CHARLES LAMB who wrote as Elia, and had a very tragic life.

Also, in keeping with Friday and my blogging day, there are many law related references:

15A. Accustom: ENURE. We love this word, used in describing rights which enure to the benefit of someone.

16A. Its law sch. is in Concord: UNH. University of New Hampshire Law School is in “Cahncahd.”

23A. Law school standards-setting org.: ABA. American Bar Association.

56A. Auspices: AEGIS. Like ENURE, a favorite word in legal writing.

Well, enough of that, on with the show:

Across:

1. '50s headline event: A TEST. What is it with the fascination with A bombs and H bombs lately? We also have the tie in with President Eisenhower from the 50’s.

6. Architectural style: TUDOR. One of the long lasting results of the BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY.

11. Status follower: QUO. This is an Anglicization of the Latin STATU QUO, which the state in which.

14. Princess Toadstool's rescuer: MARIO. Which was played on 65D. Old console using Game Paks: NES. My boys came along just in time for me to learn all about those wacky brothers Mario and Luigi.

19. "__ Believer": I'M A. I am sure most remember this SONG but for my fellow Connecticut followers, I remind everyone Peter Tork is the son of a UConn professor (Nee Thorkelson) and Peter now lives in Storrs.

20. Artist Matisse: HENRI. He was featured in a recent puzzle, and was a master of color and a friend and rival of Picasso.

21. Regarding: AS PER. Okay, also used by lawyers but I do not want to overdo.

29. Beef: RED MEAT. I quoted Clara Peller last week, remember?

32. Really riles: IRES. A real crossword word.

34. See 51-Down: IKE. And, 51D. With 34-Across, '50s slogan: I LIKE. My earliest memory was when Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart came to my small home town, campaigning for Adlai Stevenson, and my father met them at the train station and took them to meet the mayor etc.

35. Zap with a weapon: TASE. And this VIDEO was a proud University of Florida moment.

43. Asian wrap: SARI. Cute, made you think of food didn’t he?

44. TV world: ORK. Enough already, is Robin Williams paying the constructors?

45. Chimú conquerors: INCAS. Last week I had the Aztecs now the Incas and the CHIMU .

46. Light bites: NIPS. Why many people do not like little dogs, who are yippy and bite.

48. Botanical cavity: ALVEOLA. We also had this as the cavity in the lungs, for example, but it is the same in Botany and Zoology.

54. Miss Pym's creator: TEY. How timely, as Fermatprime brought her up Wednesday; Elizabeth MacIntosh produced only ten or twelve books under various pseudonyms, but did line into her 50s, and is said to have influenced all the great cozy writers like Agatha Christie. Martha Grimes recently paid tribute to her The Daughter of Time in two Inspector Jury novels.

55. Woman in a "Paint Your Wagon" song: ELISA. I love the version sung by CLINT EASTWOOD ; where is our author Elissa?

59. Do some bartending: MIX. Yes, a bar, that is what my oldest and my nephew want to open in Buffalo.

66. Squeeze (out): EKE. The second of this puzzles tired but needed crosswordese.

67. Ranch wanderer: STRAY. Why do I picture a loose crouton trying to escape my fork? kinda goes with 64D. Forest ranger?: ELK. Well, luckily there are not many three lettered animals in the forest.

68. Boosted: STOLE. This comes from the organized shoplifters, who used a booster box, a device with a false bottom, which would be placed on top of merchandise, which would then get taken out. The store detective never saw the perp touch the merchandise.

69. Neighbor of Homer: NED. Not the author, but the Simpson, and the religious Mr. Flanders.

70. Newbery Medal winner for "Island of the Blue Dolphins": ODELL. Never heard of the BOOK or Mr. O’Dell. Whew, we are thru the acrosses.

Down:

1. Etiquette guru Vanderbilt: AMY. With a name like Vanderbilt (you all should tour the home in Newport, R.I.) who would not read this TOME .

2. Inventing initials: TAE. Thomas Alva Edison. The wizard of Menlo Park.

3. Fraction of a joule: ERG. All you need to know about ENERGY.

4. [I give up]: SIGH. Come on, no time to quit now, we are going to finish.

5. Start of a classic question: TO BE. Or not to be, that is the question; in my all boys high school, I played Gertrude in our production of Hamlet; the rest were too insecure.

6. Claw: TEAR AT. This too is timely, if you have ever seen a rabid group of children and their presents on Christmas morning.

7. Up to: UNTIL. The punch line, “Up to now, everything was okay.” The joke?

8. Anticipated: DUE.

9. Boston sports legend: ORR. Another New England reference.

10. Back up anew: RESAVE.

11. Marx forte: QUIPS. Karl? Groucho? Both?

12. Like certain expectations: UNMET. Life unfulfilled desires, also apt at Christmas as we see bonuses dwindling, presents shrinking…

13. "Pal Joey" author: O'HARA. Another author and a contemporary of John Steinbeck. When Steinbeck won the Pulitzer prize O’Hara sent him a telegram saying, he could only think of one other author who deserved the prize. O’Hara was great with dialogue, I still read his books.

18. "A Day Without Rain" musician: ENYA. Our new age queen is back.

22. __ Chapel: SISTINE. Another ceiling reference?

23. Fast food chain known for roast beef: ARBY'S. One of many food chains that began in Ohio, the name is not RB for Roast Beef, but RB for Raffel Brothers, the founders. They were the first chain to ban smoking in their facilities.

24. First multiracial coed college in the South: BEREA. The history of this COLLEGE is amazing, but I will leave the details to our own Windhover.

25. "Be __ ...": A DEAR. And get me a beer while you are up. Or take out the garbage.

27. Kind of torch: TIKI. Very big in south Florida.

28. Gazetteer figure: AREA. Gazetteer is an atlas including information like population and area.

30. Quantico inhabitants: MARINES. A shout out to our soon to be traveling and resting Dennis.

34. Opposite of "Yum!": ICK. Recall this MOVIE ?

36. English racing town: ASCOT. Next year will be the 300th anniversary of the world’s most famous horse race course.

37. Old hat: STALE. Not a fedora, or the race track Derby.

40. Opens, as a hood: POPS. Okay buddy, pop open the hood and lets see what’s making that noise.

41. Gaelic tongue: ERSE. This is the root word for what we now call IRISH.

42. Tyler of "The Incredible Hulk": LIV. Poor CHILD started out thinking she was Liv Rundgren, Todd’s daughter.

47. Words after "Because": I SAY SO. The magic words of parenting, changed my life.

48. Like a vinegar radical: ACETYL. ACETUM is the Latin word for vinegar, which is a weak acid produced by fermentation like alcohol.

49. One of more than 245,000 in a Christmas tree at a California theme park: LEGO. TREE .

50. Oman neighbor: YEMEN. Ah back in Oman.

52. Put the kibosh on: NIXED. Pronounced KIE bosh, likely from Hebrew which oddly does not use vowels.

53. Like a cold sufferer's voice: NASAL. SOUND .

57. "Say that's true ...": IF SO. Hmm, lawyers and logicians use this…

58. "The X-Files" gp.: SETI. Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence.

61. LAX listing: ETD. If it is an airport, it is going to be ETA or ETD. A=Arrival, D= Departure.

62. Exist: ARE.

63. Tough boss: DON. The Godfather.

Answer grid.

Golly, the year is almost done, I do not expect many will have time to comment today, but I wish you a very happy holiday week, until next time.

Lemonade

Thursday December 23, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: Seasonal puns, tipped off by a "?" in the clue. Wackiness ensues. No revealing entry in the grid.

20A. Seasonal cheeses?: SUMMER BRIES. Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts.

59A. Seasonal seasoning?: WINTER THYME. Wintertime by The Steve Miller Band.

11D. Seasonal smoked salmon?: SPRING LOX. This one puzzled me a bit as to exactly how it fits in with the theme. There are the Soo locks which open in the spring (closed in winter), and there are types of mechanical locks and latches where the bolt is driven home by a spring. Also spring lock washers. I couldn't come up with a musical connection for this like the others.

35D. Seasonal costume?: FALL GUISE. The Boys (guys) of Fall by Kenny Chesney.

Al here, with John Lampkin continuing his streak for a second Thursday in a row, talk about deja vu. Like Melissa yesterday, I saw several music tie-ins, probably unintended. As per John's style, there are clue echoes present, including one (61D) that the answer is ECHO

ACROSS:

1. Ptolemaic constellation that is now divided into Carina (the keel), Puppis (the poop deck) and Vela (the sails): ARGO. That has to be one of the longest clue descriptions for Jason's ship, ever.

5. Utter: SHEER. Used here as an intensifier (utter delight, sheer delight), not "to say out loud".

10. Exxon forerunner: ESSO. Standard Oil, ess oh (S.O.) Along with ENCO, the combined name would have been the 4-letter EXON, but James Exon was governor of Nebraska, so to avoid problems, they added the second X.

14. Miller's product: MEAL. Cornmeal, for example, ground by a milling stone. I really wanted to put BEER instead.

15. Grade leader?: CENTI. Centigrade (100 gradients or degrees) is now called Celsius (after Swedish Astronomer Anders Celcius), because the desire for name recognition is stronger than being reasonable about having an understandable label.

16. Peak: APEX. Latin for top, peak, summit. Can be clued many ways.

17. West Point team: ARMY. U.S. Military Academy.

18A. Mountain nymph: OREAD. Tree nymph: DRYAD Water nymph: NEREID. Along with clecho 61D. Nymph who loved her own voice: ECHO.

19. Hammock support: TREE.

23. Place purveying potent pints: INN. Nice alliteration in the clue. Along with clecho 65A. Potent pints: ALES.

24. Grab from the shelves: SNAP UP.

25. Miller's salesman: LOMAN. Henry Miller's Death of a Salesman, Harry (Hap) Loman.

27. Dickens's Heep: URIAH. Also a 70's rock band.

30. Fried chicken piece: NUGGET. How they're made.

33. Klutzes: OAFS. OAF "a changeling; a foolish child left by the fairies", is related to ELF.

36. "What's cooking?" elicitor: ODOR.

38. Race with batons: RELAY.

39. Finance major's deg.: MBA. Master of Business Administration.

40. Fuming: IN A HUFF.

42. Sitcom planet: ORK. Is Mork & Mindy being rerun on some cable channel lately? It seems to be showing up a lot lately.

43. Pooped: ALL IN.

45. Con __: briskly, on scores: MOTO. Italian musical term.

46. Wheelbarrow feature: AXLE.

47. Empathize: RELATE. As in "I can relate to that".

49. Gallery events: SHOWS.

51. Troll: GNOME. Both are "earth-dwelling spirits", but not really the same. You would get an argument from someone who plays Dungeons and Dragons. Gnomes are small, usually associated with gardens (or Travelocity), and have red pointy hats. Trolls are much larger, hairier, meaner, less intelligent, and seem to densely inhabit blog comment boards.

53. Peak: TIPTOP.

57. Feathered runner: EMU. A ratite (flightless bird) Also related: ostrich, rhea, cassowary, and kiwi. Extinct species: moa and aepyornis.

62. Put down: LAID. Past tense.

64. "__ under pressure": guts, to Hemingway: GRACE.

66. Japanese soup: MISO. Has health benefits due to Omega-3 and vitamin-K content. Tastes good, too.

67. Retirement plans, informally: ROTHS. An individual retirement account, with taxes pre-paid.

68. New kids' block since 1958: LEGO. Examples of Escher structures.

69. Foreshadowing: OMEN.

70. "Cats" poet: ELIOT. T.S. Eliot, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which I'll skip any links for.

71. Musical syllables: TRAS.

DOWN:

1. Stockpile: AMASS.

2. Old air fare?: RERUN. Like Mork & Mindy.

3. Kind of ray emitted by a supernova: GAMMA.

4. Greek mount: OLYMPUS.

5. Venomous arachnid: SCORPION. Rock you like a hurricane.

6. It may be medicinal: HERB.

7. Nuke-testing dept.: ENER. U.S. Department of Energy.

8. Much modern business: ETAIL. Love it or hate it as a crossword answer, it's so much more convenient than trying to find a parking spot during the Christmas rush.

9. Continue the journey, oater-style: RIDE ON.

10. Corrode: EAT.

12. Dated: SEEN. Past tense of (I'm seeing her. I'm dating her.) And clecho 26D. Dating concern: AGE.

13. Paired pullers: OXEN.

21. Ger. setting: EUR. Germany, Europe.

22. Blue toon: SMURF. You'd be blue too, if there was only one female (Smurfette) in your entire village.

28. Sixth-day creation: ADAM. And all the creatures of the land.

29. Seasonal rooftop noises?: HO-HOS. I wanted HOOFS at first, but then thought it was the wrong spelling for hooves. Turns out it is a legit alternate form, but still the wrong answer.

31. British nobleman: EARL. Had to wait for perps, could have been DUKE.

32. Kid: TYKE.

33. "Rubáiyát" poet Khayyám: OMAR.

34. One-time pal of Baker and Charlie?: ABLE. Pre-1954 U.S. Navy Radio Alphabet. Replaced with the NATO phonetic alphabet: Alpha Bravo Charlie

37. Pianist Laredo: RUTH. Introduced by Van Cliburn.

40. Like trailers on the road: IN TOW.

41. Ottoman: FOOT REST. More precisely, a couch with no arms or back, for laying on, which was so-named because of the perception of Eastern (Ottoman empire) culture.

44. "At Seventeen" singer Janis: IAN.

46. Cloverleaf cover: ASPHALT.

48. Political refugee: EMIGRE.

50. Cleverness: WIT.

52. Join: ENROL. Seems odd to see only one L, but is a legit alternate spelling.

54. Tippecanoe's partner, in an 1840 campaign: TYLER. Tippecanoe (William Henry Harrison, who died shortly after being elected), and Tyler, too.

55. Last in a series: OMEGA. Last letter of the Greek alphabet.

56. Sonoran smackeroos: PESOS. Mexican Money. See? I can alliterate, too.

57. Saint with a fire: ELMO. An electrical corona plasma discharge.

58. Hurt severely: MAIM. I always hear the sequence from the old Kung-Fu TV series when I see this word: Perceive the way of nature and no force of man can harm you. Do not meet a wave head on: avoid it. You do not have to stop force: it is easier to redirect it. Learn more ways to preserve rather than destroy. Avoid rather than check. Check rather than hurt. Hurt rather than maim. Maim rather than kill. For all life is precious nor can any be replaced.

60. "Mon Oncle" director: TATI.

63. Put on: DON.

Answer grid.

Here is a fantastic Lunar Eclipse picture John Lampkin took on Tuesday. Perfect image for today's theme.

Al

Wednesday December 22, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Secret Panel - The end of each theme entry can precede PANEL.

17A. Escapes dramatically from prison : GOES OVER THE WALL. Wall panel, a lightweight decorative or protective panel which can be fixed directly to internal walls.

28A. Narrow defeat, e.g. : HEART BREAKER. Breaker panel, the main distribution point for electrical circuits in your home.

38A. Warning about wind chill, say : WEATHER ADVISORY. Advisory Panel, a group of persons selected to .. well .. advise.

46A. Steinbeck novel set in Monterey : TORTILLA FLAT. Flat panel, as in TV or computer.

61A. The lead pipe, the wrench or the candlestick, but not the rope: BLUNT INSTRUMENT. Instrument panel, on aircraft and automobiles, etc.

54D. Discussion group, and a word that can follow the ends of this puzzle's five longest answers : PANEL. Arguably, the most famous secret panel in the world.

Melissa here.

Another one from Dan Naddor. Clever as always, just a few unknowns for me. Had deja vu in several spots, and maybe i'm just in a musical state of mind, but i saw lots of musical references.

Across

1. Is down with : HAS. Fooled me, I was thinking the slang usage ...

4. Walk through puddles : SLOSH

9. Energize, as a crowd : ♬ AMP UP. As in amplify.

14. Mean Amin : IDI. Ha, rhymes. (♫ You're a mean one ...)

15. Nomo with two no-hitters : HIDEO. Born in Osaka, retired in 2008.

16. Europe's longest river : VOLGA. Nasa image.

20. Laurie of "House" : HUGH. TV drama on FOX.

21. Vitamin __: PABA : B-TEN. Vitamin B10, better known as PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid), is a water-soluble vitamin that is in the B family; often referred to as part of the B-complex.

22. Peke squeak : YIP. Pekingese. Great clue. Little yappy dog.

23. Torrid : STEAMY. Member this?

26. Impulses : URGES

33. Blubber : SOB

36. Potentially slanderous remark : SLUR

37. Boxer's wear : ROBE

43. Concerning, in memos : IN RE

44. 13 popes : LEOS. I'm one too. A leo, not a pope.

45. Part of UCLA : LOS. University of California, Los Angeles. Largest UC campus in terms of enrollment.

51. Computer data acronym : ASCII. Pronounced ASK-ee, it is an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, and is a code for representing English characters as numbers, with each letter assigned a number from 0 to 127. For example, the ASCII code for uppercase M is 77. Most computers use ASCII codes to represent text, which makes it possible to transfer data from one computer to another.

52. Sandal parts : STRAPS

56. Gumshoe : TEC. Detective.

58. "The Time Machine" race : ELOI

60. "Dies __" : IRAE. Deja vu.

66. Dogpatch's Hawkins : SADIE

67. "Silas Marner" author : ELIOT. T.S. Eliot.

68. Opposite of alt, in Augsburg : NEU. German for old and new.

69. Preferred option : PLAN A. Rarely executed ... always have a plan b.

70. "__ at 'em!" : LEMME. Put 'em up.

71. European peak : ALP (♪ The hills are alive)

Down

1. Euphoric feelings : HIGHS. (♫ Ain't no mountain ...)

2. One point from a service break : AD OUT. Tennis. Ad = advantage. “Ad-in” is if the server is ahead, while “ad-out” is if the non-server won the point after deuce (40-40). If the player with the advantage wins the point, he wins the game. If not, the score reverts to deuce – the only time a score ever goes backwards in tennis. The game keeps going until the player with the “ad” wins the point. In this way, a tennis match can last a very long time, much like baseball.

3. Prolonged attack : SIEGE.

4. HBO alternative : SHO. Home Box Office and Showtime.

5. Actress Tyler : LIV (♬ Steven Tyler's daughter)

6. Tribute that usually rhymes : ODE. Deja vu.

7. Belgrade native : SERB

8. Back porch luxury : HOT TUB

9. Right, as a wrong : AVENGE

10. Do some yard work : MOW

11. Mr. Potato Head maker : PLAYSKOOL

12. Wrinkly fruit : UGLI. Just sounds funny.

13. Insect feeler : PALP. New to me. Palp, labial palp, and maxillary palp.

18. Bygone Mideast despot : SHAH

19. Frau's partner : HERR. See this pretty regularly.

24. Dovetail : MESH

25. Where Bill met Hillary : YALE. Didn't know.

27. Canal zones? : EARS. Nice.

29. 1921 sci-fi play : RUR. Karel Capek's play. Finally got this one down.

30. Refrain syllables : ♬ TRA LA. Deja vu.

31. Longest river in Spain : EBRO

32. Husband-and-wife creators of Curious George : REYS. (♪ Jack Johnson did a great Curious George soundtrack.)

33. Houlihan portrayer on "M*A*S*H" : SWIT. Hot Lips Houlihan.

34. Vintner's prefix : OENO. Deja vu.

35. Sporty 1960s-'70s Plymouth : BARRACUDA (♬ or Ann and Nancy Wilson's version)

39. Hanoi holidays : TETS.

40. Rock's __ Leppard : DEF. ♫♪♬ Gunter glieben glauchen globen ♫♪♬. My favorite Def Leppard tune is Photograph.

41. Encyc. units : VOLS. Volumes of Encyclopedias. So archaic now, everything's on CD or online.

42. "Time __ a premium" : IS AT

47. Summer cooler : ICE TEA

48. "Hi-__, Hi-Lo" : LILI ♬ Jimmy Durante's version.

49. Big name in small trains : LIONEL (♬ also Lionel Richie)

50. Svelte : TRIM

53. Gladiator's milieu : ARENA. (♪ Musician's milieu, too.)

55. Frame : SET UP. Like Dr. Richard Kimball, in The Fugitive.

56. Recipe abbr. : TBSP. Tablespoon.

57. Airline to Ben Gurion : EL AL

59. Man, for one : ISLE. Isle of Man. Located in the Irish Sea, between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland.

62. Palindromic diarist : NIN

63. Tiny guy: TIM. Herbert Buckingham Khaury (April 12, 1932 – November 30, 1996), better known by the stage name Tiny Tim, was an American singer, ukulele player, and musical archivist. He was most famous for his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." He died in 1996, after suffering his second heart attack - on stage.

64. Bulg. neighbor : ROM. Bulgaria and Romania.

65. Versatile vehicle, for short : UTE. Short for Utility Vehicle.

Answer grid.

Melissa