Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 Harvey Estes

Theme: Good 'ole homonyms. The first word of all the punnily(?) clued answers substitutes a word with changed spelling. Good theme strength, the first words all end with OLE, and are all pronounced the same way as the words they replace.

17A. Money for the Warsaw government?: POLE TAXES. Warsaw, Poland. A poll tax was used in the south to try to circumvent the 14th amendment and prevent civil rights.  It took the 24th amendment to make it illegal.

25A. Foot-tapping songs?: SOLE MUSIC. Soul music is sort of Gospel blended with rhythm & blues.

35A. Songwriting, to Porter?: COLE FIELD. Coal fields. Night and Day, Cole Porter's field of expertise.

49A. Actor's messages from an agent?: ROLE CALLS. I'll bet Dennis still remembers roll call.

58A. Grain for bagels?: HOLE WHEAT. I only eat the holes in bagels and donuts.

Hi all, Al again. Working with a dodgy loaner PC. Mine is in for repairs and the space bar isn't working very well on this one. Ah, well, enough excuses. Onward to the rest.  A bit of nostalgia in several music references today, I thought. The tough part was narrowing down all the choices there are for each song to be able to choose only one and not get distracted by all the other music links.

ACROSS:

1. Lee followers: REBS. The South shall rise again.

5. Works in the Uffizi Gallery: ARTE. Italian art : Florence, Italy museum location.

9. Gets ready: PREPS.

14. "__ Rhythm": I GOT. Lena Horne doing a Gershwin classic.

15. Role for Carrie: LEIA. Carrie Fischer, Star Wars.

16. Singer Gorme: EYDIE. As Long as he needs me. A torch song from "Oliver!".

19. Letter alternative: LEGAL. Paper sizes.

20. They may be precious: STONES. They might also be a double-entendre. (and still be precious)

21. Divulge: TELL. Divulge, to make common property. Related to "vulgar", common, ordinary.

23. Hydrocarbon suffix: ENE. As usual, need perps for generic chemical ending clues. Could have been made into something helpful by adding "double-bond" in front of hydrocarbon.

24. Fluorescent bulb filler: ARGON. Also contains excited mercury vapor, dispose of these carefully.

27. "1984" protagonist __ Smith: WINSTON. A double-plus good novel by George Orwell.

29. Cut it out: DESIST. Latin sistere, to come to a stand. Related to assist, to stand by.

30. Place to be pampered: SPA.

31. French mystic Simone: WEIL. Unknown to me.

34. Maundy Thursday period: LENT. Holy Thursday, commemorates the Last Supper.

38. G-note: THOU. Grand, thousand.

40. Increase in intensity, with "up": RAMP.

41. Previously: AGO.

44. Weather map features: FRONTS. Where air masses of different density meet.

46. Ardor: PASSION. Latin ardorem: to burn. Passion originally meant suffering (the passion of the Christ), then evolved to strong emotions and desire.

52. __ asada (Mexican meat dish): CARNE. Roasted meat, barbecue.

53. TV's Alf and others: ETS. Alf was a puppet extra-terrestrial that liked to eat cats.

54. Skin-soothing stuff: ALOE.

55. Bouquets: POSIES. "line of verse engraved on the inner surface of a ring," from poesy, recorded in this sense from early 15th century. The meaning "flower, bouquet" first recorded 1570s, from notion of the language of flowers.

56. Rob of "90210": ESTES. Nope, still don't know who he is.

60. Sport with clay pigeons: SKEET. A name chosen as "a very old form of our present word 'shoot.' " Perhaps Old Norse skotja "to shoot" was intended.

61. Auth. of many quotes?: ANON. Can you spell anonymous without looking it up? I have early access to  internet file servers and FTP to thank for that skill.

62. Old Boston Bruin nickname: ESPO. Phil Esposito, hockey.

63. Newbies: TYROS. Latin tiro, young soldier, recruit.

64. Following: NEXT.

65. Remarriage prefix: STEP. Step-brother, sister, son, daughter, etc.

DOWN:

1. With-the-grain cutters: RIPSAWS.

2. Vacation for the vain?: EGO TRIP. Punny.

3. Smoked deli meat: BOLOGNA. I would think it would be hard to light and harder to keep it going.  You'd need a big ashtray, too.

4. Dictators' aides: STENOS. Greek stenos "narrow", graphy "writing": shorthand.

5. Wistful word: ALAS. Originally a word of weariness, related: lassitude.

6. "Wonder Dog" of comics: REX. Selected as a test subject for a super-soldier serum. After receiving an injection of the serum, Rex found himself endowed with great strength, speed, stamina, and intelligence. Dr. Anabolus was killed by a Nazi spy soon after, and as Anabolus left no records, this led to Rex being the only dog of his kind. Hmmm, I think they may have"borrowed" this story line from Captain America...

7. Relate with: TIE TO.

8. Drawing support: EASEL. Just a noun for a picture holder, not "attracting a crowd of protesters", as seems to be all over in the news lately.. And 39D. It can facilitate drawing: HOLSTER.Drawing a weapon, not a picture.

9. Willy-nilly: PELL-MELL. They seem unrelated when you investigate their origins. Contraction of "will I, nill I", with or without the will of the person concerned. And "confusedly" from Old French pesle mesle, apparently a rhyme on the second word, which is from the stem of the verb mesler "to mix, mingle."

10. 3-Down might be on it: RYE. Deli bread.

11. Enters carefully: EDGES IN.

12. Rachmaninoff, e.g.: PIANIST. Sort of like calling Woody Allen an actor.

13. Prime: SELECT. Choice. I think we had a meaty discussion about these words before.

18. Certain caterpillar's creation: TENT. Not a pleasant sight. Can do a lot of damage to a tree.

22. Was in front: LED.

25. Look from Snidely Whiplash: SNEER. Dudley Do-Right (cartoon) villain, always kidnapping Nell.

26. Broken in: USED.

28. Rice University mascot: OWL.

32. "__ picture paints ...": song lyric: IF A. Bread, soft rock from the 70's. The song "IF" was covered by such diverse artists as Petula Clark, Cleo Laine, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Jack Jones, Shirley Bassey, and ... Telly Savalas (yes, Kojak) who took it to the top of the UK singles chart for two weeks in 1975, the shortest song title to ever do so.

33. Walks with a cane, perhaps: LIMPS.

35. Road marker: CONE.

36. Shunned ones: OUTCASTS.

37. Clean air org.: EPA. Environmental Protection Agency

38. October Revolution leader: TROTSKY. This was a bunch of Bolsheviks.

41. With the most open windows: AIRIEST.

42. Flipped: GONE APE. This will be me if this*%$& spacebar doesn't start working correctly pretty soon.

43. Convenient, shoppingwise: ONE STOP. Plus a fitness workout to boot, from all the walking around in some of these "big box" retailers.

44. Least constrained: FREEST.

45. Erie Canal mule: SAL. Susanne Vega cover.

47. Flat-bottomed boat: SCOW. From Du. schouw "a ferry boat, punt," related to Old English. scaldan, "to push (a boat) from shore."

48. Ornamental bands: SASHES. No OBI clue?

50. Lindsay of "Labor Pains": LOHAN. The latest self-destructing Disney dropout. Lilo. More to follow by the look of it.

51. Sierra __: LEONE. Today's geography lesson.

55. Cooped (up): PENT. Variant of "penned" up.

57. Fair-hiring abbr.: EEO. Equal Employment Opportunity.  Also seen as EOE.

59. Bagel topping: LOX. Smoked salmon.

Answer Grid.

Al

Wednesday February 23, 2011 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: DUPES (38A. 1- and 64-Across, and the first words of the four longest puzzle answers) - The green-highlighted words are all synonyms for "sucker".

1A. Court jester : FOOL. & 64A. Hammer or sickle : TOOL. Bookended the grid. It's important that both are clued in non-dupe sense.

17A. Country singer with the 1961 hit "Crazy" : PATSY CLINE. Please read Jerome's note at the end of my write-up for his theme inspiration.

56A. Shameful emblem in Genesis : MARK OF CAIN. And another Biblical reference PRODIGAL (30A. Like the son in a parable of Jesus). The Prodigal Son.

10D. Hockshop receipt : PAWN TICKET. Sad.

29D. Remora : SUCKER FISH. Attached to sharks/whales, etc.

C.C. here, filling in for a blogging schedule gap and feeling very happy to blog a Jerome puzzle. I learned the "sucker" meaning of TOOL last time it appeared in our puzzle. TOOL is certainly a dynamic word, isn't it?

Sometimes we see the first & last Across entries together serving as one theme entry, for example, TOOL in 1A and SHED in 64D, TOOL SHED as one unit, with TOOL the only "Sucker" element. So, my questions for Jerome:

1) Did you already have in mind where you wanted  FOOL & TOOL to be before you started the gridding? Or did the placement of the rhyming pair occur to you during the gridding?

2) Was your original unifier DUPES?

Across:

5. Zoo barriers : MOATS. Those who have been to Xi'An will remember the city wall and the deep moats.

10. Sourdough's ground breaker : PICK. I don't get this clue. (Added late: The question has been addressed in the Comments section. Thanks, everyone.)

14. Quint's boat in "Jaws" : ORCA. Have never seen "Jaws".

15. Polite : CIVIL

16. Yemen seaport : ADEN. Hot spot right now.

19. Trickery : WILE

20. __-mo replay : SLO

21. Vicinity : AREA

22. Submerge while sitting poolside, as one's feet : DANGLE. Vivid imagery.

24. Australian folk hero Kelly : NED. Just for Kazie.

25. Mine entrance : ADIT. Learned from doing Xword.

26. 49th state : ALASKA. So, what does Alaska mean?

34. Bills of fare : MENUS

35. Sudden ache : PANG

36. Heal : CURE. I like this consecutive ache & CURE.

37. Old Norse mariner : ERIC. Eric the Red. Jerome's grandpa is named Olaf.

39. Retain : KEEP

40. Cranny relative : NOOK

41. Russia's __ Mountains : URAL

42. "Beau __ " : GESTE

43. Kitchen areas, perhaps : DINETTES

45. Fastening pin : COTTER. Cotter pin.

46. Cereal grain : RICE. Gluten free, thank God!

47. Also : TOO

48. Sponge for grunge : LOOFAH. Oh no, I use loofah just to exfoliate.

51. Play a round : GOLF. Better to start with 9 holes when spring comes.

52. Timing lead-in : TWO. Two-timing.

55. "The Time Machine" race : ELOI

59. Puppy bites : NIPS

60. Mindy, to Mork? : ALIEN. Mork lives in Ork.

61. Teen bane : ACNE

62. Reggae musician Peter : TOSH. Of The Wailers.

63. Doofus : NINNY. Fun fill for today's theme.

Down:

1. Dandies : FOPS

2. Shouted, say : ORAL

3. Septi- plus one : OCTO. Prefix for "eight", as in Octomom.

4. Vegas opener : LAS

5. Joel who was the first actor to portray Dr. Kildare : McCREA. Unknown trivia to me.

6. No longer squeaky : OILED

7. Adidas rival : AVIA. Latin for "fly" (Bob is not here)!

8. Badge material : TIN

9. Snow pack? : SLED DOGS. Great clue/answer.

11. Beatnik's "Got it" : I DIG

12. Calaboose compartment : CELL. Jail cell.

13. Pants part : KNEE

18. 2009 Series winners : YANKS. Boo! Money gets them everything!

23. Lend a hand : AID

25. Synthetic fiber : ARNEL. Trademark.

26. Congressionally change : AMEND. Hence amendment then.

27. The king of France? : LE ROI. Literally. "Vive le Roi!"

28. Atom with a negative charge : ANION

30. Mamas' mates : PAPAs

31. Hotel client : GUEST

32. Sharp ridge : ARETE. Clear Ayes should nail this one.

33. With 45-Down, Middle Ages quarantine area : LEPER. And COLONY (45. See 33-Down). Nice cross-reference.

35. Put through a sieve : PUREE

38. "The Flying __": Wagner opera : DUTCHMAN. To us baseball fans, the name is only for the great Honus Wagner. That card (T206, near mint) was sold over $2 million a few years ago.

42. Explode : GO OFF

44. Padre's hermana : TIA. Father's sister.

47. Memento : TOKEN

48. Pre-Easter period : LENT

49. Hodgepodge : OLIO

50. "Uh-oh, I dropped it!" : OOPS

51. Big smile : GRIN

52. Crisp, filled tortilla : TACO

53. Sot : WINO

54. First-year law student : ONE-L. Scott Turow's book is a good read.

57. Ring icon : ALI. Boxing ring.

58. Sylvester, e.g. : CAT. Sylvester the Cat.

Answer grid.

C.C.:

Notes from Jerome:

My mother, Amber, was a Gospel singer and an accomplished pianist. She never made it big-time, but she was often a featured soloist in Baptist churches and on local radio in Oakland, California where I grew up. However, she enjoyed singing all kinds of music, and beyond Gospel, her favorite was Country. Especially Patsy Cline. So, much of the music of my youth came from Mahalia Jackson, Ethel Waters, The Blackwood Brothers and a lot of Patsy Cline. Though I'm pretty much a Rock and Roller I still enjoy the music Amber loved so much.

A few months back I was listening to a Patsy Cline album, having a beer, relaxing, just simply enjoying a little music... and... well, there you go, the theme for today's puzzle. Simple idea, but it was fifty plus years in the making.

Not being a shy guy, I'll gladly take a pat on the back from anyone who likes this puzzle. I must request, however, a smile for Amber too. :)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 John Lampkin

Theme: Action Food - The four theme entries begin with an adjective form of a verb(action word), a verb that is also a noun and in this case, that noun is a food. The first two are fruits and the second two are considered seeds.

20A. Arborist's handiwork: PRUNED TREE

26A. Windshield nuisance: SQUASHED BUGS

44A. Result of an errant brushback pitch: BEANED BATTER

55A. Deli sandwich filler: CORNED BEEF

Argyle here. The puzzle was a lot easier than trying to articulate what I think the theme is. At first, I looked on them as past tense verbs but then realized they are adjectives. John, did I get it right?

Scrabbley, too, just a V short of a pangram. I bet Dennis finished as fast as yesterday.

Across:

1. Raise, as produce : GROW

5. Go badly together : CLASH

10. Stylish : CHIC

14. Instant, in product names : REDI

15. Madre's milk : LECHE. Spanish

16. Bride's ride : LIMO. I know, GROOM wouldn't fit. Nice rhyme.

17. Busy, busy, busy : AT IT

18. Time __ time: repeatedly : AFTER. Oh, what will Lois do with these five entries?

19. "The Wizard __": comic strip : OF ID

22. All there : SANE

23. Development developments : HOMES. What should we call this type of clue?

24. Jazz guitarist Montgomery : WES. Here is his version of Eleanor Rigby(3:05). There is a good write-up about him that goes with the song, worth a read if you're interested.

25. Shocking swimmer : EEL

31. Average guys : JOES

34. H.S. elite : SRs. High school seniors.

35. Older woman's young lover, facetiously : BOY TOY

36. Place to make deposits, briefly : ATM

37. Bouquet delivery letters : FTD

38. Dream letters : REM

39. Novelist Fleming : IAN. Bond creator.

40. Alabama's only seaport : MOBILE

42. Monopoly token : CAR

43. Chip in a pot, maybe : ANTE

47. HDTV brand : RCA

48. Out of use, as words: Abbr. : OBS. Obsolete(same as obscure?)

49. Chip in a bowl : NACHO

53. World dodo population : ZERO

57. Blue book filler : EXAM

58. Dust Bowl refugees : OKIES

59. Pier gp. : ILWU. International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

60. Religious recess : APSE

61. Center : MIDST

62. Amber brews : ALES

63. Dieter's goal : LOSS

64. Care for : SEE TO

65. Branching point : NODE

Down:

1. Boardroom diagram : GRAPH

2. Fashionably dated : RETRO

3. Intense dislike : ODIUM. From Greek by way of Latin

4. One sitting on the stand : WITNESS

5. Attired : CLAD

6. How liberals lean : LEFTWARD. OBS., IMHO.

7. Helen Hunt or Holly Hunter, e.g. : ACTRESS. Both have honey hair. Helen and Holly.

8. "Jeez Louise!" : "SHEESH!"

9. Not there : HERE

10. Quite near : CLOSE BY

11. Pretentious, informally : HIFALUTIN'. Variant spelling of highfaluting, origin unknown.

12. Chip-tossing declaration : "I'M IN"

13. Programmers' writing : CODE

21. ABA member's title : ESQ. Esquire, HIFALUTIN' name for a lawyer.

25. Ancient kingdom near the Dead Sea : EDOM

27. You, in Yucatán : USTED. Spanish again.

28. Longtime "At the Movies" co-host Roger : EBERT

29. Capricorn's animal : GOAT

30. Holiday song closer : SYNE

31. Doorway side : JAMB

32. Siouan tribe : OTOE. A not so common clue for a common tribe of late.

33. Humiliate : EMBARRASS

37. Pet pest : FLEA

38. Disorderly place : RAT'S NEST

41. Salaries, wages, etc. : INCOMES

42. Hack's service : CAB RIDE

43. Graceful steed : ARABIAN

45. One taking bets : BOOKIE

46. Conclusion : END

50. Yo-Yo Ma's instrument : CELLO

51. Hacked : HEWED

52. Worth having : OF USE

53. Zest : ZEAL

54. Trade show : EXPO. Shout out to Jeannie

55. Dot-__: e-businesses : COMs

56. This, to Pablo : ESTO. More Spanish

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, February 21, 2011 Angela Olson Halsted and Doug Peterson

Theme: For Petes' Sake The first word of the three longest entries is the last name of three persons having the same first name which is revealed in the last Across word.

17A. Legendary spring that creates spring chickens?: FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH. Pete Fountain is a famous clarinetist. He was once fired by Lawrence Welk for "jazzing up" a Christmas number on the show.

38A. Grammy revoked from Milli Vanilli: BEST NEW ARTIST. Pete Best is best known as the original drummer in The Beatles.

60A. Portland Trail Blazers' home: ROSE GARDEN ARENA. Pete Rose, nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager.

71A. Name that can precede the first word of 17-, 38- or 60-Across: PETE

Argyle here, older but no wiser. And what's with hitting me with 1A. Grew older: AGED first thing? Seriously though, thank you for all the birthday greetings.

Across:

5. American __: Pacific territory : SAMOA

10. Employee protection org. : OSHA. Occupational Safety & Health Administration.

14. Chore list heading : TO DO

15. Old Geo model : PRIZM. The Geo/Chevrolet Prizm (Chevrolet Prizm starting 1998) was a US market entry-level compact car from 1989 through 2002. All were made at New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI), an automobile manufacturing plant in Fremont, CA, a joint venture plant between Toyota and General Motors. The plant is now owned by Tesla Motors, the electric vehicle people.

16. Carrot or turnip : ROOT. Vegetable.

20. Garment border : HEM

21. "I'll treat!" : "ON ME!"

22. Three, in Turin : TRE. Italian(Remember, it could have been clued, in Torino, Italian for Turin.)

23. College concentration : MAJOR. Less concentration, 7D. 23-Across opposite : MINOR.

26. Pungent salad green : CRESS

27. Mighty long time : EON

28. Stat for Mariano Rivera : ERA. Yankee pitcher, career ERA 2.23(Earned Run Average).

29. CEO's degree : MBA

31. Ford classics : T-BIRDS. Thunderbirds are called T-birds so much, I guess indicating a shortened version of the name isn't necessary.

33. Carvey of "Wayne's World" : DANA. Originally a SNL sketch, it became a movie.

35. Karaoke singer, usually : AMATEUR

42. Polite "Ready to go?" : "SHALL WE?"

43. Linger in the tub : SOAK

45. Start to melt : SOFTEN. That is REALLY staying in the tub too long.

48. Bordeaux brush-off : NON. In France.

50. Paranormal showman Geller : URI

51. "Fresh Air" airer : NPR. National Public Radio.

52. Rear end : FANNY

55. Political aficionado's station : C-SPAN

57. Absorbed, as a cost : ATE

58. Circular cookie : OREO

59. Stable tidbit : OAT

66. Good fortune : LUCK

67. Cursor controller : MOUSE

68. Diabolical : EVIL

69. Fawn's father : STAG

70. Campfire remains : ASHES

Down:

1. DOJ division : ATF. Department of Justice / Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (and Explosives).

2. Bit of baby babble : GOO

3. Academic URL ender : EDU

4. Hawaiian who sang "Pearly Shells" : DON HO. But more famous for "Tiny Bubbles".

5. Inbox junk : SPAM

6. Magnate Onassis : ARI

8. Atmospheric layer : OZONE

9. Car sound system : AM/FM STEREO

10. El Dorado gold : ORO. Now some Spanish.

11. Justice replaced by Sotomayor : SOUTER. David H. Souter, replaced by Sonia Sotomayor on the Supreme Court.

12. Souped-up ride : HOT ROD

13. Aegean capital : ATHENS. A capital city on the Aegean Sea.

18. Time in office : TERM

19. "I agree, however ..." : "YES, BUT..."

23. __ school : MED. Another case of accepted use of the shortened form(of medical) as a word on its own.

24. Part of U.A.E. : ARAB. United Arab Emirates, usually abbreviated just UAE.

25. Dick's storybook partner : JANE

26. Caravan creature : CAMEL

30. Girl group with the 1986 #1 hit "Venus" : BANANARAMA. Live(3:04) You are welcome to skip this but it is great kitsch.

32. Spring blossom : IRIS

34. Admin. aide : ASST.

36. Pointy tool : AWL

37. Like a lion's coat : TAWNY. Wait for it.

39. It "comes on little cat feet," in a Sandburg poem : THE FOG.

FOG

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

Carl Sandburg

I always wonder if this had been written by a first year English major, what grade would it have received?

40. Campbell's product : SOUP

41. Fictional plantation : TARA. From "Gone With the Wind".

44. Reunion group : KIN. Family, not class.

45. Entangles : SNARLS

46. Decline to participate : OPT OUT

47. Grapefruit-flavored diet drink : FRESCA

49. Academic sports org. : NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association.

53. Detective Wolfe and an emperor : NEROs

54. "Obviously!" : "NO DUH!"

56. Throat bacteria : STREP

59. Tip jar bills : ONES

61. Heart test letters : EKG. Electrocardiogram.

62. Suffix with Canton : ESE

63. Anticipatory time : EVE

64. Trivial point : NIT

65. Drink by a dartboard : ALE

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday February 20, 2011 Peter Wentz

Theme: Find Out - Parse it as "F in/D out" - D is replaced by F in each of the 8 common phrases.

23A. Flight attendant's reminder when serving alcohol? : THIS IS NOT A FRILL. This is not a drill.

32A. Equine exhibition with poor visibility? : FOG AND PONY SHOW. Dog and pony show.

45A. Stick around for sautéing? : HANG OUT TO FRY. Hang out to dry.

64A. Energizing bluegrass instruments? : FUELING BANJOS. Dueling banjos. From "Deliverance". What a scary movie!

75A. Craze for some moms? : STAY-AT-HOME FAD. Stay-at-home Dad.

95A. Pixie dust? : FAIRY PRODUCT. Dairy product.

104A. Written warning about gangster Gotti? : FEAR JOHN LETTER. Dear John Letter. John Gotti. The Teflon Don.

119A. Imposing monetary penalties with a nice Chianti? : WINING AND FINING. Wining and dining.

Clever title, isn't it? I wonder what came to Peter Wentz first, theme or theme title? I suspect the latter. Sometimes a phrase can  inspire a theme. Sunday puzzle is a different animal. Very often constructors have a set of theme answers ready, then work on a fitting title, which has to be pertinent to the theme but can't be too revealing lest it spoil the solve.

Interesting for me to see THE WAY clued as "100D. Tao, literally". Tao actually just means "way", sans "the", since Chinese language has no articles. I often omit "the" when it should be present.

Across:

1. Come again? : REVISIT. Can't fool me.

8. Sampled, with "of" : HAD A BIT. Don't feel "of" is necessary. You?

15. Bright bunch : MENSA. Dennis is one, and he knows how much trouble I have with "the".

20. Anthem with the line "The True North strong and free!" : O CANADA

21. Muscle ache cause : OVERUSE

22. Prestigious octet : IVIES. Ivy League had 8 schools.

25. Mideast peninsula : SINAI

26. Fixed, as a pump : SOLED. Thinking of gas pump, not shoe.

27. Org. with a Double Down sandwich : KFC. No bread. Not real sandwich.

28. Hip-hopper's adjective : LIL. You'd think they want something big, so ego-driven.

29. Crashed, so to speak : SLEPT

30. Up to, in invites : TIL

37. "Conan" airer : TBS

40. __ Equis: Mexican beer : DOS. Two Xs.

42. Dice, e.g. : CUBES

43. Prefix with natal : NEO. Neonatal.

44. Be beholden : OWE

48. Well-mannered manor man : BUTLER. Liked the M alliteration.

50. Fridge problem : ODOR

51. It probably won't keep you up : DECAF. Clever clue.

52. Collectible frame : CEL. Disney cartoon cel.

55. "All yours!" : HERE

56. Sobriety checkpoint target, for short : DWI

57. "Tasty!" : MMM

58. '70s-'80s NHLer known as "Lucky Pierre" : LAROUCHE. First encounter with this guy.

62. Didn't deviate from : KEPT TO

69. U.K. medal : OBE. Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

70. Conservatory subj. : MUS. OK, Music.

72. Decrease : ABATE

73. Subj. for refugees : ESL (English as a Second Language)

74. "Annabel Lee" monogram : EAP (Edgar Allan Poe)

78. Fig. in many churches : ST MARY

80. Bronchitis sufferers' aids : INHALERS

81. Spinning toy : TOP

83. Orthogonal joint : ELL

84. Spill preceder : TRIP. Ah, spill here refers to "fall" then.

87. Conclusion letters : QED

88. "Yippee!" : WAHOO

90. Heads of England? : LOOS. Toilets. JOHN if the clue is singular.

92. Baseball's Matsui : HIDEKI. With the Yankees for a long time. Fun guy, unlike the somewhat aloof Ichiro.

98. Dutch city : EDE. Learned from doing Xword.

99. Iowa hrs. : CST

101. Gathers opinions from : POLLS

102. BART stop : STN

103. Chicken Little's concern : SKY. The sky is falling.

108. Auburn's conf. : SEC (Southeastern Conference)

110. Many a 19th-cen. map : LITHO

111. Fair-hiring abbr. : EOE

112. TV's "Science Guy" : NYE (Bill)

114. Shot with extreme spin : MASSE. Billiards shot.

118. Negative particle : ANION. We see ION so often.

124. Old tablet material : STONE

125. "No surprise" : AS USUAL

126. Holiday burner : YULE LOG. Sweet entry for Argyle.

127. Makes better : HONES

128. Mocha residents : YEMENIS. Mocha the port in Yemen.

129. Tiptoe past : SNEAK BY

Down:

1. Spoils : ROTS

2. Comeback : ECHO

3. Resort WSW of Boulder : VAIL. The Colorado ski resort.

4. Blown-up detail : INSET

5. Took the plunge : SAID "I DO". MARRIED has the same amount of letters.

6. Makes, as a perp : IDs

7. Word with car or top : TANK

8. Ski lodge drink : HOT COCOA

9. Charlton's "Earthquake" co-star : AVA (Gardner)

10. Excellent, in slang : DEF (Definitely)

11. SFO posting : ARR

12. Physiques : BUILDS

13. Long Island town : ISLIP. Not familiar with the town. What's it famous for, Splynter?

14. Rat out : TELL ON

15. Love letter sentiment : MISS YOU. Aww.

16. Pandora's boxful : EVILS. Thought of BANES.

17. Like a quick links round : NINE HOLE. Golf links.

18. 16th-century Spain, for one : SEA POWER

19. So to speak : AS IT WERE. In a way.

24. Wrong : OFF. He's off.

31. Indiscreet type : LOUDMOUTH. Nice answer.

33. Nonsense : GUFF

34. Like some bks. for kids : ABR (Abridged)

35. Napoleon cohort : NEY (Michel). Napoleon called him "bravest of the brave".

36. Big 12 rival of Kan. : NEB. Will become a Big 10 this July. For more info, ask Husker Gary.

37. E'en if : THO

38. Creditor's loss : BAD DEBT

39. Chinese food veggie : SNOW PEA. I like sugar peas more.

41. Flower feature : STEM

46. Sandpaper coarseness measure : GRIT

47. Airer of many old MGM films : TCM

49. After that : THEN

52. Shouted : CRIED

53. Years and years : EON

54. Winter Olympics event : LUGE

58. Thumbs (through) : LEAFS

59. Mont. neighbor : ALTA. Here it's again. Alberta.

60. Masters TV venue since 1956 : CBS SPORTS. Golf again. Masters & US Open are my favorite majors.

61. Word before "Who goes there?" : HALT

62. Fighter's stat : KOs (Knockouts). Boxing.

63. Fed after Capone : T MAN

64. Well-known : FAMED

65. Slangy prefix meaning "super" : UBER

66. Green-eyed : JEALOUS

67. Rowboat device : OARLOCK

68. Mole, perhaps : SPY

71. Oldest active NBAer : SHAQ. Oh, nice to know this trivia. Shaq is now 38 Years old.

76. "Goodness me!" : YIPE

77. Bulls' fans' chant? : OLE. Bullfighting. I was thinking of Chicago Bulls.

79. Pinochle declaration : MELD

81. Quaker possessive : THY

82. "Clumsy me!" : OOPS

84. Speedy superhero : THE FLASH. Was ignorant of this superhero.

85. Arrive at, cowboy-style : RIDE INTO

86. Thought process : IDEATION. We've seen IDEATE before. Weird word.

88. Sag : WILT

89. Clip joints? : ARSENALS. Cartridge clip.

91. Messy room, to mom : STY

93. Former Celtics guard and coach : K C JONES. Hall-of-Famer.

94. Metric lead-in : ISO. Isometric.

95. Hatfield, to a McCoy : FOE

96. PC space bar neighbor : ALT. Keyboard.

97. Four laps, often : ONE MILE. Four laps = 800 meters to me. We had 200 meter track.

101. Full legislative assembly : PLENUM

105. Lake Geneva feeder : RHONE

106. White __ : NOISE

107. Rembrandt van __ : RYN

109. Former capital of Crete : CANEA. No idea. Checked Wiki, then found out its current capital is Heraklion. Let's go back to Canea then.

113. "Grand" brand of ice cream : EDY'S

115. Epitome of smoothness : SILK

116. Stuffed shirt : SNOB

117. Like challah bread : EGGY

120. Sussex verb suffix : ISE. Ours is IZE.

121. Sister : NUN

122. Moo goo __ pan : GAI. Literally "chicken".

123. Good times : FUN

Answer grid.

Happy Birthday to Argyle, our witty and sharp Santa. I'd like to share with you a story. Sometime last year I mentioned to Argyle that it's bothering me that I still had not figured out the theme of a few earliest TMS Daily puzzles I blogged. I was not even sure I got the theme answers correct, as in those days I only wrote a few sparse clue/answer comments and attached no answer grid. Argyle went to his local library and found the exact puzzles for me. Like Dennis, he's done lots of small things for me, on and off the blog. Thanks, Santa, may your birthday be filled with sunshine, love and smiles.

C.C.

Saturday February 19. 2011 Bruce Venzke

Theme: None

Total words: 70

Total blocks: 32

Amazing symmetry in this puzzle: the normal 180-degree rotation; left to right; and top to bottom.

As usual, Bruce likes to have grid-spanning answers anchor his puzzle. Today, we have six:

15A. TV host's segue : BE BACK IN A MINUTE. Reminds me of Don's ABOUT TO GO LIVE answer.

17A. Sources of track reports : STARTER'S PISTOLS. Report = Gunshot sound. Had to ask Dennis for help.

34. Lonely guy in old 60-Down : MAYTAG REPAIRMAN. And ADS ( 60D. Some pitches). Sales pitches.

41A. Fighting words : LET'S STEP OUTSIDE

58A. Creed foe, with "The" : ITALIAN STALLION. Nickname for Rocky. Apollo Creed, an unfamiliar character to me.

63A. Maneuver through a tight opening : THREAD THE NEEDLE

Quite a few abbreviations in this puzzle, the by-product of a very demanding grid structure.

Across:

1. Set off, as an alarm : TRIPPED. Tripped an alarm.

8. Elko native : NEVADAN. We've seen ELKO clued as "Nevada city" a few times.

18. Certain border, to a philatelist : PERF. OK, perforated.

19. Menlo Park wizard, initially : TAE (Thomas Alva Edison)

20. Egyptian fertility deity : ISIS

21. It might be req. for some new furniture : ASSY (Assembly). This abbreviation stumped me also.

24. Eject : SPEW

27. Velvet's older sister in "National Velvet" : EDWINA. Hard for me, since I don't know the crossing 27D & 29D.

30. Sends, in a way : EMAILS. I wanted ELATES.

38. Author Levin : IRA

39. Kind of blouse : PEASANT. Looks pretty on this model.

40. Shade : HUE

44. Impressive property : ESTATE

45. Filled in : TEMPED. Don't know temp can be a verb.

46. Travel about : ROAM

48. Fed. inspection group : USDA. Food inspection.

49. Letter on a sweater : ZETA. Oh, the fraternity letter.

52. Defense gp. formed in Bogotá : OAS (Organization of American States). In 1948.

54. Shortfall : LACK

64. High-powered : INTENSE. I associate "intense" with feelings, not "high-powered" though.

65. Lower : DEGRADE. Verb "lower".

Down:

1. Medicinal amt. : TBSP

2. Anatomical network : RETE. Neural network. Learned from doing Xword.

3. Support beam : I-BAR

4. Layered dessert : PARFAIT. Not to my taste.

5. Election night fig. : PCT (Percent)

6. Just make, with "out" : EKE. This little three word is constructor's best friend, same as OREO.

7. Bad way to play : DIRTY. Play dirty.

8. Collars can hide them : NAPES. Neck backs.

9. Former Radiohead label : EMI. Guessed. English band, what label could it be?

10. As far as the eye can see: Abbr. : VIS. Vision? (Correction: It's visibility.)

11. Dovelike : ANTIWAR

12. Batman and Robin et al. : DUOS

13. King of the Huns, in Norse myth : ATLI. Same as Attila the Hun.

14. Loch seen from Urquhart Castle : NESS. Loch brought me the answer. Don't know the castle.

16. Secretive org. : NSA

22. Shapes up : SNAPS TO. New phrase to me.

23. Smart-sounding brew : SAGE TEA. Have never had this tea.

25. Very little money : PEANUTS. Work for peanuts.

26. Gave off : EMITTED

27. '60s boxing champ Griffith : EMILE. Sigh! I googled this guy before, then promptly forgot all about him.

28. Braves : DARES

29. Peter's "Easy Rider" role : WYATT. Had ??ATT there for some time.

31. "You dig?" response : I'M HIP

32. Cum __ : LAUDE

33. Ed __, runner-up in the first Masters sudden death playoff : SNEED. Not a familiar name to me. 1979 Masters. Lost to Fuzzy Zoeller, according to Wikipedia. Fuzzy is one noisy guy.

35. "The Facts of Life" actress : RAE (Charlotte)

36. Debatable "ability" : ESP

37. Kung __ chicken : PAO

42. Illinois-based food giant : SARA LEE

43. Compressed : SMALLER. Tricky part of speech.

47. __ Cristo: fried sandwich : MONTE. First encounter with this sandwich. Does it taste good, Bill?

48. Peruvian pronoun : USTED. Just "you".

49. Rigatoni relative : ZITI

50. Race: Pref. : ETHN. ETHNO is more common. 

51. Sharp : TART

53. Butt end : ASH. Nice clue.

55. Musical with the song "Radames' Letter" : AIDA. Radames is her love.

56. Under 20, to most : COLD. Was thinking of age, not temperature.

57. Joint for guitarists? : KNEE. Don't get this clue, Al/Splynter!

59. Golfer Woosnam : IAN. Very hot-tempered guy. I used to follow European Tour fervently.

61. Chemical suffix : ANE

62. It may be pulled : LEG. I wanted TAB.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday, February 18, 2011, Dan Naddor

Theme: It is a Punderful Presidential Friday. Each of the theme answers is a sound alike pun, clued with the continuing clecho of “Presidential” replacing a word or two in a common phrase with the last name of a president, to make for a silly and humorous new phrase. Interestingly, all but Madison were Republican presidents. I guess in honor of the impending President's Day holiday, we have gone from Presidential Pets two days ago, to Presidential Puns; put on your seat belts because here we go.

18A. Presidential putdown? : GRANT SLAM. (Ulysses S. Grant, our 18th) from the baseball term GRAND SLAM, a bases loaded home run.

23A. Presidential advisers?: MADISON CABINET. (James Madison, number 4 and our shortest at 5'4") MEDICINE CABINET.

32A. Presidential ATM sign?: FORD DEPOSIT ONLY. (Gerald Ford, number 38) FOR DEPOSIT ONLY, which is what I put on my checks; I never sign them in case they are lost.

48A. Presidential university?: COOLIDGE CAMPUS. (Calvin Coolidge, number 30) COLLEGE CAMPUS.

53A. Presidential belt-tightening?: NIXON CUTS. (Richard Nixon, number 37) NICKS AND CUTS.

Happy Friday all, Lemonade here, and I WAS RIGHT, a NADDOR for me and a quintessential example of his wit and skill. We have his recognizable humor, heavy themeage, and fixation with deception both in cluing and using multi word fill; look for the number by each example.

Across:

1. Timeworn observation: ADAGE. Direct from the Latin adagium, meaning proverb.

6. "Pronto!": ASAP.

10. Party person: HOST. C.C, is our party person.

14. Paganini's birthplace: GENOA. I wonder if this reference was deliberate, as the pioneer of the modern style of playing the violin, had at one time as his patron, Mary Louise, Bonaparte's second wife. He was very conceited about his music and wrote his compositions to perform himself; I would say he was a ham, but Jerome would probably threaten me with a salami.

15. One of an historic seagoing trio: NINA. Along with the PINTA and the SANTA MARIA.

16. Not deceived by: ON TO. (1)

17. Los __: city near San Jose: ALTOS. Los Altos a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California.

20. 1926 channel swimmer: EDERLE. GERTRUDE was the first woman to swim the English channel, after only five men had accomplished the feat, and she did it 2 hours faster than any man up to that time.

22. Bernardo's girl in "West Side Story": ANITA. Brilliantly played by RITA MORENO in the movie version.

26. Trademark cousins: PATENTS. Names rather than processes.

27. Trains on supports: ELS. ELevated trains, still popular in Chicago.

28. "Discreet Music" composer: ENO. Brian is my recurring theme this week, as he and his Airport Music were in my recent blog.

29. Movie beekeeper: ULEE. Peter Fonda's gold.

30. People person?: CELEB. Very fun, PEOPLE magazine.

39. "Contact" author: SAGAN. Carl was a very popular scientist who did all he could to bring science to the masses with his books and his Cosmos TV show. He also was involved in SETI. Seeking extra-terrestrial intelligence.

40. "Uh-uh": NOPE.

41. Ex-Saudi ruler __ Saud: IBN. Son of like, Ben.

44. Managed: RAN.

45. Onetime California gubernatorial candidate Huffington: ARIANNA. She is now selling out, by letting AOL purchase her HUFFINGTON POST .

51. Biblical words before and after "for": AN EYE. AN EYE FOR AN EYE, kind of eerie considering my current situation, and the ever present need to atone. (2)

52. Title subject of a G.B. Shaw play: ST JOAN. Jean D'Arc, our favorite military martyr. (3)

56. Blitz attachment: KRIEG. The massive German all out attacks of World War II. Literally lightening war.

59. Prefix with "Language" in a 1993 comedy best-seller: SEIN. Jerry Seinfeld at his best. For example, the number one fear people have is public speaking, with death the number two fear. That means if you are a funeral it is easier to be the corpse than to deliver a eulogy.

60. Gaston's god: DIEU. Oh goody, my French lesson, Mon Dieu, that was easy.

61. Perform penance: ATONE. Man, you think because I get this word every time, a higher power is telling me it is time to admit my sins, and change? Nah.

62. Scraps: ORTS.

63. U. of Maryland athlete: TERP. Short for Terrapin.

64. Streisand title role: YENTL. A rare public performance by Barbara at the Grammy.

Down: Down we go:

1. Turkish honorific: AGA. Not to be confused with the cooker so popular in Europe.

2. Wilmington's st.: DEL. Delaware, the type of Indians near Staten Island, as well.

3. Lover of armies?: ANTEATER. Really fun was to clue the army of ants.

4. Acts of kindness: GOOD DEEDS. (4)

5. Enter cautiously: EASE IN. (5)

6. Americans in Paris, e.g.: ANGLOS. I do not recall hearing this expression from any of my relatives, but hey, maybe because I spoke French with them they were nice.

7. Femme fatale: SIREN. We had SIREN as Vixen recently.

8. Book collector's suffix: ANA. This is used denote a collection of writing by a single author or a single topic, like AMERICANA, or DICKENSIANA. Not a collector like Dennis, but one who puts things together in a single volume.

9. Put down in writing?: PAN. The critics often Pan the blog for too many links.

10. Mubarak of Egypt: HOSNI. Isn’t amazing Dan used fill so current even though this puzzle was written more than one year ago; here is one perception of MUBARAK .

11. Surfing without a board, maybe: ON LINE. Web surfing. (6)

12. New York's __ Island: STATEN. The smallest population of the five boroughs of New York city, this was named Staaten Eylandt (literally "State Island") by Henry Hudson, sailing on behalf of the Dutch government.

13. T in a sandwich: TOMATO. The "T" in BLT.

19. Typewriter feature: TAB SET. (7)

21. Queue after Q: RST. An innovative play on words to spice up the letter string Q R S T.

23. Opposite of bueno: MALO. BUENO=Good, MALO=Bad in Spanish.

24. Psychic couple?: CEES. A new variation, as there are two "C"s in the word Psychic.

25. "That's __ ask": ALL I. Yeah right, beware when anyone ever says this to you. (8)

26. Sta-__: fabric softener: PUF. Have not heard of this brand in awhile. Maybe it will be the new Ipana.

30. Hoodwink: CON. From the CONFIDENCE MEN who gain that from people and then bilk them.

31. Ruling family name in 19th-century Europe: BONAPARTE. If you want more, I provide this LINK .

33. Connecticut coastal town near Stamford: DARIEN. One of the many small town near Manhattan which attracted the successful New Yorkers looking to escape from the city. The opposite end of the state in every sense from where I grew up.

34. "Yikes!": EGAD. Veddy British, in preparation for RAJ, I guess.

35. Qualm: PANG. Pangs of guilt.

36. Like some workers in an open shop: NON UNION. So Wisconsin people, what do you think of the teacher union stuff? (9)

37. HMO employees: LPNS. Licensed Practical Nurses; one level below Registered Nurses. Sort of like an AA degree compared to a BA.

38. Thumbs-up vote: YEA. Or nay.

41. Response to a doubting Thomas: I CAN SO. (10)

42. More scrawny: BONIER. How many of you thought of this SONG .

43. Prohibitive door sign: NO EXIT. (11)

45. Misbehaves: ACTS UP. (12)

46. British rule in India: RAJ. From this period of BRITISH RULE as we can see from the comments of our now anonymous friend Vidwan, there remain bad feelings among Indian and Pakistani citizens. On a happier note, I strongly recommend the book MAJOR PETTIGREW’S LAST STAND .

47. Post-fall reassurance: I'M OKAY. Not fall autumn, but faw down and go boom fall. (13)

49. Interpol headquarters: LYONS. I was getting psyched for my second French dispute with Dan of the puzzle, when I read the town of LYON (French name, pronounced lee ohn) was anglicized to Lyons. International Police, now with 188 countries signed on.

50. Glyceride, e.g.: ESTER. Organic chemistry was impossible for my limited vision; my professor wrote with one hand and erased with the other.

54. Setting on the Mississippi: Abbr.: CDT. Your clock setting, Central Daylight Time. A toughie in February.

55. A lost driver may hang one, briefly: UIE. We have debated the spelling of a U Turn before.

57. M.D.'s specialty: ENT. No, the Doctors do not work on animated trees from Tolkien, but Ear Nose and Throat.

58. Styling stuff: GEL. Hair styling; I am just too lazy.

Well, it has been an up and down week, but it was great to finish with me and Dan trying to entertain. Have a great weekend, especially those who get Presidents' day off.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Thursday, Feb 17, 2011 Elizabeth A. Long

Theme: 71, 72, and 73 across: What this puzzle does literally at six different intersections: MAKES ENDS MEET. The word "END" is contained within, and connected to both an across and a down answer, and the placement of all the connections are symmetrical in the grid.

20A. Fancy greens dish: ENDIVE SALAD. Also called Chicory. Grown in the dark to prevent greening, which would make it bitter.

32A. #1 tennis player for much of the '80s: IVAN LENDL.

38A. In reverse position: END FOR END.

50A. Feminist's concern: GENDER GAP.

58A. Bit of modern folklore: URBAN LEGEND. See Snopes.com whenever you hear something that always seems to happen to a friend's friend from work has a relative that heard this story was true. Except it almost never is. Not to be confused with the Darwin Awards, which almost always are true.

1D. Supplementary items: ADDENDA. Added to the END.

26D. Binge: BENDER. Ah, lots of arm curls. College was for far more than just studying.

31D. Corrects, as text: EMENDS. Latin emendare "to free from fault," from ex- "out" + mendum "fault, blemish"

49D. Hanging: PENDENT. As in a cloth banner. Might have been pending as in waiting.

Hi all, Al here.

This is certainly an interesting construction today, but hard to put clearly into words, so a picture may help. Counting the last three across reveals at the END, there are 12 answers that contribute to the theme today. There's nothing that really unifies them other than that in the END, they are merely containers. But you know what they say: the END justifies the means. Unless I counted wrong, there are 63 out of 159 lites, or roughly 40% of the puzzle is theme-related. Solving seemed more like a Tuesday level to me, but that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable.

ACROSS:

1. __ effort: A FOR. I have to believe that this puzzle did take a lot of effort.

5. Without restraint: AMOK. This word has origins in Malay, meaning attacking furiously. Portuguese amuco for "a frenzied Malay".

9. "__ luego": HASTA. Spanish lit. "until soon".

14. Merrill in movies: DINA. Daughter of E.F. Hutton, the founder of Wallstreet. You wouldn't think she'd need to get a job acting...

15. Microwave: NUKE.

16. "__ Smith and Jones": 1970s TV Western: ALIAS. Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, two of the most wanted outlaws in the history of the West, are popular "with everyone except the railroads and the banks", since "in all the trains and banks they robbed, they never shot anyone". They are offered an amnesty on condition that they stay out of trouble for a year and that they don't tell anyone about it. Naturally, the show was about them being coerced into doing certain tasks that were for the greater good, but would land them back in jail if they were caught.

17. List maker: DEAN. The Dean's list is one you should want to be on.

18. Swank's "Amelia" co-star: GERE. Hillary and Richard. Movie about Amelia Earhart.

19. Stealthy Easterner: NINJA.

23. Storm hdg.: NNE.

24. Out of sorts: ILL.

25. Cloud in Orion: NEBULA. Sheer artistry.

30. Spay or neuter: DE-SEX.

35. "I can help": ASK ME.

36. 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love __: III. Golf.

37. News organ?: NOSE. Having a nose for news, perhaps sticking it where it doesn't belong.

42. Cross over: SPAN.

45. Be less than healthy: AIL.

46. Greek with lessons: AESOP. Fabulous.

53. __ myrtle: tree or shrub in the loosestrife family: CRAPE. Also pretty. Is that how Myrtle Beach got its name, I wonder? But purple loosestrife on the other hand, is a non-indigenous weed and will choke out a wetlands area with overgrowth, and should be pulled out and burned if found.

54. Skirmish: TUSSLE. Related to tousle, as with unruly hair.

55. Where Eth. is: AFR. Ethiopia, Africa.

57. Chess pieces: MEN. I'll bet the queen doesn't like being called that, sounds like a gender gap to me.

62. Howled: BAYED.

66. Upscale hotel chain: OMNI. New to me. I don't remember seeing any of these in any of Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan, but then .

67. Without thinking, with "by": ROTE.

68. Tequila plant: AGAVE.

69. It often involves steady losses: DIET. When you lose, you win. I'm on to these kinds of clues now.

70. Privy to: IN ON. Also related to "private", what you do in the privy stays in the privy.

DOWN:

2. He plays Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter films: FIENNES. Sans makeup for the ladies.

3. Where the teacher might casually sit: ON A DESK. Brings back fond memories of typing class in high school. For an elective class, a lot of the boys sure signed up for that one.

4. Rajah's wife: RANI.

5. Guardian, maybe: ANGEL.

6. Vegan's morning meal: MUESLI. Dates, oats, fruit, milk.

7. Cajun staple: OKRA. I think this was photoshopped...

8. Stabilizing part: KEEL.

9. "Water Music" composer: HANDEL. The clip is only 1:21 long. That's about long enough to get the idea, I think.

10. Clay, today: ALI. I remember it being a big deal back when Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammed Ali, but it would still raise eyebrows in certain circles today.

11. Offense: SIN.

12. Atlantic City casino, with "The": TAJ.

13. "__ matter of fact ...": AS A.

21. Sly female: VIXEN. She-fox. Or an 80's big hair band.

22. Musical based on a comic strip: ANNIE.

27. A quarter of cuatro: UNO. More Spanish, four / 4 = one.

28. Mormons, initially: LDS. Latter Day Saints.

29. Bar option: ALE.

33. Instrument in Schubert's "Trout Quintet": VIOLA. Someone likes classical music today, I see.

34. __ conditioning: AIR.

39. Provocative sort: DARER.

40. __ leaf: FIG. The usual image of Adam and 65D. First lady?: EVE being modest.

41. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE.

42. Certain NCO: SGT. Non-commissioned officer, sergeant.

43. Little, in Lille: PEU. un peu de Francais.

44. "Jeopardy!" ques., really: ANS. Make sure your answer is in the form of a question. Gimmicky marketing genius, apparently.

47. Identical item: SAME ONE.

48. Summer shoe style: OPEN TOE.

51. Gets by: ELUDES.

52. Gave one star, say: PANNED. Bad movie or restaurant rating.

56. Moves like a moth: FLITS.

59. Portend: BODE.

60. Exiled African tyrant: AMIN.

61. Dreadful: GRIM.

62. Bit of Lagasse lingo: BAM. Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril on the Food Network.

63. Turkish title: AGA.

64. Asian ox: YAK.

Answer Grid.

Al