Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Gareth Bain

Theme: O, MG! Each theme answer is a two word name, with the initial letters M and G.

17A. *Moscow park eponym : MAXIM GORKY.  Gorky Park is an amusement park in Moscow, named after the Russian/Soviet author born Aleksey Maksimovich Peshkov. The bitterness of his early experiences in Russia led him to choose the name Maxim Gorky (which means "the bitter one") as his pseudonym. 

61A. *"What's Going On" singer : MARVIN GAYE. LOVE any excuse to see his name. What a genius, and like many other brilliant artists, awash in drama and gone too soon. This tune seems appropriate, as tax filing time nears.

10D. *20th-century cartoonist who wrote "He Done Her Wrong," a 300-page pantomime tale : MILT GROSS. Billed as one of the greatest cartoonists of the 20th century. Complete title: He Done Her Wrong: The Great American Novel and Not a Word in It — No Music, Too. It's the story of a young man from out of the wilderness, coonskin cap and all, who falls in love with a fair maiden. 

32D. *"Mad Max" star : MEL GIBSON. Still in the doghouse.

61D. With "the," 48-Down's band (which sounds as if it could have included the answers to starred clues) : MG'S

48D. Leader of the band with the 1962 hit "Green Onions" : BOOKER T. I know this song because it is on the soundtrack of one of my favorite movies, Get Shorty. Look at me.

Melissa here. This seemed to be on the easy side for a wednesday, very few pauses or unknowns. Not a terribly exciting theme (MG), although i loved the trivia associated with all the above answers, and found lots excuses for musical tie-ins. 

Across

1. Doughnut shape : TORUS

6. Doofus : CLOD. Tried putz first.

10. Hi sign nicknames : MOMS. Hi, Mom!

14. Furniture wood : EBONY. 

15. Circle dance : HORA

16. Does a bakery job : ICES. Aced it.

19. "__ we forget" : LEST

20. Palm Treos, e.g., briefly : PDA'S. Personal Digital Assistant.

21. Tailless primate : APE

22. School orgs. : PTA'S. Parent Teacher Association.

23. Article for Adenauer : EIN. German, translates to a, an, one, on, or any. Konrad Adenauer was the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following WWII, he brought Germany prosperity, democracy, stability and respect. To a large extent Adenauer's policies still dominate Germany.

24. Upside-down frown : SMILE

26. __ Dei : AGNUS. Latin term meaning "Lamb of God." Rufus's take.

28. __ Andreas Fault : SAN. In my backyard. For now.

29. Bit of dogma : TENET

30. Poppycock : TRIPE

31. Opera setting, for short : THE MET. The Metropolitan Opera, in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Reminded me of Moonstruck, which just came up on the blog.

33. Outs partners : IN'S. In's and out's.

35. Hops-drying oven : OAST

36. Animals who often bear twins : EWES. Windhover!

38. Evokes wonder in : AWES

40. Asian sea : ARAL

43. It's not known for MPG efficiency : SUV. Sport Untility Vehicle - gas guzzler.

45. Soak up : ABSORB

49. Din in the library? : GUNGA. Gunga Din, one of Rudyard Kipling's most famous poems, from the point of view of a British soldier, about a native water-bearer (a "bhisti") who saves the soldier's life but dies himself. Jim Croce adapted the poem into a song for his album Facets.

51. One of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" : MASHA. Olga, Maria (Masha) and Irina.

53. Big suit, briefly : CEO. "Suit" is slang for executive.

54. About the eye : OPTIC

55. Elect to take part : OPT IN

56. Hoo-ha : ADO

57. Option for Hamlet : TO BE. Or not to be.

58. Exxon Valdez cargo : OIL. Very moving documentary about the spill, Black Wave.

59. Short run, for short : ONE K. 1 mile = 1.609344 kilometers.

60. Wimple wearers : NUNS. Medieval garment worn by women around the head.

64. Élan : BRIO. Enthusiastic vigor. Hm ... i need to start using this word.

65. Kindergarten staple : GLUE. And sometime snack.

66. Courtroom demand : ORDER. Order in the court!

67. Quite a long time : AEON

68. Pair in bunk beds, perhaps : SIBS. Siblings.

69. Burden bearer : BEAST

Down

1. Violent storm : TEMPEST

2. Shortest book in the Hebrew Bible : OBADIAH. After Amos, and before Jonah. I had to memorize all the books of the bible in order as a child. One of those things that sticks.

3. Steve Martin film based on "Cyrano de Bergerac" : ROXANNE. Mildly amusing movie. Better tune.

4. Colleges, to Aussies : UNI'S

5. Mozart's "Jupiter," e.g.: Abbr. : SYM. Symphony.

6. Noted composer of études : CHOPIN

7. Rhine siren : LORELEI. A rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, Germany, which soars some 120 metres above the waterline. 

8. Mork's planet : ORK

9. "And God called the light __": Genesis : DAY

11. "1984" setting : OCEANIA. From Wikipedia: George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four takes place in Oceania, one of three intercontinental super-states who divided the world among themselves after a global war. 

12. Goofs : MESSUPS

13. Old JFK arrival : SST

18. Spermatozoa, e.g. : GAMETES. A cell that fuses with another cell during fertilization.

22. Frisk, with "down" : PAT. Pat-down.

24. Crock-Pot potful : STEW. Crock-Pot weather lately.

25. Sicilian mount : ETNA

27. Collector's goal : SET. 

34. East African language : SWAHILI

37. Sport for heavyweights : SUMO. Sumo wrestling.

39. Israeli diplomat Abba : EBAN

40. In days past : AGO

41. Burst : RUPTURE

42. Actor Banderas : ANTONIO

44. Vicks ointment : VAPORUB

46. Anthem for "eh" sayers : O CANADA. Canadians end a lot of their sentences with the confirming, "eh?" like Americans ask, "right?" or "you know?" at the end of sentences to make sure they are understood clearly or to verify that the other party agrees. Nice puzzle today, eh?

47. Overnight flights : RED EYES

50. Impeccable service : ACE. Tennis. Great clue.

52. "As I was going to __ ..." : ST. IVES. English nursery rhyme: 

         As I was going to St Ives

I met a man with seven wives

Each wife had seven sacks

Each sack had seven cats

Each cat had seven kits

Kits, cats, sacks, wives

How many were going to St Ives?

59. Fairy tale baddie : OGRE

60. Hoops org. : NBA. Basketball.

62. Poetic boxer : ALI

63. San Francisco's __ Hill : NOB. Also Telegraph Hill and Russian Hill.

Answer grid.

Melissa

Tuesday, March 8, 2011 Robert Fisher

Theme: Insults 101 - Four common insults for when someone does something stupid are the last word of the theme entries when they precede the first word of the unifier.

17A. Not-so-humorous humerus spot: FUNNY BONE. Bonehead.

23A. Exam taker's dread: MENTAL BLOCK. Blockhead. 

39A. Daydreams: CASTLES IN THE AIR. Airhead.
 
49A. Devoid of niceties, as some politics: BARE KNUCKLE. Knucklehead.
 
61A. Racer's edge, or the ends of 17-, 23-, 39- and 49-Across, unflatteringly: HEAD START

Argyle here. I liked the theme; some of the fill, not so much.

Across:

1. Pert : SAUCY. If you remember, we had this before.

6. Top grade, in slang : ACE. I did find it used this way in Dictionary.com, listed as the last use as a noun.

9. Trees along tropical beaches : PALMS

14. Aptly named cooler brand : IGLOO. Image.

15. Small island : CAY. Sorry, not AIT today.

16. Perpendicular to the keel : ABEAM

19. Tri- plus bi- : PENTA-

20. Drink from leaves : TEA

21. Hockey legend Bobby et al. : ORRs. A stinker entry.

22. Sea north of Poland : BALTIC

25. Grubs and maggots : LARVAE

29. Manhattan sch. : NYU. The Manhattan in New York City, this time.

30. "Garfield" pooch : ODIE

31. Fan mag : ZINE

34. Annual parade celeb : ST. PAT. It should have indicated an abbv., not for PAT, that shortened version was indicated by 'celeb', but for ST.

42. Joe Cocker's "You __ Beautiful" : ARE SO. Clip.(2:22)

43. Formal coiffure : UPDO

44. Alan of "The Aviator" : ALDA

45. Slangy "No reason" : 'CUZ. Based on BECAUSE.

47. "Amen to that!" : "I'LL SAY!"

55. Disinclined : AVERSE

56. Works a tough row? : HOEs. Easy now.

57. "The Amazing Race" airer : CBS. TV show(I never watch).

60. Prove apt for : BEFIT

63. Mountain ridge : ARETE

64. www address : URL

65. Otherworldly : EERIE

66. IHOP condiment : SYRUP

67. 1/30 of abril : DIA. Spanish. 1 abril - el Día de los Inocentes. (All Fools Day)

68. Seed anew : RESOW

Down:

1. Sort through, as for clues : SIFT

2. Fit of fever : AGUE

3. It's near the 17-Across : ULNA. Diagram that shows where the ulna nerve stretches over the bone in the elbow. That is what tingles when you hit it.

4. Put one over on : CON

5. Cellist with 16 Grammys : YOYO MA. Elgar Cello Concerto, 2nd mvmt.(3:00) The Jimi Hendrix of classic music.

6. Item in a fall stash : ACORN. If you're a squirrel.

7. Art able to : CANST. Dost thou knoweth this word?

8. Tropical cyclone center : EYE

9. 41st president, affectionately : PAPA BUSH

10. Clear as __ : A BELL

11. Slowly, in music : LENTO

12. "It slices! It dices!" gadget Veg-O-__ : MATIC

13. Wallop : SMACK

18. Zephyr : BREEZE

22. Journalist Nellie : BLY. Nellie Bly (1864 – 1922) was the pen name of American pioneer female journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochran.

24. What all good things come to : AN END. That English proverb from yesterday.

25. Crazy, in a Ricky Martin song : LOCA. "Livin' La Vida Loca".

26. Month after Shevat : ADAR

27. Increase : RISE

28. November honorees : VETS

32. Liar Joe in old TV car ads : ISUZU. David Leisure as Joe Isuzu, Isuzu Pup - Island Ad.

33. Hip flask quickie : NIP

35. Greenish blue : TEAL

36. Sidekicks : PALS

37. Verdi opera : "AIDA"

38. Projector's slide holder : TRAY

40. Rigidly inflexible process : LOCKSTEP. Surprize.

41. Worked arduously : TOILED

46. Arles article : UNE. French.

48. Like the preferable evil : LESSER

49. Rum-soaked cakes : BABAs

50. Lincoln Center's __ Fisher Hall : AVERY. The hall was named for Fisher in 1973 after he made a $10.5 million donation to the Philharmonic. (Well, no wonder.)

51. Allude (to) : REFER

52. Verdi aria that means "It was you" : ERI TU

53. Strasbourg sweetheart : CHERI. Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in northeastern France.

54. Eucalyptus muncher : KOALA

57. Jaguar and Impala : CARS

58. Verve : BRIO

59. Hearty entrée : STEW

61. 1963 Paul Newman film : "HUD"

62. Casual top : TEE

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, March 7, 2011 Scott Atkinson

Theme: Reduplication - Four 9-letter words or phrases  that only the rhyming part is the same; the initial part is different. The vowel is different in each entry.

17A. Small-time: RINKY DINK

53A. Fortunate one: LUCKY DUCK

10D. Wham-O footbag: HACKY SACK

29D. Cheap dance hall: HONKY TONK

Argyle here. I couldn't come up with an entry that could have used an "E". Other terms that are occasionally used for this linguistics feature include cloning, doubling, duplication, and repetition. These are fun words to speak and made for a fun Monday.

Across:

1A. Pet adoption ctr.: SPCA

5A. Like drive-thru orders: TO GO

9A. Cash alternative: CHECK

14A. Come __ end: conclude: TO AN. As all good things must. English Proverb.

15A. Most eligible for the draft: ONE A

16A. Popular branch of yoga: HATHA. Is there a name for practitioners of yoga?

19A. Have __ with: talk to: A CHAT

20A. Like strictly religious Jews: ORTHODOX

21A. Invite to enter: ASK IN

22A. Fawn's mother: DOE

23A. Family folk: KIN. Alliteration.

24A. Simple to apply, in adspeak: EASY ON

25A. Approx. leaving hour: ETD. Estimated Time of Departure. Close to the actual time, usually, unlike ETD, Estimated Time of Delivery.

26A. Some Ga. Tech grads: EEs. Electrical Engineers.

27A. Pass along softly, as a secret: WHISPER

29A. Coin flip call: Abbr.: HDs.. Unnecessary abbr.

30A. Yuletide spiced ales: WASSAILS. Santa knows wassail, and not that wassail lite stuff, either.

31A. Número after siete: OCHO. Spanish

34A. Fellows: MEN

35A. Stage group: CAST

36A. Occur together: COINCIDE

39A. '60s atty. general who served under his brother: RFK

41A. Elephants, e.g.: TUSKERS

42A. End of a giggle: HEE

43A. Angel dust, briefly: PCP. Don't hear much about PCP these days; bad stuff.

46A. Completely stump: STYMIE. Origin unknown but used by golfers when a competitors ball is between his ball and the hole. Nowadays, the obstructing ball must be moved, the wimps.

47A. "May __ excused?": I BE

48A. Significant period: ERA

49A. Handy bags: TOTEs

50A. Rodin or Michelangelo: SCULPTOR

52A. Evita's married name: PERON. Née Duarte.

54A. Put on a coat?: PAINT

55A. Color of suede shoes, in song: BLUE

56A. __-Seltzer: ALKA

57A. Hockey disks: PUCKS

58A. Dines: SUPS

59A. Mouth off to: SASS

Down:

1D. Walked decisively: STRODE

2D. Christie sleuth Hercule: POIROT. He was on the Orient Express when a murder occurred.

3D. On a slant: CANTED. The way wine is stored, to keep the cork from drying out.

4D. Pharaoh's cross: ANKH. This lucky duck has two. Image.

5D. Hot alcoholic drinks: TODDIES. Santa knows hot toddies, too. (Lois is his special "hot toddy".)

6D. Burger toppers: ONIONS

7D. Group with thirtysomethings, briefly: GEN X. Generation X is the generation born after the Baby Boomers, circa 1970 to 1980.

8D. "Mighty" tree: OAK. "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow." English Proverb.

9D. Vehicle's framework: CHASSIS. Ford is still using in their full-size cars, the chassis introduced in 1979, the Panther platform.

11D. Addis Ababa's country: ETHIOPIA. Map.

12D. Television watcher's choices: CHANNELS

13D. Kit __ bar: KAT

18D. Teamed, as oxen: YOKED

21D. Massage reactions: AAHs. shout out to melissa b.

24D. McGregor of "Moulin Rouge!": EWAN

28D. Q-U connection: RST

30D. Like small laddies: WEE

31D. Halloween mo.: OCT.

32D. "Undersea World" explorer Jacques: COUSTEAU

33D. Momentous: HISTORIC

34D. Warehouse gds.: MDSE.

37D. Joins, as stones in a wall: CEMENTS

38D. Colored part of the eye: IRIS

39D. Expresses stern disapproval of: REBUKES

40D. Touchy-__: FEELY

42D. Diaphragm spasm that may be cured by holding one's breath: HICCUP. One way to spell it.

43D. "Downtown" singer Clark: PETULA

44D. Onion soup holders: CROCKS

45D. Hooded coats: PARKAS

50D. "Star Trek" helmsman: SULU

51D. Palmtop computers: Abbr.: PDAs. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

52D. Very quietly, to Beethoven: PPP. The dynamic marking for a note played extremely quietly, pianissimo.

53D. Scale abbr.: LBS.
 

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday March 6, 2011 John Lampkin

Theme: Adductional TV - An extra letter is added to one word of each familiar TV show and the resulting phrase is accordingly clued. (Added later: John just pointed out that "the added letter is always the second letter of one of the words".)

25A. Documentary about a Ravi Shankar concert tour? : SITAR TREK. "Star Trek".

27A. Sitcom about an endearing dimwit? : LOVE THAT BOOB. "Love That Bob". Unknown to me. Fun new phrase. I bet Dennis wants a different clue.

43A. Show about a nonsensical grain grinder? : BLARNEY MILLER. 'Barney Miller".

70A. Drama about an opinionated military? : JUDGING ARMY. "Judging Amy".

100A. Talk show about words like "zeppelin" and "dirigible"? : THE FLYING NOUN. "The Flying Nun".

119A. Sitcom about a team of aromatherapists? : THE MOOD SQUAD. "The Mod Squad".

122A. Financial show about the fermented honey market? : MEAD MONEY. Mad Money.

39D. Drama about an Asian virus? : KUNG FLU. "Kung Fu"

63D. Drama about an obnoxious superhero? : BRAT MAN. "Batman".

I don't quite get the title, John. Does "Adducational" (in place of "Educational") simply signal a letter addition? I wish the added letters I, O, L, R, O, O, E, I & R amount to "ucational". That would be a perfect title.

I like the varieties of the shows, also the way the 9 theme answers are arranged in the grid, giving solvers a piece to bite in every section.

Normally we don't see non-theme answers like URBAN MYTH (6D. Modern folklore) & ARISTOTLE longer than theme answers, as they might befuddle solvers. But all the question marks & "show"/"drama" indications in today's theme clues avoid any confusion. Plus, those two words just look pretty in the grid.

Also a pangram, all 26 letters are used at least once. No helper squares. Clean grid. Moderate amount of clechos today.

Across:

1. Shrimp kin : PRAWN. So, why the plural for prawn is prawns, but the plural for shrimp remains the same?

6. Eclipse shadow : UMBRA

11. Grain layer : BRAN. Fiber-rich.

15. Pennsylvanie, e.g. : ETAT. French spelling: Pennsylvanie.

19. Bellow's "The Adventures of __ March" : AUGIE. No idea. It's a Saul Bellow novel.

20. "Air Music" Pulitzer winner, 1976 : ROREM (Ned)

21. Like Hubbard's cupboard : BARE

22. Very attractive : FOXY. Do you think Megan Fox is foxy?

23. Amherst sch. : U MASS

24. Bowlers have them : BRIMS. Bowler hats. Of course I was thinking of strikes/spares.

30. Reserved : SET ASIDE. Oh, I was thinking of "shy" reserved.

31. Geometry figure : AREA

32. On __-to-know basis : A NEED

33. Hypothetical primates : APEMEN

35. Not at all excited : CALM

37. Entered gradually : EASED IN

39. Waste, as time : KILL

48. Giant in the woods : SEQUOIA. Giant sequoia. Not some giant animal.

50. "Great taste" beers, familiarly : LITEs. Miller Lite.

51. Summer goal, maybe : TAN

52. "No __!" : PROB

54. Pressed for payment : DUNNED. Caused problem for some solvers last time. My brother knows very limited English, dun is one of them.

55. "__ all in your mind" : IT'S

56. Moral principles : ETHICS

59. Lincoln Ctr. site : NYC

61. Prolonged pain : AGONY

62. Hopi home : PUEBLO

64. Symbol on the film poster for Eastwood's "Hang 'Em High" : NOOSE

67. Mt. Shasta's state : CALIF

69. Box for practice : SPAR

73. Sheep's kin : LAMB. Lambkin. Lampkin.

77. In concert : AS ONE

79. Natural sponge : LOOFA

80. Telescope eyepiece : OCULAR

82. Brooks of country : GARTH. Garth Brooks. Country music.

85. Boston Coll. conference since 2005 : ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference)

87. Confident comeback : SO CAN I

89. JFK posting : ETA

90. Ill will : ANIMUS. Anima is "Jung's feminine side".

92. "Mayor" author : KOCH (Ed)

95. Former USSR member : UKR (Ukraine)

96. Ankle bones : TARSI

98. Early stage : INFANCY

103. Many a texting whiz : TEEN

104. 10,000 square meters : HECTARE. New word to me. Hect denotes 100. I don't know how 10,000 comes from.

106. Lampblack : SOOT

107. Sioux enemies : OMAHAS

108. Starbucks size : VENTI. Italian for "twenty". Hence 20 ounces.

111. Attending USC, e.g. : IN LA

115. Like some drilling : OFFSHORE

124. Straight up : ERECT. And 1D. "Straight Up" singer Abdul : PAULA

125. Bizarre : OUTRE

126. Procter & Gamble razor : ATRA

127. Cowardly Lion's farmhand alter ego : ZEKE. And then BRAIN (76. Scarecrow's lack).

128. Of the kidneys : RENAL

129. Got together : MET UP

130. Really smell : REEK

131. Ice cream brand : EDY'S. Crossword constructor's favorite ice cream brand. Super friendly grid edge word.

132. Nonplus : ADDLE

133. Until now : AS YET

Down:

2. Bit of tongue-wagging : RUMOR

3. Mescal source : AGAVE

4. Joker : WISEACRE

5. Twitter source : NEST. Bird. Not the Twitter Charlie Sheen has been exploiting. Just a publicity stunt. He's not insane. Really.

7. "Le __ d'Arthur" : MORTE. The Death of Arthur.

8. Payoff : BRIBE

9. Do over, as a kitchen : REMODEL

10. "Are not!" comeback : AM SO

11. Hardly big shots? : BBs. Nice clue.

12. Like a bump on a log : RAISED

13. Goddess of the hunt : ARTEMIS. Apollo's twin sister.

14. Straightened up : NEATENED. OK, a bit of an echo to the "Straight up" earlier.

15. New newts : EFTs.

16. Inner tube shapes : TORI. Plural of torus. Don't confuse it with TORII the Japanese gateway. Or Angels' Torri Hunter.

17. Hewed : AXED

18. Little shaver : TYKE. Shaver = Small boy.

26. Tried to get a seat : RAN

28. "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" speaker : HALE (Nathan)

29. More despicable : BASER

34. 1955 Argentine coup victim : PERON. Which one, Eva or Juan?

36. First name in nature photography : ANSEL (Adams)

38. Chalet backdrop : ALP

40. Sphere opening : IONO. Ionosphere. Ha Ha, this is the word Jayce wanted on Saturday. Dictionary says it means "ionized".

41. Property claim : LIEN

42. Feminine title : LADY

43. Air traffic images : BLIPS

44. Like the sky during fireworks : LIT-UP

45. On a liner, say : AT SEA

46. Liner's primary section : MAIN DECK. I've never boarded a liner.

47. Disguised, briefly : INCOG (Incognito)

49. Wharf on the Seine : QUAI. Quai d'Orsay. Nice area.

53. Old-timey words of emphasis : BY CRACKY. Have yet to see anyone uses it in our blog.

57. WWII Axis general : TOJO. The Japanese general. Responsible for Pearl Harbor attack.

58. Earthworm environs : SOIL

60. Short film maker? : CAM. Awesome clue.

65. Cone head? : SNO. Sno-cone.

66. Big heads : EGOS. Consecutive "head".

68. Rhône city : LYON

71. Juanita's "a" : UNA

72. Entangled : AFOUL. Run afoul of.

74. Last Olds made : ALERO

75. Quemoy neighbor : MATSU. Matsu Island. Gave me trouble, as we call it "Mazu Island" in China. Quemoy also has a different name: Kinmen (or Jinmen). See this map? Only Kinmen.

78. Eschew : SHUN

81. BP competitor : CITGO

82. Pace : GAIT

83. Only daughter of Elizabeth II : ANNE

84. Abundant : RIFE

86. Terra __ : COTTA

88. Rembrandt's contemplative subject : ARISTOTLE. With a bust of Homer. See here.

91. Gossip : SCHMOOZE. Fun word.

93. Longtime New Yorker cartoonist Roz : CHAST. Saw ROZ clued as "Cartoonist Chast" before.

94. "I Saw __ Again": 1966 hit : HER

97. Appraised items on a PBS "Roadshow" : ANTIQUES. Loved "Antiques Roadshow".

99. Had a hankering : YEARNED

101. Frantic : FEVERED

102. Villain to "avoid" in 1980s Domino's Pizza ads, with "the" : NOID. Here is a clip. Off my radar.

105. Insolent : CHEEKY

107. Resistance unit : OHM

109. Edit : EMEND

110. Dieter-friendly : NO-CAL. No calorie. And 117. Diet : FARE.

112. Like fruitcakes : NUTTY

113. Oater actor Lash : LARUE. Do you know why westerns are called oaters?

114. Like crackerjacks : ADEPT

115. General Bradley : OMAR

116. Grand affair : FETE

118. Black Hills st. : S DAK

120. Zeus' spouse : HERA

121. "Brave New World" drug : SOMA

123. Puzzle finisher's cry : YES. I like how it ends today's Down answers.

Answer grid.

Here are two pictures from WM's "Almost Edible" gallery show. Click on each one for clearer definition.

C.C.

Saturday March 5th, 2011 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 31

Hi There ~! A Saturday Silk, and one with a "standard" looking grid, with three entries across the top, which might have been misleading.... put me in a good mood to start, despite the series of blanks I had to begin with, and even when I hit -

4D. It's radioactive : UNSTABLE ISOTOPE

and

10D. "Seriously" : NO KIDDING AROUND

the two 15-letter grid climbers ( they don't quite "span" the grid ).

I was able to finish this one, compared to last Saturday's brutal offering.

It is an honor for me to appear as a guest blogger today, so I hope you enjoy ~!

Thanks to C.C., who may have been a little concerned I was not able to access the puzzle -

"It's all good"

Splynter

And away we GO ~!

ACROSS:

1. Org. distributing a "Close Guantánamo" handbook : ACLU - Not that I got this to start, but a four-letter opening made me feel confident. American Civil Liberties Union - crossword friendly.

5. Cloud : BEFOG - the verb, not Stratus, etc.

10. Stupefied : NUMB - My first music link, I am sure you know this one; I do it for karaoke all the time.

14. Geographical border : COUNTY LINE

16. Native Nebraskan : OTOE - also crossword friendly.

17. Five-time All-Star second baseman : CHASE UTLEY - With Phillies. Barry Silk is an avid Phillies fan. Was feeling very sure this was Ozzie Smith, since it fit, and the "Zs" seemed Saturday-like - I am sure C.C. knew I was wrong....

18. Item used in Wright Brothers experiments : KITE

19. Advertises : TOUTS

20. Salt : OLD SAILOR

22. How writers often work : ALONE

24. Honeysuckle shrubs : ELDERS - "And you father smells of....Elderberrys ~!"

25. Algerian quarter : CASBAH - Some one else can link The Clash....

28. Dragging : TIRED - As in "man, I'm tired"

30. Historical Russian region : URAL

31. 1987 Costner role : NESS - From "The Untouchable". Had Robin HOOD first.

33. Climber's observation : VISTA - I had SCENE to start.

37. Classic diner feature : JUKEBOX - Nailed it, with a "J" and "X", figured we were on our way to a pangram - but my Ozzie was wrong...

39. "Private Benjamin" Oscar nominee Eileen : BRENNAN - Had to wait for perps to remember her last name.

41. First African-American major-league coach Buck : O'NEIL. With the Cubs in 1962. Long time Negro League player/manager. Died of very old age. 94.

42. Clinton Transportation secretary : PENA (Federico)

44. Encircle : GIRD

45. Suppressed : SAT ON

47. Way to make it? : SNAPPY - Make it snappy. Made me think of this "TOUTING"

49. In : AT HOME

52. Rhino relative : TAPIR

54. Very much : QUITE A LOT - Here's the "Q"; oh yeah, now we got it....

56. Land rover : NOMAD

60. Sphere lead-in : ATMO - WAG-ed HEMI to start.

61. Gibberish : MUMBO JUMBO - Nailed it.

63. Toon modeled after Clara Bow : BOOP - Betty Boop? Really?

64. One-sided : UNBALANCED - Makes me think of microphones.

65. Nice weapon : ARME - Nice the City in France. Only "foreign" word today, I think.

66. Edit menu command : PASTE - I cheated, and pulled the menu down to look...

67. Prank : DIDO - Had to use Dictionary to find this, otherwise, you get her ; I know her voice from "Here With Me", with Thievery Corporation

DOWN:

1. Credit Union holding: Abbr. : ACCT - Would you get this with Credit abbr as Cr.?

2. Fish also called a blue jack : COHO - Salmon

3. Tiki torch setting : LUAU

5. Sch. associated with the LDS Business College : BYU - Brigham Young University, a half WAG that I surmised from Latter-Day Saints. This puzzle only has two 3-letter answers.

6. John of England : ELTON. Elton John. Not toilet.

7. Some bass pieces : FILLETS

8. Linear, for short : ONE-D (One-Dimensional). Got me at first, and I am a CAD drafter; must be too early....

9. Jet creator : GEYSER - oh, a generic "jet", not the guy who came up with the engine....

11. Functional : UTILE

12. Drive : MOTOR - As in taking the car for a spin.

13. Cold drafts : BEERS - Not for six years; we have some friends here that will toast with a few beers and such....

15. Magnetic induction unit : TESLA - Science lesson, seen before.

21. Pain relief brand : ALEVE - Had ADVIL to start; is this a drug company thing, matching letters and alliteration?

23. "This can't be!" : OH NO ~!

25. Rabid dog of Castle Rock : CUJO - of Stephen King's novel of the same name; Maine is a very horrible place when you get to know Steve...

26. Make __ for it : A RUN

27. Interest : SAKE - For the "sake" of....

29. Amazon.com ID : ISBN - Book IDs, I think

32. Fair : EXPO - Loved the Home Depot Expo, their high-end stuff, before they closed their doors.

34. Prune : SNIP

35. You might see one on a woodpile : TARP - Also diamonds in baseball.

36. Singer Williams : ANDY

38. Rap : BLAME - "I ain't gonna take the..."

40. Abrasive sound : RASP

43. Lays away : ENTOMBS - Nice clue; very "visual" - awesome album cover

46. Ally : TEAM UP - The verb, not the noun.

48. Common video game fighter : NINJA

49. Jordan's only port : AQABA - Geography rocks; top right of the map

50. Personally train : TUTOR

51. Bleachers sign : HI MOM ~! - My mom broke her ankle Thursday. She's OK, considering.

53. Up : AT BAT - Another baseball answer, and a clecho to 58. Not up : ABED

55. Moon goddess : LUNA - And a Harry Potter character I like; she sees dead horses, too....

57. XC years from now : MMCI. 90 + 2011 = 2101. I had MMMI to start, a little too far ahead

59. Extinct pigeon relative : DODO

62. "__ Buttermilk Sky": 1946 song : OLE - uh, a little before my time; some one may want link this one, too.

Answer grid.

Thanks for letting me share your Saturday ~!

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

I'm very pleased to announce that Splynter (Richie) has accepted my invitation to become a member of our blogging team. He'll cover 1-2 puzzles per month.

Friday, March 4, 2011, Matt Matera

Theme: Playing with your food again? Four common phrases have one word replaced with a breakfast food item, to create an amusing sound alike phrase, clued in a witty fashion. No unifier today; a day to work hard for our solutions.

20A. Halloween breakfast pastry?: CREEPY CRULLER. CREEPY CRAWLER is the base phrase, a toy from Mattel, I think, where you make cute worms.

33A. Lone breakfast pastry?: CRUMPET SOLO. TRUMPET SOLO; I am sure JzB wishes there were more Trombone solos.

42A. Cherished breakfast pastry?: THE BUN I LOVE. Maybe you remember this song, THE ONE I LOVE my favorite theme answer.

56A. Ones hooked on breakfast pastry? : THE SCONEHEADS. The SNL creation with Dan Ackroyd and Larraine Newman, the Coneheads. I am on a big scone eating kick these days, mostly orange cranberry; I think it is because I am reading too many British mysteries and need my elevenses.

Lemonade here.

This was a fun Friday, with some very hard parts, from a fairly new constructor, who had his solo debut here in October,  He is a friend of Joon Pahk, another young gun. I thought the theme was amusing, and it being a 4 pronged mini-clecho added to the challenge. Let us see what else Matt had up his number 2 pencil, which made me work very hard.

Across:

1. The word?: MUM. Once you see the answer and picture the phrase, "Mum's the word," this is easy, but there are so many words. Shakespeare said in Henry VI, part II, "Seal up your lips and give no words but mum."

4. You might need to watch yours: STEP. Wow, another idiomatic phrase, this could be a long night.

8. Like some Disneyland passes: TWO DAY. I have only been to Disneyland once, and it was quite small. I moved to Florida just before they opened Disney-world, so I was spoiled. How many have been to both? No more E tickets anyway.

14. Downed: ATE. I may have to eat my words if this does not get easier.

15. __ bene: NOTA. Oh goody, Latin and a common legal term; this phrase, usually abbreviated (NB) means pay special attention to this area. Literally to note well.

16. It may involve an exaggerated age: FAKE ID. Another legal (okay illegal) concept. The greatest one being this ID .

17. With 19-Across, serious warnings: RED. 19. See 17-Across: ALERTS. The highest level; Homeland Security advises we are at Yellow alert today.

18. Not much: A BIT. Another idiom in the first ten clues.

23. 1938 "The War of the Worlds" broadcast, for one: HOAX. Do you think Orson Wells could pull off this in modern times?

24. Keystone enforcer: KOP. Mack Sennet's bumbling bobbys appeared with another crossword favorite Mable Normand.

25. Blazing: AFIRE. Oh, the obligatory A word.

28. Go-aheads: ASSENTS.

32. __'acte: ENTR. My French lesson of the day, ENTRE means between, but French loves elision, so the last E is removed to make one sound for the phrase meaning intermission, or between the act(s).

37. Garden product word: GRO. Scott's bought Sterns Miracle-Gro Products, Inc for their very successful Miracle Gro line of fertilizers. They work, though some say with side effects.

38. Attacks: RUNS AT. Another phrase, but not such a popular one.

39. Igloos and yurts: ABODES. Most of us are familiar with the Igloo, but not a YURT .

41. Sch. attendance notation: ABS. No ladies, not an excuse to show some guy with great abdominal muscles, an abbreviation for ABSENT.

46. End of a boast: VICI. More Latin, just to appease me; VENI, VIDI (I came, I saw) before I conquered.

48. Got for nothing: SPONGED. Well I know sponging off people means getting for nothing, but the tenses made this difficult, especially as the perps were not gimmes.

49. Make official: ENACT. Make into law.

51. Newspaper supply: INK. Don't you just hate the ink all over your hands when you finish reading the paper? Why do I hear Andy Rooney saying that in my head?

52. Islamic leader: IMAM. There is a tremendous variance between Sunni Imam and the Shi'a Imam, with the Sunni, it is more leadership like a Rabbi, and more religious with the Shi'a.

60. Type of sauce served with falafel: TAHINI. This wonderful, creamy garlicky sauce uses the sesame paste as its central ingredient, but many other flavors are mixed in to blend with chicken and other bland food.

62. Gaucho's weapon: BOLA. As kids, my brothers and I tried to make our own BOLAS but we did not have any tall animals, except each other, on whom to practice.

63. Homework amount?: TON. Aww, mom I have a TON of homework!

64. Puck's king: OBERON. More Shakespeare, Midsummers Night Dream, and the Queen was...?

65. "Dulce et Decorum est" poet Wilfred __: OWEN. A much respected but not widely known poet from WWI, who died 7 days before Armistice Day, but did have his thoughts on war preserved and published. Here is more information on him in this LINK .

66. Flow out: EBB. Our Crosswordese 101.

67. Henry VIII et al.: TUDORS. The Welsh family which ruled great Britain until they died out when Elizabeth I had no children, and her cousin, James the VI of Scotland became the King, and the first in the house of Stuart. The Showtime series is interesting, though quite explicit.

68. Hitch: SNAG. Another tricky one, as the dictionary has seven meanings for the noun HITCH, plus more for the verbs.

69. Wall St. monitor: SEC. Securities and Exchange Commission.

I would not have been able to finish if it were not for the downs, so we better get going.

Down:

1. Orderly movement: MARCH. I hope these memories are all happy ones Dennis, it is time for MUSIC .

2. Nirvana #1 album "In __": UTERO. And more MUSIC ; I never go into this.

3. Scorned lover of Jason: MEDEA. But I surely love my namesake appearing, even if it is a reminder of the Biatch Medea murdering my poor children in a jealous rage. hey, boys must be boys.

4. Lose it: SNAP. You could say Medea just snapped.

5. Michael's nemesis on "The Office": TOBY. Never have watched the OFFICE .

6. Boarding pass generator: ETICKET. And now our obligatory E word.

7. Sponsors: PATRONS. This was a more meaningful clue when rich people were the Patrons who sponsored artists and musicians, so they could concentrate on their art and not have to worry about working.

8. Brand of nonstick cookware: TFAL.Also known as TEFAL; you think the TE comes from TEFLON?

9. Half a city: WALLA. WALLA WALLA, Washington is where the tribe of native Americans known as the Walla Walla lived before the Whitman family arrived.

10. Michael of "Caddyshack":O'KEEFE. As a young man, he played the caddy who defeated Ted Knight for the club championship in the movie. However, he recently played Wally Wandell in Brothers & Sisters which sounds like Walla Walla. Coincidence?

11. Gallantry: DERRING DO. I wonder if the history of the word relates to DERRINGER or perhaps DERRIERE, both of which can be quite dangerous in the wrong hands?

12. River island: AIT. An ait (or eyot) is a small island. It is especially used to refer to islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England. The words "ait" and "eyot" are not common in modern English, although a few famous writers have used it, including J. R. R. Tolkien in his Lord of the Rings books, and Charles Dickens in Bleak House. It is also used by Thackeray in Vanity Fair. or so says Wiki. I never would have gotten this, but for perps.

13. NFL stat: YDS. Yards.

21. Show-what-you-know chances: EXAMS. I started with TESTS, but eventually worked my way out.

22. Machinating: UP TO. Another perfectly common word, used in a tense that was confusing. His machinations are deceptive.

26. Prelate's title: Abbr.: RT REV. we had a nice long discussion of Right Reverent some time ago.

27. Unevenly worn: EROSE. Oh, like the AIT which can disappear in the river.

29. Cross words: SPAT. Oh how very punny!

30. Actors Rogen and Green: SETHS. Both started out as child actors, Rogen in Freaks and Geeks and Green in a million guest parts. Rogen appeared in SUPERBAD which I linked above.

31. Big gun or big cheese: SLANG. Completely fooled me for a while, especially another food clue.

33. Desire and then some: CRAVE. Like my wanting some breakfast pastry NOW!

34. Clinton Treasury secretary: RUBIN. Robert Rubin; do we care? How about now, I will give you a hint, his initials are T G.

35. In one piece: UNSCATHED. I love this word, but I did not make it through this puzzle unscathed.

36. Award with a Sustained Achievement category: OBIE. The off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway Awards; a show that makes it up as it goes along; a product of the Village Voicenewspaper.

40. "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," for one: OLDIE. An oldie but a goodie.

43. Broad: EPIC. Huh? I have known some wonderful women, but EPIC?

44. Endangered great apes: BONOBOS. Am I the only one who completely missed out this entire species of CHIMPANZEE .J. Fred Muggs, help me!

45. x, at times: UNKNOWN. In all forms of mathematics, a symbol for the unknown.

47. Baseball star who reportedly said, "I think there's a sexiness in infield hits": ICHIRO. Mr. Suzuki, who came to the US after 9 years of professional baseball in Japan, has had at least 200 hits in each of his 10 seasons, a record, and had 262 one year, another record.

50. Caruso, for one: TENOR. Enrico the singer, not David the whiner.

53. A couple: MATES. Why does that word always make me hear in Australian? Kazie?

54. Acrobat developer: ADOBE. Which is an anagram of ABODE. See above.

55. Rachel Maddow's station: MSNBC. I have never watched this NEWSPERSON .

57. Serious lapses: SINS. Now we are talking, that is all it was, a little lapse on my part.

58. Zeno's home: ELEA.Zeno of Elea was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of southern Italy and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. Aristotle called him the inventor of the dialectic. He is best known for his paradoxes. Paradoxically, I have never heard of him either.

59. Dangle: HANG. How they dangling just does not have the same ring to it.

60. Tater __: TOT. Finally, a food gimme for ORE-IDA.

61. __ Simbel, site of Ramses II temples: ABU. Can you believe they moved these TEMPLES to make room for the Asswan Dam?

Answer grid.

This was a difficult puzzle for me, maybe my eyes failing gives me an excuse, but it is mostly stuff I did not know and had to sneak up on, and make logical guesses. I hope you enjoy March.

Lemonade

Thursday, March 3, 2011 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Revealed in 36 Across: One of six in this puzzle: ANAGRAM CROSSING.

1A. SPOUTS crosses 5D. TOSSUP

18A. MANATEES crosses 10D. EMANATES

28A. PASTA crosses 24D. TAPAS

48A. TOTEM crosses 35D. MOTET

61A. PEAR TREE crosses 37D. REPARTEE

68A. MENTAL crosses 49D. MANTLE

Al here. I eliminated the clues in the above, hopefully to make the theme answers and their relationships clearer, but included them down in the rest of the write-up. One of those puzzles where the theme really didn't come into play for me. Just as with Dan's puzzle yesterday, this "solved" like a themeless puzzle. Even once I knew they were supposed to be there, I had to look for places where the across and down were the same length, and of course the symmetric positions, after I was done solving. Very heavy theme count, 13 answers, 79 squares. Lots of tricky cluing as well, so a fun solve, but not a walk in the park by any means.  I made a colored picture showing the theme layout, but there are so many crossings with other answers, I'm not sure it helps all that much. At the bottom there are notes from Don about constructing something like this.

ACROSS:

1. Orates: SPOUTS. As in a fountain spouting, comes from a root word meaning to spit. It was also the slang term for the lift in a pawnbroker's shop, up which articles were taken for storage, hence fig. phrase up the spout "lost, hopeless, gone beyond recall"

7. Hourly wage, e.g.: BASE RATE.

15. Refuses to: CANNOT. This one took me a long time to agree with, so I held off filling it in at first, but when someone says "I cannot help you", it does usually mean they won't, not that they are unable to.

16. Astronomy measurements: AZIMUTHS. The definition is just confusing: Distance of a star from the north or south point of the meridian. A picture works better.

17. Engrave: INCISE. Cutting into.

18. Sea cows: MANATEES. Dugongs are in the same family.

19. Brief needlework?: TATS. Tatting is making knotted lace. (Correction, as several regulars pointed out, and I originally missed, this is short for tattoos)

20. Megan's "Will & Grace" role: KAREN. Megan Mullaly, Karen Walker. Grace's secretary, who doesn't really need to work because she married into money several times.

21. Label for some Glenn Frey hits: MCA. Music Corporation of America.

22. Physicist with a law: OHM. I was taught this as V=IR (voltage = amperage times resistance)

23. Acting teacher Hagen: UTA.

25. "It __ far, far better thing...": Dickens: IS A. From Tale of Two Cities, It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known.

26. Wages: PAY. Can't argue with that...or else you'll get canned.

27. Get: SEE. I get it, see?

28. Noodles, say: PASTA.

30. The Simpsons, e.g.: TOONS.

32. Wedding dance: HORA. The chair dance, right?

34. Fabled mattress lump: PEA.

35. Mal de __: MER. Sea sickness. Also once meant scurvy.

42. Some tech sch. grads: EES. Electrical Engineers.

43. Top ten item: HIT.

44. Sign: OMEN.

45. Pricey: STEEP.

48. Pole symbol: TOTEM.

50. Wall St. exec's degree: MBA. Master of Business Administration.

51. Collar: NAB. Variant of nap "to grab or seize" as in kidnap.

52. "Aladdin" monkey: ABU. The Disney version.

54. Frat letter: ETA. College Greeks.

55. Food scrap: ORT.

56. Geneva-based workers' gp.: ILO. International Labour Organization.

57. Babe and Baby: RUTHS. A candy bar and a baseball great shaped like one.

59. Gijon goose egg: NADA. Spanish for nothing. A numeric zero on a scoreboard looks like a big fat goose egg.

61. Orchard grower: PEAR TREE.

63. An iamb's second half gets it: STRESS.

65. Noteworthy: ESTEEMED. As in estimated, from ais-temos "one who cuts copper," i.e. mints money.

66. Mount McKinley's home: ALASKA. Did Mrs. McKinley ever visit? I dunno, I'll ask her.

67. Relax: REST EASY.

68. Word with health or illness: MENTAL. I was disappointed when this show was canceled. I should go work for the networks, I think. If I like a show, they'll know not to even bother making it and save a lot of money. Firefly, New Amsterdam, John Doe, all too short-lived. The networks are all Mental.

DOWN:

1. __-fi: SCI. An "old" abbrev for Science Fiction. SF writers prefer it to be called SF these days, but that's too short for a crossword answer.

2. Temple of the gods: PANTHEON.

3. Being filmed: ON CAMERA.

4. Platoon, for one: UNIT.

5. Anybody's guess: TOSSUP.

6. Chateau __ Michelle winery: STE. A new and different way to clue a French abbrev for a female saint.

7. The Tide: BAMA. They call Alabama the crimson tide. Deacon Blues.

8. Hank who voices many 30-Across: AZARIA. Also played three roles in the "Night at the Smithsonian" movies: Kahmunrah/The Thinker/Abe Lincoln.

9. Cosecant reciprocals: SINES. A graph showing the relationship.

10. Arises: EMANATES. Directly from Latin emanare "flow out, arise, proceed,"

11. Groove: RUT. Sure, they mean the same thing, except when they don't idiomatically. If I'm "in the groove", I'm certainly not "in a rut".

12. At the original speed, in music: A TEMPO.

13. Jail, in slang: THE CAN. If you played kick the can, someone had to go to jail. I wonder if one is related to the other.

14. Tests that are hard to guess on: ESSAYS.

20. Deejay Casey: KASEM.

22. Dept. of Labor agency: OSHA. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

24. Spanish appetizers: TAPAS. Lots of different kinds.

29. Speed: Pref.: TACHO. Straight from the Greek.

31. Meeting time qualifier: OR SO.

33. One-time Time critic James: AGEE.

35. Sacred choral piece: MOTET.

37. Comeback: REPARTEE.

38. Solemn acts: RITES.

39. Bold: IMMODEST.

40. Big 12 school soon to be in the Big Ten: NEBRASKA.

41. No-see-um, say: GNAT.

45. Hard-to-see shooter: SNIPER.

46. "Thy Neighbor's Wife" author: TALESE. About "free love", i.e. a marriage-less society.

47. WWII torpedo launchers: E-BOATS. The "E" is thought to mean Enemy, but could be from Eilboot (hurry boat). They were called Schnellboots by the German navy.

48. Some learners: TUTEES.

49. It's beneath the crust: MANTLE. Layers of the earth, crust, mantle, core. (OK, two mantles and two cores if you're picky).

53. Siam neighbor: BURMA. Today's geography lesson.

58. Actress Lamarr: HEDY. Along with being quite the looker, she co-invented an early technique for spread spectrum communications, a key to many forms of wireless communication from the pre-computer age to the present day.

60. Sweater style named for Irish islands: ARAN.

62. Like some mil. officers: RET. Military, retired.

63. Yosemite __: SAM. The rootinest tootinest shootinest bob tailed wild cat in the west.

64. ESPN reporter Paolantonio: SAL. Not in my sphere of awareness.

Answer Grid.

Al

Here are some thoughts from Don about today's puzzle:

"Anagram Crossing:

Sometimes a theme shows up while one is constructing another puzzle. In this case, I noticed two words in a grid crossing each other that were anagrams of each other. I thought that was interesting, and started to play with the possibilities. One needs a unifier in this case, and ANAGRAM CROSSING was a lucky choice, being exactly 15-letters long. That meant that it had to be in the center, because anywhere else would require another 15-letter word to reflect it, and that would disrupt the theme pattern. I thought that I could get six anagram crossings, and it ended up that I could barely do that. The central 15-letter answer makes it a great challenge. On the plus side, there are many anagrams to choose from. On the down side, they have to cross in my scheme, and possibly cross the central answer, and I wanted to enter them symmetrically in the grid and cross at the same places. I don’t know why. It just looks prettier that way. So I just kept hunting, and eventually worked it out. On my first submission, Rich thought that I shouldn’t have a brand name entry, so I had to change things. I think I ended up with five different grids, if that is an indication of how difficult it is to change something like this. I don’t think I’ll try that again!"