Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Doug Peterson and Angela Olson Halsted

Theme: Clecho - The theme(run) is in the clues. If you get it from the four same length answers, then I am in awe.

20. Good place for a run : WRIGLEY FIELD, Baseball. Wrigley Field, which was built in 1914, is playing host to Major League Baseball for the 98th season in 2011 - and to the Chicago Cubs for the 96th year.

34. Bad place for a run : NATIONAL BANK. Nowadays the banks run faster than we can catch them.

41. Good place for a run : VAIL, COLORADO. Why?

56. Bad place for a run : SILK STOCKING

Argyle here. Feels like a Tuenesday; more than a Tuesday but not quite a Wednesday. Nice symmetrical theme entries.

Across:

1. Colorless : DRAB

5. Dairy Queen treat : CONE

9. 1972 Olympics star Mark : SPITZ. Won seven gold medals in swimming.

14. Get a better int. rate, perhaps : REFI. Refinance.

15. Genesis victim : ABEL

16. Hidden repository : CACHE

17. Qualify for : EARN

18. "Jeopardy!" creator Griffin : MERV. TV.

19. Clay who was the "Idol" runner-up to Ruben Studdard : AIKEN

23. "Doesn't bother me" : "I'M COOL"

24. Logo on many a Richard Petty race car : STP. Petty is known as the King in the NASCAR world.

25. Inventor Whitney : ELI

28. Bug-loving org. : NSA. National Security Agency. Oh, those kinds of bugs.

29. Lethargic : LOGY. We had this back on March 22, 2011.

32. Schindler portrayer : NEESON. Liam. Movie: Schindler's List(1993)

36. Raced : TORE

39. Reuben bread : RYE. Sandwich of layered meat, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese, with a dressing. These are grilled between slices of rye bread.

40. Hairpieces, slangily : RUGS

46. "Portnoy's Complaint" writer Roth : PHILIP

47. Sweet companion : SOUR

48. Aptly named Quaker cereal : OH'S. Image.

51. Gloomy guy : GUS

52. Eastern philosophy : TAO

54. Danshui River capital : TAIPEI. On the island of Taiwan.

59. It might end in a sack : BLITZ. From football. Rushing the quarterback and downing him for a loss(sack).

62. Molecule part : ATOM

63. Singer with Crosby and Stills : NASH. Graham Nash.

64. Lofty abode : AERIE

65. Discipline with poses : YOGA

66. Oklahoma tribe : OTOE. Crosswords owes a lot to these four letter Indian tribes.

67. Long (for) : YEARN

68. Hostage-rescue acronym : SWAT. Special Weapons And Tactics.

69. Travel : WEND

Down:

1. Attracted : DREW IN

2. Provides with more heat? : REARMS. Heat is slang for firearms.

3. #1 Toto song that mentions Kilimanjaro : AFRICA. Song with lyrics.(4:49)

4. Game played in a hall : BINGO

5. Arthur's castle : CAMELOT

6. Passé wedding vow word : OBEY. Was it passé when you got married?

7. Soft ball : NERF

8. Lisa Marie's dad : ELVIS

9. "Going under the knife" knife : SCALPEL

10. What dues need to be : PAID

11. "Gross!" : "ICK!"

12. Pop __ question : THE

13. Meditative sect : ZEN

21. Love interest in the song "Copacabana" : LOLA. Ohrwurm.

22. Sicilian volcano : ETNA

25. Biblical twin : ESAU

26. __ Island : LONG. Short Island Iced Tea. Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz Southern Comfort; 1 1/2 oz Spiced rum; 1 splash Sour mix · Ice - fill with cola in a highball glass.

27. Signs, as a deal : INKS

30. "The __ With the Dragon Tattoo" : GIRL. Crime novel by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson. Also, a film produced in Sweden in 2009 with additional releases in 2010. There is an upcoming Swedish/British/German/American film to be released in 2011.

31. Chuckleheads : YOYOs

33. River through Aragon : EBRO. Northern Spain.

34. 1994 role for Jodie : "NELL"

35. Fiddling emperor : NERO

36. Common sitcom rating : TV-PG

37. Honolulu's island : OAHU

38. Reformer Jacob : RIIS. Other than we had this recently, seems a bit hard for a Tuesday.

42. Inhabitant : CITIZEN

43. Autumn birthstone : OPAL

44. Horn & Hardart eatery : AUTOMAT. Noted for operating the first food service automats in Philadelphia and New York City. More of a Wednesday entry.

45. Neck-biting nickname : DRACula.

48. Morphine or codeine, e.g. : OPIATE

49. Muppet man : HENSON. Jim.

50. Sounded relieved : SIGHED

53. Signs off on : OKAYS

55. "You don't have to remind me" : "I KNOW"

56. Cooking instruction : STIR

57. Pack away : STOW

58. Forum attire : TOGA. The Roman forum.

59. Chestnut's stablemate, perhaps : BAY. They are close in color, according to this site. A bay horse is a brown colored horse with black points. Image. This means that the mane, tail, legs, and nose are all black. A bay horse can be very light brown to very dark brown. A famous bay horse is the racehorse Seabiscuit.

60. Wrangler competitor : LEE. Jeans.

61. 401(k) alternative, for short : IRA

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, May 9, 2011 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: Starting Anew - The beginning of the first three long theme answers are synonyms of "New". 

20A. Good reason to reopen a closed case : FRESH EVIDENCE

25A. Broad genre that began in Van Gogh's time : MODERN ART

49A. Original thought : NOVEL IDEA

54A. Title of Obama's 2009 Cairo speech, and what 20-, 25- and 49-Across have in common: : A NEW BEGINNING

Argyle here. Despite the theme title, I didn't find this to be FRESH, MODERN, NOVEL OR A NEW BEGINNING but it is a Monday after all.

Across:

1. Edible bow ties : PASTA

6. Largemouth fish : BASS and 16A. Shimmery sushi fish : OPAH

10. Places : PUTS

14. Twitter message : TWEET

15. Provoke : RILE

17. God of Islam : ALLAH

18. "Happy Gilmore" actor Sandler : ADAM

19. Song sung alone : SOLO

23. Intent : AIM

24. Former franc fraction : SOU. Alliteration in the clue.

31. Important purchase for a bride : DRESS

35. "__ Fideles": Christmas carol : ADESTE

36. Miami University state : OHIO

38. "Figured it out!" : "A-HA!"

39. Emeralds and diamonds : GEMS

40. Enlarge, as a road : WIDEN

42. Elvis __ Presley : ARON

43. "Who am __ judge?" : I TO. Unless your first name is Lance.

44. Unit of force : DYNE and 53A. Joule fraction : ERG. DYNE is defined as "the force required to accelerate a mass of one gram at a rate of one centimetre per second squared". A joule is equal to the energy expended in applying a force of one newton through a distance of one metre, or in passing an electric current of one ampere through a resistance of one ohm for one second. An ERG is the amount of work done by a force of one dyne exerted for a distance of one centimeter.(And I'm as confused as ever.)

45. Natural ability : TALENT

47. __ Rica : COSTA. Central America.

51. LAX or JFK, for American Airlines : HUB

61. Festive party : GALA

62. Tree house? : NEST

63. Spine-chilling : EERIE

66. Like Homer's "Iliad" : EPIC

67. Hudson Bay native : CREE

68. Furnish with more weapons : REARM

69. Eraser crumb site : DESK

70. Pay attention to : HEED

71. Eyelid woes : STYES

Down:

1. "Harper Valley __" : PTA. A country song written by Tom T. Hall and was a major hit single for country singer Jeannie C. Riley in 1968, and crossed over to the pop charts.

2. Hole-making tool : AWL

3. Ego : SELF

4. Rip : TEAR

5. Deep down inside : AT HEART

6. Rodeo bull : BRAHMA. Image. I don't think most bucking Brahmas are purebred but mixed parentage.

7. White House staffer : AIDE

8. Pole or Czech : SLAV

9. Big rigs : SEMIS

10. One who puts on airs : POSEUR. The French spelling gives POSER a more fraudulent touch.

11. Atop : UPON

12. Soft rock : TALC

13. Horse's footwear : SHOE

21. Muscular : SINEWY

22. Birdbrain, or extinct bird : DODO. Talk about a strange bird.

25. Hocus-pocus : MAGIC

26. Words that start many Keats titles : ODE TO

27. Band samples : DEMOS

28. Twisty road curve : ESS

29. Beverly Hills's __ Drive : RODEO

30. Alexander-Great link : THE

32. Like some seals : EARED

33. Glistened : SHONE

34. Rudolph's boss : SANTA. Ho-ho-ho! Rudolph has to be reminded who's boss sometimes, the poseur.

37. Apprentice : INTERN

41. B&B : INN. Bed and Breakfast

42. Baba who tangled with thieves : ALI. Yes he tangled with forty thieves but he wasn't one of them.

44. Slap on, as paint : DAUB. Not comfortable with this one. DAUB would indicate a small amount as opposed to "slap on" meaning an abundance of paint.

46. Casbah city : ALGIERS. Algeria's capital. Map.

48. Hitting sound : THWACK

50. Blew off steam : VENTED

52. Where second stringers sit : BENCH. First stringers are in the game.

54. Like fine wine : AGED

55. Scruff : NAPE

56. Yale alumni : ELIs

57. Richard of "Chicago" : GERE

58. Words of understanding : I SEE

59. Hair removal brand : NEET

60. Cloudy : GRAY

64. Anger : IRE

65. Letters after els : EMS

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday May 8, 2011 Mel Rosen

Theme: Market Woes - The last parts of each made-up theme answer is a common expression of a down day in the market.

23A. "How's your Ticonderoga stock?" answer? : PENCILS HAVE LOST POINTS

42A. "How's your Johnson & Johnson stock?" answer? : TALCUM HIT BOTTOM

65A. "How's your Ginsu stock?" answer? : KNIVES ARE SHARPLY LOWER

88A. "How's your Moët & Chandon stock?" answer? : CHAMPAGNE IS FLAT

109A. "How's your Aqua Lung stock?" answer? : SCUBA GEAR IS GOING UNDER

Company name in the clue, then product in the start of each answer. Very consistent.

Normally we see at least 7 theme entries in a Sunday puzzle. Today we only have 5, but 3 are grid-spanners. Mel Rosen, who coined the word cruciverbalist, seems to be fond of long theme entries. Look at his last LAT. Three spanners also. It's hard to maneuver with many squares already filled in when gridding & filling.

  

Across:

1. Do what Michelle Wie did before age 16 : GO PRO. Gimme start for me.

6. Lentil housings : PODS

10. For example : SAY

13. Muzzleloading aid : RAMROD. And 10. Gunpowder ingredient : SALTPETER.

19. Out-of-this-world type : ALIEN

20. Beige relative : ECRU. And 7D. Brownish hue : OCHER.

21. Beverage ending : ADE

22. Protected, in a way : IMMUNE

27. Rally attendance fig. : EST. And 106D. Ballpark figs. : MGRs

28. Join in the fun : TAKE PART. Do join us in the Comments section. It's fun.

29. Busy mo. for a CPA : APR

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

31. Old Glory detail : STAR

33. Ancient Phoenician seaport : TYRE. JD might get this one. Not me.

34. Deliverer of text messages? : APOSTLE. Oh, Christian messages.

37. "__ in victor" : V AS

38. Melodic passages : ARIOSI. Plural of arioso?

40. Eroded : ATE AWAY

41. Faith-based group : SECT

46. Fondue needs : FORKS. Cheesy!

47. Old frosh topper : BEANIE

48. Sightings : ESPIALS. I've never used this word in life.

50. Words after shake or break : A LEG

54. One playing for time : STALLER

56. "¿Cómo __ usted?" : ESTA

57. Shtick : BIT. Funny bit.

60. Baseball commissioner Bud : SELIG. He's not that cold in person.

62. Stashes : HIDES

63. Villa d'Este city : TIVOLI. Not familiar to me.

71. Classic Ford : MODEL T

72. Janvier, across the Pyrenees : ENERO. Janvier is January in French.

73. Arrive home, in a way : SLIDE. Home plate.

74. Program file suffix : EXE. Has anyone updated to the latest Firefox? I went back to my old version.

75. Beaut : LULU

78. Boxer's attendant : GROOMER

80. Began a round, with "off" : TEED

81. Mallomars maker : NABISCO. Part of Kraft.

83. Draft, as a contract : DRAW UP

85. Stop legally : EMBAR

94. Slimy mud : MIRE

95. Be indisposed : FEEL ILL

96. Airport near Tokyo : NARITA. Can only remember its Chinese name. Ta means "field".

97. Ranch addition? : ERO. Ranchero.

98. Weather page datum : SUNRISE

99. H.H. Munro's pen name : SAKI

102. "... like __ of chocolates" : A BOX

103. Joplin work : RAG

104. Bowl highlights: Abbr. : TDs

105. Statistical group : SAMPLING

108. Like Gershwin's piano concerto : IN F. "Concerto in F".

114. Refrain from the song "Hot Hot Hot" : OLE OLE. Was ignorant of the song.

115. Success : WIN

116. Cartoonist Goldberg : RUBE

117. Sleep lab phenomenon : SNORE

118. Settled in : NESTED

119. Record : LOG

120. Affect strongly : STIR

121. "The Glass Bead Game" author : HESSE (Hermann)

Down:

1. Views wide-eyed : GAPES AT

2. Fake fat : OLESTRA. This word looks fake.

3. Migratory duck : PIN TAIL. Where to?

4. TiVo button : REC

5. Not procrastinating : ON IT

6. Bothersome : PESKY

8. Hang loosely : DRAPE

9. Fiji's capital : SUVA

11. Bother : ADO

12. "To be sure!" : YES

13. Like bodybuilders' muscles : RIPPLY. Did you want RIPPED?

14. Love abroad : AMORE

15. Kvbrick opvs? : MMI. Stanley Kubrick's opus "2001: A Space Odyssey". I needed Argyle to explain to me the answer. He said Romans used V's for U's.

16. Go longer than planned : RUN OVER

17. Just as planned : ON TRACK. Nice consecutive "planned" clecho.

18. Refrains : DESISTS

24. Calif. daily : LA TIMES. Too bad it doesn't carry this puzzle today.

25. Ode writer's Muse : ERATO

26. Traditional straw mats : TATAMIs. Literally "fold".

32. Elephant predator of myth : ROC

35. What mares eat, in song : OATS

36. "Putney __": 1969 film : SWOPE. No idea. I'm eager to read Clear Ayes' comment.

39. Deli choice : SUB

40. White poplars : ABELES

41. Emergency letters : SOS

43. __ yoga : HATHA. HeartRx's yoga.

44. "And seem to walk on wings, and tread __": Pope : IN AIR

45. Piña colada ingredient? : TILDE. The mark above Piña. Not the real ingredient of the drink.

46. Grain threshers : FLAILS

49. J.D. holder : ATTY. Now, here is another JD holder.

50. "Shoot!" : ASK ME

51. Fine china : LENOX

52. Say nothin', say? : ELIDE. Nice clue.

53. Cave : GIVE

55. Surrey town in which George Harrison lived in the '60s : ESHER. Who knows?

57. "The Man Who Fell to Earth" star : BOWIE

58. Paris's __ la Cité : ILE DE. Lovely French for Splynter.

59. Ready to hit the hay : TIRED

61. Actress Sarah Michelle __ : GELLAR. Buffy.

64. Battery unit : VOLT

66. Ticket souvenir : STUB

67. Battery terminal-related : ANODAL

68. Corp. shuffling : RE-ORG

69. Spin doc : PR MAN

70. "My Fair Lady" composer : LOEWE (Frederick). With Alan Lerner.

76. It may be poetic : LICENSE

77. Two seater, maybe? : USHER. I don't get this one.

78. Disappear : GO MISSING

79. Making a mess of : RUINING

81. "Sorry, lassie!" : NAE

82. City SW of Bogotá : CALI. Chickie lived there for a couple of years.

84. Pro bono TV ad : PSA

85. "The Sage of Concord" : EMERSON

86. Revival claim : MIRACLE

87. Wing-tipped shoes : BROGUES

89. Arraignment answers : PLEAS

90. Angelico's address : FRA

91. Freudian principles : LIBIDOS. Ah, Dennis!

92. Penitents : ATONERS

93. Like many muni bonds : TAX FREE

95. Exaggerated : FUDGED

98. Told too often : STALE

99. Teapot part : SPOUT

100. Perp's story : ALIBI

101. Hall of Fame slugger Ralph : KINER. Been with the Mets forever. Nice card.

107. Talk effusively : GUSH

110. Hi-tech worker : BOT

111. Sharp punch : AWL

112. Ipanema's locale : RIO

113. Vane dir. : NNE

Answer grid.

Happy Mother’s Day!

C.C.

Saturday, May 7th, 2011 Peter A. Collins

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 30

Splynter here.

I took a look and found the last Peter A. Collins puzzle on Wed., June 3rd, 2009 - before my time here at the blog. This one took longer than I planned, lots of names and places, but it had those "gettable" moments, and one central grid climber -

8. "It seems unreal to me!" : I CAN ONLY IMAGINE

And away we GO ~!

ACROSS:

1. Peace offering? : NOBEL PRIZE - good start; I didn't get it until the Z from ZAG came

11. __ jure : IPSO - Latin, "by operation of law" - Lemonade knows more

15. Subversive : UN-AMERICAN - eh, I suppose

16. Orthodontic challenges : GAPS - I had braces as a teenager, just as they were becoming "acceptable" - my teeth were mis-aligned, but no "gaps"

17. Modern era : DIGITAL AGE - knew it was "- AGE", but computer didn't fit....

18. The Sakmara flows into it : URAL - map #1

19. Party follower? : GOER party-go-er

20. The Musketeers, e.g. : MEN - long clue, short answer

21. Venetian marketplace : RIALTO

23. Big name in China : Zhou ENLAI - first premier of the People's Republic of China - I defer to C.C. on this

25. Cotton-pickin' : DOGGONE - thought it was Southern drawl, but it's in the dictionary as is - Damn "lite", so to speak

27. "Dracula" director Browning : TOD - never heard of him

29. Contrarian : NAYSAYER - a person who habitually expresses pessimisitc feelings...ooh

32. Eco-friendly border : GREENBELT - at first I thought "huh?", but here's the skinny

36. Produce : SIRE - I don't think of being a father as "producing" kids, but....

37. "The Professor and the Madman" subj. : OED "A tale of murder, mystery, and the making of the Oxford-English Dictionary" - never heard of it

38. Not seasonal : ALL YEAR

41. "Collages" novelist : NIN - Anais

42. Oscar-winning Whitaker role : AMIN - Idi

44. Read the wrong way : MISJUDGED

46. Ledger entry : LINE ITEM

49. Grooved whale : SEI - new to me; here's a pic

50. Small Australian omnivore : BUSHRAT - also new to me; pic #2

52. Place for boarders : DEPOT - meh on this, too - boarding a train....

56. 1998 NFL Comeback Player of the Year : FLUTIE - Doug, from the NFL (and CFL) when he was with the Buffalo Bills

58. Prattle : GAB

60. Heavy wind : TUBA - D'oh~! - I had gale, gust, etc. - we're talking orchestra

61. Infrequently spotted : RARE

62. Official report : WHITE PAPER - here's the Wiki

65. GM worker : ENGR - engineer

66. Apple that's Minnesota's state fruit : HONEYCRISP - according to Wiki, it was 'developed'

67. Morse morsels : DAHS - Morse code, dits & dahs

68. Teases too much, maybe : OVER-STYLES - as in hair, like this....

DOWN:

1. Jog : NUDGE - as in the brain, when you're short on crossword answers....

2. With 3-Down, deli order : ONION, and

3. See 2-Down : BAGEL - I prefer 'everything', personally

4. Qatar, for example : EMIRATE

5. Umpire's cry : LET - Tennis, not baseball - I, of course, had "~OUT!~"

6. London pusher's vehicle : PRAM - baby, not drugs - that would be a Jag with "bling"

7. Worked (up) : RILED

9. Bit of evasion : ZAG - it's Zig in the other direction

10. What some bars supply : ENERGY - ugh, I get it, as in protein bar

11. Dewlapped reptiles : IGUANAS - I miss my good buddy Zeus

12. Negotiating during a truce : PARLEYING - love this

13. Gaiter relative : SPAT - oh, these "things"

14. Vigeland Park city : OSLO - had the S, WAGed it

22. Cyclades island : IOS - map #2

24. New York college whose team is the Gaels : IONA

26. Bill for software? : GATES - as in William Henry III of Microsoft

28. Hotel rm. option : DBL - double, the room/bed size

30. Presque Isle State Park's lake : ERIE - had the - - IE, WAGed it, too

31. Tear : REND

32. SportsCenter highlight : GOAL - eddy, SJ couldn't close out the Red Wings; can Vancouver finish off the Predators? 

33. Do __ ... : RE MI, musical notes

34. City nicknamed "Auld Reekie" : EDINBURGH - here's the castle; love 'em

35. Dramatist Rice : ELMER

39. Foyt and Cronin : AJs

40. Felt remorse for : RUED

43. Fixes : NEUTERS - ouch ~!

45. Regarding what's taken in : DIETARY

47. Grammar best-seller "Woe __" : IS I

48. "Tommy" rockers : THE WHO - not a big fan; I prefer Led Zeppelin & Blue Oyster Cult

51. What tots might go after? : TATER-tots, those little potato nuggets

53. Learner : PUPIL - I tried too hard with TUTEE

54. Like some with sedentary lifestyles : OBESE - if you don't watch your DIETARY intake....

55. Painters' protection : TARPS - diamonds, too

56. "High Noon" director Zinnemann : FRED

57. Lang of Smallville : LANA - Superman's story, as a teenager, and his GF

59. Ottoman governors : BEYS

63. __ lane : HOV - High Occupancy Vehicle - a long way to go for "car pool" - I miss the days before "PC" euphemisms

64. Agt.'s cut : PCT - Agents, and percentage

Answer grid.

What?  No FRENCH ~? Oh, wait, Parley....

Splynter

Friday, May 6, 2011, Peter Koetters

Theme: Double ZZs top double DDs - DD in the first part of well-known phrases are changed into ZZs. A somewhat new fun way to do a "replace the letter" puddle, I mean puzzle. We do not need any pics of double ZZs, do we?

More specifically:

17A. Moving like a dog in a narrow tube?: MUZZLING THROUGH. MUDDLING THROUGH, is where you plod along.

27A. Dud sparklers?: FIZZLE STICKS. FIDDLE STICKS probably originated from the violin playing in the street, which did not include high class music. It is why we have fiddling around.

41A. One solving several crosswords simultaneously?: PUZZLE JUMPER. PUDDLE JUMPER is an expression for a plane which goes on a short flight.

50A. Brilliant bees?: BUZZING GENIUSES. BUDDING GENIUSES, is used to describe young people who show extreme potential early in life.

Hi everyone, lemonade back with another new constructor, who has given us a puzzle with a little bit of everything, puns, tricks, obscurities, music and more.

So let's see what Peter picked....

ACROSS:

1. Make sound: HEAL. Boom we start with trickery, sound not being related to noise, but to hale and hearty. Nice.

5. Fictional elephant: BABAR. Aww, and I get my favorite elephant again this week; read the books to your grandkids.

10. Pine: ACHE. Deception number two, not a tree, but pining away, extra nice.

14. Capital at the foot of Mount Entoto: ADDIS ABABA. We have often discussed this Ethiopian CAPITAL at the base of Mount Entoto, which is not to be confused with the dog, or the BAND which did have a song about Africa.

16. Gambler's marker: CHIT. The sophisticated IOU.

19. Spots on cartes: ILES. Okay Jeannie, we get our French lesson today- cartes= maps and iles=islands.

20. Straight opening?: ORTHO. My favorite clue, because it is a double cross, unlike all of our other opening clue, which means you are to create a word beginning with the clue, this is the literal definition of Ortho, which is a prefix meaning STRAIGHT, like ORTHODONIST, tooth straightener.

21. Kennel worker: GROOMER. Well, you hope they keep the big sweeties groomed.

25. Greek sphinx, from the neck down: LIONESS. This is as opposed to the Egyptian Spinx, which is masculine and nice, the Greek being feminine and nasty. If you want more information you can read this LINK.

29. Good for growing, as soil: LOAMY. Nice black dirt, unlike the sand we have in Florida.

30. Traps: WEBS. Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.

31. Pick up: GET. When you are the store, I need some milk.

34. Razor brand: ATRA. There you go, last week's AFTA has morphed into the razor, everyone happy?

35. Contempt: ODIUM. A simple Latin word meaning hate.

37. Stadium level: LOGE. We have had this recently; just think sky boxes at the ball park.

38. Sigh relative: TSK. Oh goody, our word of the week, with yet a different slant.

39. Othello, for one: MOOR. Speaking of deceit, poor moor.

40. Wonder Woman weapon: TIARA. She had her lasso, her wrist bands and her invisible plane.

44. Anniversary gala: JUBILEE.

47. Häagen-Dazs array: SORBETS. Of course this is accurate, but not my first thought; by now I assume everyone knows this company was from Brooklyn and used the fancy foreign name to justify their higher prices.

48. Words after take or save: A SEAT. back to the ball park, go marlins.

49. Z-zebra link: AS IN. Z as in Zebra.

57. Performer of many Dylan songs: BAEZ. I have seen her perform at Woodstock, in Lennox Mass., many times, and always loved her VOICE

58. San Diego Zoo attraction: GIANT PANDA.

59. __ breve: ALLA, means all brief or quick in Italian (like our word brevity), and in musical notation I believe means a faster tempo, but I will defer to JzB to give you the full scoop on this one.

60. Folklore threats: OGRES. They get such a bad rep, but Shrek is a pussycat, sort of.

61. Not at all bleak: ROSY. Just like this puzzle, not at all bleak, but rather fun so far, no big holes.

Okay on to part two!

DOWN:

1. It may be glazed: HAM. Or my eyes after doing the blog.

2. URL ending: EDU.

3. Woodworking tool: ADZ. This is the second puzzle which I blogged with lots of ZZZZZs.

4. Songwriter Phair: LIZ. One of many female singers who started about the same time, but I do not think she ever sang at the Lilith FAIR

5. One holding property in trust: BAILEE. Out token legal term, used for the hat check girl, the parking attendant and the pawn shop

6. Li'l __: old-themed restaurant: ABNERS. Never heard of this chain.

7. Traveling companions?: BAGS. Nice misdirection here as well, and those of you with mothers in law, be nice it is Mother's Day Sunday.

8. NYC dance co.: ABT. AMERICAN BALLET THEATER . Where they teach dancers to 28D. Pirouette: TWIRL.

9. Word of support: RAH. Rah rah sis boom bah. Rah Rah ree, kick em in the knee, Rah Rah rass, kick em in the other knee.

10. Cache crop?: ACORNS. Nice cash/cache sound alike.

11. Laundry conveyor: CHUTE. I have never had a laundry chute, only garbage ones.

12. Good times: HIGHS. Well, what a controversial clue, I mean admittedly lots of people smoke pot, but...oh he just means emotional highs. Never mind.

13. Group values: ETHOS. A bit more Greek today.

15. By a narrow margin: SLIMLY. A bit of a stretch as a word, but I guess better than nonely.

18. Rank and file movers: ROOKS. A nice chess clue, describing the movement of the piece.

21. Key of Schubert's Impromptu Op. 90, No. 3: G FLAT. If it has five letters it will be something flat, then wait and see the perp.

22. Popular party people: RIOTS. Oh man get a couple of drinks in him, and he is a riot!

23. Arkansas's ___ National Forest: OZARK.

24. Baum princess: OZMA. Many of you may not know how many books Mr. Baum wrote about OZ, and all of the characters not in the movie, but they even have their own wiki sight where you can learn. PS welcome back KAZIE.

25. Stead: LIEU. These days in my world, this attached DEED IN....

26. Warhead vehicle, briefly: ICBM. InterContinentalBallisticMissile.

31. Blow one's top: GO APE. I seldom see this without a third word modifier.

32. Coastal wader: EGRET. They love Florida.

33. They may signify joy: TEARS. But not when you have to sign the DEED IN LIEU.

35. Exude: OOZE. Seems like it fits with this puzzle, which is oozing zzzz.

36. Nap: DOZE. Hopefully no one is sleeping through my efforts.

37. Branch: LIMB.

39. Media lead-in: MULTI. See, there is the standard cluing for an opening or lead-in.

40. Source of some greens: TURNIP. For Thelma and the other Southern Belles who cook with Turnip Greens.

41. Italian square: PIAZZA. Not to be confused with the ex-Met Mike, who was Italian, but fairly hip, though the bleach blond look was not a good move.

42. Ascetic of yore: ESSENE. A biblical reference, appropriate for this season.

43. Articulations: JOINTS. More confusion, and the less common use of articulation, not words, but separations.

44. Sluglike alien strangled by Leia: JABBA. Yes, she was ANGRY

45. Standard: USUAL.

46. Chisel's edge: BEZEL. Sounds so much like Bevel and they are related.

49. Bacteriologist's supply: AGAR. For their Petri dishes.

51. IHOP '__: takeout food program: N'GO. Well I already told my IHOP wrestling story, so it is up to you to comment, though if only this had been worked into the ROO puzzle....

52. Short job: GIG. Devin's band played a GIG at Uncle Lou's; he did not want me to go, because the place was a little sketchy, Great to be a dad.

53. Syr. seceded from it in 1961: UAR. United Arab Republic; not much on being united.

54. __-cone: SNO. Don't eat the yellow ones.

55. Money VIPs: EDS. Cannot fool me twice, the magazines editors! Ha!

56. Mention: SAY. Say good night Gracie. Good night Gracie.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Thursday, May 5, 2011, Julian Lim

Theme: Gone with the wind. The main answers all have had their "hat" blown away.

17. "Don't tell a soul!": KEEP IT UNDER YOUR. It is likely that there's no direct link to hats at all and that 'keep it under your hat' just meant 'keep it in your head'. "The man whose estate lies under his hat need never tremble before the frowns of fortune."--Anthony Trollope

31. Spout nonsense: TALK THROUGH ONE'S. This has quite a few speculative explanations.  My favorites are a reference to the emptiness of the hat atop one's head, as if one were thinking and speaking with an empty head, and Joseph Smith (the book of Mormon) reading a stone that nobody can see with his face buried in his hat.

41. Moonlight, say: WEAR MORE THAN ONE. To hold multiple jobs. This one is fairly direct. Back when almost everyone wore hats, if a man who was an admiral, a Lord Lieutenant of a county and Chancellor of a university - each of which has an impressive ceremonial hat - was going to an official function, the question "which hat will you be wearing?" would mean "in which capacity will you be attending?".

60. Instantly ... or how this puzzle's other three longest answers came about?: AT THE DROP OF A HAT. In the 19th century it was occasionally the practice in the United States to signal the start of a fight or a race by dropping a hat or sweeping it downward while holding it in the hand. The quick response to the signal found its way into the language for any action that begins quickly without much need for prompting.

Hi all, if it's Thursday, it must be me...

ACROSS:

1. Some graphic works: EROTICA. I wanted to fill this with "ESCHERS".

8. It often involves x's: ALGEBRA. Solve this equation for "X". Tricky putting this immediately following the preceeding clue to misdirect your thinking.

15. Of words: LEXICAL. From Greek "Lexikos", pertaining to words. A Lexicon is a dictionary of words.

16. One doing a lot of riding: NEEDLER. Riding in the sense of "giving a hard time". To needle is to goad or provoke a response.

19. Phishing targets: Abbr.: SSNS. An insidious form of Spam emails that can do damage if they bait you to bite at the lure. Legitimate companies don't email you for personal information. They only request it if you initiated a transaction with them. Never give out your identity in respnse to an unsolicited email or phone call, even if it looks legit.

20. Handbill: FLYER. Meaning of "small handbill or fly-sheet" is from U.S. slang (originally especially of police bulletins), on notion of "made to be scattered broadcast."

21. Nothing special: SO-SO. Every puzzle has some of these fillers.

22. Wroclaw's region: SILESIA. Today's geography lesson. An ancent region, now part of Poland and the Czech Republic.

24. Refillable candy: PEZ. The name Pez was derived from the letters at the start, the middle and the end of the German word for peppermint, Pfefferminz, the first Pez flavor. Pez was originally introduced in Austria.

25. Equilibrium: STASIS. The Greek word, meaning "a standing still".

29. 34-Down degree: NTH. A mathematical term indicating indefinite number, in which n is an abbreviation for number.

38. Carl's sweetheart, in "Up": ELLIE. Pixar movies are for everyone, and this one tugs at your heartstrings while still being funny. If you haven't seen it, don't let the fact that it is a "cartoon" keep you from renting it.

39. Double-slash container: URL. Internet locators that web browsers understand start several different ways, the most prevalent is:  http://  This is so common that you don't even have to type it in when you manually enter one in the address bar, all modern browsers will assume you meant to do it.

40. Deteriorate slowly: ERODE. I think I did this before... Latin erosionem "a gnawing away", from rodere, to gnaw, related to rodent.

44. Black and __: two-beer drink: TAN. Bass Pale Ale and Guinness (yes, the ones who produce the record book), usually, layered carefully, not mixed together.

45. Pugilism venues: ARENAS. Boxing.

46. "The Island of the Day Before" author: ECO. Umberto. Wiki has a fairly succinct plot synopsis.

49. Event with a queen: PAGEANT. First thoughts were of the recent Royal Wedding, a planned distraction, I'm sure.

53. Entre __: NOUS. French. Between us. A movie of that name was subtitled Coup de Foudre, which means "love at first sight".

55. Tanager homes: NESTS.  Colorful birds.

56. Impatient sounds: TSKS.

63. Cape user: MATADOR. Spanish, literally "killer," from matar "to kill or wound," probably from Arabic mata "he died."

64. Ex claim: ALIMONY. From Latin alimonia "food, support, nourishment, sustenance". "I won't pay," he said.  "Oh, yes you will," she Ex claimed.

65. Suffering terribly: IN AGONY. From Greek agonia "a (mental) struggle for victory," originally "a struggle for victory in the games.

66. "Listen to Your Heart" pop duo: ROXETTE. Official video.

DOWN:.

1. Horned game: ELKS. Other choices, both singular and plural, DEER,  BUCK.

2. "Cheers" actor Roger: REES. Character: Robin Colcord.  Didn't really remember him at first.

3. Paddy animals: OXEN. Rice paddies.

4. Inside information: TIPS.

5. Here, in Haiti: ICI. More French.

6. Cajun entrée: CATFISH. Not a big fan of "blackened" foods, I have a midwest "bland" taste palate.

7. __ in the conversation: A LULL. Related to lullaby, as in a "sleep".

8. Range along the Ring of Fire: ANDES.

9. Wolf's activity: LEERING. Howling, anyone? Wolves as a symbol of lust are ancient, e.g. Roman slang lupa "whore," literally "she-wolf". The equation of "wolf" and "prostitute, sexually voracious female" persisted into 12c., but by Elizabethan times wolves had become primarily symbolic of male lust.

10. Lux. neighbor: GER. Luxembourg and Germany.

11. Breyers alternative: EDYS.

12. It barely gets beyond the infield: BLOOP. Baseball.

13. Conserve, in a way: REUSE. Reclaim, recycle.

14. __ con pollo: ARROZ. Spanish, rice with chicken.

18. Science educator Bill: NYE. Bow ties are cool. Oh wait, that's a different character, Who knows Who I mean?

22. Display of links: SITE MAP. Usually created by the site webmaster for search engine crawlers to catalog, but regular users can also save time searching for something if they know it is on specific site.

23. Really: AT HEART.

25. Worry: STEW. Fret. To simmer in one's own juices.

26. "The Handmaid's __": Atwood novel: TALE. "Speculative" fiction. Beginning with a staged terrorist attack (blamed on Islamic extremist terrorists) that kills the President, a movement calling itself the "Sons of Jacob" launches a revolution, ousted Congress, and suspended the U.S. Constitution under the pretext of restoring order. Taking advantage of electronic banking, they were quickly able to freeze the assets of all  "undesirables" in the country, stripping their rights away.

27. __ puttanesca: with a spicy tomato sauce: ALLA. Literally "whore's style spaghetti" in Italian.

28. Avoid: SKIRT. Outskirts are the border or edges of a city or the hem of a skirt.

30. Mezzo Marilyn: HORNE. In keeping with the plethora of foreign language today, here's Habenera.

32. Capek play: RUR. Rossum's Universal Robots. More like androids, but this introduced the word "robot" to the English language (and science fiction).

33. Refinable rock: ORE.

34. Like z: Abbr.: ULT. Latin "ultimo", meaning last.

35. When two hands meet?: NOON. Probably the cleverest clue in the puzzle, clock hands. Imagine how boring the world will be if everything becomes digital-only instead of analog.

36. Author Buchanan: EDNA. Mysteries.

37. Dates: SEES.

42. With no end in sight: ON AND ON. Or, facing forward...

43. His co-pilot was a Wookiee: HAN SOLO. Star Wars.

46. As a friend, in Marseilles: EN AMI. French.

47. Trig function: COTAN. I think math counts as a foreign language, too...

48. "__ sight!": OUTTA. Uptight and all right. Little Stevie Wonder.

50. Elbridge __, governor famous for redistricting: GERRY. A portmanteau word Gerrymander came about because a district in MA looked like a salamander after political machinations were enacted to redistribute voting blocs to favor the party in power for future elections.

51. Peruvian pronoun: ESO. Spanish for "that".

52. How some stocks are sold: AT PAR. At the original price, no discounts or premiums.

54. Woolly rug: SHAG.

56. Far from titillating: TAME. Not graphic (1A).

57. Recorded on film: SHOT.

58. Key figure in epistemology: KANT. Immanuel.  Philosophy, the study of knowledge and justified belief. If you want to immerse yourself...

59. Eyelid nuisance: STYE.

61. Japanese capital of yore: EDO. Tokyo today.

62. Quandary: FIX. With "in a".

Answer Grid.

Al