Sunday June 26, 2011 Mike Torch

Theme: High Comedy - GH is omitted in each familiar phrase.

23A. Unforgettable louse? : A NIGHT TO REMEMBER. "A Night to Remember". Fun clue & answer.

33A. Waterway for sinners? : STRAIGHT TO HELL. Straight to hell. Nice one too.

44A. Uncovers a serious flaw in municipal building plans? : CAN'T FIGHT CITY HALL. Can't fight city hall.

62A. Barely visible English pubs? : BRIGHT SPOTS ON THE HORIZON. Bright spots on the horizon.

74A. Ohio sweaters? : KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS. Knights of Columbus.

92A. Low cost pay-per-view match? : BOUGHT FOR A SONG. Bought for a song.

103A. Where to get a copy of "The Communist Manifesto"? : RED-LIGHT DISTRICT. Red light district.

Slow in grokking the theme today. First thought long I in IGH was replaced by short I, but STRAIT TO HELL quickly said no. Then BOUT FOR A SONG further proved I was wrong. Odd entry. I'd love the theme better if GH is dropped from all the *IGHT phrases. You?

The grid design is rather ambitious, with week-day like three finger blocks. Hence a rather low 132 word count.

Across:

1. Bit of schoolyard disagreement : AM SO. And 14. States as fact : SAYS SO.

5. Stuff in a box on the street : SNAIL MAIL. Was thinking of those free newspaper.

20. 1978 medical thriller : COMA

21. Like some items in downloads : NON-SECURE. Often feel helpless against computer errors.

22. __ Island, N.Y. : STATEN

25. "Broadway Joe" : NAMATH

26. Indian lentil stew : DAL. Bill G, what's for lunch today?

27. Loses everything : BUSTS

28. Juan's ones : UNOs

30. Milk: Pref. : LACTO. Lactose.

31. Promote at work : ELEVATE

36. Tightwads : MISERs

37. Turn down in an ugly way : SPURN. Like love.

39. Tested : ASSAYED

40. Has the stage : IS ON

41. Expensive outing, probably : SPREE. Shopping spree?

42. Goes on strike, in slang : WALKS. I like this clue.

48. Seemingly forever : AGES

52. Top of the morning? : ONE AM

53. Clerical vestments : ALBs. Classic crosswordese.

54. Rodeo ride : BRONC

55. Like the larger-eared elephant : AFRICAN. I thought it's just "large-eared".

59. Sham : FALSE

61. Look for help from : TURN TO

66. Volcanic rock : BASALT

67. Incursions : RAIDs

68. "Rad!" : AWESOME

69. Talus joint : ANKLE

70. Brew : SUDs

71. Words with bike or wave : RIDE A

73. Grey Goose competitor : SKYY. Vodka.

81. Volleyball coup : SPIKE. And 102D. It precedes 81-Across : SET

83. Tennyson's Enoch : ARDEN. "Enoch Arden". Not familiar with the poem.

84. Westchester, N.Y., college : IONA

85. "Most likely ..." : ODDS ARE. Nice entry.

89. Reuben essential : SWISS

90. Aviation force : THRUST

95. Ristorante red : CHIANTI

96. Befuddled : AT SEA

97. Comic who wrote jokes for JFK : SAHL (Mort)

98. Shoe parts : SOLES

100. Covert fed. group : CIA

101. Maid concerns : METERS. Meter maid.

107. Antarctic penguin : ADELIE. Happy couple. Happy feet.

108. Pennsylvania's state dog : GREAT DANE. State dog? Unknown to me.

109. Sommer of cinema : ELKE

110. Most convinced : SUREST

111. Controls : HARNESSES

112. "The Swiss Family Robinson" writer : WYSS (Johann). Was ignorant of the book and the author.

Down:

1. Hypothetical : ACADEMIC

2. Immortal wife of Francesco del Giocondo : MONA LISA. Thanks to da Vinci.

3. Is favorable to : SMILES ON

4. Muffin choice : OAT

5. Tapir features : SNOUTS

6. Longship crewmen : NORSE. Longships were used by the Vikings.

7. Works without __ : A NET

8. Philosophies : ISMs

9. Poe's "Annabel __" : LEE

10. Turn-of-the-century year : MCM. 1900.

11. 2010 Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton's alma mater : AUBURN. Gimme for Husker Gary, I bet. He seems to know a lot about college football.

12. "The Faerie Queene" woman : IRENA. Guessed.

13. "Vive __!" : LE ROI

14. IRS info : SSN

15. Baffled : AT A LOSS

16. Steinway competitor : YAMAHA

17. Actress Dash of "Clueless" : STACEY. First encounter with this actress. She's pretty.

18. Come to terms : SETTLE

19. Waiting for tech support, often : ON HOLD. Those overseas tech support can drive you nuts.

24. Way to the top : T-BAR

29. Delays : STALLs

32. Let off steam : VENT

33. Mutton fat : SUET. Lard is pork fat.

34. Small spade : TREY. Poker.

35. "For shame!" : TSK

37. Humane Soc. ally : SPCA

38. Victorian : PRIM

41. Worker with a pad : STENO

42. Former 49ers coach Bill : WALSH. Surprised I know him.

43. "Seascape" Pulitzer-winning playwright : ALBEE

45. Bo's'n's quarters : FO'C'SLE. Can never remember how to spell it, Spitzboov/eddyB!

46. Unfitting : INAPT

47. Desists : HALTS

48. "Mrs. __ Goes to Paris": 1992 TV film : ARRIS. Stumped me again.

49. Bananas : GONZO. Nuts!

50. Branch of zool. : ENTOM. OK, entomology.

51. Tea biscuit : SCONE

54. Chest : BUREAU. Furniture was not in my mind.

55. Arafat's successor : ABBAS

56. Direct : FRANK. Adjective "direct".

57. Full of pitfalls : RISKY

58. 2006 World Cup winner : ITALY. Soccer is huge in China.

59. Pass off (on) : FOIST

60. Plus : AND

61. Item on a rack : TOWEL

63. Place for a donut : TRUNK. Tire! Tricky clue.

64. "Sexy" Beatles woman : SADIE

65. Sported : HAD ON

70. Sun Valley visitors : SKIERS

71. Country mail rtes. : RFDs. RFD = Rural delivery service

72. Summer coolers : ICEs

75. Cut : SAWN. Spell check doesn't like it.

76. Not a dup. : ORIG

77. Oscar winner Sorvino : MIRA. She speaks Chinese.

78. In an animated way : BOUNCILY. I've only used adjective form bouncy.

79. Opens with effort, as a window : UNSTICKS

80. Stuffs : SATIATES

81. Wild vacations? : SAFARIs. Oh, wild animal, not the real wild vacation in Ibiza. JD has had a few wild ones.

82. For : PRO

85. "Dreams From My Father" family : OBAMAS

86. College address ending : DOT EDU. Felt stupid not to nail it.

87. Long riding coat : DUSTER

88. Addison's publishing partner : STEELE (Richard). Joseph Addison. Both strangers to me.

89. Plumber's alloy : SOLDER

90. Doctors' works : THESES

91. H.S. subject : HIST (History)

93. Cry of exasperation : AARGH

94. He-Man's twin sister : SHE-RA

95. "Crazy" singer : CLINE (Patsy). Thought of Jerome's mom.

98. Regs. : STDs (Standards)

99. Harem rooms : ODAs. Splynter wants one.

104. PC linkup : LAN

105. Mineral suffix : ITE

106. Remote button : REW

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday, June 25, 2011 Julian Lim

THEME: None

WORDS: 70

BLOCKS: 26

Wow, just a brutal second themeless offering from Mr. Lim, with some clues that were very vague, and others that I downright had to just wince at. Just the one grid spanner today,

36. "The sea was angry that day," e.g. : PATHETIC FALLACY

an "expanded" metaphor, so to speak, with what I thought was the original answer - PERSONIFICATION....and that was just the first of many mistakes :-((

ACROSS:

1. Bounce : DRIBBLE - Ugh, Basketball - I was on the Echo/Toss Out wavelength...

8. Site of the largest WWII Allied Pacific amphibious assault : OKINAWA - IWO JIMA fit, too

15. Pigment used in some primer paints : RED LEAD - Did not know this

16. Worldly : SECULAR - I was on the "global" wavelength

17. Glowing, perhaps : PLEASED - started with RADIANT

18. "You're in charge!" : SEE TO IT

19. Courage : HEART

20. Fightin' with : AGIN' - Against, in "drawl-speak"

22. Exobiologist's org. : SETI - Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence - shoulda got this from the "Exo-" part, but I was thinking bugs...

23. Covering an outfield position : IN LEFT - good baseball answer, I had center at first

25. Byzantine emperor known as "the Armenian" : LEO V - here's his Wiki

27. Some hosps. : VAs - Veteran's Affairs Hospitals

28. Mil. officers : LTs - Lieutenants

29. Demolish, in Durham : RASE - the Anglo version of RAZE

31. Most recently introduced : NEWEST

33. Summons : TICKET - Argh~! I started with this, and took it out

35. One putting on shows : AIRER - Meh, but yeah

40. Hatch of Utah : ORRIN - knew it wasn't Estes, but I couldn't think of him at first

41. Neil Diamond title words after "I am the tune" : PLAY ME - I'll leave the links to you

42. One may be packed with Oreos, briefly : PB AND J - a Peanut Butter and Jelly sa'mich - really~!?  Are there any of us out there that put Oreos in there too~?  Yecht - I'll keep mine for dessert....

44. Uma's role in "The Producers" : ULLA - Uma, Ulla, Uma, Ulla

45. Label for Nilsson : RCA - WAGed EMI, MCI, but ultimately, did not know this guy

48. Yom __: holiday, in Hebrew : TOV

49. Kosovo resident : SERB

51. Hawks' contacts, perhaps : ARMERS - Ugh, as in those who supply arms to militant types, also known as "hawks"

53. Uncultivated, probably : ARID - well, not necessarily, but what can I say....

55. Banter : JEST - I don't see the synonym here - Banter is light talk, Jest is to joke, for me.

57. Does a word-processing task : SAVES - EDITS, DELES, STETS, TYPES, nope - what every application file needs - to be saved; not limited to word-processing....

58. Reacts in fear, in a way : REARS UP

60. Like some soap : ON A ROPE - Cute GAG GIFT ( last week ), and a necessity in prison, I would think....

62. "Eugene Onegin" heroine __ Larina : TATIANA

63. NBAer orig. from Minnesota : L.A. LAKER - great, more basketball - getting to be like French around here - when is MY puzzle going to show up with all the hockey in it?

64. Made red-faced? : SLAPPED - this was a good one - had ANGERED to start, knew I was not quite right with the "?"

65. Evidence provider : DNA TEST

DOWN:

1. "Family First" author, familiarly : DR. PHIL - a phony, if you ask me

2. Give in : RELENT

3. Epitomes : IDEALS

4. Play up to the max? : BLARE - is this true, JzB~?

5. Some buds : BEST FRIENDS - got stuck on a "plant-like" wavelength with 'buds'

6. Papua New Guinea port : LAE - Map, in the middle

7. Snorri Sturluson's "Prose __" : EDDA - the Wiki

8. Walter's "I'm Not Rappaport" co-star : OSSIE - not familiar with this

9. Really into : KEEN ON

10. Plans may be put on it : ICE

11. More than just touched : NUTS

12. Herbal medicine plant : ALOE VERA - the whole name

13. "Not so fast!" : WAIT A SECond

14. Craft : ARTISTRY - Nice clue/answer for a Saturday

21. Competitors in a Fox comedy-drama : GLEE CLUBS - the EE gave it to me

24. Bumpkin's lack : TACT

26. Trattoria offering : VEAL MARSALA - had VEAL_, couldn't recall the second half - I have had Chicken Marsala, which I believe is wine & mushroom sauce - I am not the chef here, but I do "use pot"....

30. Problem with an old record : SKIP - "...like a rhinestone...like a rhinestone...like a rhinestone..." my 45 had a SKIP right there

32. Bit of cunning : WILE

33. Like a poor argument : THIN - WEAK, TAME, nope

34. Maker of nonstick cookware : T-FAL

36. Toaster brand : POP-TARTS - ugh - tried too hard to make Oster fit, etc.

37. Like kinkajous : ARBOREAL - Here's a pic

38. "Fallen woman," in an opera title : - La TRAVIATA, by "Joe Green" (Victor Borge)

39. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" protagonist : AYLA

43. Not exciting : JEJUNE - that's French~!

45. Take away : REVOKE

46. Brunch fare : CREPES - had MIMOSA and OMELET to start - fare is one of those single/plural words, like fish

47. Maintain : ASSERT

50. Fix, as brakes : RE-PAD - I have had many a chance to fix brakes, but never said "RE-PAD"

52. Corday victim : MARAT - French revolution, she slayed him in the bath

54. Cone eater's concern : DRIP

56. Let in on : TOLD - TELL and TALK did not work

59. Enervate : SAP

61. Turkic flatbread : NAN

Answer grid.

Splynter, going back to bed to heal the brain damage....

Friday, June 24, 2011 James Sajdak

Theme: Farmhouse homilies from Brooklyn. Each of the theme phrase are sound-a-likes for in the language expressions which are reclued from an animal perspective.  A very fun concept and the second of Mr. Sajdak's puzzles which I have had the pleasure of blogging. The theme answers take the common two 13 and two 14 letter fills, and the rest of the puzzle seems straightforward for a Friday, with many short fill, but some new stuff and onward and upward we go.

20A. Thoroughbred farm slur?: SO'S YOUR MUDDER. "So's your mother" are often the fighting words in response to a particularly nasty and graphic insult. A mudder is a horse which does well on a wet and sloppy track, like the recent Belmont Stakes.

29A. Dairy farm proverb?: BE KIND TO UDDERS. While I get, "Be kind to others," I am not getting a great visual of how to follow this advice. I need help from our experts, Carol and Lois....

46A. Cattle farm commandment?: HONOR THY FODDER. My favorite, especially so close to father's day. If  you are a city person, the chopped up hay to feed the animals etc. is FODDER.

56A. Clydesdale farm boast?: HEAVY BREEDERS. Heavy breathers. Clydesdales are the huge horses from the Budweiser commercials; I am unfamiliar with their breeding prowess, though I have received too many invitations to go to watch the girls play on the farm.

Heigh ho, it is I, Lemonade, and it is off to work we go.

Across :

1. Drops a fly, say: ERRS. Baseball reference; at least I know 1A.

5. Web code: HTML. Hyper Text Markup Language; almost all regular posters have learned how to link using this code.

9. Patio parties, briefly: BBQS. Nice alliteration, no grilling allowed on my patio; don't you love condos?

13. Fiefdom, e.g.: REALM. From the old French reaume, kingdom.

15. Recitative follower: ARIA. I am not an expert on opera stuff, but it is like what happens in between the big songs, so the audience can follow the plot. LISTEN .

16. "For sure!": YEAH.

17. Test: ASSAY. back in the old westerns, they were forever going to get their gold tested at the ASSAY office.

18. "The Case for Public Schools" author: MANN. A trained attorney who was instrumental in free non-sectarian schooling for all. He was an interesting MAN .

19. Nice head: TETE. No one should be falling for thise French city anymore; and we have had TETE often.

23. Schubert's "The __ King": ERL. A sad story of a boy snatched by an evil elf, but the MUSIC is lovely.

24. '70s radical gp.: SLA. Symbionese Liberation Army, the crazies who snatched and brainwashed Patty Hearst. The names from the word symbiotic. And a mini-leftist theme with 48D. SDS co-founder Tom: HAYDEN. Students for a Democratic Society, who became a Senator and married Jane Fonda.

25. "Eternally nameless" principle: TAO. The constructors favorite Eastern Philosophy.

26. Fancy pond swimmer: KOI.

33. Words before "Gave proof through the night": IN AIR. Sing everyone, "The bombs bursting...."

34. It has pedals and stops: ORGAN. Not a bicycle, or a body part.

35. Tub filler: LARD, an insult when I was growing up.

38. Loses interest: SOURS. Maybe that is where they have all gone.

41. European capital: OSLO. A nice shout out to our Norwegian contingent.

42. Sweat: EXUDE. She was actually glowing...

44. Half a "Star Wars" character: DETOO.  R2.

51. Ruling party: INS. Not the outs, the ins. I saw I N S first.

52. "Jane Eyre" star Wasikowska: MIA. The little girl from Oz who starred in the Alice in Wonderland remake is all GROWN UP .

53. Business __: END. Like when you point a gun.

54. Valuable Ming: YAO. poor guy, has not been able to play basketball in two years; feet were not meant for 7'6" bodies.

60. Drop a line, in a way: MOOR. Tying up a boat.

62. Some tributes: ODES.

63. Capital at the foot of Mount Vitosha: SOFIA. Bulgaria; one of my associates has been to the palace there and says it is lovely.

64. Shared currency: EURO.

65. Time to give up: LENT. I like this misdirection.

66. Body: TRUNK.  Very tricky also, meaning like torso.

67. Things to pick: NITS. A shout out to Marti?

68. Eating up: INTO. He was really eating up her line of bull, not realizing all she wanted was his money.

69. Part of many a snail's diet: ALGA. Good to know, I was worried I would not know what to serve if any came to visit, but if one is enough!

Okay, no rest for the weekend, on we go.

DOWN:

1. Rub out: ERASE. Cool, clecho alert! 4D. Rub out: SLAY. Two ways to say goodbye.

2. Suck up again: RESORB. before you all get on your high REABSORB horses, this is actually correct, directly from the Latin resorbere which derives from sorbere "to suck."

3. Fight in the boonies: RASSLE. I hope you did not have to wrestle with this clue long.

5. Shortwave medium: HAM RADIO. In this world of cellphones, they still hang in.

6. Car for the pits?: TRAM. They use trams underground in the mines to transport whatever is being mined. need a gold mine? Limestone?

7. Hora part: MINUTO. This reference to the Spanish for hour and minute would have been so easy, but for the dance the HORA, oh well it did not take to long to see where I was wrong.

8. "Ed Wood" Oscar winner: LANDAU. This wonderful actor came to my attention in Mission Impossible but his work as BELA LUGOSI in this movie was fabulous.

9. Memory unit: BYTE.

10. Microbrewery stock: BEER KEGS. Only two weeks after Marti used this shout out to my bubbly brewing boys.

11. African evergreen whose leaves are chewed as a narcotic: QAT. Once upon a time I had a girlfriend who loved playing scrabble who bought a dictionary chock full of real words like this so she could stomp me. It is loaded with amphetamine.

12. Pirate's pronoun: SHE. Arrg, and she is a fine vessel.

14. Muscle-contraction protein: MYOSIN. And why should we know about this SCIENTIFIC MINUTIAE ? The link was chosen as a shout out our RPI brethren.

21. They articulate with radii: ULNAS. Oh goody, anatomical puns, very humerus.

22. Doofus: DODO. Hello our darling D.

27. Spoken: ORAL.

28. Money-object connection: IS NO. Reminds me of Richard Attenborough running around during Jurassic Park saying. "Spared no expense." Then I saw the movie 41 times....

30. Man-to-boy address: KIDDO. In what century was that?

31. Former Jerry Marcus comic strip: TRUDY. One of the many family comics of the sixties, before the revolution.

32. Dickens's Edwin: DROOD. Dickens last novel, which was unfinished at his death. It reads that way.

35. City near Provo: LEHI, We recently had this referencing the Mormon prophet for whom this city is named. Our first siting was in the birthday puzzle our fearless leader created for Dennis. Wherefore art thou brother?

36. Neural transmitter: AXON. Who is our neurology expert?

37. Not have enough: RUN SHORT.  Some double words to confuse us, they never seem to run short of these.

39. Mentions: REFERS TO. You all know what I am referring to.

40. One may be skipped: STONE. I really like this clue, there is even a word for this pastime.

43. Big name in household humor: ERMA. Bombeck.

45. Most curious: ODDEST. Not curious like nosy, but curious and curiouser.

47. Denmark's __ Gardens: TIVOLI. The beautiful and amazing home of the second oldest AMUSEMENT PARK in the world.

49. Hottie: EYEFUL. Please do not go to this link if you are offended J LO  and a bit of nudity.

50. Ready and eager: RARING. Well I am actually fading, I hope you all have had a nice ride.

55. Yodo River city: OSAKA. Geography lesson.

57. Winged god: EROS. Also called Cupid, stupid.

58. Out of shape?: BENT. Come on, just relax I know it all goes too fast.

59. "Cannery Row" restaurant owner __ Flood: DORA. If you have never read any John Steinbeck, he really had a great sense of this country in the depression, I suggest you read this NOVEL  though do not be shocked because Dora is much more than a restaurant hostess.

60. Rooks, for example: MEN. Chessmen to be more accurate.

61. Overseas agreement: OUI, yes, more French for the finish. Until next time, take your vitamins, drink your juice and be good to each other.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few great photos of our secretive CA Coven Gathering yesterday. Click pictures for enlargement. Nice to finally see you, Garlic Gal!

Thursday, Jun 23, 2011, Bill Thompson

Theme: Spot a bomb in a bull: Hidden snowmen.

20A. When to say night-night: BEDDY BYE TIME.

28A. Ohio Stadium purchase: BUCKEYE TICKETS. Why would anyone pick this for their team mascot name? The tree species Aesculus glabra is commonly known as Ohio buckeye, American buckeye, or fetid buckeye. It derives its unflattering common name from the disagreeable odor generated from the flowers, crushed leaves, broken twigs, or bruised bark.

42A. Advance sale teaser line: NOT YET IN STORES.

47A. Dubious Himalayan headline and phenomenon in 20-, 28- and 42-Across: YETI SIGHTING.

Hi all, Al here, time is kind of tight, so I'll have to be brief...

ACROSS:

1. Improvise at the jazz club: VAMP. From revamp, to fix or make over. A vamp is the part of a stocking that covers the foot and ankle, so revamping originally meant meant mending socks.

5. Butt (in): HORN. Cowboy slang, comparison to buffalo behavior.

9. Oncle's spouse: TANTE. French: Uncle, Aunt.

14. River to the Fulda: EDER.

15. Its French name means "high wood": OBOE. Hautbois.

16. Sun Valley locale: IDAHO. Scenic.

17. Move, briefly: RELOcate.

18. Monument Valley sight: MESA. Also very scenic.

19. Many a Justin Bieber fan: TWEEN. Know your audience, I guess...

23. Former Mideast org.: UAR. United Arab Republic, Egypt + Syria.

24. Author of the Yiddish memoir "And the World Remained Silent": WIESEL. A common crossword clue, turned into an answer (ELIE).

33. Swiss Guard charges: POPES. Why would there be a Swiss Guard in the middle of Rome, Italy?

34. Quick: AGILE. Almost directly from Latin: agilis, nimble or quick.

35. Chinese tea: CHA.

36. Prunes: LOPS. Verb use to cut, not dried plums.

37. Georgia of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show": ENGEL.

38. "Cinque, dieci, venti, trenta" in "The Marriage of Figaro," e.g.: DUET. Five, ten, twenty, thirty.  Figaro is measuring the space where the bridal bed will fit while Susanna is trying on her wedding bonnet in front of the mirror.

39. Yellowfin tuna: AHI. A sushi staple.

40. Estate home: MANOR. The main house.

41. Sounds content: PURRS.

45. "I love what you do for me" automaker: TOYOTA. Anagrams to: Hey! You motivated a fool or two.

46. Big-house link: AS A.

54. Peer in a box: JUROR. Peer as an equal (from Latin "par"), not "to look" as with "appear".

57. Relinquish: CEDE.

58. Golfer Aoki: ISAO. He only plays with golf balls marked with the number 5. That number is pronounced "Go" in Japanese, and his goal is to never shoot higher than that on a hole.

59. Japanese art genre: ANIME.  Animation (cartoons) often expanded from Manga (comic books).

60. Oregon Trail team: OXEN.

61. Sommelier's prefix: OENO. Wine.

62. Lose it: GO MAD.

63. Distance swimmer Diana: NYAD. At the age of 61, this summer she will attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida (103 miles) without a shark cage.

64. Pont __: Paris bridge: NEUF. The name means "new bridge", but is the oldest bridge across the Seine. It connects the Rive Droit (right bank) with the Rive Gauche (left bank).  Now I have an urge to get my guitar out and re-learn this...

DOWN:

1. 3-Down, e.g.: VERB. Ah, yes, the referential clue mixed with a literal meaning.  It's definitely Thursday.

2. "Zip-__-Doo-Dah": A-DEE. From Song of the South, sung by Uncle Remus (James Baskett).

3. Blend: MELD. Related word: meddle.

4. Yields: PRODUCES.

5. Man of La Mancha: HOMBRE. Spanish man.

6. Mind: OBEY. A strange associative progression from the word mind, originally meaning memory, or remembering: "Mind your Manners", "Never you mind about that". Those kinds of phrases were commands, which instilled the sense of needing to obey: mind your elders.

7. See 12-Down: ROSE. 12D. With 7-Down, Bette Midler classic: THE. A lot of people seem to like Bette, and they are allowed to, but she's not really my cup of tea.  Feel free to provide your own links in the comments.

8. Bourbon order: NEAT. Unadulterated, free from impurities (like water from melting ice).

9. They may be tufted: TITMICE. Having a cardinal's peak.

10. Magazine that highlights Clio winners: ADWEEK. A magazine about advertising.  In other words, a magazine.

11. "Sorry, laddie": NAE. Scottish.

13. Quite a span: EON. Time, not distance.

21. Goes on and on: YAKS. What I do sometimes.

22. Volunteer's offer: I WILL.

25. Like an encrypted transmission, in theory: SECURE.

26. Old anesthetics: ETHERS.

27. Future J.D.s' exams: LSATS. Law School Admission Tests. Juris Doctor, the first professional graduate degree in law.

28. Melodramatic cry: BOO HOO.

29. Haughty: UPPITY.

30. Greek New Ager: YANNI. I'll spare you the music link.

31. Goad: EGG ON. This sense of egg comes from "edge".

32. Feature of some fancy cakes: TIERS. Related words: tirade and attire.

33. Magician's secret cohort: PLANT. A ringer.

37. Really worry: EAT AT.

38. Term: DURATION. Latin durare, to harden (endure).

40. Like some mail: METERED. Postage is printed on instead of applying individual stamps, allowing for automation and time savings.

41. Sumptuous: POSH. Long explanation for this, but it does NOT mean port out starboard home, that is a backronym from people trying to retrofit a meaning.

43. He has a cello named Petunia: YO YO MA. He was doing a class in Salt Lake City, and a high school student asked if he had a nickname for his cello. he said, "No, but if I play for you, will you name it?" She chose Petunia, and it stuck.

44. Remnant: TAG END.

48. Tiny trash can, e.g.: ICON. On your PC desktop.

49. Hot: SEXY.

50. Thought: IDEA.

51. "Mm-hmm": I SEE.

52. Half a sitcom sign-off: NANU. Mork & Mindy.

53. Flub: GOOF. A gaffe.

54. Spree: JAG. A period of unrestrained activity.

55. The loneliest numero?: UNO. A play on Three Dog Night's first hit "One", written by Harry Nilsson.

56. Drum edge: RIM. Ba-dump Tish. And that's the end.

Answer Grid.

Al

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Solve This Puzzle. Each theme answer is a 3-word, common, in-the-language phrase beginning with the letters S, T, and P, in that order.

16A. Makes an offer more desirable : SWEETENS THE POT. Adds some inducements or incentives to an offer you can otherwise refuse.

27A. Hopelessly ruined : SHOT TO PIECES. Literally destroyed by firearms, figuratively in a bad state for any reason.

36A. Stock trader's goal : SHORT TERM PROFIT. The average holding period of stocks purchased on the NYSE is about 20 seconds. I am not making this up.

44A. "Satisfaction guaranteed" catchphrase : SURE TO PLEASE. Ad slogan.

58A. Editor's "Whoa!" : STOP THE PRESSES. Wait a minute, something just came up . . .

And the unifier:

58. Auto additives co. that hints at this puzzle's theme : STP. A company that makes engine oil and fuel additives, functional fluids and appearance products for your car or truck, and sponsors racers.

Hi gang, it's JazzBumpa, fresh from rehearsal and finishing off a busy day with an outing with our good friends C.C. and Don. Hop aboard and let's see where they take us.

Across:

1. Religious ritual : MASS. Not just any RITE (my first shot) but the Catholic service.

5. Bell sound : PEAL. Ding-dong, not this appealing belle.

9. Like freshly washed hair : DAMP. Or today's weather in S-E Michigan.

13. Skip : OMIT. My peer group demonstrates what can happen if you OMIT your partner.

14. Used cars : RODE. Nice misdirection - not pre-owned vehicles, but motor trips you have taken.

15. Jacob's twin : ESAU. He was the hungry one who gave up his birthright for a not particularly appetizing meal.

19. Entertain at one's loft : HAVE UP. Or, perhaps, invite someone up to your 6th floor walk-up.

20. Big rig : SEMI. Trucking. The tractor part of a tractor-trailer rig.

21. Lookers : EYERS. Lookers use their eyes, for sure; but "lookers" can also mean "those worth looking at." Here is a cross-section.

22. Org. that provides handicaps : U.S.G.A. U. S. Golf Association. A handicap is a numerical representation of a player's ability. A low number indicates higher ability.

24. They appear before U : R-S-T. Clever clue for an alphabet string.

31. Digital comm. method? : A.S.L. American Sign Language - a nice misdirection - here, digital means "of the fingers," rather than something expressed in discrete numerical form.

34. Santa __ winds : ANA. Strong, hot winds from inland towards the sea. Perhaps our California contingent can elaborate.

35. Dumbbell : STUPE. Someone who's not very bright, possibly even stupid.

41. Former country on its own peninsula : KOREA. I guess it's a former country because it has been severed into two separate current countries.

42. Little piggy, so to speak : TOE. Remember the "low digits" clue from not too long ago?

43. Govt. Rx watchdog : F.D.A. Food and Drug Administration

49. Ranch handle : TEX. Typical nickname for a cowpoke.

50. Votes of support : AYES. I agree.

51. Editor's ruthless overhaul, informally : AX JOB. Not an expression I'm familiar with, though the meaning is clear. "Hatchet job" seems more natural.

55. Blog comment : POST

57. Take to the air : AVIATE. It's plane to see, you can entertain at a much higher elevation than a mere loft.

62. Shock with a stun gun : TASE. "Don't tase me, bro!"

63. Cookie since 1912 : OREO. A cream filled sandwich cookie, in black and white.

64. Ripped : TORE

65. Multicolored : PIED

66. Geeky type : NERD

67. Foul mood : SNIT

Down:

1. Mideast statesman Dayan : MOSHE. MOSHE Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician.

2. Network marketing giant : AMWAY. Founded by Richard DeVos and Jay Van Andel in Ada, MI.

3. Strainer : SIEVE. Kitchen gadget.

4. Takes the helm : STEERS.

5. SAT practice : PREP. SAT used to stand for something - Scholastic Aptitude or Scholastic Assessment Test. Now it's just a three letter name (like STP) for a standardized test used in college admissions. To PREP is to prepare, which sort of blows the purpose of the test.

6. Long time, even in the singular : EON. Still, two EONS are longer than one.

7. Paper back items? : ADS. More misdirection from the devious duo - not a paper-back book, but the back section of your news paper.

8. "Time to leave" : LET'S GO. ¡Vámonos!" en Español.

9. Regard : DEEM

10. Aim for : ASPIRE TO. To ASPIRE is to aim high, from the Latin word for desire.

11. Statesman on a 100-yuan note : MAO. Chairman MAO Tse-Tung, former leader of the Chinese Communist Party and author of "The Little Red Book.

12. Delay, with "off" : PUT. Never do today what you can PUT off until tomorrow.

17. Fanny : TUSH. Human hindquarters. Does anyone have background on this word?

18. Clunker : HEAP. Either way, a decrepit automobile, possibly in need of STP.

22. __ Reader: eclectic bimonthly : UTNE. Magazine founded by Eric UTNE and Nina Rothschild UTNE.

23. Surprise with a "Boo!" : STARTLE. I stopped when she startled me, and didn't restart because I was estopped.

25. Shoe mark : SCUFF. A mark on the shoe, not a mark made by the shoe. I almost missed the mark.

26. Lukewarm : TEPID

28. Brittle cake grain : OAT

29. 1-Down's land: Abbr. : ISR. Israel. MOSHE Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician.

30. Words with date or record : SET A. To SET A record you have to break a record. To SET A date, breaking a date is not usually required

31. Seeks, as permission : ASKS. Could I? Pretty please with sugar . . .

32. Loud tone : SHOUT. Tone of voice. I was thinking of a musical tone.

33. Moto player : LORRE. Peter Lorre portrayed Kentaro Moto, a Japanese detective, in a series of eight movies from 1937 to '39, based on the novels of John P. Marquand.

37. Uncover again : REEXPOSE. Imagine something being uncovered, recovered, then REEXPOSED. The imagery is quite amusing

38. What Tweety tawt he taw : TAT. Tweety is the famous EYER of a certain fat cat.

39. "The Simpsons" bar : MOES. Everything I know about the Simpsons I learned from crossword puzzles.

40. Green shade : PEA. From the eponymous legume.

45. Brewery oven : OAST. This is a kiln for drying hops.

46. Long boa : PYTHON. A snake, not a long, fluffy scarf.

47. Keep for later : SAVE

48. Lives : EXISTS. A singular verb, not a plural noun.

52. "Friday the 13th" villain : JASON. Jason is the slasher in an even dozen horror films. Why is there no Friday the 13th 13?

53. Ferrell's partner in "SNL" Spartan Cheerleaders bits : OTERI. On Saturday Night Live, Cheri OTERI and Will Ferrell, as Arianna and Craig, cheered for their High School chess team.

54. Harass : BESET. Cheri OTERI and Will Ferrell, as Craig and Arianna, BESET their H.S. chess team.

56. Guest columnist's piece : OP-ED. A feature or commentary printed on the page OPposite the EDitorial page.

57. 2007 signer of the richest contract in MLB history : AROD, aka Major League Baseball player Alexander Emmanuel (Alex) RODriguez of the New York Yankees. Of course, we will have baseball!

59. Mai __ : TAI. The rum concoction so familiar to cruciverbalists.

60. Long beginning? : ERE. Beginning signifies a prefix fragment. ERElong is an archaic way of saying "before long."

61. By authority of : PER.

Answer grid.

There you have it folks. Hope you enjoyed the ride. Constructor's notes follow ERElong, PER C.C.

Cheers!

JzB

Constructors' Notes:

Don came up with STP when we were brainstorming a common acronym expanding idea. Rather than going with THE for all the middle words, we tried our best to come up with different S* T* P* phrases. The long theme entries (13x2, 14x2 & 15) made the gridding challenging. Don tried various grids and finally decided to go with Rich's corner blacks suggestion (the three black squares along the top right and lower left edges of the grid). Don call them side pockets. Hope it's a smooth solve for you. A big Thank-you to eddyB for the quick and detailed STP info in our early brainstorming session.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 Norma Steinberg

Theme: Descriptive Earnings - The theme answers (two across and two down) are common financial terms but are clued as if they were descriptions of income.

21. Honky-tonk owner's income? : JOINT RETURN

56. Actor's income? : PART PAYMENT

3. Trawler's income? : NET PROFIT

36. Librarian's income? : HUSH MONEY

Argyle here. Another unusual grid for early in the week.

Our first LAT encounter with Norma Steinberg, a regular constructor for Newsday. We also had more than 20 offerings from her in our old TMS Daily Crossword.

Across:

1. Pained expression : WINCE. Wince suggests an involuntary contraction of the facial features triggered by pain, embarrassment, or a sense of revulsion: to wince as a needle pierces the skin; to wince at coarse language.

6. City in Peru or Ohio : LIMA

10. Disallow : VETO

14. Standard of excellence : IDEAL

15. Satan's doing : EVIL

16. They can take a yoke : OXEN. Did you hear the one about....

17. __ dish: lab item : PETRI

18. Direction indicator : VANE

19. Legends and such : LORE

20. Cassandra's gift, for short : ESP. Not quite what the Greek Miss myth had but close.

24. Byways : ROADS

26. Sampled : TASTED

27. Dress (in) : CLOTHE

29. Rumple, as hair : MUSS

31. 47-Across handle : HAFT. 47A. Fencing weapon : ÉPÉE. You need the perps to decide if you want HILT or HAFT. Norma has used this before.

32. Numbers for Noah : TWO'S

34. Early anesthetic : ETHER

39. Pierre's significant other : AMIE. French.

40. Cut off : SEVER

42. Govern : RULE

43. Take a mulligan in golf, say : RETRY. I took a mulligan; I had REHIT.

45. Workshop gadget : VISE

46. Altai Mountains' continent : ASIA. The Altai Mountains define where Xinjiang meets with Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, the region is studded with prodigious peaks.

49. Political commentator Maddow : RACHEL. MSNBC

51. Spiral-shelled mollusks : SNAILS

55. Capital between Eugene and Portland : SALEM

59. Org. that advises the president in financial planning : OMB. Office of Management and Budget.

62. "We try harder" sloganeer : AVIS

63. Praise : LAUD

64. "Rubber Duckie" singer : ERNIE. Ernie went solo with this one, left poor Bert behind.

66. Consider : DEEM

67. Marseilles miss: Abbr. : MLLE.. French/Mademoiselle.

68. Oscar winner Witherspoon : REESE

69. Ultimatum ender : ELSE

70. Fortuneteller : SEER

71. Watch surreptitiously : SPY ON

Down:

1. Use a dust rag on : WIPE

2. Bad day for Caesar : IDES

4. Wheels, so to speak : CAR

5. Hebrew prophet mentioned during 55-Downs : ELIJAH. 55D. Passover meal : SEDER. Why is There a Cup of Wine for Elijah at the Passover Seder?

6. Casual brand : LEVIS

7. Tennis great Lendl : IVAN

8. Condition like new : MINT

9. Warns : ALERTS

10. Electrical units : VOLTS

11. Remove from text : EX OUT

12. __ Haute, Indiana : TERRE

13. Without stopping : ON END

22. "Golden Boy" playwright Clifford : ODETS. Big in the Thirties, he avoided being black-listed by giving up names, though he never gave a name the committee didn't already have..

23. Comfort : EASE

25. Aquatic frolicker : OTTER

27. Sear : CHAR

28. Hobbling : LAME

29. Film : MOVIE

30. Functions : USES

33. "__ Only Just Begun": Carpenters hit : WE'VE. So sweet.(3:07)

35. Smidgen : TRACE

37. "Night" author Wiesel : ELIE

38. Tangible : REAL

41. Aired again : RERAN

44. Cry from the litter : YELP

48. Biblical poems written partly by King David : PSALMS

50. Changes : ALTERS

51. Gardening tool : SPADE

52. Bellybutton : NAVEL

53. Sign of spring? : ARIES. The Ram, first astrological sign in the Zodiac.

54. "Who's there?" reply : "IT'S ME"

57. Clinton's alma mater : YALE

58. Stubborn animal : MULE

60. Sushi bar soup : MISO

61. "How've you __?" : BEEN

65. Salesperson, briefly : REP

Answer grid.

Argyle