Sunday August 14, 2011 Matt Skoczen

Theme: Keeping Quiet - SH is inserted into common phrases.

23A. Where Persian rulers rough it? : SHAH WILDERNESS. "Ah Wilderness!", Eugene O'Neill's comedy.

34A. Agnostics' reactions to grace? : PRAYER SHRUGS. Prayer rugs.

52A. Vaudeville hook? : SHTICK COLLAR. Tick collar.

74A. Pet predator that survived the Flood? : NOAH'S SHARK. Noah's Ark. No way Noah put a shark on his boat.

76A. Organization of river herrings? : SHAD AGENCY. Ad agency.

91A. Analyst for Kings and Senators? : HOCKEY SHRINK. Hockey rink. LA Kings and Ottawa Senators. (Sorry for the error earlier.)

110A. "Help, I'm stuck in this tree!" e.g.? : SHOUT ON A LIMB. Out on a limb.

126A. Where to find many cookie jars? : KEEBLER SHELVES. Keebler Elves.

Lovely puzzle. Easy to grok theme and smooth fill, at least to me.

Again, two fingers along the four edges of the grid, so lots of nice 6 & 7-letter words. But the total word count is still 144 (maximum for a Sunday grid), so lots of 3 & 4 letter word in the middle.

Matt Skoczen seems to be specialized in Sunday puzzles. Today is 4th this year.

Across:

1. "Don't make me come over there!" : I'M SO MAD. Great start.

8. Time's 1930 Man of the Year : GANDHI

14. Courtroom fig. : ASST DA. A bit hard to parse.

20. "Let's talk privately" : NOT HERE (Thanks for the correction, Barry G & Splynter.)

21. Sneaker brand : ADIDAS

22. Turkish shelter : IMARET. Turkish "Inn".

25. "Tender Mercies" Oscar winner : DUVALL (Robert). Drew a blank.

26. "__ Can Cook": PBS show : YAN

27. Mrs. Smith's competitor : SARA LEE. Is Mrs. Smith's a regional brand?

28. Colorado natives : UTES

30. Semana seventh : DIA. Semana = Week.

31. Shaving mishap : NICK

33. Polite title : SIR

38. Ontario natives : CREES

40. Like Aleve and Advil, briefly : OTC

42. Cancún coin : PESO

43. Shoveling aftermath : ACHE

44. Same old same old : RUT

46. Arts acronym : ASCAP

49. Brunch menu heading : OMELETS

57. Org. giving NC-17s : MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America)

58. Spanish preposition : POR. Por favor.

59. Gravy base : ROUX

60. __ point: only so far : UP TO A

62. Alpaca relatives : LLAMAS

67. Habituate : ENURE

69. Earl Grey dunker : SCONE. Dunk scone into the tea? Strange!

71. Mailbox opening : SLOT

73. __ Bora: Taliban stronghold : TORA

78. First 007 film : DR. NO

79. Zither's cousin : LYRE

80. Strait-laced : STAID

81. Sch. with a minuteman mascot : UMASS. See here. I bet he doesn't look good as a bobblehead as our Goldy Gopher.

82. Starts : SETS TO

84. Puccini classic : TOSCA

86. Stone and Stallone : SLYS

88. "O Sole __" : MIO

89. Moistens : WETS

94. Dinner buffet item : HOT DISH. I've been on a cold avocado Sushi rolls kick.

98. Dionysian reveler : SATYR

99. Loser at Gettysburg : LEE

100. Suffix with decor : ATOR. Decorator.

101. Moscow news acronym : ITAR. Itar-Tass.

103. Bldg. coolers : ACS

106. Bedroom brand : SERTA

115. GWB successor : BHO. Obama. And DDE (11D. He was elected 56 yrs. before 115-Across).

117. Reason to shake : DEAL. Shake hands, right?

118. Males : HES

119. Volkswagen competitor : OPEL

120. Tutor, perhaps : RE-TEACH. Hi Bill! So what do you have for breakfast normally?

123. Peyton's quarterback brother : ELI (Manning)

124. Mistreatment : ILL-USE

130. Like many fairways : SLOPED. Hate severely sloped fairways.

131. Inbox fillers : EMAILS

132. Least verbose : TERSEST

133. Mandel and Long : HOWIES

134. Sad songs : DIRGES

135. Lights a fire under : AROUSES

Down:

1. On the same wavelength : IN SYNC

2. Sweater material : MOHAIR

3. Batting instruction subject : STANCE

4. "I get it now!" : OHH

5. They come out of a kitty : MEWS. Cute!

6. La Scala highlights : ARIAS

7. Seat of Texas's Val Verde County : DEL RIO. Another border city

8. Certain Celt : GAEL

9. "Mad Men" type : AD REP

10. CBer's number : NINER. Don't get this clue, Argyle!

12. Contains : HAS

13. Platform components : ISSUES

14. Helpers : AIDES

15. Flatten, informally : SMUSH

16. Part of some discount store names : SAV. For savings, right?

17. Badmouth : TRADUCE. New word to me.

18. Make happy : DELIGHT

19. Country albums? : ATLASES. Nice clue.

24. Move like a dragonfly : DART

29. Batch of Brownies : TROOP. I like this clue too.

32. "All day soft, All day smooth" lotion : KERI

35. To one side : APART

36. "Okey-dokey" : YEP

37. "Too Ra Loo Ra Loo __": Irish classic : RAL

39. Old Ecuadoran coins : SUCRES

41. "East of Eden" son : CAL. Great movie.

45. Bout outcome : TKO

47. Exited red-faced, with "away" : SLUNK. I always thought "slink away" means "walk away secretly". Not red-faced connection.

48. Matador's need : CAPE

50. Smallest European Union country : MALTA

51. Ether ending : EAL

52. Lays out : SPENDS

53. Novelist __ de Balzac : HONORE. He's just Balzac to me.

54. One who is not class-conscious? : TRUANT. Have seen similar clue before.

55. Easy and profitable, as a job : CUSHY

56. Heavy-duty haulers : OXCARTS

57. Not-so-good feeling : MALAISE

61. Dept. of Labor arm : OSHA

63. "Lemme __!" : AT 'EM

64. Friendly words from François : MON AMI

65. Inverse trig function : ARCSIN. Headache! No idea what it is.

66. Gives a thumbs-up : SAYS OK

68. Frat letters : RHOS

70. After-school treat : OREO

72. "This is weird, but ..." : ODDLY

75. Dark purple fruit : SLOES

76. Mike Hammer portrayer Keach : STACY. He looks familiar. I don't know his name though.

77. Displays some histrionics : GUSHES

80. Carnegie, by birth : SCOT. New trivia to me.

83. __-night doubleheader : TWI

85. Puppeteer Lewis : SHARI

87. Couture monogram : YSL

90. It was once yours : THINE. Another great clue.

92. Malay Peninsula's Isthmus of __ : KRA. See this map.

93. Stalk by the river : REED

94. Contents of some hookahs : HASHISH

95. "The Moor of Venice" : OTHELLO

96. Like art house films, for some : TOO SLOW

97. Actress Joanne : DRU

98. "Do the Right Thing" pizzeria owner : SAL. No idea.

102. Turned state's evidence : TALKED

104. Driver with a handle : CBER

105. Cascades peak : SHASTA. Pretty photos from Melissa.

107. "The Matrix" star : REEVES

108. "Unto the Sons" author : TALESE (Gay). I only know his "Honor Thy Father".

109. VIP rosters : A-LISTS

111. "I'm dying __ it!" : TO SEE

112. Pundits' pieces : OP-EDS

113. Head honcho : MR BIG

114. Ball focus : BELLE. What ball were you picturing?

116. Pigment of iron oxide : OCHER

121. Durbeyfield daughter : TESS

122. Rescuer, often : HERO

125. News initials : UPI

127. U.K. record label : EMI

128. Corn serving : EAR

129. SEC founding member : LSU. Easy guess. SEC is Southeastern Conference.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday, August 13th, Barry Silk

Theme: None

Words: 70

Blocks: 31

Saturday, "the Thirteenth" Silk - Not the horror I thought it was going to be....Good day to you all, and a Barry Silk puzzle that (for me) was solvable with a lot of letters filling in via the "hunt and peck" method....

ACROSS:

1. Way to measure brightness : IQ TESTING - Since I swapped to the DOWN clues and had ISLE, the "I" made me think INCANDESCE....

10. Group whose name contains a deliberate misspelling inspired by the Beatles, whom they ardently admired : BYRDS - I know them for their two cover tunes, Turn!Turn!Turn! and Tambourine Man

15. Pressing need : STEAM IRON - I figured IRON was in there somewhere

16. Web search option : YAHOO

17. Augustine St. Clare's daughter, in an 1852 novel : LITTLE EVA - From Uncle Tom's Cabin, not the "Loco-motion" singer that came 100 years later

18. Immune system component : T-CELL

19. Grand-scale poetry : EPOS - Def: a number of poems that treat and epic theme, but are not formally united

20. Largest living toothed animal : SPERM WHALE - didn't get fooled by the "tooth" thing

22. Strategic math game : NIM - we just had this Thursday, with matchsticks and muffins

24. Nixon attorney general Richardson : ELLIOT - the guy in the middle

25. __ asada : CARNE - thank you, Taco Bell....

27. Black-and-tan tans : ALES

28. Tuber with eyes : SPUD

32. Schedule : SLATE

33. Tot's tea party guest : TEDDY & 13D. Tot's tea party guest : DOLL - I did not have a "little sister", so I did not see a setting like this

35. Like Brahms's Piano Trio No. 1 : IN B - I like this key; the half-step below "C" makes for some interesting bits

36. Some reds : PINOTS

38. "Hubba hubba!" : OO-LA-LA

40. Fielder's fig. : AVG - Average, more on this from C.C.? (From C.C.: Coincidentally, Brewers' first baseman is Prince Fielder, son of Cecil Fielder.)

41. Render speechless : SHOCK

45. Thinker Diderot : DENIS - What's your profession? I am a "thinker" - actually, in the Personality Types Enneagram, I AM a Type Five "thinker"

46. Aid criterion : NEED - As in financial AID for college, e.g.

48. "My Country" author : EBAN - this man

49. Cybermemo : E-NOTE - meh

50. "Swan Lake" princess : ODETTE

52. Abbr. for dumbbells : LBs

53. Windows icon : MY COMPUTER - I was going to cheat, since I have my desktop set up with the icons visible to the left - but I renamed "MY COMPUTER" to Richie's Computer...go figure

57. "__ girl!" : ATTA - anyone else start with "IT'S A" ?

60. Slide presentation : AMEBA - had _ _ EB_, so I figured this was missing the usual "O" from Amoeba; I was thinking pics, pix, fotos, etc.

61. Place for pitchers? : SALES ROOM - cute, but what really is a sales 'room'?

63. Mormon Tabernacle feature : CHOIR - Pipe Organ didn't fit....

64. Conductor in a circuit : ELECTRODE

65. Goalie Dominik who won the Vezina Trophy six times : HASEK - ~TA-DA~!!! A hockey clue/answer that's not ORR ~!!! Yea~! BONUS - it's a Goalie, to boot~!

66. He came out of retirement to play Winston Churchill in "Inglorious Basterds" : ROD TAYLOR - Loved Quentin's remake; here's Rod

DOWN:

1. Archipelago part : ISLE

2. Stick in a medicine cabinet : Q-TIP - I was thinking "DEOdorant", but it wasn't working. Q-Tip, a brand name that has become synonymous with the product, even if it's 'generic'; also Band-Aid (bandage) and Kleenex (tissue), although in my home growing up, we didn't say "Kleenex" - can you think of others?

3. Mountains containing the Cathedral Group : TETON RANGE - map ; in Wyoming, next to Idaho

4. Erodes : EATS INTO - had EATS AWAY to start

5. T selection : SML - T-shirt size; Sml, Med, Lge, XXL

6. Pairs of even numbers? : TIES - Like hockey games at 1 - 1

7. "Once more ..." : I REPEAT - made me think of this book, since about two years ago, I started on my pilot's license journey, and found the whole communications part of the challenge to be more daunting than the flying; as a private pilot, you are ALWAYS talking to someone - at least here on LI, with 3 major airports surrounding NYC

8. It's longer than a Kurzgeschichte (short story) : NOVELLE - I thought it was Novella, but who's checking....

9. Knotted up : GNARLED - Like a tree, like this

10. How one must sometimes win : BY TWO - Net games, like tennis, badminton, and volleyball - I was supposed to play tomorrow, but we're getting washed out by the rain Husker Gary sent my way....

11. Blue blood vessels? : YACHTS - oh, such a knee slapper. Barring some invention or song I write that becomes a super-hit, I don't expect to EVER own a "yacht"

12. Three-toed bird : RHEA

14. Seafood selection : SOLE - Shad, Crab, Fish; think of any more 4-letter words?

21. Bungle : MIS-DO - I had _ _ SD _, so what else could it be? meh, too

23. Sits : MEETS

25. Political junkies watch it : C SPAN - that channel dedicated to our Congress

26. Breathing : ALIVE - Made me think of this song

29. Keyboardist's support : PIANO STOOL - I had Piano STAND at first, which is OK for a keyboard, but for a piano...?

30. Off : UNLIT

31. Early statistical software : dBASE

34. High air? : YODEL - this one does not fool me anymore

37. They may be counted : SHEEP - the Serta guys

39. Singer with the 1965 hit "1-2-3" : LEN BARRY - never heard of him, or the song; does sound familiar - did it end up in a commercial?

42. Not as quick on the uptake : OBTUSER - With O_ _ _ ER, again, what else?

43. Beefy hybrid : CATTALO - More from Wiki; I like Buffalo burgers, never had Bison

44. Used a prayer rug : KNEELED - not KNELT

47. __ Brothers, who sang "Black Water" : DOOBIE - Love the "a cappella" section; the problem with "Classic Rock" FM radio is that they are forced to play ONLY one or two songs from a band/group - did you know Ozzy Osbourne wrote more than just "Crazy Train"?

51. 100 pfennigs, briefly : DMARK German money, deutsche mark

53. Speed-of-sound name : MACH - as a pilot I NEVER went this fast

54. Jewish youth org. : YMHA - Young Men's HEBREW Association

55. Corp. bigwigs : CEOs

56. A sq. is one : RECTangle

58. List heading : TO DO - my new apartment TO DO list runs into pages....

59. NAFTA part: Abbr. : AMERican - North American Free Trade Agreement

62. Place to get a tkt. : STAtion - Trains; I had MTA at first, knew it couldn't be right, but for Long Island and NYC, the Metro Transit Authority sells tickets

Answer grid.

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Here is a nice picture from JD's Lake Tahoe trip. Front (Left to Right): Irene (Dick's wife), Carol & JD; Back (Left to Right): Joe (Carol's husband), Bob (JD's husband) & Dick.

Friday, August 12, 2011, Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: Letters- Grow up! Each single letter hyphenated word has the letter replaced by a sound alike word creating a punny and thought provoking image. A very nicely themed balanced puzzle by one of the grand masters of construction. Mr. Wolfe has over 50 published NY Times as well as more than 30 LA Times and countless other publications. He has been INTERVIEWED by C.C. and has spanned more than 4 decades. While we continue to introduce new people, it is nice to see the continuity and continuing creativity of our veterans.

Lemonade, here driving the bus for this straightforward fun theme.

17A. Urban area set aside for pekoe purveyors?: TEA SQUARE. A T-Square is a technical drawing instrument used by draftsmen, which looks just like its name. Pekoe a type of tea.

25A. New Zealand lamb-exporting method?: EWE BOAT. U-Boat is a common crossword answer and the German Submarine used in the World Wars, from the German UNTERSEEBOOT, which just what is sounds like.

28A. End of the line?: QUEUE TIP. Q-tip is a brand name for a cotton swab; this is my favorite visual change. QUEUE being the British line.

47A. "The Look of Love" and "Suddenly I See," e.g.?: EYE TUNES. I-Tunes are the music downloadable from Apple. Okay, this is my favorite, 2 songs about eyes, and a really fun pun.

49A. Pitch notation for Debussy's "La Mer"?: SEA CLEF. C-Clef is the movable clef, and again I will defer to our musicians (where is John L.?) Mer is SEA in French.

58A. Island allotment?: CAY RATION. K-Ration is the the prepackaged food ration designed initially for paratroopers in WW II. The K has no meaning. CAY is like a Key and means an island.

The puzzle had no really long words, which surprised me as I recall Mr. Wolfe likes 15 letter fill, but here we go, and only minimal French. (Note from C.C.: The short theme entries EWE BOAT & SEA CLEF dictate that all of the non-theme Across answers should be shorter than 7 letters. If all theme entries are placed Across, it's OK to have Down fill longer than the shortest theme entry. Hence a couple of 8's today.)

Across:

1. Brother of Ham: SHEM. Two of the three SONS OF NOAH.

5. Finishes (up) the gravy: SOPS. Please use bread and not your fingers.

9. Performance lead-in: INTRO. Often a musical piece.

14. Mystique: AURA. Like this IMAGE.

15. Aussie water hazard: CROC. No wonder there are so many tough Australian golfers; anyone for Adam Scott?

16. Aired, as "Hogan's Heroes," say: RERAN.

19. Symphony section: REEDS. I defer to JzB for questions, but I believe there are four sections to an orchestra, woodwinds(reeds), brass, strings and percussion. Mr. Wolfe also is a musician, like others of our favorite puzzle makers.

20. Cross: SULLEN. So many different meanings for CROSS, this was not one that came easily.

21. Half of MXIV: DVII. Oh boy ancient Roman math problem; my son is in town back from Rome, yay.

22. "Julie & Julia" co-star: STREEP. All of us from New England grew up watching Ms. CHILD. Mr Wolfe is from Massachusetts, I believe.

31. Swimmer who channeled her energy?: EDERLE. Gertrude was the first woman to swim the English Channel.

32. Store, as ashes: INURN. For all the NITs out there- it is a real word.

33. Contests ending in draws?: DUELS. Wonderful clue, especially after soccer season.

35. Drifts off: NAPS. Wake up all!!!

36. Pinkish yellow: CORAL. I always thought of it as pinkish orange, but what do I know.

37. Hoax: FLAM. I bet he misses his pal FLIM. Recognize the bridge WH?

41. Low land: DALES. Hills and dales, not to be confused with Chip and Dale.

42. Wine made from the Garganega grape: SOAVE. We have had much education on WINE and brandy regions on Fridays.

43. Have a one-track mind: OBSESS.

51. Revered Mother: TERESA. This saintly woman shares her birthday with Vidwan and I.

52. Keen: WAIL. Okay Mr. Wolfe you have me, the perps say I am right, but I do not get KEEN = WAIL. (Note from C.C. "Keen" can mean "lament for the dead", verb and noun.)

53. Team playing in The Big A: ANGELS. Anaheim.

56. Icelandic literary treasures: EDDAS. A second appearance this week.

62. Rubbed-out spirits: GENII. I thought of Buffie killing some demons, not of bottled magic. Though it did remind eventually of this debate, which ONE do you vote for?

63. Needing darning TORN. I got some socks...

64. Polis starter: ACRO. ACROPOLIS.

65. What wavy lines may represent: ODORS. Followed by 66A. It's about a foot: SHOE. Great pun, about a foot, surrounding it; anyway, together they give us this LINK.

67. Regretted: RUED. Not trying to be rude, but we are done across, so we must go

Down:

1. Wasn't used: SAT. On the bench, like me in basketball.

2. Shade: HUE. Not outdoor shade, color shade.

3. Stat for CC Sabathia: ERA. A shout out for our own fearless leader? Or an evil empire jibe?

4. People who knead people: MASSEURS. Another golden oldie pun which merits this LINK.

5. Work with clay, say: SCULPT. That's what Aiken's trainer said he was doing.

6. Lacking a paper trail: ORAL. Fershure, we do not need a paper trail, no recordings or movies either.

7. Skin feature: PORE.

8. Dramatic division: SCENE. My father always told me children should heard not Obscene.

9. Bargain basement abbr.: IRR. Ironically, we are seeing this fill regularly.

10. As required, after "if": NEED BE. I do like weird letter combinations like this, what words end DBE?

11. "Felicia's Journey" writer William: TREVOR. Curious, go to this LINK. I did not know him.

12. Like some saws and tires: RADIAL. The tires were invented by Michelin in 1946.

13. Not remote: ON SITE.

18. Versatile game piece: QUEEN. She goes where she wants in chess, a game I never took to.

22. Magazine ad meas.: SQ IN. Square Inch.

23. __ melt: TUNA. My lunch about once per week, usually on a pita.

24. Do another stint: RE-UP. For all our military friends, it just means re-enlist.

26. "Let me think ...": WELL. A nice visual, "well dad, it was like this."

27. Mad VIPs: EDS. The editors of Mad magazine.

29. Hot star: IDOL. Do you all know who won last year? Do you like J-Lo coming back?

30. Turn to mush : PUREE. A shout out to all of our toothless members.

34. "Calm down!": EASY. Whoa now, easy boy; relax.

36. Winery buy: CASE. No brewery this week, we moving on up.

37. Like expensive restaurants, hopefully : FOUR STAR. What is your favorite restaurant? I like the Palm.

38. Meet assignment: LANE. Track meet, not joining Lois in the field.

39. Madison et al.: Abbr.: AVES. Not the President, the NYC avenues like Park and Lexington.

40. Cubs' spring training city: MESA. Any Cub fans out there? Don't hurt yourself, it is only a game.

41. PC dial-up upgrade: DSL. Dedicated Service Line.

42. Commemorative pillar: STELA. This is the LATIN spelling of what we call STELE.

43. Lake Ontario port: OSWEGO. First you have to know the Lake in New York STATE, near Syracuse, not Canada, after that the answer is easy. Luckily I have traveled upstate New York, pretty area.

44. Like some women's evening bags: BEADED. Man these must be way out of style, they are so CHEAP.

45. Refused: SAID NO. Just say no Lois.

46. Filled pastry: ECLAIR.

48. Unlimited, in verse: ETERNE. You have one from Spenser, or Chaucer CA?

50. Almanac offerings: FACTS. With computers, I am sure these will go the way of the newspaper.

54. Sodium hydroxide, in lab shorthand: NA O H. Don't you love how he worked the anagram of NOAH into the puzzle, for you Jerome.

55. Sandwich with tzatziki sauce: GYRO. Pronounced HERO.

57. Family girl: SIS. Never had one.

59. Post-op stop: ICU. Intensive Care Unit.

60. Unrefined metal: ORE.

61. Quiet bid: NOD. At a real auction, not the online kind.

Answer grid.

Over and out for another Friday, thanks for inviting me into your homes, see you next time.

Lemonade

Thursday, August 11, 2011 Clive Probert

Theme: PUNCH LINES. Common descriptors for types of boxing punches are given new figurative definitions, with a humorous wallop.

17. Very angry, informally? : RIGHT CROSS Right means very, in this usage. The punch, delivered with the right hand, crosses over the opponent's leading arm. I believe Laila is delivering one above.

26. Tackle box item for liberals? : LEFT HOOK. Liberals are left-leaning- figuratively. The punch, delivered with the left hand, is powered by turning the core muscles of the back to swing the arm.

44. Chuck steak, for example? : UPPER CUT. Eating high in the cow. The punch involves an upward motion of the striking hand with the arm bent up at the elbow. It is usually targeted at the chin, and is most useful at short range.

And the unifier: 58. What 17-, 26- and 44-Across are, figuratively and literally : PUNCH LINES.

Plus a bonus: 18 D. Recover from a knockout : COME TO.

Hi gang, It's JzB making an atypical Thursday appearance. Let's fight our way through this puzzle.

Across:

1. Bike part : PEDAL. Where you put your foot to power the mechanism

6. Boo-boo : FLUB. An error - like misreading the clue as Boo-hoo.

10. Call heard at night : HOOT. From an owl. In the day time, has any body else noticed an absence of bird song? I hear squawking birds, but not singing birds.

14. Upstage a co-star, perhaps : EMOTE.

15. No trouble at all : EASE.

16. Within: Pref. : ENDO. You have an ENDOskeleton. An insect has an exoskelton.

19. Don Juan's love : AMOR. Not anyone in particular. Just a feeling.

20. European cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin : STILTON. Intensely flavored English blue cheese from the three Counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.

21. Alehouse : TAVERN. See also 10D.

23. High regard : ESTEEM

24. Two-time '80s-'90s Senate majority leader : DOLE. This guy was a politician? I thought he was in advertising.

25. Roman trio : TRE. Italicized three.

30. Head of Québec : TETE. French for head.

33. New driver, typically : TEEN. It's frightening when the grandchildren begin driving.

35. Heart line : AORTA. This doesn't fool me any more

36. Crew member : OAR. I cannot verify this. The person handling an OAR is a rower if using one OAR, or a sculler if using two.

37. 1947 South Seas traveler : KON TIKI. The raft Thor Heyerdahl used to cross the Pacific from South America to Polynesia in 1947. Kon Tiki was the old name for the Inca Sun God Viracocha.

39. Wrongdoing : SIN. I cannot lie.

40. Hobbit on a quest : FRODO. The ringbearer traveled to the Cracks of Doom in Mordor, but needed Gollum's SIN to finish his quest.

42. California's __ Valley : SIMI. Nowhere near Mordor. Quite near the San Fernando Valley.

43. Deep-six : TOSS. Sometimes I deep six a ball with my grandchildren. Oh --wait . . . I guess this means throw overboard.

46. Carol opener : 'TIS. I believe this carol starts with "Deck," though I may be mistaken.

48. One of the guys : MALE. Frodo, Gollum, Otis, Bob, Cecil, Ewen, even Nemo . . . But not Laila or Dory.

49. Cling cause : STATIC. Fabric can be attracted to itself or other surfaces if electrified by the triboelectric effect, which comes from rubbing and release, as in a cloths dryer.

53. Twins in the sky : GEMINI. The Constellation.

56. "The Legend of Zelda: __ of Time": video game : OCARINA.

57. Base runner? : AWOL. Not to be confused with the Twins of Summer. This is clever. Someone who has run away from a military base is Absent Without Official Leave. AWOL doesn't need to be designated as an abbrv.

61. Temerity : GALL

62. Words after step or sleep : ON IT. Did anybody want IN IT?

63. IV part : INTRA. From Intravenous - into a blood vein.

64. Pay to play : ANTE. This doesn't fool me either.

65. A fish named Dory helped find him : NEMO. Cute kids movie. Nautical, but nice.

66. Starts fishing : CASTS, Completing the minor angling theme, along with LEFT HOOK and NEMO.

Down:

1. In and of itself : PER SE. Latin

2. Throws off : EMITS

3. Shirk responsibility : DOG IT. This gives DOGS a bad name, doggone it!

4. One playing the field, e.g. : ATHLETE. Nice clue. Does anyone "play the field" anymore? Or is it just serial dating?

5. Alphabet soup bit : LETTER. Can you do crosswords in your soup bowl?

6. Bouquet greenery : FERN. For some reason, I had trouble with this one.

7. Thai language : LAO. This one always gets me. What language do they speak in LAOS?

8. Navy ship letters : U.S.S. United States Ship

9. Words on a "greatest hits" album : BEST OF. Not always.

10. Bar drunk's comeuppance : HEAVE HO. Ungraceful exit from a 21A, or words accompanying a deep six..

11. Generous words : ON ME. Words occasionally spoken in a 21 A

12. Febreze target : ODOR. It actually works pretty well.

13. Having a hard time deciding : TORN. It's not often kind.

22. Central Asia's __ Mountains : ALTAI. They extend from the Gobi desert through China, Mongolia, Russia and Kazahkstan.

24. It's in your jeans : DENIM. Fabric, and a sneaky misdirection.

26. "__ Bleed": Stones album : LET IT. Didn't care much for early Stones. Or this image.

27. Roughly : OR SO.

28. Soul great Redding : OTIS. Yes!

29. 24-Across's state: Abbr. : KANS. Mr. Dole served as the U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1968 until 1996 when he found his true calling..

30. Flavor-absorbing food : TOFU. Fermented bean curd. Yum!

31. Holliday friend : EARP. Doc Holliday, not someone who invades your home at Christmas. Good clue for a crossword stalwart.

32. De __: excessive : TROP. French, I suppose. Kazie . . . ?

34. Come next : ENSUE

37. Mullah's text : KORAN. The holy book of Islam.

38. Velvet Elvis, e.g. : KITSCH. Tacky, lowbrow art of inferior quality.

41. "The King of Kings" (1927) director : DEMILLE. Cecil B. Da Mann.

43. Winter Palace woman : TSARINA. The wife of the Rusian Czar.

45. Like some earrings : CLIP ON. Or sunglasses.

47. Like biased writing? : ITALIC. This one always gets me. I guess I'm too political

50. Turns blue, perhaps : TINTS. Clever misdirection involving a reflexive vs transitive verb form. I laughed till I dyed.

51. Like a noble gas : INERT. Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton and Xenon each have a full shell of valence electrons, and thus no need to combine with baser elements. They are the SNOOTS of Chemistry!

52. Hidalgo houses : CASAS. Estado Libre y Soberano de Hidalgo, one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, was created in 1869 by Benito Juárez. CASA is the Spanish word for house.

53. Hung up on, with "over" : GAGA. Are we hung up on or over her?

54. McGregor of "Emma" (1996) : EWAN

55. Shed : MOLT

56. Bi- cubed : OCTO. Two cubed is eight. I'm not linking the OCTOmom.

59. Somme one : UNE. One in French, now officially at the point of DE TROP

60. Matchstick-removing game : NIM This game can be played with any counter. Play here with muffins. Yum!

Answer grid.

There you have it. Did you beat the puzzle, or did you have to COME TO?

Jazzbumpa

Wednesday, Aug 10, 2011 Julian Lim

theme: downpour (see answer grid for circle placement)

what a fun puzzle. all the down theme answers (arranged vertically for visual effect) contain the words cat or dog.

1D. Actress Blanchett : CATE

3D. System for which Super Mario Land was developed : NINTENDO GAMEBOY

9D. "Ego Trippin'" rapper : SNOOP DOGG. perps helped here.

11D. Gothic Spanish landmark : TOLEDO CATHEDRAL. impressive.

33D. Dispersed, as a crowd : SCATTERED

57D. Old Venetian judge : DOGE. if i've seen this word before, i forgot. wiki to the rescue again."The "doge" was the senior most elected official of Venice and Genoa; both cities were republics and elected doges."

and the unifier:

7D. Really come down, as illustrated in this puzzle's circles : RAIN CATS AND DOGS

Across:

1. Six-pack units : CANS. thought abs at first, not enough letters.

5. Danish director von Trier : LARS. had no idea. wikipedia says he began making his own films at the age of 11.

9. Select the temperature on, as a thermostat : SET AT

14. Dictator Idi : AMIN

15. Parent company of half.com : E-BAY. easy guess.

16. Mother Judd : NAOMI. mother to ashley and wynonna.

17. In vain : TO NO AVAIL. thou shalt not take the lord thy god's name to no avail.

19. Had an eye for figures? : OGLED. love this clue. david beckham, caught ogling.

20. Tallinn native : ESTONIAN. estonia is on the banks of the gulf of finland, south of helsinki and east of stockholm.

21. 1974 Dolly Parton chart-topper : JOLENE. an updated version.

22. George Orwell's alma mater : ETON. another easy guess.

23. Penned (up) : COOPED

25. Every, in an Rx : OMN. hm. must be a bit obscure, does not appear on this master list.

27. Pushed to the limit : TAXED

28. Text-scanning technology, briefly : OCR. optical character recognition.

31. Actor Paul and journalist Hughes : RUDDS. knew paul, but not hughes, who died in 1992 at the age of 71. according to wikipedia he earned a purple heart, six air medals and a silver star as an artillery spotter pilot in the army.

34. Place to play faves : OTB. off track betting.

35. Frère de la mère : ONCLE. french. mother's brother = uncle.

37. Geologic age meaning "without life" : AZOIC. if you say so.

38. Club for GIs : USO. united service organizations. a place to go for dances and social events.

39. AOL alternative : G-MAIL

40. Molten rock : MAGMA. holy hotwick lava bomb. hi lois.

41. Offer in response to "Shake!" : PAW

42. U.S. base in Cuba, in headlines : GITMO. guantanamo bay.

43. Rap sheet initials : AKA. also known as.

44. Many 3-Down users : TEENS

46. Fathers and sons : HES

47. Hard to comb : MATTED

49. Beekeeper played by Fonda : ULEE. welcome back.

52. Enjoyed Wrigley, e.g. : CHEWED. brand of gum. wrigley field is named after william wrigley, jr., the chewing gum magnate.

54. Counted (on) : DEPENDED

58. Picture book elephant : BABAR

59. 1947 Hope/Crosby film : ROAD TO RIO

60. Bring to mind : EVOKE

61. Farming prefix : AGRO

62. Singer k.d. : LANG. barefoot.

63. Like asters : RAYED. see?

64. Qtys. of sugar : TSPS. teaspoons.

65. On the safer side : ALEE

Down:

2. Hebrew prophet : AMOS. old testament, after joel and before obadiah.

4. High-and-mighty type : SNOOT. funny word.

5. "Rosemary's Baby" author : LEVIN. ira. directed by roman polanski.

6. Simple rhyme scheme : ABAA

8. Word part: Abbr. : SYL. syllable.

10. Postal service symbol : EAGLE

12. "I totally agree!" : AMEN

13. Oceanic routine : TIDE

18. Enero to enero, e.g. : ANO. spanish. january to january = year.

21. Average guy? : JOE

24. U-shaped river bends : OXBOWS

25. Store display suffix : ORAMA. meaning "spectacular display or instance of," abstracted frompanorama, ultimately from Greek horama [ὅραμα] "sight."

26. Carols at the mall, usually : MUZAK

27. Rug with nothing swept under it? : TOUPEE. great clue.

29. Weather, in verse : CLIME. clear ayes, got an example for us?

30. Moves, to a Realtor : RELOS. relocates.

32. Hard to read by, as light : DIM

36. Abbr. for John Doe, perhaps : NMI. no middle initial. seems like it should be no middle name.

45. SFO info : ETD. airport talk for estimated time of departure.

48. Up and about : AWAKE

49. French twists, e.g. : UPDOS

50. Gave permission : LET

51. Name on a celebrated B-29 : ENOLA. the enola gay. first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb (on hiroshima) as a weapon of war.

52. Radio-active one? : CB-ER. nice.

53. "__ Nagila" : HAVA

55. O.K. Corral lawman : EARP. wyatt.

56. A, to Albrecht : EINE. german. one, or a, or someone. i'll let kazie help me out here.

59. Dock rodent : RAT

Answer grid.

melissa

SSS

This is #3 of our "Curious Conundrums" series (named by Don G, by the way). Constructed by our own Marti DuGuay-Carpenter.

Marti mentioned that Rich really liked this theme but had to let it go after some fact-check. I like the surprising factor of the unifier, clean grid and the overall light & fun clues (favorite is 9D).

Do let us have your feedback. It's how we improve.

Here is puz file (Across Lite)

Here is PDF.

Spoiler: Here is the answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011 Mike Peluso

Theme: Show Me the Money - The unifier instructs us to put CASH before the last word of the starred entries.

18A. *Duplicator in an office : COPY MACHINE. CASH MACHINE aka ATM.

24A. *Great Chicago Fire scapegoat : MRS. O'LEARY'S COW. CASH COW brings in a very high profit margin. Down on the farm, the cash cow not only produced a lot of milk but the milk had a high percentage of cream, where the real money is.

39A. *Classic chocolate treat : MARS BAR. CASH BAR, magic words on any reception notice. (My mistake, it is OPEN BAR we like to see!)

49A. *Take a path of least resistance : GO WITH THE FLOW. CASH FLOW - May yours never be negative.

60A. Seller's assurance of payment, and a hint to what the last words of the answers to starred clues can have in common : CASH UP FRONT. PSA: You should never give CASH IN ADVANCE for any online claim that you have money coming to you.

Argyle here. Typical Tuesday. Some names that are gimmes to some and unheard of by others. Some mild misdirection but four solid themes. All-in-all, a good continuation of the week.

Across:

1. The NFL's Montana and Favre, e.g. : QBs. Football quarterbacks.

4. __-wip: "real cream" brand : REDDI. The stuff in the can.

9. Rap's __ Rhymes : BUSTA. This gent.

14. Suffix with script : URE

15. Apply, as pressure : EXERT

16. Not cool, man : UNHIP

17. Marksman's skill : AIM. I'm not happy with this answer. Anyone can aim, the marksman can hit what he aims at. The answer needs a modifier, like 'steady aim', to be a skill, IMO.

20. Former boxer Ali : LAILA. She is the daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

22. Musician's gift : EAR

23. Makes a decision : OPTS

28. Apt. complex unit : BLDG.

29. Ohio rubber city : AKRON. Four major tire companies, Goodrich Corporation, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company and General Tire, were headquartered in the city.

32. Canonized Fr. women : STEs

35. Grand Coulee, for one : DAM

37. Thief-turned-sleuth Lupin : ARSÈNE. Unknown to me; a French rival of Sherlock Holmes.

38. Nonpro sports org. : AAU. Amateur Athletic Union.

41. "Proud Mary" pop gp. : CCR. Creedence Clearwater Revival.

42. Throbs : PULSES

44. Watchdog's warning : "GRR"

45. Prog. listing : SKED. Sked is shortened version of the word schedule and often isn't indicated as a abbreviation as it is today.

46. Spot on TV : PROMO

47. Aptly named fruit : UGLI

56. Narrow cut : SLIT

58. Filmdom's Farrow : MIA. First gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the prime time soap opera Peyton Place.(1964)

59. Short vodka order : STOLI. Stolichnaya, but it is also trademarked as Stoli.

64. Sewing kit item : PIN

65. Starts the pot : ANTEs

66. Army base near Petersburg, Va. : FT. LEE

67. 12/24 or 12/31 : EVE

68. Iraq's main port : BASRA. Even though it is 34 miles from the coast. Map.

69. Ritual celebrating the Jews' liberation from Egyptian slavery : SEDER

70. __ Moines : DES. Iowa, "American Heartland".

Down:

1. Uneasy feeling : QUALM. Good word. Germanic?

2. Prickly bush : BRIAR

3. 18-wheelers : SEMIS

4. Automaker's bane : RECALL. Haven't had any lately.

5. Lead-in for skeleton : EXO

6. Bank statement abbr. : DEP.osit

7. Laundry appliance : DRYER

8. "Be that as __ ..." : IT MAY

9. Tampa Bay athlete, briefly : BUC

10. Opens, as a gate : UNHOOKS

11. Marine salvage crew's job : SHIPWRECK. It used to be the big job was bringing up the treasure; now it is keeping possession once it's up.

12. Glass darkener : TINT

13. Big galoots : APES

19. Latin art : ARS. You might find this interesting.

21. Throws softly : LOBS

25. Old Norse works : EDDAs

26. Biochemist's gel : AGAR

27. Singer Vikki : CARR

30. "... __ and for all!" : ONCE

31. Bookish type : NERD

32. '90s-'00s NFL Pro Bowler Warren : SAPP. He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders.

33. Bull: Pref. : TAUR

34. Speakers at memorial services : EULOGISTS

36. Chow mein additive : MSG

37. "I can't believe this!" : "AARGH!"

39. "Feed me," in Siamese? : "MEOW"

40. Champagne word : BRUT. Very dry.

43. Cover completely : SMOTHER

45. Prepare, as flour : SIFT

48. Red Sox pitcher Jon : LESTER. LaLa Linda, care to comment?

50. Brat : IMP

51. Little fights : TIFFS

52. Bret who wrote gold rush stories : HARTE

53. Ran with ease : LOPED

54. Fruit yielding oil : OLIVE

55. Some cellar contents : WINES

56. Union underminer : SCAB

57. Head-turning Turner : LANA. Back in the day. Image.

61. Mex. neighbor : USA

62. Trite : OLD

63. Originally called : NÉE

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, August 8, 2011 Janie Smulyan

Theme: Me - Not me personally but ME musically.

20A. Polite egotist's musical request? (Beatles) : PLEASE, PLEASE ME. Clip(1:59)

36A. Adamant egotist's musical request? (Doris Day) : LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME. Clip(2:16)

47A. Needy egotist's musical request? (Supremes) : COME SEE ABOUT ME. Clip(2:24)

Argyle here. Unusual circumstance today; our constructor Janie Smulyan had her NY Times crossword debut yesterday and now her LAT debut today. Impressive. And so is her puzzle.

Across:

1. Treble symbol : CLEF

5. Knock for a loop : DAZE

9. Red Delicious, e.g. : APPLE

14. Fishing need : LURE

15. [Lightbulb!] : IDEA

16. Bay Area county : MARIN. North of San Francisco.

17. Landed on a perch : ALIT

18. Confidence-inspiring : REASSURING

22. "Just __ naturally" : ACT

23. Dr.'s field : MEDicine.

24. Paranormal : OCCULT

28. Uppercase letters, briefly : CAPS

30. Weep and wail : SOB

33. "__ turn is it?" : WHOSE

34. Paper towel unit : ROLL

35. GI no-show : AWOL

39. Barely made, with "out" : EKED

40. Wild and crazy : ZANY

41. They may be faith-based or quantum : LEAPS

42. Boxing count : TEN

43. Quick on one's feet : SPRY

44. "Kings are __ gods": Shakespeare's "Pericles" : EARTH'S

45. Red, Yellow or Black : SEA

46. "So-o-o-o good!" : "MMM!"

55. Fettuccine Alfredo topping, e.g. : CREAM SAUCE

56. A mere step away : NEAR

57. "The Threepenny Opera" composer Kurt : WEILL

58. Walked heavily : TROD

59. Sandwich seller : DELI

60. Box for Beeb watchers : TELLY. Cuppa, you've got this one.

61. William and Harry, to Charles : SONS. Also seen on the Beeb.

62. Black cat, to some : OMEN

Down:

1. Show appreciation at a show : CLAP

2. Quiet time : LULL

3. New York canal : ERIE. It runs through Utica.

4. Greek salad cheese : FETA

5. Run the show : DIRECT

6. Really good (at) : ADEPT

7. Fervor : ZEAL

8. Leisure : EASE

9. Gets a smile out of : AMUSES

10. Peeled with a knife : PARED

11. Puritanical : PRIM

12. Bit of poetry : LINE

13. Subj. including grammar : ENG.

19. Sales rep's giveaway : SAMPLE

21. Oregon's capital : SALEM

24. Little hooter : OWLET

25. Fail in the clutch : CHOKE

26. Group of witches : COVEN. A shout out!

27. Like many flea market items : USED

28. Groanworthy, as a joke : CORNY

29. Friend in war : ALLY

30. "Don't __ the small stuff!" : SWEAT

31. Punchiness : "OOMPH!"

32. Make holy : BLESS

34. Lion's warning : ROAR

35. Declare with confidence : AVER

37. Convenience for Northeastern toll-paying drivers : EZ PASS. It allows you to drive through the booths without stopping...and provides David Letterman with lots of bits.

38. "Remember the __!" : ALAMO. I forgot and remembered the Maine instead.

43. In good taste : SEEMLY

44. Fixes securely (in) : EMBEDS

45. T-shirt size : SMALL

46. City nicknamed "The Heart of Georgia" : MACON. I remember Macon County Line (1974).

47. Canadian tribe : CREE

48. Eye, to Yvette : OEIL. Finally some French.

49. Packs away dishes? : EATS

50. Dollar rival : EURO

51. Reverse, in word processing : UNDO

52. Rain really hard : TEEM

53. Like 61-Across : MALE

54. "__ Brockovich" : ERIN. The real ERIN pictured with her lawyer.

55. 100 lbs. : CWT. A unit of weight measurement created by U.S. merchants in the late 1800s. A hundred weight(Cwt) is equal to exactly 100 pounds.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Belated Happy Birthday to our honeybee Melissa & sailor Gunghy.