Saturday, Aug 27, 2011 Kyle T. Dolan

Theme: None

Words: 70

Blocks: 34

Well I just love a Saturday that moves along this smoothly - I hope you all felt the same way ~! Constructor Kyle had one other offering back in Dec. '09; this time, we have triple stacks of eight, one grid spanner, one grid climber:

34A. Calls at home : BALLS AND STRIKES - I am sure this one was a real pleaser for C.C. - I knew it was "home" in the sense of baseball, but was thinking "safe!" and "out!" until I had '_ALLS_ _ '.

7D. Could choose : HAD ONE'S DRUTHERS - not a phrase I am familiar with, and the section surrounding the "TH" ate up all my time on this puzzle. Druthers is a colloquialism, an age-old contraction of (I)'d rather....

and two other 10-letter entries:

4D. Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," e.g. : ROCK BALLAD - ah, my youth, spent emulating the "hair bands" of the '80's, and every single one of them was REQUIRED to write the next "Stairway" - personally, it got overplayed; my favorite is Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home" - what about you?

27D. Highfalutin : HOITY-TOITY - putting on 'airs', snobby - based on the defunct word "hoit"

Onward~!

ACROSS:

1. Gum with a jingle that began, "So kiss a little longer" : BIG RED - Cinnamon flavored, but the Trident version is much hotter - love a Saturday with a 'gimme' 1A

7. Seconds in the air, to punters : HANG-TIME - and followed with a 'gimme' second across; literally, the time a football is airborne, so that the kicking team has a chance to get on the receiving team - I love the "chess match" tactics of the game, but not into the fantasy aspect or players as much

15. Wicked : UNHOLY

16. Penance component : AVE MARIA - Hail Marys (another football term, too)

17. Poker chips are often seen in them : STACKS - was thinking antes, and pots

18. Chocolaty treats : DOVE BARS - ice cream

19. Some charity races : TEN-Ks - ugh, this got me today; I am usually wise to this

20. Second crop of a growing season : ROWEN - new word for me - exactly what it means

21. Reason for a prep course : S.A.T. - Standard Aptitude Test

22. Healthy piece : SLAB - but not really healthy, if you think in terms of cake

23. Picky person? : MINER - a slight misdirection, I had to wait on perps

24. Brought down : ABASED

26. Bangladesh capital : DHAKA - map

31. Guiding light : POLARIS - a bit vague, but I know my astronomy; the North Star, in the Little Dipper, is presently aligned with the Earth's pole, and therefore stays "fixed", allowing for sailing at night. In about 11,700 years, Vega will be the new North Pole

33. Longhorn rival : SOONER - a WAG. College football - I am guessing Kyle (and others) can't wait for football season

36. Etta James classic : AT LAST - ah, the memories - this was the song my wife picked out for our wedding - I had no choice in the matter, but I didn't care - she was happy - too bad it LASTed only 2 years....

37. New Jersey river : RARITAN - I was born in New Jersey (hey now), but don't recall this name - map - sort of in the middle

38. Exhilarating : HEADY

39. Folly : LUNACY

40. Threadbare : RATTY

41. Words spoken after Polonius says, "I hear him coming: let's withdraw, my lord" : TO BE - a WAG, I just tried TO BE, as it was "words", and only 4 letters

45. Tie up loose ends? : SEW

48. Air Force pilot who became a pop star : DON HO - I did not know this

49. Right to play first, in golf : HONOR

50. Grace : ELEGANCE

52. One of Penelope's 108 in the "Odyssey" : SUITOR - those horndogs - she must have been a subject of ogling, too ( 49D )

53. Disdainful : CAVALIER

54. Chant : INTONE

55. Diving concern : THE BENDS - Nitrogen, boiling in the blood after coming to the surface from great depths too soon.

56. Phoned on a computer, in technospeak : SKYPED - not really technospeak, since Googled is now a word, too.

DOWN:

1. Marble works : BUSTS

2. Espionage aid, for short : INTEL- INTELligence, knowledge of what the "other side" is doing

3. Country that eliminated the United States at the last two World Cups : GHANA

5. FDR and Truman, fraternally : ELKS - the benevolent order of elks

6. Bad opening? : DYS - as in DYSfunctional

8. Swore : AVOWED

9. Word heard before and after "say" : NEVER - James Bond again; this movie

10. Fed personnel : G-MEN

11. Someone has to pick it up : TAB

12. Savings choices, briefly : IRAs

13. Sorvino of "Mighty Aphrodite" : MIRA - Image

14. Rose point : EAST - Compass Rose





20. "__ to the Top": Keni Burke song : RISIN' - I'll leave the links to you

23. French Revolution figure : MARAT - I had this guy before, not too long ago

25. Having strong low tones, as headphones : BASSY

26. Column style : DORIC

28. Co-composer of "Johnny's Theme" : ANKA - Paul Anka, prolific songwriter.

29. Not dull : KEEN

30. Married couple? : ARS - the "R's" in maRRied, like I used to be

31. Spread with drinks : PATÉ

32. Cantina cooker : OLLA - Ceramic pot

33. Pickup for a pound : STRAY - Dog pound

34. "Nuts!" : BAH - Humbug....

35. Pedro o Pablo : SANTO - ah - I had SENOR first

39. Pierced surgically : LANCED

40. 1998 De Niro thriller : RONIN - another movie link

42. Leading : ON TOP - yeah, in football standings, too

43. Cumberland Gap explorer : BOONE - Daniel

44. Stumbled : ERRED

45. Branch : SECT

46. Valley where David fought Goliath : ELAH - total WAG

47. Bob Seger's "__ Got Tonight" : WE'VE

48. Low area : DALE

49. Object of ogling : HUNK - Ogle, ladies, ogle - I had the guys covered last week with Bond Girls - and I had a UPS package go to Carey Lowell yesterday - one of my top three

51. Speak idly : GAB

52. Cheer syllable : SIS - um, this one I am not sure; SIS BOOM BAH ~!?!?!?

Answer grid.

Well, for those in the path of Irene, like me, stay safe, above water, and below deadly winds....

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to our Friday Sherpa Lemonade. Thanks for the consistently informative and entertaining write-up every week.

Friday, August 26, 2011 James Sajdak

Theme: Cutting some Zs. Each of the theme answers is a phrase containing the letter "Z" which is removed and is replaced by the pluralized D sound to make a similar sounding but very different phrase, fraught with humor. This is the third James Sajdak puzzle I have had the pleasure of blogging, and like his June 24, 2011 farmhouse puzzle, sound has much to do with the theme. In his interview, Mr. Sajdak, who is an English teacher by trade, emphasized his goal was to entertain, so he fits in perfectly for the Corner and myself. Let's see where he takes us today, P.S., shh but it is Lemonade here as the tour guide today.

20A. Easy-to-use sock drawer organizer?: PEDS DISPENSER. This morphed from PEZ DISPENSER, the famous collectable candy holding toy, into a really nice image of a drawer shooting out little socks, PEDS being footie socks.

28A. Dog show eye-catchers?: COOL BREEDS. COOL BREEZE. As you can see the changed word can be first or second and the replacement is not just D for Z, but to accomplish the sound.

36A. Feline alpha groups?: TOP PRIDES. TOP PRIZE; we know lions come in prides, do other cats?

48A. "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are the Champions" : QUEEN SIDES. QUEEN SIZE. A song on one side of a 45; these are two by the irrepressible late, great FREDDY MERCURY. I wonder where the idea that royalty meant bigger? Why are there no Jack sized beds?

56. Winter Olympics winner's wall hanging?: BLADES OF GLORY. This theme is going out in a BLAZE OF GLORY, unlike the MOVIE, which brought a new dimension to the world of Olympic pairs skating; funny or lame?

Across:

1. Henri's here: ICI. We begin in my wheelhouse with a simple French word, which means "here."

4. Sci-fi psychic: EMPATH. We have had Ms. Troi before.

10. Druid's sacred hill : TARA. This was my LEARNING EXPERIENCE. I only knew GWTW and Sookie's friend on True Blood.

14. What Lin's D.C. wall commemorates: NAM. I was moved to tears when I first went and traced the names of friends who perished. Maya Ying Lin.

15. Craps table tactic: PARLAY. Letting your winnings ride, never have played.

16. Like some terrible reviews: ACID. Acid tongue I know, but this did not come easily.

17. Wee: SMA. We have has this Scottish version of small often, usually with a Robert Burns reference, but not a favorite of Ms. Hearti who spoke out against it earlier this month.

18. Bandit feature?: ONE ARM. Back in the day when you actually had to pull on a lever, this slot machine reference made sense; no longer.

19. Watch lights, briefly: LCDS. Liquid Crystal Displays like the James Bond Pulsar.

23. Emphatic words: I REPEAT.

24. Run-of-the-mill: USUAL.

27. Track position: RAIL. Very important in horse racing; bet on it.

32. Cornerstone abbr : ESTAB. Established.

34. Just outside of: NEAR.

35. Rolls in the grass?: SOD. Very clever picture of rolled up sod.

40. Palm Sunday carrier: ASS. Avoiding religion as a topic, we all must agree there are an awful lot of asses in the Bible.

43. German battleship Graf __: SPEE. The ship is long gone, but it lives on in VIDEO GAMES.

44. 1945 "Big Three" conference site: YALTA. Your HISTORY LESSON.

52. Slangy negatives: NAHS.

53. 14th-century Russian prince: IVAN I. A prince of Moscow. Like the Popes, the "I" makes it hard to parse.

54. Retro tees: TIE DYES. Another difficult to suss letter combination, looking like TIED YES.

60. Prussian pair: ZWEI. Alliteration for the Germanic Two.

62. Stimulate: INCITE. Calm down we are here to entertain, no riots.

63. 36 for nine, often: PAR. There really are many golfers in the puzzle world.

64. Votes for: AYES. A half shout out to our Poet Laureate.

65. Semi-sheer fabrics: VOILES. Back to the French, meaning VEIL. You like?

66. Owner of Abbey Road Studios: EMI. Electrical and Musical Industries, Ltd. is one of the oldest companies in music. They are now wholly owned by Citigroup.

67. Orkin target: PEST.

68. Speak with conviction: ASSERT.

69. Decoding org.: NSA. National Security Agency.

Down:

1. Fire up: INSPIRE. In contrast to the earlier INCITE.

2. Set pieces?: CAMERAS. What you will find on the TV or Movie SET.

3. Cry from one reaching the top: I MADE IT. Also part of my night time ritual for another day.

4. Lyrical poetic form: EPODE. CA, you are on.

5. Zealot-plus: MANIAC.

6. Appearance announcement: PRESTO. What they say when the bunny shows up from the hat.

7. Gain __: get further ahead in the race: A LAP.

8. Empty weight: TARE. We have many clues about ships and LADING.

9. Mass music: HYMN.

10. "Honor Thy Father" author: TALESE. A poor man's Mario Puzo.

11. Grows: ACCRUES. The interest in your account.

12. Purged: RID.

13. Spots with slogans: ADS. I wonder when they started calling radio and TV ads, spots?

21. Egg toss miss indicator: SPLAT. Very nice visual clue. You were supposed to catch the egg Jeannie not sell it to BK.

22. Light carriage: SURREY. My mind went immediately to the FRINGE.

25. Flap: ADO. A new clue for an old fill.

26. Dr. Leary's turn-on: LSD. Turn on, tune in and drop out.

29. No right __ : ON RED. I was shocked when I moved to Florida and you could turn right at a red light.

30. Jasmine neckwear, perhaps: LEI. Hawaii people, do they have Jasmine on the island?

31. Wicked: BAD. As opposed to Massachusetts, where wicked is good.

33. Sarajevo's region: BOSNIA.

37. Forgetful writer's letters?: PPS.

38. Louvre Pyramid designer: PEI. I M impressed, two famous designer in one puzzle.

39. Subj. of an '80s-'90s financial crisis: S AND L. Savings & Loan, a tough one to see.

40. EPA concern: AQI. We are getting acronym intensive, Air Quality Index.

41. Toyota RAV4, e.g. : SUV. Sport UtilityVehicle.

42. Navy builders: SEABEES. The name comes from a pun on Construction Battalion. Like all our service men, they should be HONORED.

45. Expose: LAY OPEN. Wow, talk about your DF, getting laid out in the open; oh, you mean lay bare!

46. St. Louis team, familiarly: THE RAMS. Football team that moved from LA, after starting originally in Cleveland.

47. Ancient kingdom on the Tigris: ASSYRIA. Modern Iraq.

49. Sign on: ENLIST. We daily bloggers enlist, after we are drafted.

50. Star of France: ETOILE. Just another lesson, STAR = ETOILE.

51. Bakery utensil: SIFTER. Must get the flour flowing.

55. Discharge: EGEST. From the Latin gerere to carry, with the prefix E, which means from; so literally to carry from. A fancy way of saying pooping. DIgest goes in, Egest goes out.

57. Price or Battle: DIVA. Opera stars Leontyne and Kathleen.

58. Genesis grandson: ENOS. More Bible, a son of Seth, the third child of Adam and Eve.

59. H.S. courses: SCIS. Sciences.

60. Cook quickly, in a way: ZAP. Microwave mania.

61. Three-switch railroad track section: WYE. The word is very descriptive of the tracks coming together, and featured in this MOVIE, which was suspenseful, but like the blog has a happy ending (or does it?). I finished another Friday, did not hurt myself and get to watch Devin and his band play again tonight. They had four paying gigs this month, the most yet. Have a great week end and celebrate, and for those in the path of Irene, we pray the cold front pushes her out to sea. Take care.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Thursday, August 25, 2011 David Poole

Theme: Stock Exchange. Common two words phrases used on Wall Street are clued with wacky new definitions. This puzzle is also a pangram, using every letter of the alphabet - a rare gem for constructors!

20A. Chicken, beef, or fish? : STOCK OPTION. Stock options are offered to employees as a non-cash compensation, and as an incentive to make the company profitable. Chicken stock, beef stock and fish stock are different options a chef can choose, when preparing his delicious recipes.

58A. Expensive bottle of wine? : LIQUID ASSET. Liquid assets are those which can be sold easily, without loss of value. Wine is a liquid that can really be an asset, especially at a party!

11D. Shop specializing in Winnie the Pooh merchandise? : BEAR MARKET. A bear market is a general decline in the stock market, leading to investor pessimism. Winnie the Pooh is a cute little bear who has been merchandised to excess. Does anyone have a WTP watch?

29D. Money set aside for garden mazes? : HEDGE FUNDS. A hedge fund is a special investment that is aggressively managed to offset losses in a bear market, often by using fluctuations in currency exchange rates or commodities. A maze hedge requires frequent trimming and upkeep, so you'll need that money to pay for all the gardeners!

Marti here, and I chuckled as soon as I filled in the first theme entry. I have many stock options in my pantry, liquid assets in my wine cellar, and 100 feet of hedge in front of my house. I do not, however, own a Winnie the Pooh watch...

Across

1. Beatles film : HELP. Four letters, Beatles didn't make many movies. Easy peasy lead in to this delightful puzzle, and BAM, a chance for a musical link right off that bat. Did you know the inspiration for this film was the Marx Brothers classic "Duck Soup", and was a take-off of the James Bond films?

5. Globetrotter's need : VISA. Passport wouldn't fit.

9. TV choice : CABLE.

14. x, y and z, in math : AXES. Plural of "axis".

15. Israel's Barak : EHUD. Ehud Barak, for those who were wondering if "Barak" was his first or last name. He is the Minister of Defense.

16. Curved moldings : OGEES. O, gee...crosswordese, and plural, no less. But these types of entry give us a "freebie fill", so you can use the perps to fill in other answers. Don't complain!

17. Hard to spot : TINY. Is this "tiny"?

18. Muddy up : ROIL. Stir up the waters and get them all muddy.

19. Chestnut-hued horses : ROANS

23. Bar order : RYE. OK, hands up for all of you who put in "ale", "ice", "gin", "nip", "pop" or "rum" before RYE emerged from perps?

24. Sweetie : HON. My favorite nickname for DH.

25. Three-time Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film : BERGMAN. Were you thinking of Ingrid? She did win three Oscars, but not for best foreign film. The winner here is Ingmar Bergman, one of the great directors our our time. The films? "The Virgin Spring", "Through a Glass Darkly" and "Fanny and Alexander".

27. Saw : APHORISM. An old saw is a saying that teaches a lesson, like "A penny saved is a penny earned."

32. Membership list : ROTA. Mainly a British term (Nice Cuppa?), but it is also used in the Catholic Church to mean a tribunal of prelates in an ecclesiastical court.

33. Slangy morning cup : JOE. Some people have a cuppa tea, others need their cuppa Joe (coffee).

34. Tabloid exclusive : SCOOP. Or, what I do in the litter box every day. (Where does it all come from???)

36. Inferior : WORSE

39. Director of the last episode of "M*A*S*H" : ALDA. Alan Alda. He was also the first person to receive Emmy Awards for acting, writing and directing for the same series.

41. Concerning : ABOUT

43. Hershey's toffee bar : SKOR. Yumm!

44. First name in daytime TV : REGIS. Regis Philbin. Did you know that he holds the Guinness world record for the most time spent in front of a TV camera?

46. World-weariness : ENNUI. General feeling of boredom.

48. Gin maker Whitney : ELI. The cotton gin, of course. But I really wanted Bombay. What's your poison?

49. Jazz and swing periods : ERAS. (And a shout-out to our own "bumpa"!)

51. Word with crew or key : SKELETON. Skeleton crew is the bare essential staff needed to keep things afloat. (Or, it could be the members of the Black Pearl?) Skeleton key is an old-fashioned master key for locks.

53. Gridiron call : OFFSIDE. American football...it's complicated, but basically it's a five yard penalty if a member of the offensive team is over the line of scrimmage at the snap.

56. Respectful title : SIR

57. French vineyard : CRU. "Cru" indicates a specific growth place, or it's wine.

64. River including Livingstone Falls : CONGO. Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

66. Major in astronomy? : URSA. Ursa major, the "Big Dipper". Cute clue.

67. Balm ingredient : ALOE

68. Milk dispenser : UDDER. And here is one for the guys...

69. Hardly handsome : UGLY.

70. Loads : TONS

71. Run for the __: Kentucky Derby : ROSES. Run for the Roses is a nickname for the Kentucky Derby, so called because of the blanket of roses that is draped over the winning horse.

72. Understands : SEES. Oh, I see it now.

73. Gusto : ZEST

Down

1. Boaters and bowlers : HATS. Your weren't thinking sports, were you?

2. Auditorium sign : EXIT

3. "Leading With My Chin" author : LENO. Jay Leno, who else?

4. Film with a creepy motel owner : PSYCHO. One of Hitchcock's finest, starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.

5. Archie's heartthrob : VERONICA. Comic book from the 40's. Were you thinking Edith Bunker?

6. Denny's competitor : IHOP

7. Diamonds, but not emeralds : SUIT. Playing cards.

8. Robin Williams forte : AD LIB.

9. Tight braid : CORNROW. These look painful.

10. Gone by : AGO

12. Lotte who played Rosa Klebb in "From Russia With Love" : LENYA. Call her "Colonel". We have had her before...it is Lotte Lenya, and she was married to Kurt Weil, who wrote "Mack the Knife" for her to sing. Remember? (I won't link it again...)

13. German steel town : ESSEN

21. Fashion designer Michael : KORS. I'm not much into fashion: jeans and a t-shirt are fine for working in the garden.

22. Anthem contraction : O'ER...the ramparts.

26. Pontiac muscle cars : GTOs. I bet Dennis, Windhover or Bill G. could fill us in!

27. Slightly cracked : AJAR. Hand over the V-8 can: I was thinking "loony".

28. Angler's need : POLE. Not reel, line, fish, bait, pier...

30. Drink brand with a lizard logo : SOBE. Pepsi brand of teas and juice blends named for South Beach.

31. Mars pair : MOONS. Phobos and Deimos. Memorize them. You never know when they will show up in a puzzle!

35. __ rock : PUNK. Not folk, hard, acid, soft...

37. Alone : SOLO. Not many chances for music links today, so I give you this solo...

38. Joyce's homeland : ERIN. OK, how many times have we had "Erin" in xwords? So, here is the scoop on the name:

The Irish word for the homeland is "Éirinn". "Erin" is the Irish-English derivative of that name. So poets and Irish Nationalists use the word "Erin" as a romantic name for Ireland. Got it? (There will be a quiz later...)

Oh, and James Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, who likely used the name "Erin" for his homeland. Clear Ayes?

40. Ostentatious behavior : AIRS

42. "__ With Morrie": Albom best-seller : TUESDAYS. Subtitled "an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson". An incredible non-fiction novel about a beloved professor with Lou Gehrig's disease. If you haven't read it, put it on your list!

45. Salts on the ocean : SAILORS. We all know that "salt" is a nickname for a sailor, right? But, do you know why?

47. Hip bones : ILIA. And what are dem bones connected to?

50. Star Wars prog. : SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative, proposed by President Ronald Reagan.

52. German sub? : ERSATZ. I loved this clue/answer. Ersatz means "substitute", and is the literal German word for "substitute", derived from the word "ersetzen", meaning "to replace".

53. Present itself, as a thought : OCCUR. It just occurred to me, that I have to go get a snack. Don't go away, I'll be right back....

...OK, I'm back now.

54. Tolkien ringbearer : FRODO. Frodo Baggins, bearing the ring to Mordor to destroy it, in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. (But you all knew that.)

55. 1975 Tony-winning play about a stableboy : EQUUS. A very disturbing play.

59. The munchies, e.g. : URGE. I have my snack, so I'm good!

60. Cruise stop : ISLE. Port, dock, pier...I have to stop over thinking these things!!!

61. Dark purple fruit : SLOE. Why did "sloe" pop into my head, and not "plum"? ("Because it's Thursday!!")

62. Eternities, seemingly : EONS

63. Midterm or final : TEST. I always think of midterm "exams" or final "exams", not tests.

65. "Golly!" : GEE. Gee, I think I am done. Goodnight, all!

Answer grid.

Marti

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 Michael Daems

Theme: FACE splitting grins. Each asterisked clue announces a theme entry that splits the word FACE down the middle and uses the halves as BOOK ENDS. They're not really intended to be amusing, but I do have to smile at the cleverness.

20A. *Miss : FAIL TO NOTICE An ineptitude in keen powers of observation.

28A. *Simulated living room feature : FAUX FIRE PLACE. A decorative mantle, perhaps a hearth, a psuedo-fire chamber, but not a place for a fire.
45A. *Feature of many Bee Gees songs : FALSETTO VOICE Description here.

And the unifier 51A. Headline that would shock the Internet community (or put another way, hint to the divided word in each of the answers to starred clues) : FACEBOOK ENDS or FACE BOOKENDS. And a nice word play at no extra charge.

Hi gang, JazzzBumpa here. Let's see what these BOOK ENDS hold for us.

Across:

1. Cellar process : AGING. For wine, cheese, or pickles

6. Incline : TILT. Or slant

10. Shady plan : SCAM. Yesterday this was a con game.

14. Hilo veranda : LANAI. Nice view.

15. Freshly : ANEW

16. Scrabble piece : TILE

17. Panache : FLAIR

18. He caught Don's 1956 World Series perfect game : YOGI. Don Larsen and YOGI Berra. A happy moment.

19. Bickering : AT IT. Be careful how you parse this.

23. Tolkien's Elrond, e.g. : ELF. He was called Elrond Halfelven, though that is not quite accurate either. I believe he had both elven and human lineage from two of his grandparents.

26. One way to pace : FRO. The other is TO.

27. Hold dear : PRIZE

32. Confounds : ADDLES

33. Poem of the countryside : IDYL. Clear Ayes . . .

34. Fort Meade-based govt. org. : NSA. The National Security Agency, a frequent visitor to crosswords.

37. Standards, briefly : REGS REGulations

38. Ottoman officer : AGA

39. Dan Patrick's channel, formerly : ESPN, the all sports cable network. Daniel Patrick Pugh can now be heard on Premier Radio Networks.

40. Portland-to-Boise dir. : ESE.

41. Frosh, next year : SOPH. Freshman and SOPHomore (the wise fool.) I wanted someone who was going to be a Frosh next year, not what this year's Frosh would be next year.

43. Scientific __ : METHOD. You can go through the process here.

48. Respectful address : MADAM

49. Louis XIV, par exemple : ROI. Head of France is TETE; King of France is ROI.

50. Some 12-yd. soccer shots : PKS. Penalty Kicks, I assume.

55. Takes steps : ACTS. An actor steps across the stage, but that's not what we're getting at here.

56. Land of Rama I : SIAM. Now Thailand.

57. Poke : ELBOW.

61. Gait slower than a canter : TROT. More specifically, this is gait of a horse in which the diagonal pairs of legs move together, not to be confused with the PACE, in which the two legs on the same side of the horse move together. Racing TROTTERS and PACERS may not break stride.

62. 'Enry's greeting : 'ELLO. 'Enry 'Iggens, I presume.

63. More-than-disappointing crowd? : NO ONE. For some reason, I had a hard time parsing this.

64. Miffed : SORE

65. Textile worker : DYER. I wanted BRIM POUNCER

66. Amarillo's home : TEXAS. Amarillo is yellow in Spanish. The city is likely named for the abundant yellow wild flowers in the area or the yellow soil in the banks of near-by Amarillo creak.

Down:

1. The Tanners' adoptee, on TV : A.L.F. (Alien Life Form) I am only vaguely familiar with this character from yet another show I never watched

2. Lass : GAL A youthful female.

3. Garten of the Food Network : INA. I don't know her.

4. Newbie : NAIF. This word means "a naive or inexperienced person." The correlation with "Newbie" is a bit fanciful, IMHO.

5. Long-necked mammal : GIRAFFE. The LW's favorite critter.

6. Five-time Grammy winner James : TAYLOR. This song is not one of them.

7. Playing a fifth qtr., say : IN O.T. Overtime

8. Kid's building block : LEGO. Dang! I always want to spell this with two "L"'s.

9. Reinforced, as some dust bags : TWIN-PLY. Wow, this was slow to develop.

10. Radio interference : STATIC

11. Immigrant test taker's goal : CITIZENSHIP. A call out to C.C.!

12. Rocker Cooper : ALICE. I won't use a link on him.

13. Dole (out) : METE. Middle English from Latin for "turning post" or "boundary" via Norman French.

21. Pupil's place : IRIS. Class room wouldn't fit, no matter how much I eyeballed it.

22. Uttered : ORAL. Tricky, using a verbal adjective where I was expecting a verb.

23. Online airline deal : E-FARE

24. Fills with cargo : LADES

25. Arbitrary allowance for error : FUDGE FACTOR

29. T-shirt sizes, for short : XLS. Extra-large.

30. Black ball : EIGHT. Here, I was looking for a verb and got a noun. In billiards, the 8 ball is solid black.

31. BlackBerry Bold, e.g. : PDA Personal Data Assistant. Actually, a full-featured smartphone.

35. Logical character : SPOCK. The guy with the pointy ears from Star Trek.

36. Aconcagua is its highest peak : ANDES. South American Geography fact of the day.

38. Mimic : APE. Old crosswordese.

39. Command for DDE : E.T.O. European Theater of Operations. No play acting there.

41. Generous slice : SLAB. Mmmmm -- pie.

42. Diffused through a membrane : OSMOSED. This awkward back-formation actually is a word.

43. Night light : MOON. Thou pale evanescent orb . . .

44. Clear : EVIDENT. Plane to see. On an EVIDENT night, you can planely see the MOON. It is now just short of midnight, and the rain has begun.

46. Carol opening : ADESTE. "O come" in Latin.

47. Aftershock : TREMOR. Any news of tremors from Tuesday's shock?

48. Computer shortcut : MACRO. Yesterday, this was a lens.

51. Domino's nickname : FATS. So much easier than Antoine Dominique, Jr. And deserving of one last link.

52. Slick : OILY

53. Curly cabbage : KALE. A headless, leafy variety.

54. Gin flavoring : SLOE. The SLOE plum. I guess the word "gin" by itself doesn't mean anything specific, hence the need for London Dry Gin.

58. Spar in the ring : BOX

59. Stop __ dime : ON A. A very sudden stop.

60. Filmmaker Craven : WES. Producer, director, writer and actor with a long list of film credits including Nightmare on Elm Street and several Screams.

Answer grid.

Jazzbumpa

Note from C.C.:

Our "Hard to Believe" series continues. Look at these amazing photos & the incredible changes they chronicle. Now, who's he? (Added later: It's Windhover!)

"My Dear Watson"

This is #4 of our "Curious Conundrums" series.

Don (his idea and grid) and I thought some of you (esp you, Tinbeni, Happy Birthday!) might be amused by this punny theme. I don't recall seeing similar gimmick in any major newspaper before. The fact that the answers sound too much alike makes it unsuitable for publication.

Our clue for 16-Across is rather long and Across Lite can't handle it. Just click View, then Notepad. You should be able to read the whole clue.

Puzzle:

Here is puz file (Across Lite).

Here is PDF.

Spoiler: Here is the answer grid.

Thanks for solving and do let us have your comments.

C.C.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: Hogtied - The four themes are tied together by clues with the word HOG in them.

17A. Road hog : DANGEROUS DRIVER

27A. Hog heaven : ABSOLUTE BLISS

44A. Hog wild : OVERLY EXCITED

56A. Whole hog : WITH NO RESTRAINT

Argyle here. I confess I sat looking at the answer grid trying to figure out the connection between the four theme answers before I remembered to look at the clues again. D'oh! If you hadn't noticed, the constructor is our own HeartRx. Good job, Marti.

Across:

1. Close-up lens : MACRO

6. Jazz jobs : GIGS

10. Con game : SCAM. Report them to 37A. Truth-in-advertising agcy. : BBB. The Better Business Bureau.

14. The American dream, e.g. : IDEAL

15. Colosseo city : ROMA. The Colosseum(Colosseo) in Rome(Roma), Italy(Italia)

16. "__, Can You Hear Me?": song from "Yentl" : PAPA. Clip.(3:18)

20. Pvt. driller : SGT.

21. Drips in the ER : IVs. Emergency Room/Intravenous

22. Arm-twisting : DURESS

23. Ritzy apartment feature : TERRACE

26. __ mater : ALMA

32. Frank topper : RELISH

34. Diddly, in Durango : NADA. Spanish.

35. Nietzsche's "never" : NIE. German.

36. Bush's undergraduate classmates : ELIs. Yalies.

38. Disconcert : FAZE

39. Candy with collectible dispensers : PEZ

40. Flying start? : AERO

42. I-beam, e.g. : GIRDER. Nice reversal of the usual clue/answer.

47. River in central Germany : EDER. Map, it is top, center between Keller-wald and Kassel.

48. Diamond-patterned structure, as a trellis : LATTICE. Image. Back in the day, under the porch, hidden by the lattice but able to see and hear everything; the summer place to be.

51. Black suit : SPADES. Standard playing cards.

54. Hither's partner : YON

55. Beach shade : TAN

60. GI's supply : AMMO

61. Mindless learning : ROTE

62. Shrink in increments : ERODE

63. It's history : PAST

64. Rephrase, say : EDIT

65. South-of-the-border sir : SEÑOR

Down:

1. Center : MIDST

2. "A watched pot never boils" is one : ADAGE. Conventional sayings.

3. Bring under a single control : CENTRALIZE

4. Dusting aid : RAG

5. __ Miss : OLE. The University of Mississippi.

6. Kowtow : GROVEL

7. Chits in the pot : IOUs

8. Baseball VIPs : GMs. General Managers.

9. Got ready to ride : SADDLED

10. Slinky shape : SPIRAL

11. Auel's "The Clan of the __ Bear" : CAVE

12. King Kong's kin : APES. Kin can be a collective noun.

13. Viking's landing place : MARS. This Viking.

18. Big name in copiers : RICOH. Ricola is a big name in cough drops.

19. Cuban dance : RUMBA

24. Baseball scoring stats : RBIs

25. Shrek's sidekick Donkey, e.g. : ASS

26. Run __: postpone the bar bill : A TAB

28. Take out of the carton : UNBOX

29. Also : IN ADDITION

30. Fitting description? : SIZE

31. Nostradamus, for one : SEER

32. Auto taken back, briefly : REPO

33. Topog. map stat : ELEV.

37. Uncle Remus appellation : BR'ER

38. Stew : FRET

40. First Mayflower passenger to set foot on Plymouth Rock, so it's said : ALDEN. “Why don't you speak for yourself, John?"

41. Neighborhood improvement target : EYESORE

42. Beanstalk threat : GIANT

43. Hairy TV cousin : ITT

45. Sizzling : RED HOT

46. Room for a broom : CLOSET

49. "No prob!" : "CAN DO!"

50. Sign up to compete : ENTER

51. Trade : SWAP

52. Arizona tribe : PIMA. Short write-up.

53. Bread machines, for short? : ATMs

54. Hairy Himalayan legend : YETI

57. Valance holder : ROD

58. Legal thing : RES

59. "__ you serious?" : ARE

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, August 22, 2011 Kelly Clark

Theme: Look! Up in the sky... - it' a bird. And bird related things start our theme entries.

1A. Sound from a tree : CHIRP. It's short and there is no symmetrical entry so we'll consider this a bonus.

20A. *Resolve once and for all : LAY TO REST

38A. *Savings for later in life : NEST EGG. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

56A. Lyric in a Porter song that ends "Let's fall in love," and a hint to the starts of the starred answers (and 1-Across) : BIRDS DO IT. "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" is a popular song(3:01) written in 1928 by Cole Porter. It was introduced in Porter's first Broadway success, the musical "Paris" (1928).

11D. *Like unreliable short-term businesses : FLY BY NIGHT. Don't put any of these eggs in yor basket.

27D. *Do some scheming : HATCH A PLOT

Argyle here. I hope you had your stars but they weren't really necessary. The unifier was pretty clear. It is similar to Kelly's puzzle , back in June. The grid even resembles a nest, especially if you highlight the theme entries. I picture CHIRP as the mama bird sitting on the edge of the nest.

Across:

6. Range between soprano and tenor : ALTO

10. Cpls.' underlings : PFCs

14. Flamboyant evangelist __ Semple McPherson : AIMEE. Clip(1:23) from an upcoming show at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.

15. Boston Bruins or Chicago Bears, e.g. : TEAM

16. Inter __: among others : ALIA

17. Baseball's Nolan and actress Meg : RYANs

18. Bath towel word : HERS

19. Natasha's no : "NYET!"

22. Many an October baby, astrologically : LIBRA

23. A __ alfa : AS IN. Phonetic alphabet spelling of Alpha.

24. Nairobi native : KENYAN. Map.

25. Satirical Mort : SAHL

28. Arrive after a tough trip : MAKE IT IN. Thru Kenya?

31. Schoolroom group : CLASS

33. Travelers' lodgings : INNS

34. Hypotheticals : IFS. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

37. PC key : ALT

41. Miracle-__: garden brand : GRO

42. B'way setting : NYC

43. Slender woodwind : OBOE

44. Reacted to fireworks : OOHED

46. The Beatles' George : HARRISON

50. Salt Lake City college team, aptly : UTES

51. "Happy I can oblige" : GLAD TO

53. Cop's route : BEAT

55. Lassos : ROPES

61. "__ well that ends ..." : ALL'S. Shakespearean play.

62. Rani's garment : SARI

63. Cease-fire : TRUCE

64. Coagulate, as blood : CLOT

65. Treater's words : "ON ME"

66. Levels, as a building : RAZES

67. Italian noble family : ESTE

68. Fava or lima : BEAN

69. Illegally off-base GIs : AWOLs

Down:

1. Poet Sandburg : CARL

2. Breezy greeting : "HI YA"

3. "__ be wrong, but ..." : I MAY

4. Avis offerings : RENTALS

5. Cuban cash : PESOs

6. Zeus' daughter : ATHENA

7. Popular jeans : LEEs

8. Small fruit pie : TART

9. Mantric syllables : OMs. Ommm... Ommmm...

10. Italian sandwich : PANINI

12. Olds Cutlass model : CIERA

13. The devil : SATAN

21. Canyon edge : RIM

22. "Come on, we're late" : "LET'S GO"

24. Goal in checkers : KING

25. Read, as a bar code : SCAN

26. Treaty partner : ALLY

29. Flying toys : KITES

30. U-turn from WSW : ENE

32. Stable sounds : SNORTS. Pigs, horses...Farmer John up in the haymow.

35. Available for a date : FREE

36. Puts in a lawn the fast way : SODS

39. River of Spain : EBRO. OMG, it's a gimmee for me now. Map.

40. "... or __ thought" : SO I

45. Beat in a Western showdown : OUTDRAW

47. "__ Fideles": carol : ADESTE

48. Conan of "Conan" : O'BRIEN

49. Simpsons neighbor Flanders : NED

51. Pre-meal blessing : GRACE

52. Lounges around : LOLLS

54. Stars, in Latin : ASTRA. ASTRO is the common prefix.

56. Undoing : BANE

57. Cookbook writer Rombauer : IRMA. Her book.

58. Greek liqueur : OUZO. Better know what you're doing if you drink this stuff.

59. Its cap. is Reykjavik : ICEL.and

60. Tracy's Trueheart : TESS. Comic's Dick Tracy.

62. Cry out loud : SOB

Answer grid.

Argyle