Saturday, Dec 3rd, 2011 Brad Wilber

Theme: None

Words: 64

Blocks: 38

Another brain-buster from Brad ~! This one got me, in the sense that I had to check some of my WAGs with Red-letter help....oh well, I like to get stumped every now and then ~! This is the least number of words in a puzzle I have blogged - most Saturdays are 70 or 72, Brad's puzzles have come in at 66 and 68 - I attribute this to his unique grid patterns. Today's grid is nearly circular in appearance, with a circular center, and if you ran into trouble there, maybe you couldn't get a foothold on the top or bottom sections. I did OK on top, but too many names slowed me down in the lower half.

Two grid-spanners;

14. Poster-mounting aid : DOUBLE-SIDED TAPE - yeah, OK, this was a good one - I kept thinking of that gummy putty that you use to keep from marring the walls....

45. 2006 Cate Blanchett film : NOTES ON A SCANDAL - never saw it; here's IMDB's take - anyone have a crush on a high school teacher? Mine was my 10th and 11th grade math teacher...ah, was she a doll...

Yes, No, Maybe, Not ??

Onward ~!

mostly ACROSS:

1. Auctions : PUBLIC SALES - no guess to start, got the -IC SALES part, had to wait

12. Counterproductive "Get Smart" apparatus : CONE OF SILENCE - Here's the unit functioning, as it would, in a comedy

16. White and black pawns, e.g. : OCTETS - ah, over-thinking this one; two sets of eight

17. "The Da Vinci Code" monk : SILAS - Paul Bettany, I like him as an actor, seen here

18. Filet mignon sources : LOINS - ooh~! a WAG I didn't realize was a good one ~!

19. Zoo feature : MOAT - oh, I would have preferred a Castle clue for this one - love castles

23. Some peculiarities : TICS

24. [More on next pg.] : CONT.'d

25. Tierney of "E.R." : MAURA - also Kelly on Rescue Me, right Ferm ???

26. Mother of divine twins, in Greek myth : LETO - the Wiki on this woman

27. Twin who adopted the surname Bunker : ENG - Chang and Eng, the conjoined twins - and one died before the other - creepy

28. Student employees, usually : PART-TIMERS - like me, but not right now - full time at UPS - all your Christmas presents pass thru my hands....

30. Ruby or tawny drinks : PORT WINES

31. Where some washers are kept : TOOL CHESTS - did not know which washer we wanted - the machine, of that part within; in this case, it's the part

32.DOWN - With 33-Across, common tourist transport : OPEN-TOP

33. See 32-Down : BUS - Image

36. Dogpatch creator : CAPP

37. Conical brewing equipment : OASTS - a crossword staple, and I did not know it was conical in shape

38. Tendency : WONT - As in "Splynter was wont to stretch before hockey games"

39. Fivers : ABES - yeeacht ~!! I have seen FINS, but ABES ?? I get it, but....

40. Retired boomers : SSTs - Super-Sonic Transports; the Concorde

41. One who's been rubbed out? : GENIE - oh, yes, fools me every time

42. Nebraska tribe : PONCA

44. French enforcement unit : SURETE - I haven't had me some French in a while

50. Classic 1913 novel called "the tragedy of thousands of young men in England" by its author : SONS AND LOVERS - the author, D.H. Lawrence, and not in my wheelhouse

51. 1983 best-seller with a misspelled title word : PET SEMATARY - the author, Stephen King, and his stuff IS in my wheelhouse - although this one creeped me out a little too much; I did have a '74 Cutlass that had the adopted name of Christine - today, my car's name is Erin - and the van is Bert. What's the name of your car ?

DOWN:

1. Looking grumpy : POUTING

2. Straightened : UNBENT

3. Shots taken quickly : BELTS

4. '50s Dodger pitcher Billy : LOES - and to you, my baseball fan host.... (C.C.: Might have this card. Don't recall the name though.)

5. Hypotheticals : IFs

6. CBS ratings giant : CSI - Crime Scene Investigation, which I do like

7. Rocker Vicious : SID - of the Sex Pistols, not the Syd of Pink Floyd fame

8. One might be blonde : ALE - I gave up on the ALE, but not yet on the blondes...

9. Watch readouts, briefly : LEDs - I think L C D when I think of watches

10. Qualifies : ENTITLES

11. More reptilian, in a way : SCALIER

12. Silkworm's protection : COCOON

13. Solar year/lunar year differentials : EPACTS - great learning moment for me - the difference between the two, which I knew, but not this term, for determining Easter - and it gets complicated

14. Sweetly, in some suites : DOLCE

15. Brand with a tiger mascot, once : ESSO

19. __ Vineyard : MARTHA'S - Map Image

20. Where many homesteaders headed : OUT WEST

21. Museum VIPs : ARTISTS

22. Besmirches : TAINTS - there's another definition for this word ???

25. Aquino's predecessor : MARCOS - The Philippines leader, here

28. Race competitor : POLitician

29. Marzo, por ejemplo : MES - uh, I believe this is Spanish, March, the month

30. Billboard magazine's milieu : POP SCENE - I had HIT SONGS, POP SONGS, POP STYLE to start

31. Things to avoid : TABOOS

33. Drought-stricken : BONE-DRY - are bones really dry~? The ones I can feel are wet

34. Baltimore NFLer called "The Golden Arm" : UNITAS - Johnny, and more Wiki for those who wont want more

35. Mill output : STEEL - ah, which mill? The Flour, the Fabric, the Gin....

36. Abridgment on the bridge? : CAP'N - over-thinking again - looking for a sign on a road bridge that said Caution, or SLO, or something like that - nope, just your slang Captain

38. German director Herzog : WERNER

41. Tropical fruit : GUAVA - not Mango

43. Part of PDA: Abbr. : ASST - Personal Data Assistant, mostly your Smart Phone these days - I desperately want to replace my I - P - O - S

44. Macbeth, for one : SCOT

46. Treaty gp. that admitted Belize in 1991 : OAS

47. Denver-to-Bismarck dir. : NNE

48. Fleet VIP : ADMiral

49. Radical org. in 1974 headlines : SLA - I can never remember which one this is; the SAS, the SDS, the SDA, nope the Symbionese Liberation Army

Answer grid.

One week down, three to go - work weeks to Christmas, that is....

PHEW ~!

Splynter

Friday, December 2, 2011, Michael Yanagisawa

Theme: SHHH! Get the "H" out of my pun! This is not a letter removal puzzle, but a classic sound alike punfest, where a word, name or phrase which starts with the "SH" sound is replaced with a word place or phrase with the just the "S" sound. 65 letters in themeage and lots of two word fill, and what seems to be the first publication of Mr. Yanagisawa brings flashes of Dan Naddor to mind. Once you see his game this flowed pretty well with an emphasis on humor and not obscurity. Let's see how it all worked.

18A. Restraints to prevent the eating of forbidden fruit?: SIN SPLINTS. Those annoying pains in the front of your leg are SHIN SPLINTS, but it took the next answer for me to see the H disappear. SIN I got; the splint and forbidden fruit, still does not resonate.

23A. Crooned while tipsy?: SANG HIGH. This gave me the theme as I heard SHANGHAI in my brain. Maybe that damn lisp is coming back; hmm. Foreshadowing?

29A. Resistant to punches : SOCK PROOF. A real Joe Palooka; who probably wore an Timex watch which was SHOCK PROOF.

36A. Scary place to pray?: SURLY TEMPLE. Well if you ever prayed with a bunch of old Jewish men, early in the day...Better to remember SHIRLEY TEMPLE.

44A. Actor Holbrook under the weather?: SALLOW HAL. Hal is a wonderful actor who is most famous for his performances as Mark Twain, but also was a television regular. This clue came form the movie SHALLOW HAL (2:00), Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow and her panties. I was just speaking of this film and Tony Robbins at work today.

53A. Underwater menace? : SEA DEVIL. Not to be confused with this SHE DEVIL (2:58).

60A. Rooster that doesn't wake you up?: SUBTLE COCK. Oh Carol, Lois and Jeannie, where are you all when I need you? This is the new version of the old badminton favorite the SHUTTLE COCK. I cannot think of a single safe thing to say about this, except help Buckeye! so on to the rest....

Across:

1. Family nickname: MAMA. This was very hard because we never called our mother anything like that, instead she was Tick Tock Tarquinne, or other sensible names.

5. Turkeys: BOMBS. Ishtar? Pluto Nash? Your favorites?

10. Together, in scores: A DUE. From two in Italian.

14. Say and mean : AVER. My father always said, Say what you mean, and mean what you say.

15. "Star Wars" name: ARTOO.

16. Locks that are hard to manage: MOPS. Remember when the Beatles were the MOP TOPS?

17. Shed tool: RAKE. Where you store your implements, though oddly RAKES are often proud of their tools.

20. "Who am __ judge?": I TO. This is where I think I began to understand the mind of our new constructor; not only does he do puns and heavy themeage, but he hides puns. I think it is no coincidence this fill also spells ITO, as in Judge LANCE.

21. ID theft target: SSN. Social Security Number.

22. Eastern faith: SHINTO. The soul of the Japanese, but it seemed odd near the SIN/SHIN and the visit to China.

26. Sleep: Pref.: SOMNI. From the Latin SOMNUS, sleep, from which we get somnambulism (I walked right into that one) and INSOMNIA, not sleeping, like me right now.

28. Present in court: ARGUE. Each side has an opportunity to present their argument.

32. Officiate: REF. EREE.

34. Word often ignored in alphabetizing: THE. Like movie titles.

35. Golfs, e.g.: VWS. The cars.

40. Thickness: PLY. Not again, think toilet paper and tires.

42. Wide size: EEE. EEK!

43. Big-league: PRO. Fessional.

48. Island mentioned in the Beach Boys' "Kokomo": ARUBA. The first word in the SONG (3:34). What woman will go there with a boyfriend now?

52. At __: in one go : A CLIP. Hmm, a two word partial.

55. Doha resident: QATARI. I knew the country, but if it is pronounced "CUTTER" according to golf announcers, how is this word said?

58. Patience-virtue link: IS A. You think?

59. Regulus's constellation : LEO. If you like astronomy this bright star also known as Alpha Leonis is observable.

62. End of school?: MARM. She's back, from the old west.

63. Rhode Island senator for whom an education grant is named: PELL. His name was CLAIBORNE de Borda Pell, and was the senator from Rhode Island while I was growing up on de border in Connecticut. Though he came from a long line of rich politicians, and married the heiress to the A&P fortune, he really championed the poor. Maybe he was mad they named him Claiborne.

64. Struggling with: BAD AT. I hope you are not struggling with this Friday offering.

65. Community service org : YMCA. Young Men's Christian Association. You want to SING(3:22)?

66. Escaped: FREE.

67. "Then ...": AND SO. Like our dear departed Dan, Michael likes his partials.

68. One good at takeoffs: APER. Not to be confused with a MONKEYER. Well speaking of take offs, Dennis needs those clothes gone for his examinations, and I need to get to the next set.

Down:

1. Model/actress Berenson: MARISA. A model actress with an impressive bloodline, who was quite good in Cabaret. Her sister Berry was married to Tony Perkins until his death. Berry died in the WTC 9/11.

2. Online image: AVATAR. I like changing mine so I can show all my boys.

3. Vietnam's __ Delta: MEKONG. Not many happy memories for Americans.

4. Exist: ARE. Not art anymore.

5. Met villains, perhaps: BASSI. Do opera villains all have deep voices?

6. Round gaskets: O RINGS.

7. McKinley, e.g.: Abbr.: MTN. Named for one of our assassinated presidents.

8. Leader: BOSS. LINK. 'Nuff said.

9. Junior-to-be: SOPH. Where is the abbreviation hint?

10. Key related to C : A MINOR. JzB, expliquez, s'il vous plait.

11. Cop's order: DON'T MOVE. Or I will shoot.

12. Thus far: UP TO NOW. You all keeping up?

13. Twisting shape: ESS. Look at the ESS on that girl!

19. Struggle with sassafras?: LISP. My favorite LISP(0:03). Ah, here is the reference.

21. Absolute: SHEER. Nonsense.

24. Sage: GURU.

25. Restaurant pots: HOT TEAS. Rhymes with HOTTIES and HOT TEASE, hmmm.

27. They might happen: IFS. It could happen to you.

30. "The Motorcycle Diaries" subject: CHE. The road trip of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, which opened his eyes. Anyone read the book or seen the movie?

31. McCain : Palin:: Dole : __: KEMP. Jack, ex-Buffalo Bill quarterback.

33. Went up: FLEW. My take, great MOVIE(1:10).

36. One of seven in this clue: SYLLABLE.Very tricky, a new variation on the noun clue.

37. Casual "Sure : YEH. I always thought it was YEAH.

38. Italian luxury label: PRADA.. Do wear this LABEL(2:04)?

39. Legendary accounts: LORE. From days of yore.

40. Free TV ad: PSA. Public Service Announcement.

41. Strong finish? : LACQUER. I was lucky I had the Q, because I was looking for a long suffix. In GB it is nail varnish or lacquer, not polish.

45. Younger, as a sister: LITTLE. Even when she grows to be the tallest, right ladies?

46. Play-of-color gem: OPAL. how perfect to have a play of color stone in a play of words puzzle.

47. Camera store choices: LEICAS. Along with Nikon a very well respected camera, now made by three different companies, 2 German and one Swiss.

49. Tanning booth item, briefly: UV LAMP. Ultra Violet. Not used by 60D. Basker's abbr: SPF. For those of us who bask in the sun, not in Sherlock Holmes novels, we have Sun Protection Factor.

50. "The Devil's Dictionary" author: BIERCE. Ambrose Bierce was one of the true original wits in America, and can see him as well admired by our constructor. Read the book. Bierce disappeared while riding to observe Panch Villa in Mexico at age 71. he got in serious trouble for writing a satiric poem about assassination before McKinley was shot.

51. 12-time All-Star Roberto: ALOMAR. Son of a major leaguer, brother of a major leaguer (both named Sandy) many believe this recent Hall of Fame inductee is the best second basemen of all time. Not me, I still go for my golden oldie Nellie Fox.

54. Invite as one's date for: ASK TO. The first girl to ask me to a prom was named Temple Houston, not Shirley Temple, I wonder who ended up worshiping there.

56. Self-titled 2000s sitcom: REBA. Do you all like redheads?

57. Self-assured statement: I CAN. Am I the only one who thought of the little train?

61. A little off: ODD. Are you talking about me?

62. One-named R&B singer: MYA. I was not familiar with this ARTIST (3:04) but she certainly sounds and looks interesting. My thought was however, that our new constructor was using her as his sign off, as his initials are M YA, and based on his love of puns and misdirection, I think he has hiding himself here.

Answer grid.

In any event welcome Michael; keep up the positive attitude Creature and Ron and CA and the rest of us all, and to all a good night.

Lemonade

Thursday, December 1, 2011 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: MEET THE PRESS ( 21D. Interview show since 1947 ... and what this puzzle's starred answers do in two ways). The FOURTH ESTATE (4D. 21-Down group) refers to the news media and acts as PRESS in the grid, with starred answers coming either before or after it.

20A. *Public distribution : RELEASE. Press Release. When companies want to make news but don't have any, they issue a press release...

22A. *2011 NBA finals runner-up : HEAT. Heat press. A heat press is a machine that is used to transfer designs onto T-shirts. But the Miami HEAT were also in a press (tough race) for the finals.

31A. *Loose : FREE. Free press.I can write whatever I want on this blog - it's a free press, after all!

43A. *Bond, for one : AGENT. Press agent. Ones who issue lots of 20As. James Bond might have issued a couple promoting his latest movie.

52A. *Champagne, e.g. : WINE. Wine press. To extract every bit of flavorful goodness from the grape.

Marti here on the first day of December, so "Rabbit, Rabbit!" I am traveling in Germany right now, so wiki does really weird thing to my computer. Until I figure it out, I beg your forgiveness for not providing links in this write-up.

Across:

1. Up in the air : ALOFT

6. Runner's woe : CRAMP

11. "Very funny" TV station :TBS. Turner Broadcasting System.

14. Instrument for the musically challenged : KAZOO. Hey, some guys can really play those things!

15. Panting, perhaps : EAGER. Or, just plain hot.

16. Art, now : ARE. Thou art too cute with this clue!

17. 1-Down follower : ASSUMED NAME And 1D. Letters before a 17-Across : AKA. "Also known as".

19. Ad __ : HOC. Like some committees, formed for a specific purpose. Latin for "for this".

21. Subject to debate : MOOT. Like the value of ad hoc committees?

25. Mao follower? : ISM. Maoism.

26. Garden purchases : SEEDS

27. A pop : EACH. I remember when hot dogs were ten cents a pop...

28. "Golly!" : OH GEE

32. Routes for two-wheelers : BIKE PATHS

36. 1962 NASA launch : TELSTAR

38. Hairstyle with an appendage of sorts : RATTAIL. A hybrid of the "mullet" hairstyle, with a long strand at the back of the head. I cannot find images.

40. Modern information sources :DATABASES

42. "Java" jazzman : HIRT. Al. I'll leave the link to Jazzbumpa.

44. Scratched (out) : EKED

45. Hightails it : SCATS. But Ella Fitzgerald is the queen of scat!

48. Stephen of "Citizen X" : REA. Did not know him. Irish actor.

51. Causes of grins and groans : PUNS

53. Wall-mounted safety device :GRAB-BAR

56. Baby carrier : EGG

57. Prevailing tendencies : MAINSTREAMS

61. 72, at Augusta National : PAR. Golf.

62. Door support : HINGE

63. Time piece? : ISSUE. Time magazine.

64. Take a shot : TRY

65. Of yore : OLDEN. Happy golden days...

66. Stage device : ASIDE

Down

2. __ Cruces : LAS

3. Wt. units : OZS. Ounces. Abbr. in clue. So class, what does that mean?

5. Heavy reading? : TOME

6. Yields : CEDES

7. Went ape : RAN AMOK

8. Turkish titles : AGAs. Are they a gas?

9. Unit of cultural information : MEME. Ooh, ooh, Me! Me! No, that's not right. "meme" is from "mimeme", ancient Greek for "something imitated".

10. Fix opening : PRE. Prefix.

11. Chevy SUV : TAHOE

12. Group of chicks : BROOD

13. Doctrinal offshoots : SECTS. Not to be confused with sex, although I'm sure they must have some.

18. "The Book of __": 2010film : ELI. Has anyone seen it?

22. Test by lifting : HEFT

23. Dog-__ page : EARED. C.C. doesn't like it when people do this to her books, and neither do I - especially since mine are on and I pad, and when they get dog eared, I'm in big trouble!

24. Speedy Amtrak train : ACELA

26. Relief for a commuter : SEAT. Great visual.

29. "Take it!" : HERE

30. 3.0 and 4.0: Abbr. : GPAs. Grade Point Averages

32. Pig movie : BABE

33. Founding member of OPEC : IRAN

34. 17-syllable work : HAIKU. Ok, who can give us examples of their own original haiku?

35. Emergency indicator : SIREN.

37. Puts out, in a way : TAGS. Oh, like with a baseball at the plate. I was thinking more like "knocks unconscious with the bat"!

39. Old Fords : LTDS

41. Adjective for Ripley : STRANGE. Believe it or not...

45. Won all the games : SWEPT.

46. Gag that might explode : CIGAR. Another fun clue.

47. Explosive : ANGRY

49. Clampett player : EBSEN. Jed Clampett made his money in oil, so they say.

50. NYC dance troupe : ABT. American Ballet Theater.

53. Author Godwin : GAIL.

54. Fruit cover : RIND

55. Met excerpt : ARIA

57. Old reciprocal electrical unit : MHO. Reciprocal of an ohm.

58. "__ always say ..." : AS I

59. Pie material? : MUD. Mmmm...mud pie is really delicious1

60. Reference word : SEE. See??? I told you so!!

Answer grid.

Hugs,

Marti

Constructors' note:

When I first proposed this idea to Don, it's simply a mundane theme with a few phrases starting/ending with words that can precede/follow PRESS and use "MEET THE PRESS" as a unifier. Don thought that we should try to take a familiar theme idea and do something more creative with it. Don came up with FOURTH ESTATE as a partner for MEET THE PRESS, and suggested that we put words that can precede PRESS on the left & words that can follow on the right. We had fun with this grid.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 David Poole

Theme: MONKEY BUSINESS. Since it's actually a double theme, I'll also go with APE IN THE MIDDLE. Second things first: The four longest answers each contain the hidden word APE, split between the first and last names of a real or fictional woman, consistently parsed as -A PE-.

18 A. Early Mary Tyler Moore role : LAURA PETRIE. Fictional Woman - Mrs. Rob PETRIE was a real dish on a favorite TV show from the distant past.

54 A. She played Carla Tortelli on "Cheers" : RHEA PERLMAN. Real Woman. You'd have to be, to be married to Danny Divito.

3 D. She played Nicole Chapman on "Fame" : NIA PEEPLES. Real Woman, who I've never heard of. Cute.

28 D. 1996 Madonna role : EVITA PERON. Real woman, fictionalized. Wow. Has it been 15 years?!?

Plus the extended unifier:

4 A. With 36- and 62-Across, kids' ball game, and something this puzzle's four longest answers have in common : MONKEY

36 A. See 4-Across : IN THE

62 A. See 4-Across : MIDDLE. In my neighborhood, we had a failure of imagination, and just called this often cruel game "keep-away."

Hi gang, it's Jazzbumpa, reporting from somewhere in APE country. Now, this dual theme is tight, cute, clever, and original. High marks for every bit of that. The only problem is that it's dead wrong! And thereby hangs a tail, so to speak. With that hint, I'll reveal why at the end, (which is sort of another hint, come to think of it.)

Let's see what other kinds of MONKEY BUSINESS we can uncover in APE country. Onward!

Across:

1. Trespass : SIN. I've heard these words used interchangeably in different versions of The Lord's Prayer.

10. Collar or jacket : ETON. The collar extends over the lapels of a jacket. Would these be worn together in an ensemble?

14. TNT element? : TRI. If all else fails, TRI-nitrotoluene. Here, breaking the word, rather than a molecule, into elements. Chemists love these run-on words.

15. Ring of color : AREOLA. An old favorite here at the corner.

16. Powerful TV princess : XENA. TV series from 1995 to 2001.

17. One of the Gershwins : IRA. George wrote the music, IRA wrote the lyrics.

20. Puts in a fresh pot : REPLANTS. RE-ANTES is a letter short.

22. Habeas corpus et al. : WRITS. Formal written orders from a judge or body with legal jurisdiction. Other examples are warrants and subpoenas.

23. Name of three presidents : GEORGE. Is it ironic that the first President George (Washington) led the fight for independence against King George III?

24. Noodle product? : IDEA. How long did you have to noodle this clue?

26. Glacial ridge : ESKER. I can never remember this word. Sounds Nordic.

27. Horticulturist's hangout : NURSERY. Full of potted plants. Or pot plants.

31. Happy co-worker? : DOPEY. Hi-Ho, I got this one right off. Disney Dwarfs.

33. Some TV screens : LCDS. Liquid Crystal Displays. Are TV and LCD still considered to be abrvs?

34. Go for, as a prize : VIE. Somehow, though, "VIE for it," never quite made it into the vernacular.

35. Hogwarts messengers : OWLS. From Harry Potter. In A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, they use ravens.

38. Tower city : PISA. Famous Italian landmark.

39. Bolo, for one : TIE. Neck wear - a western style string tie.

40. Nudge : PROD. I've heard of a gentle nudge. Gentle PROD seems a bit oxymoronic.

41. "I'm outta here!" : LATER. Alternative good-byes. Nope, can't say that just yet. Gotta do all those downs.

42. Meeting of Congress : SESSION. "Obstruction" has too many letters.

44. "Les Girls" actress Elg : TAINA. A Finnish actress. Here, you can see her, from teenager to octogenarian.

46. Latin word on a cornerstone : ANNO. A year in old Rome.

47. Getaway : ESCAPE. Either word can mean "get out of a bad situation," or "take a small vacation."

49. Ionian Sea island : CORFU. Dramatic.

52. Place for a bargain? : BASEMENT. That's a bit of retro language from department store days. Now it's all big box stores.

57. Genetic carrier : RNA. It goes DNA --> RNA --> protein.

58. Arena level : TIER

59. 2009 Ruben Studdard album : LOVE IS. Here he is, in some pretty good company.

60. Held by us : OUR. Plural possessive personal pronoun.

61. Numbers for one : SOLI. The plural of solo. This is also used to designate an orchestra section playing in unison or close parallel harmony.

63. Little thing to pick : NIT. There sure are a lot of female names in this puzzle.

Down:

1. Recipe direction : STIR. Drink recipe direction: Shake, don't stir.

2. Discount rack abbr. : IRREG. Irregular, i.e. containing some small flaw, like a Navajo Rug.

4. Trivia game that involves bluffing : MALARKY. Never heard of it.

5. Autumn color : ORANGE. Yellow also fit, in more ways than one.

6. Neither masculine nor feminine : NEUTER. I wanted DISENGENDERED.

7. Fashion designer Michael : KORS. Looks smug.

8. She, in São Paulo : ELA. Singular female pronoun.

9. Jabber : YAP. Lip flapping.

10. Cast-of-thousands actors : EXTRAS. Don't look for them in the credits.

11. Actress Hatcher : TERI. This Lois Lane portrayer was born on my 18th birthday.

12. "Don't count __!" : ON IT. An expression of skepticism or denial.

13. Rob Roy refusals : NAES Scottish expressions of skepticism or denial.

19. Washstand vessels : EWERS. Water pitchers.

21. Gets the consolation prize : LOSES. The winner gets the real prize.

24. Creep : INCH. Here, both "Creep" and "INCH" are verbs.

25. Snappy dresser : DUDE.

29. Increase : RISE.

30. Wine bottle datum : YEAR. Or ANNUM, if it's really old wine

31. Colon's pair : DOTS. Better than polyps, I suppose. No, wait, this is punctuation: ":".

32. Abrasion, to a tot : OWIE. I hurted myself.

33. Inc. abroad : LTD. Limited. In either case the owners have limited legal liability.

36. Golfer's selection : IRON. Some would choose a wood.

37. Thing to avoid : NO-NO. Or you might get an OWIE.

38. 2011 TV show with multiple pilots : PAN AM. Never saw it.

40. Calendar girl : PIN UP. This seems to be a common PIN UP pose.

41. Traffic cop's request : LICENSE. Along with vehicle registration and proof of insurance. Or so I've been told . . .

43. Jungle journey : SAFARI. A trek through APE country, maybe.

44. Working (with) : TEAMED. Snow White teamed with Happy and Dopey.

45. Lash out at : ASSAIL. The witch ASSAILED Snow White.

48. World-weariness : ENNUI. Boredom. Pronounced "ahn-wee." Must be French

49. PC monitors : CRTS. Cathode Ray Tubes. No so much, any more.

50. River formed at Pittsburgh : OHIO. The Allegheny and Monongahela rivers combine to form the beautiful OHIO.

51. Lively dance : REEL. It's a real lively dance.

52. L.A.'s Sunset, e.g. : BLVD. Strip doesn't fit, and an abrv. is called for.

53. Bakery offering : TART. Have any of you guys ever picked up a TART at a bakery?

55. Stately tree : ELM. Not so much, any more.

56. Louis XIV, par exemple : ROI. A French King, in French.

Answer grid.

If my hints didn't totally give it away, here's the scoop. An APE would be insulted if you called it a MONKEY. "W­ithin the suborder of anthropoids, primates are grouped into monkeys, apes and hominids. The easiest way to distinguish monkeys from the other anthropoids is to look for a tail. Most monkey species have tails, but no apes or hominids do." There are also many other differences.

This is a pretty big mistake, but I wouldn't go APE over it. I'm outta here.

Cheers!

JzB

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 Kelly Clark

Theme: Fun for the Whole Family - A few words and phrases that start with a bowling term and the unusual placement of the unifier at 1-Across

1A . Postseason gridiron game, and a hint to the puzzle theme found in starred answers : BOWL

17A. *Sign of a typing mistake : STRIKEOVER

25A. *Indigent's request : "SPARE CHANGE?"

38A. *Wizard's game in the rock opera "Tommy" : PINBALL. Both parts of this entry would work.

53A. *Street urchin : GUTTERSNIPE

62A. *Chain for plus-size women's fashion : LANE BRYANT

Argyle here but it should be Boomer; it's right up his alley. Also, an unusual grid with triple eights and sixes down the sides. I didn't find a few entries until my write-up but still it was harder then Monday's puzzle, IMO.

Across:

5. Baseball card brand : TOPPS

10. Young men : LADS

14. Tiny battery : AAAA

15. Well-honed : SHARP

16. Vicinity : AREA

19. Dogpatch possessive : HIS'N

20. Country singer Gibbs : TERRI. Somebody's Knocking".(2:42)

21. Ostrich cousins : EMUs

23. Quick swim : DIP. but 31A. Not a good area for nonswimmers : DEEP END

24. Before, before : ERE

29. Nine-digit ID : SSN

30. Ready : SET

32. Rehab woes, briefly : DTs

34. Also-ran : LOSER

35. Little demon : IMP

41. B'way sellout sign : SRO

42. Shearer of "The Red Shoes" : MOIRA. The Red Shoes (1948) is a British feature film about a ballet dancer. Image.

44. ID checker's concern : AGE

45. An original Mouseketeer : ANNETTE

48. Séance sound : RAP

50. Make a choice : OPT

55. "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper __ : LEE

56. AOL chats : IMs. Instant Messaging (IM).

57. California wine valley : NAPA

58. Church chorus : AMENS

60. Playwright Simon : NEIL. Barefoot in the Park (1963), Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), The Goodbye Girl (1993).

65. Automaker Ferrari : ENZO

66. "What's in __?": Juliet : A NAME

67. Orchard grower : TREE

68. Fret : STEW

69. Pert : SASSY

70. Murderous Stevenson character : HYDE. Psst, it's really Dr. Jekyll.

Down:

1. Moistens in the pan : BASTES

2. Many John Wayne movies : OATERS. Westerns.

3. President Harding : WARREN. Here's your shout out, Warren.

4. Lion's den : LAIR

5. Taoist Lao-__ : TSE

6. "Well, lookee here!" : "O HO!"

7. Road repair worker : PAVER

8. Future doc's undergrad concentration : PREMED

9. Smarten (up) : SPRUCE

10. "Well, __-di-dah!" : LAH

11. Desert feature : ARIDNESS

12. Fashion world VIP : DESIGNER

13. Los Angeles bay named for an apostle : SAN PEDRO

18. Smooch : KISS

22. Turtle's protection : SHELL

26. Salon service often paired with a mani : PEDI. Cure for bad nails.

27. Memo-routing abbr. : ATTN.

28. GI's address : APO. Army Post Office or Air Force Post Office, while Navy and Marine Corps use FPO (Fleet Post Office).

33. Entrepreneur-aiding org. : SBA. Small Business Administration.

35. Makes believe : IMAGINEs

36. Memorial structure : MONUMENT

37. Peewee : PINT-SIZE

38. Eucharistic plate : PATEN. Usually of gold or silver, it is used to hold the host during the celebration of the Eucharist. I haven't seen it in a puzzle lately but has been common in the past.

39. Farming prefix : AGRI

40. "Look before you __" : LEAP

43. On a pension: Abbr. : RET.

46. Sung syllables : TRA LAs

47. Francia neighbor : ESPANA

49. Bartlett or Bosc : PEAR

50. Chicago Fire Mrs. : O'LEARY. Her cow is alleged to have started the fire but I think it was a scapegoat

51. In a sty, say : PENNED

52. Exam taker : TESTEE. Go ahead; take a shot.

54. Family matriarchs : NANAs. Just ask grandma if you don't believe it.

59. Fable : MYTH

61. Sad : LOW

63. 911 response initials : EMS. Emergency Medical Services.

64. Ottoman governor : BEY. The last of the Thursday words on Tuesday.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, November 28, 2011 Jeff Chen

Theme: Mr. T on A-Team - Two long themes(14), two short(9) and one(7) in the middle. The "B.A." on the A-Team stood for...Bosco A. Baracus but pity the fool who called him Bosco.

20A. Ted Williams had a .344 lifetime one : BATTING AVERAGE

28A. Site of many a shady transaction : BACK ALLEY

39A. Boo-boo protector : BAND-AID

48A. Bullet-proof vest, e.g. : BODY ARMOR

55A. Common college degree, whose abbreviation is a hint to 20-, 28-, 39- and 48-Across : BACHELOR OF ARTS

Argyle here today. It must have been tough to create such an easy solve. Bravo, Jeff.

Across:

1. Baby bovine : CALF

5. At the drop of __ : A HAT

9. Ice cream brand that's "Grand" : EDY'S. Their Cookies 'N Cream do not mention OREO's by name.

13. Ice cream-and-cookies brand : OREO. Oreo Ice Cream is licensed by Breyers, Good Humor, and Klondike in the US, and Nestlé in Canada.

14. "The Thinker" sculptor : RODIN. Thinking about cookies.

16. Fat unit : GRAM

17. Tailless cat : MANX

18. Steak option : T-BONE. cooked 59D. Steak order : RARE

19. Hereditary code carrier : GENE

23. Stat start : RHEO. RHEOstat, adjustable resistor used in applications that require the adjustment of current or the varying of resistance in an electric circuit.

24. Fishing pole : ROD

25. Agreeable to doing : UP FOR

34. More or less : SORT OF

36. Cacophony : DIN

37. __ Linda, California : LOMA. Take the Santa Monica freeway to the San Berdoo Freeway east; can't miss it.

38. Chef's recipe words : À LA

42. "Bad Moon Rising" pop gp. : CCR

43. Go ape : FLIP

45. Go bad : ROT

46. Attached to the bulletin board : TACKED

51. Pries (into) : NOSES

52. P&L column : YTD. Year to date.

53. Visibility impairer : HAZE. Watch out for it on the freeways.

62. Japanese golfer Aoki : ISAO

63. With 67-Across, innovative or experimental artists' group : AVANT. 67. See 63-Across : GARDE

64. Birthday serving : CAKE

66. Envelope abbr. : ATTN.

68. Way out : EXIT

69. Give guff to : SASS

70. Shakespearean king : LEAR

71. Chip enhancers : DIPS

Down:

1. Dot-__ : COM

2. Man from Oman, often : ARAB

3. Actress Olin : LENA. As she appeared in The Reader.

4. Dance that precedes "golf" in the NATO phonetic alphabet : FOXTROT

5. Wheelchair guy on "Glee" : ARTIE. This guy.

6. Schmooze, as with the A-list : HOBNOB

7. Work like __ : A DOG

8. Fey of "30 Rock" : TINA

9. Asian menu appetizer : EGG ROLL

10. Rasta's hairdo : DREADLOCKS

11. Yin's counterpart : YANG

12. Hook's sidekick : SMEE

15. St. for gamblers : NEV.ada

21. Go pitapat : THROB

22. Disco __ : ERA

25. Vandenberg or Edwards: Abbr. : USAFB. Air Force bases.

26. Chico's chicken : POLLO. and

27. Chickens, to kids : FRAIDY CATS

29. Build up, as a collection : ADD TO

30. Hush-hush fed. org. : CIA

31. Make booties, e.g. : KNIT

32. Game show host : EMCEE

33. 36-inch units : YARDS

35. Jamie of "M*A*S*H" : FARR. Cpl. Klinger, took Radar's place as company clerk.

40. __ de plume : NOM. French for pen name.

41. Tony of 60-Down : DANZA. 60. Sitcom set in a garage : "TAXI". Reminded me of this garage.

44. Constricting snakes : PYTHONS

47. Compelled via force : COERCED

49. Suffix with lemon : ADE

50. "Help Me, __": Beach Boys hit : RHONDA

54. "... happily ever __" : AFTER

55. Skewed view : BIAS

56. "The Thin Man" canine : ASTA

57. Fall behind : LAG

58. Roundish shape : OVAL

61. Not attend : SKIP

65. "Men in Black" baddies, briefly : ETs. Not at all like the one in the the movie, "E.T.".

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday Nov 27, 2011 Ed Sessa

Theme: Without Aspirations - The aspired initial H is dropped from each common phrase, resulting in spelling changes in each case. Sound remains the same.

23A. Wink? : GIVE THE EYE SIGN. Give the high sign.

27A. Garden with soothing plants? : ALOED GROUND. Hallowed ground. Aloed is a word?

43A. Components of a last call? : ALE AND FAREWELL. Hail and Farewell. Not familiar with this base phrase.

62A. What you'll see in a cornfield? : EAR THERE AND EVERYWHERE. Here, there and everywhere.

80A. Sniggler's skill? : THE EELING TOUCH. The healing touch.

97A. Meditation training method? : OM SCHOOLING. Home schooling.

106A. How Popeye treats Olive? : ACCORDING TO OYL. According to Hoyle.

Great concept. Very consistent theme entry conversion. More fun than simply drop a H ("Hole in one" to "Ole in one"), as the gimmick becomes apparent quickly in the latter.

I mentioned this before. There is always an unpredictability element in Ed's theme. He always surprises & delights.

Across:

1. Suncatchers : PRISMS. Consonants heavy.

7. Lobster __ diavolo : FRA. Fra Diavolo = "Brother Devil" in Italian. I've never used the sauce before.

10. Zoo employee : VET

13. Sugar bowl location : TEA SET. Not football bowl game.

19. Assertive retort : CAN TOO

20. Run amok : RAMPAGE

22. "Honey, __": Shania Twain hit : I'M HOME. Here is a clip. Guessable answer.

25. Cube automaker : NISSAN

26. In toto : AS A WHOLE

29. Rx's : MEDs. 39D. Scrip writers : MDs

30. Slasher film setting: Abbr. : ELM ST. "A Nightmare on Elm Street".

33. Sturgeon yield : ROE

34. It.'s there : EUR. "It."= Italy.

35. Dutch city near Arnhem : EDE. 3-letter Dutch city is always EDE. No idea on what it's famous for.

36. Put a second layer on : RE-COAT

38. Ugandan despot : AMIN

40. "The Wrestler" actress : TOMEI (Marisa)

42. Place to dream : BED. What's your recurring dream? Mine often are about exams.

46. Almost boiling, as milk : SCALDED

49. Got up : AROSE

50. Rocker Rose : AXL

51. Showy bloomers : DAHLIAS. Named after Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. Lovely color.

52. Charitable offering : ALMS

53. Tantrum : FIT. OK, throw a fit/tantrum.

54. Decorates with Charmin, briefly : TPs

57. Inventor Howe : ELIAS. Sewing machine.

58. Papal court : CURIA. New word to me.

60. Good, in Grenoble : BON. "Bon appétit!".

61. Stimulate : WHET

67. California's __ Valley : NAPA

68. Child's plaything : TOY

69. More than annoyed : IRATE

70. Greek fabulist : AESOP

71. Pulitzer poet Lowell : AMY. Clear Ayes linked quite a few of her poems in the past.

72. Raucous bird call : CAW

73. Kilted kinfolk : CLAN. Scottish English is gibberish to me.

74. Conceals : SCREENS. Unaware of this "screen" meaning.

76. Eagles, on scoreboards : PHI

77. Milky white gems : OPALS

79. Sonnet parts : STANZAS

85. "Defence of Fort McHenry" poet : KEY. The poem later became the lyrics of our national anthem.

86. Pricey timepiece : ROLEX

87. Tweed nemesis : NAST (Thomas)

88. Teed off : ROILED

90. Corp. big shots : VPs

93. 401(k) relative : IRA

94. Slo-mo replay subjects : TDs

95. Like 20 Questions questions : YES NO

96. Shekels : GELT. Money.

102. Confused state : DISARRAY

105. Mollycoddle : DOTE ON. I like the word "mollycoddle".

109. Maroon : ENISLE. This is real word.

110. Soon to be at : NEARING

111. Local academic community resenter, perhaps : TOWNIE

112. Part of a circle : SECTOR

113. Musical syllable : TRA

114. Blast : GAS

115. Paintball sounds : SPLATS

Down:

1. SimCity, for one : PC GAME. Never played it. How about you, Desper-otto & Grumpy?

2. Cultivated : RAISED

3. Overrun : INVADE

4. Cioppino and gumbo : STEWS. Cioppino is fish stew. Never had it. I never had/watched many things mentioned in crossword.

5. Light lover : MOTH

6. Arty NYC locale : SOHO

7. Grub : FREELOAD

8. Florida baseballer : RAY. Tampa Bay Rays.

9. Soul, to Zola : AME. Learned from doing Xword.

10. Colorado resort : VAIL. Ski resort for Marti.

11. French Toaster Sticks maker : EGGO

12. Largest of the Canaries : TENERIFE. Looks like a beautiful place to bring a date, Splynter.

13. Hint : TINGE

14. Muslim dignitary : EMIR

15. "Is that a fact" : AH SO

16. "Tough noogies!" : SO SUE ME

17. Chicago mayor Rahm __ : EMANUEL. This guy is tough.

18. Coiled plant support : TENDRIL. See here.

21. Exam for jrs. : PSAT

24. Light source: Abbr. : ELEC

28. Lady of La Mancha : DONA

31. __ de mer : MAL

32. Enter surreptitiously : STEAL IN

36. Mealtime pleasure : RELISH. Ah, Steve, food again! I baked medjoor dates filled with coconut flakes & almonds the other day. Delicious.

37. Historic Icelandic work : EDDA

38. Years in Cuba : ANOs

40. Phone message : TEXT

41. Nocturnal predator : OWL. Argyle is our owl, always keeping an alert eye on the blog.

42. Golf ball material : BALATA. Some kind of rubber.

44. Bony-plated forager : ARMADILLO. Great answer.

45. Forecast word : RAINY

46. Low bow : SALAAM. As a kid, I really hated visiting older relatives during Spring Festival. Had to kneel down, touched my head in the ground and kowtowed to them.

47. Happy as a lark? : CHIRPY. Happy clue.

48. Mortgage provision : ESCROW

51. Cortese of "Jersey Shore" : DEENA. The girl on right. I can't really tell her from the annoying Snooki.

52. Coach Parseghian : ARA

53. What trees may keep you from seeing? : FOREST

54. Hemingway title setting : THE SEA

55. Argentine icons : PERONS

56. Way up or down : STEPS

59. Slangy road reversal : UEY

60. It's placed : BET. True.

61. Asthmatic : WHEEZY

63. Online commerce : E-TAIL. So many temptations.

64. Solver's smudge : ERASURE. Pen & Wite-Out for me.

65. Little League game arrival : VAN

66. Gave a heads-up : WARNED

72. Square cereal : CHEX

73. Suffragist Carrie : CATT. League of Women Voters founder.

75. Slice at a party : CAKE. So, if you have to prepare a Christmas meal consisting of dishes starting with letter U only, what food would you consider?

76. Start to pour? : PEE. First letter in pour.

77. Diagonally : ON A SLANT

78. R relatives : PGS. Oh, Rated R, Rated PG.

79. Big blasts : SHINDIGS

80. Old TV tubes : TRIODES

81. Glandular secretion : HORMONE. It's called estrogen for girls, right?

82. Adaptable : ELASTIC

83. China starter : INDO. Indo-China. Or CEE.

84. Funny Bill, familiarly : COS. Bill Cosby.

89. Butcher's cut : LOIN

90. Gentlemen's home? : VERONA. "The Two Gentlemen of Verona".

91. Ilsa's request to Sam : PLAY IT. "Play it, Sam". My favorite line is "We'll always have Paris". Sometimes I wonder what my life would be had I moved to Brussels in 2001 rather than the US.

92. Dos : STYLES

94. Xerography material : TONER. How's the new printer, eddyB?

95. "Son of Frankenstein" role : YGOR

96. Rumble in the jungle? : GROWL. I could hear it.

98. "__ la vie!" : C'EST

99. Entire: Pref. : HOLO. Wow, I did not know this before.

100. One who may eat her words? : ICER. Sweet clue.

101. March Madness org. : NCAA

103. Pepper & Preston: Abbr. : SGTs

104. Resting upon : ATOP

107. Tractor-trailer : RIG

108. Biological marker : DNA

Answer grid.

A note to regular posters: We'd love to celebrate your birthday on the blog. Please email me (crosswordc@gmail.com) if your name is not included in Dennis' original list. Thanks. And best wishes, Ron Worden!

C.C.