Friday, February 24, 2012, Ian Livengood

Theme: Wear one brown shoe and one black shoe. In each of 4 sets of adjoining 2- word, 10 letter fill, the first word in each pair is switched, and clued to reflect the new and silly result. 2 sets are across and 2 are down. If ever a puzzle needed getting some perp help, and also needing to understand the theme, it was this effort by Mr. Livengood who presented an ambitious 8 theme answers plus two five letter related clues and for me a central hidden unifier. The sets appear in each of the 4 quadrants. It was deja vu all over again for me, as we have our second consecutive Friday where we last saw the constructor in February, 2011. He also had last Friday's NYT, and apparently like 10 letter stacks. I had a fun time once I saw the trick, and then appreciated the humor in the cluing. let's see each theme pair presented together

(Added later: The TV shows in each pair are swapped. Thanks, June & others.)

13A. Dieter's snack?: THREE CHIPS. Literally a very small snack, but paired with

17A. Crop production toast?: CORN CHEERS. Do you get a mental picture of farmers in the fields rooting on the ear pickers? Anyway, if you pair the words by color, you see the original phrases, which are not funny. "ChiPs" & "Cheers".

62A. Buckaroo at sea?: LOST COWBOY. I cannot imagine the Lone ranger on a ship.

66A. Dance and theater in Texas?" DALLAS ARTS. Like Uma, people either love or hate Jerry Jones' Cowboys. "Lost" & "Dallas".

10D. One giving pep talks between acts of "Carmen"?: OPERA COACH. my mental pic is of the cast of an Opera in a locker room with Mike Ditka, between acts.

11D. Maternity ward?: LABOR HOUSE . My mother worked for 40 years as an OB nurse birthing them babies, but did not care much for the Opera House. "Coach" & "House".

28D. Pews, at times?: AMEN STANDS

29D. Intersection where cabs hang out?: TAXI CORNER. Amen Corner is the famous three hole stretch at the Masters in Augusta. "Amen" & "Taxi".

24D. With 35-Down, fairs, and a hint to making sense of this puzzle's pairs of adjacent 10-letter answers : TRADE.

35D. See 24-Down: SHOWS. get it, TRADING PLACES. (0:41)

And the clue which made me see the theme, so I class it an undisclosed unifier.

39A. Useless footwear: ODD SHOE.

Across:

1. Woolly grazers: EWES. We begin a little sheepishly, but this is good for our confidence.

5. It follows John: ACTS. In the Christian Bible.

9. Defunct Olympic sport: POLO. Introduced in 1900, the skilled horseman competed for the last time in the famous 1936 Berlin Olympiad.

16. On __ with: A PAR. From Golf, mean equal to, which Tiger is no longer, as his putting stroke, has left him.

18. 5'7" Spud who won an NBA Slam Dunk contest: WEBB. Obscure sports fact, but for us short people, we will remember his DUNKS. (1:29)

19. Words before coming or out: HAS IT. A Naddorish double word.

20. Telegraph sound: DIT. DAT is the other one. I am sure you all know Dit Dit Dit Dat Dat Dat Dit Dit Dit.

21. Lover of Psyche: EROS. These stories are either hit or MYTH.

22. Artist's pad: LOFT. Not where he draws, but sleeps. Cool.

25. Ability to detect a certain orientation: GAYDAR. Wow, is this an unPC clue, or does it only seem so because it is followed by, 27A. Not like at all: HATE?

30. PLO part: ORGanization. Palestine Liberation Organization.

32. Boxing statistic: REACH. Long arms help keep your opponent at bay.

33. Actress Thurman: UMA. People either love or hate her. She was great in Pulp Fiction.

34. Saint in red: CLAUS. A new clue for old St. Nick.

36. Raised entrance area: STOOP. In New England and new York, we sat on the steps, not the porch.

38. Ave. paralleling Park: LEXington, one of many parallel avenues in Manhattan.

41. Switz. neighbor: AUStria. Hmm, three abbreviation pairs already.

42. Soul: ANIMA. From the Latin, the root word of Animation, as well Carl Jung's theories of Anima and Animus, and an accepted religious name for the human soul.

44. Waist-length jackets: ETONS. Made famous from the English school UNIFORMS.

45. Gray gp : CSA. Confederate States of America.

46. Stray chasers: SCATS. I love this reversal clue, as he is not looking for someone chasing after a stray, but what one says to chase a stray away. SCAT CAT!

48. Not own outright, with "on": OWE. The American Dream.

49. Pique: WHET. Not to be confused with Marti's Piquet deck, which may have piques your curiosity, or whetted your appetite.

50. Debate choices: TOPICS.

52. Piano sonatas, usually: SOLI. To be played alone, or solo.

54. It covers all the bases: TARP. Our baseball shout out to C.C., as when they put out the tarpaulin during a rain delay, it covers the infield and all the bases.

55. Tuna of the Pacific: AHI. Never knew there was so much to learn about these fishies. LINK. hey Robin wherever you are. A nice shout out to our old Hawaiian contingent.

57. Golden __: AGERS. In tribute to CA, and all of us on the sunnyside of 60, I LINK post this poetic gem:

61. Rice from New Orleans: ANNE. Author of many Vampire books, like LESTAT played by the above pretty boy.

65. It has banks in Germany and Poland: ODER. How many think this river clue stinks?

67. Red areas, once: Abbr : SSRS. members of the old Soviet bloc.

68. Case workers, briefly: TECS. Technicians. (Correction: Tecs = Detectives.)

69. The greater part: MOST. as Yogi would say, we got the bigger half done.

Down:

1. Do some glass cutting, perhaps: ETCH. You want to come up and see my etchings, dear?

2. "Take it easy!": WHOA. Damn, that is exactly what she said! Telling me to not...

3. Goes astray: ERRS. Not to be confused with our earlier cats. Or maybe I am just...

4. Declining from old age: SENILE.

5. Bavarian carp?: ACH. Reminds of this SONG (2:44) and beer. I will let KZ explain.

6. Friend of Fidel: CHE. Ernesto (Che) Guevara was born in Rosario in Argentine in 1928.

7. Knotted: TIED. If these are synonymous, why do we say the couple tied the knot?

8. Mistletoe piece: SPRIG. Maybe after they kissed at Christmas, where he also...

9. Played with, in a way: PAWED AT her; hmmm.

12. Balls: ORBS. Oh how I miss Buckeye and some of our other Morel posters.

14. __-1: "Ghostbusters" auto: ECTO.

15. Relatively cool red giant: S STAR. We had nice discussion of star classifications in a puzzle by our own JEROME.

23. Fail in business: FOLD. Many businesses have folded their tents in the last few years.

26. Acknowledgments: YESES.

27. Pacific dance: HULA. Did you all see Kelly Ripa this week in Hawaii? Or her in this x-rated COMMERCIAL? (1:14).

31. Joie de vivre: GUSTO. The joy of life is our french lesson of the day.

34. Tropical ring-tailed critter: COATI. Crossword staple animal.

37. H.S. sophs may take it: PSAT.

40. Basie's "__'Clock Jump": ONE O. Like this CLIP (3:11).

43. Auto club employees: MAPPERS. Not with all the GPS systems out there.

47. Hot tea hazard: SCALD. Or coffee at McDonald's if you want to get rich.

49. Ojibwa home: WIGWAM. Not a Teepee, but THIS.

51. Young pig : SHOAT.

53. Thailand neighbor: LAOS. Right next to 54D. New Mexico ski resort: TAOS.

56. Buried treasure site, often: ISLE.

58. Iberian river: EBRO. The Iberian Peninsula, home for Spain and Portugal.

59. Disintegrates: ROTS. You hope it disintegrates after the smell gets bad.

60. Part of MS-DOS: Abbr. : SYSTem.

63. Dr. Mom's forte: TLC. Tender Loving Care.

64. __ in Charlie: C AS. I thought it was C As In Corpse? It is a mystery to me.

Answer grid.

And it is a mystery how quickly the weeks go by and this will be the final Friday in February, 2012; I hope it is a good one, and you enjoyed the puzzle and our brief time together, until next week...

Lemonade

Thursday, February 23, 2012 Rich Mausser

Theme: Travelocity.   Car makers' brands are combined into fun vacation trips. Let's see what they are...

16A. Joint Chevrolet/Kia vacation package? : VENTURE TO SEDONA. Well, I would VENTURE to say, that a trip to SEDONA, AZ would be a relaxing vacation.

23A. Joint GMC/Hyundai vacation package? : SAFARI TO SANTA FE. I don't know how many wild beasts I might find on this SAFARI, but SANTA FE is certainly a wild place.

41A. Joint Ford/Chrysler vacation package? : ESCAPE TO NEWPORT. I love to ESCAPE for a weekend in NEWPORT, visiting all the mansions of Astor and Vanderbilt.

56A. Joint Dodge/Toyota vacation package? : JOURNEY TO TACOMA. I guess I could visit the Museum of Glass on my JOURNEY to TACOMA, WA.

In the center of grid: DROVE (36. Took the wheel).  See 19A...Yes, I DROVE the Mercedes on the autobahn.

Hearti here, with this week's Thursday exploration. Another fun theme from Rich - I do hope he will drop in to say hello today! So, on to the rest of the fill:

Across:

1. Payment option : CASH. I don't carry much CASH these days...debit cards are so much more convenient.

5. The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage is one : ESPY. Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, part of the ESPN team and individual athletic achievement awards.

9. Detergent target : DIRT. 

13. Peek-__ : ABOO. ("I see you!")

14. One-named singer of "Rolling in the Deep" : ADELE. OK, you know this one...rock on!!

15. Creepy lake? : ERIE. "Eerie" sounding lake.

19. Burns rubber : STEPS ON IT. DH is terrified to be a passenger when I drive.  I can't understand why...I had a great time on the autobahn last December!!

20. Sources of inspiration : LUNGS. HaHa, funny clue. "in-spiration" - (breathing "in")

21. Spy novelist Deighton : LEN. Famous for his novel, "The Ipcress File", which was made into a movie starring Michael Caine.

22. Pres. before RWR : JEC. Ronald Wilson Reagan, James Earl Carter.

32. Sheepshank, e.g. : KNOT. This one. Boy Scouts and sailors in our group will recognize it, right?

33. Cleveland's Quicken Loans __ : ARENA. Did not know about this venue for the Cleveland Cavaliers. And then we have 1D. Cleveland cagers : CAVS

34. Blend : MIX

35. Elihu for whom an Ivy is named : YALE. You are all on a first-name basis by now, right?

37. Colada fruit : PINA. In English, "pineapple".

38. Sidewall letters : PSI. Pounds per Square Inch. (Why not "PPSI"?)

39. Glistened : SHONE. Shined, glared, flashed...none fit. What did you come up with?

40. Feature of American panneling, but not British? : ONE L. In the UK  they spell it "panelling". Devious clue.

45. Chap : LAD

46. ICU workers : RNS. Registered Nurses in the Intensive Care Unit.

47. Two-time loser to Ike : ADLAI. Stevenson.

50. Sought at auction : PUT A BID ON. Tough to parse this one...not a common expression.

58. Clock radio letters : AM/PM. Anyone else want AM/FM???

59. Colleague of Thomas : ALITO. Supreme Court Justice nominated by George W. Bush in January 2006. And 18 D. Colleague of Clarence : ELENA. Clarence Thomas and Elena Kagan, associate justices of the Supreme Court.

60. Pale-green moth : LUNA.  HaHa, I just used this one as part of a clue to a theme entry I am working on today! 

61. Homer's tavern : MOE'S. The Simpsons, never watched it.

62. Legendary Brazilian footballer : PELE

63. Celtic land : ERIN

and now we go...

Down:

2. Contribute to, as a crime : ABET

3. Sound measure : SONE

4. Portable cooker : HOT PLATE

5. Site of an early exile : EDEN

6. Space exploration org. : SETI. Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Why don't we just search for  intelligence in our own senate?

7. It's hatched : PLOT

8. Ja or da, stateside : YES. "Ja", in German and "Da", in Russian mean "Yes", in English

9. Take off, as a discount : DEDUCT

10. Malleable metal : IRON

11. Thieves' group : RING

12. Earl Grey et al. : TEAS. I like NesTEA Raspberry flavor.

14. Rice-__ : -A-RONI, the San Francisco treat...

17. App downloader : USER. I have tons of apps on my iPhone. But I love playing scrabble with my friends, best!

22. Dick's partner : JANE. Click on my avatar...they got me started!

23. Internet telephony provider : SKYPE

24. Jawbone of __: Samson's weapon : AN ASS

25. Type of acid found in veggies : FOLIC. One of the important B-Vitamins. And don't forget the 29D. Essential acid : AMINO

26. Mystic's medium : TAROT

27. Home to Maine's Black Bears : ORONO

28. Lowest card in klaberjass : SEVEN. OK, so this was a new one to me, but with a W.A.G. and some perps, I got it right. Maybe Hahtool knows the game? Lemonade tells me that the game is played with a French-suited Piquet deck, which was used to tell fortunes. It's a skill he learned from his grandmother!

30. Of a higher quality : FINER

31. Praise : EXALT

36. Played, but not in the field, briefly: DH'ED. Refers to "Designated Hitter"? So, played as a DH, or "DH'ed"? Boy, I needed all perps for this one!

37. Ice cream truck offering : POPSICLE. Yummm!

39. 1992 Summer Olympics country : SPAIN

42. Roosters, at times : ALARMS

43. Lyre-playing Muse : ERATO

44. Ladies' court gp. : WNBA. Women's National Basketball Association.

47. Stuck, after "in" : A JAM

48. Major-__ : DOMO. Interesting explanation of the term on wiki.

49. Rapper __ Fiasco : LUPE. He's in to skateboarding...

50. Pulitzer-winning WWII journalist : PYLE. Ernie, not Gomer!

51. $150 Monopoly prop. : UTIL. ity

52. Carry : TOTE

53. Gloomy : DOUR

54. Present opening? : OMNI-present.  According to Eastern Christianity, God is present everywhere.

55. Asian flatbread : NAAN. This stuff:

57. "The Purloined Letter" monogram : EAP. Edgar Allen Poe. One of three detective stories in a series. The other two were (the more well-known?) "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and (the less-known?) "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt". Hmmmm...I think I have to go get out my EAP books!

Answer grid.

That's it for tonight, folks. See you on the "other side" of midnight!

Hugs,

Marti

Wednesday, February 22 2012 Gareth Bain

Theme: Walt and Oscar make Beautiful music. Five (!) theme answers are Best Song Oscar winners from Disney animated movies. Two of them grid spanning, two are almost, and the middle one misses only by two. Wow. I had no idea.

17A. Best Original Song Oscar winner from ... Disney's "Pocahontas" : COLORS OF THE WIND. Who is the savage?

23A. ... Disney's "Aladdin" : A WHOLE NEW WORLD. Magic Carpet Ride.

39A. ... Disney's "Song of the South" : ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH. Mr. Bluebird's on my shoulder.

53A. ... Disney's "Mary Poppins" : CHIM CHIM CHER-EE. Are you feeling lucky?

61A. ... Disney's "Monsters, Inc." : IF I DIDN'T HAVE YOU. Those dreams do come true.

Hi. gang. Jazzbumpa here. It's my pleasure to take you on a wonderful musical adventure today. There was a time when Gareth and I were joined at the virtual interface - just by chance, each of my blogging dates lined up with his puzzle publications. I think we hit three in a row that way. But this is our first meeting since then, and it's been far too long. Let's segue right into the action.

Across:

1. '50s-'60s Bronx Bombers nickname, with "The" : MICK. Mickey Mantle - not Mouse. Takes me back to my youth. Also a nice baseball entry for our lovely hostess. His cards are collectable.

5. South Seas tuber : TARO. This starchy tuber is a common food in Oceania. The raw tuber is toxic.

9. Oceans : RAFTS. A secondary meaning for both words is a large quantity. Extra credit for crossing the ocean on a RAFT.

14. Like the team before @, on schedules : AWAY. The visiting team in a sporting event, like the Red Wings who went down 2-1 in Chicago. Dang!

15. Not much : A BIT. Neither an ocean nor a raft.

16. Hotel courts : ATRIA. Plural of ATRIUM - an open court, often several stories high. ATRIA are also heart chambers. There is a hotel chain called ATRIA in India. I want to hear Tony Bennett sing "I Left My Heart in Banglore."

20. Little one : TOT.

21. __-tzu : LAO. One of many variant spellings for the name of the author of the Tao Te Ching. He said, "A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." But I'll bet he always appreciates a nice ATRIUM.

22. On the calmer side : ALEE. The side of the boat that is sheltered from the wind, no matter what color.

28. Headache : WOE. A bit of an oblique meaning, I think. But in my experience, a headache truly is a WOEful thing.

29. WSJ headline : LBO. Leveraged Buy Out, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. The specialty of vulture capitalists. Note Abbrv. in cl. & ans.

30. __ rock: music genre : ALT. Alternative. What - no abbrv?!? My daughter was an alternative music fan before she came out of the country closet. (sigh)

31. Faux pas : NO NO. A mistake, or a taboo. No, No, Nanette, thou shalt not faux upon thy pas. Why not? Je ne sais pas!

33. Bars with hidden prices? : UPC. Not a tavern with a mystery tab. Universal Price Code. TRES clever.

35. Evensong? : TAPS. Back to my youth again. This signaled the end of the day at Boy Scout Camp.

43. Wed. vis-à-vis Thu. : YEST. YEST? Do you jest? Can't find this abbrv for YESTERDAY on The Google.

44. Reed of The Velvet Underground : LOU. Doot-doot. Doot-doot-da-doot-doot-doot.

45. Expel, as lava : SPEW.

47. Western treaty gp. : OAS.. Organization of American States.

50. Periods prec. soccer shootouts : OTS. Over Times precede shootouts. Sadly, this aberration has also infested hockey.

52. Before, poetically : ERE. Abel was I ERE I got Cained.

58. French city mostly destroyed in 1944 : CAEN. The ravages of war.

59. Golf's Woosnam : IAN. Not a golf fan, so this seems a bit obscure. Is Gareth giving us a rough time, or is he treating us in a fair way?

60. Tyler of "Jersey Girl" : LIV. I always think of her as Arwen Undomiel.

67. Athena's shield : AEGIS. The handiwork of Hephaestus, blacksmith to the gods. "...and among them went bright-eyed Athene, holding the precious AEGIS which is ageless and immortal: a hundred tassels of pure gold hang fluttering from it, tight-woven each of them, and each the worth of a hundred oxen." I think Homer Simpson said that.

68. "__ chic!" : TRES. "Very smart" At the height of fashion

69. File's partner : RANK. The individual members of an organization, irrespective of leadership. The phrase comes from the RANKS and files of soldiers in formation. Back in my youth, we had them in marching band, too.

70. Actor Milo : O'SHEA. He was in The Dream Team. But the only part I can remember clearly is the one played by Peter Boyle.

71. Holiday tubers : YAMS. Not at all poisonous, these tubers are common in Asia, Africa, South America, and - yes, Oceania. They are not the same thing as sweet potatoes.

72. __-Ball : SKEE. An arcade game in which the player rolls balls up an incline and attempts to get them to fall into a hole. Not a bad game, but I prefer Calvinball.

Down:

1. Brolly user's garment : MAC. Since a brolly is an English umbrella, I assume MAC refers to a Mackintosh raincoat, made from rubberized fabric to repel water. First sold in 1824, the coat is named for its Scottish inventor, Charles Macintosh. The careful reader will notice the two names are spelt differently. This is mysterious, and we just have to live with it.

2. __ Jima : IWO. A Volcanic island that was a critical WW II battle site.

3. '20s White House nickname : CAL. Calvin Coolidge. I think he might have invented calvinball.

4. 1997 ecological protocol city : KYOTO. The KYOTO protocols set binding limits on 37 countries for greenhouse gas emissions.

5. Gustatory sensor : TASTE BUD. Flavor receptors n the tongue. They have their own map. Note that kissing is sweet.

6. Blood typing abbr. : ABO.

7. Sight site : RIFLE. Another clever clue. A sight is a visual aiming aid on a gun.

8. Bilingual Canadian city : OTTAWA. Never been there. I went to Montreal once, and most everybody there spoke English. Beautiful and lively place.

9. John who explored the Canadian Arctic : RAE. Learning moment. He was a Scottish Dr. who explored Northern Canada. The Inuit nicknamed him Aglooka, "he who takes long strides." Not this guy.

10. Openly hostile : AT WAR. I'm pretty sure we've never been AT WAR with Oceania.

11. Showy extra : FRILL.

12. Like tridents : TINED.

13. Marquis de __ : SADE. The eponym for sadism. Lovely man. Just don't get too close to him.

18. Three-sixty in a canoe : ROLL. Three sixty is a full circle. Do it like this.

19. Coyote call : HOWL.

23. Grain beard : AWN. If I see this 500 more times, I might remember it.

24. Suffering from vertigo : WOOZY. I put in DIZZY.

25. Legendary skater Sonja : HENIE. Don't try this at home. At least 360 360's.

26. "Ixnay!" : NOPE. Negatory, good buddy.

27. Sgt. Snorkel's dog : OTTO. From Beetle Bailey

32. Covert __: spy stuff : OPS. Operations. My step-son Tom is in Air Force Special Ops. I have no idea what he does.

34. Disney frame : CEL. A single cartoon frame, from the time when animation was all done by hand.

36. Some mag spreads : ADS.

37. Flat hand, in a game : PAPER. Not familiar with this expression. Is this a hand that is so bad the cards aren't worth the paper they're printed on?

38. __ Khan: "The Jungle Book" tiger : SHERE. This Disney villain is no Tigger.

40. Elemental bit : ATOM. The building block of chemistry.

41. Judgment Day : DOOM.

42. Blow away in competition : OUT CLASS.

46. Pint-size : WEE.

48. Low-pH substance : ACID. A molecule usually characterized by an ionizable hydrogen atom

49. Crudely built home : SHANTY.

51. Switchblade : SHIV.

53. Tables-on-the-street restaurants : CAFES.

54. "__-Ho": Dwarfs song : HEIGH. Another irresistible Disney tune.

55. Non-mainstream film : INDIE. Independent. Not associated with a major studio.

56. Prefix with mural : INTRA. Within the walls of an institution, like sports competitions within a school.

57. Civil rights activist Medgar : EVERS. He was a WW II veteran and field secretary for the NAACP who was murdered in 1963 by a member of the White Citizens Council.

58. "Farewell, cara mia" : CIAO. Hasta la vista, baby.

62. Metaphor words : IS A. The eye is a mirror of the soul.

63. Skirt line : HEM.

64. Asian plow puller : YAK. That's a lot of bull.

65. Vague pronoun : ONE. Or a specific pronoun, if you're THE ONE

66. Hawaiian strings : UKE. ONE last musical Disney moment.

Answer grid.

Fine. A fine musical excursion without too many sour notes. I always enjoy Gareth's puzzles, and this one seemed especially well done. Hope you liked it as much as I did.

Cheers!
JzB

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 Billie Truitt

Theme: Bummer - Four grid spanners that start off badly. (synonyms for bad)

16A. Airport security canine : BOMB SNIFFING DOG

23A. Thanksgiving serving : TURKEY DRUMSTICK

41A. Frothy citrus dessert : LEMON CHIFFON PIE

56A. Women's swimsuit size factor : BUST MEASUREMENT. A sideline for Dennis?

Argyle here. The discussion about day of the week appropriateness for a word may continue today. There are some doozies.

The long entries (SEE STARS and EAU DE VIE) adjacent to the top and bottom theme entries are quite sparkly.

Across:

1. Baseball's Hammerin' Hank : AARON. Rookie card. Note he signed it Henry Aaron.

6. Bad color for ink? : RED

9. Sunlight unit : BEAM

13. Vegetation : FLORA

14. Ward of "Sisters" : SELA. Her IMDb page.

15. Notion : IDEA

19. React to a whack : SEE STARS

20. "You're not the only one!" : "SO CAN I!"

21. Ending for mass or pass : IVE

22. Talking bird : MYNA

31. Agenda details : ITEMS

32. Cool-cucumber link : AS A

33. Lake Mich. city : CHIcago. The Windy City.

34. Semana septet : DIAs. Spanish week/days

35. "Divine Comedy" poet : DANTE

37. Phlebotomist's target : VEIN

38. With 48-Across, shout at the station : ALL, 48A. See 38-Across : ABOARD. Do they still do that?

39. Byrnes of "Grease" : EDD. His IMDb page.

40. Quake site : FAULT. (earthquake)

46. Pothole's place : ROAD

47. Jimmy's successor : RON (Jimmy Carter/Ron Reagan)

51. Type of brandy whose name means "water of life" : EAU DE VIE. Upon reading the explanation, I remember having this before. Basically, it is a brandy NOT made from grapes but some other kind of fruit.

58. Capri, for one : ISLE. In the Bay of Naples, southeast of Rome.

59. Puppy bites : NIPS

60. Mascara problem : SMEAR

61. Ring decisions, briefly : TKOs. Boxing rings/technical knockouts.

62. Sample : TRY

63. Sample : TASTE. Classic clecho.

Down:

1. Langley and Travis: Abbr. : AFBS. (Air Force Bases)

2. Botanical skin treatment ingredient : ALOE

3. "Julius Caesar" setting : ROME

4. Globes : ORBS

5. Bad guys : NASTIES

6. Flag throwers : REFs. Is there a sport besides football where the refs throw a flag?

7. Many a "Lord of the Rings" character : ELF

8. Dogpatch gal : DAISY MAE. Edie Adams won a Tony Award for playing the original Daisy Mae in the Broadway musical "Li'l Abner". 1956

9. Lion, for one : BIG CAT

10. Icelandic poetic work : EDDA

11. Really long time : AEON

12. Star followers : MAGI

14. Begat : SIRED

17. It's darker than royal blue : NAVY

18. Dijon denials : NONs. Dijon is southeast of Paris.

22. Is compelled to : MUST

23. __ wave : TIDAL

24. Of practical value : UTILE

25. Domain : REALM

26. Canadian rd. distances : KMs. (kilometre)

27. "Amazing" paranormal debunker : RANDI

28. Freeze over : ICE UP

29. Spicy bean dish : CHILI

30. Kunta __: Burton's "Roots" role : KINTE. LeVar Burton.

35. Morally degenerate : DECADENT

36. Condition treated with Ritalin, briefly : ADHD. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

37. Car for a large family : VAN

40. Most doting : FONDEST

42. Takes the podium : ORATEs

43. Standard : NORM

44. Munich matrons : FRAUs. German.

45. Typical barbershop complement : FOUR

48. Slightly : A BIT

49. Perform on sidewalks, in London : BUSK. The word "BUSK" comes from the Spanish root word "buscar", meaning "to seek" – buskers are literally seeking fame and fortune. per Wikipedia.

50. Scandinavian capital : OSLO

51. Glimpse : ESPY

52. Austen heroine : EMMA. Published in December 1815.

53. Victory signs : VEEs

54. __ the finish : IN AT

55. To be, in Brittany : ÊTRE. Peninsula west of Paris.

57. Balloon contents : AIR

Answer grid.

Argyle

F-Stop

#11 of our Curious Conundrums series.

Marti constructed this puzzle. She said "Rich liked the long 12 entries, but thought the 9's were a little weak."

I'm eager to see if anyone notices the extra step Marti took to make this puzzle more elegant to a discerning eye.

Puzzle:

Here is PDF (click on File, then Download Original).

Here is puz file (click on File, then Download).

Spoiler: Here is the answer grid.

Thanks for solving, and we look forward to your comments.

C.C.

Monday, February 20, 2012 Geoffrey Lewis

Theme: Erin go Bragh - Four entries that end in an Irish county.

17A. *Get really angry : POP ONE'S CORK. PSA (1:25)

25A. *Belfast-born flutist : JAMES GALWAY. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa & James Galway - "Danny Boy" (5:15)

35A. *2004 loser to George Bush : JOHN KERRY. Image.

51A. *Sandwich request : HOLD THE MAYO. How County Mayo got its name.

60A. One of the four that end this puzzle's starred answers : IRISH COUNTY

Argyle here. Thanking everyone in advance for your birthday wishes; now there is no need to waste space on any greetings. ;-)

I was unable to find any other puzzles by our constructor so this could be a debut. A strong start, in any case, with the unusual tri-stack, seven high, in each corner.

Across:

1. Like Eastwood's Harry : DIRTY. Five films, between 1971 and 1988.

6. Aromatic resin : ELEMI

11. Emeril catchword : "BAM!". The celebrity chef.

14. Start of un año : ENERO. Spanish for January, start of the year

15. Add to the mix : PUT IN. and 19A. Cocktail cooler, in Coblenz : EIS. Coblenz is a German city situated on the banks of the Rhine. EIS, we learned yesterday, is ICE (so Tinbeni will never visit Coblenz).

16. Freudian subject : EGO

20. Paris airport : ORLY

21. Having trouble deciding : TORN

22. Hindu social division : CASTE

24. Fish eggs : ROE

27. "For shame!" : "TUT TUT!". Tried "TSK TSK!" first.

29. Sedative : OPIATE

30. Suffix with bed or home : STEAD

31. Arthur of tennis : ASHE

34. Selected on a ballot, with "in" : Xed

39. Source of quick cash, briefly : ATM

42. Operating system since the '60s : UNIX

43. Ball hit over the wall : HOMER. In fair territory, of course.

47. Steals : SWIPES

50. Title street of kids' TV : SESAME

55. Accomplished : DID

56. Islamic deity : ALLAH

57. College head : DEAN

58. Shower affection (on) : DOTE

59. __ tai: cocktail : MAI

63. Rock producer Brian : ENO

64. Stealthy craft : CANOE

65. Zellweger of "Chicago" : RENÉE. Portrayed Roxie Hart.

66. Room with bookcases : DEN

67. Tolerate : STAND

68. Flowers with swordlike leaves, briefly : GLADS

Down:

1. Expels from the country : DEPORTS

2. "Should I deal you a hand?" : "IN OR OUT?". "Ante up if you're in"

3. Abundantly supplied (with) : REPLETE

4. Helen of __ : TROY. Shout out to Irish Miss of Troy.

5. Partner of hither : YON

6. __ salts : EPSOM

7. "Filthy" dough : LUCRE. Dirty money.

8. Preppy collars : ETONs. A broad white collar worn over the lapels of a jacket.

9. Downed Russian space station : MIR

10. Mushroom with a black-edged top : INK-CAP. Toxicity

11. Secretion used in hives : BEESWAX

12. Stir up : AGITATE

13. Strolled, as to the saloon : MOSEYED

18. French state : ÉTAT

23. "Float like a butterfly" boxer : ALI

25. Karate relative : JUDO

26. Habitué : GOER. Habitué - a frequent visitor to a place (churchgoer; moviegoer)

28. __ Mahal : TAJ

31. Landers or Lee : ANN. (Mother Ann Lee, of the Shakers)

32. Enjoy the slopes : SKI

33. Put a spell on : HEX

36. Awed crowd reaction : HUSH

37. Stat start : RHEO

38. Casual hellos : YOs

39. Humiliated : ASHAMED

40. Like many rural roads : TWO LANE

41. Thousand thousand : MILLION

44. "Papa Don't Preach" singer : MADONNA

45. Radiated : EMITTED

46. Flights leaving around midnight, usually : RED EYEs

48. iPhone, e.g., briefly : PDA. (Personal Digital Assistant)

49. Rules of conduct : ETHICS

50. In __: harmonious : SYNC

52. Twin Cities suburb : EDINA, Minnesota.

53. Subatomic particle : MESON. Something to do with quarks and anti-quarks.

54. Oohed and __ : AAHed

58. Face-off with pistols : DUEL

61. Squealer : RAT

62. Nonprofit's URL ending : .ORG

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Ha ha, I'm wasting space, but Happy Birthday to dear Argyle, who brings us love, humor and smiles every day. Xie Xie, Santa!

Sunday Feb 19, 2012 John Lampkin

Theme: "White House Counsel" - Clue/Answer reversal style puzzle. Six presidential pet names act as clues (hence all caps) and the sound they make are interpreted as "Advice" and are are placed as Down entries.

23A. BILLY : COOLIDGE'S HIPPOPOTAMUS. 80D. Advice from 23-Across? : SNORT. Did Coolidge keep the hippo at the White House?

41A. OLD WHISKERS : HARRISON'S GOAT. 77D. Advice from 41-Across? : BAA

57A. FIDO : LINCOLN'S DOG. 52D. Advice from 57-Across? : ARF. From the constructor: “Fido” in clues represents the generic pet pooch. Since I’ve never ever met a real dog named Fido I wondered how he got to be so famous. “Spot” we can assume achieved recognition from “See Spot run” primers yesterday, but who the heck was Fido? The net unleashed (ha ha) the answer and inspired this puzzle. Fido was Abe Lincoln’s dog. Who knew? Historians sometimes wonder why some presidents have made questionable judgments. This puzzle makes clear the answer—they got advice from their pets!

82A. SOCKS : CLINTON'S CAT. 3D. Advice from 82-Across? : MEOW. No Buddy. Can't have two dogs.

96A. MAUDE : ROOSEVELT'S PIG. 111D. Advice from 96-Across? : OINK

114A. DICK : JEFFERSON'S MOCKINGBIRD. 39D. Advice from 114-Across? : CHEEP. Odd name for a bird.

Clue/answer reversal is generally not my favorite theme type. I get bored quickly. This one held my interest since Socks was the only familiar one to me and I was intrigued by what kind of pet the others were.

Construction-wise, this puzzle was not easy. Hence no pangram, unlike John's other Sunday effort. Full spanning 15's as first and last theme entry sometimes make gridding easier for a week-day puzzle, a spanning 21's tend to make things tough. Plus, John challenged himself by limiting his options and putting all the animal sound in Down.

Clues are vintage Lampkin, fun and creative. Clechos (clue echos) abound, as shown by the green highlight in my write-up. Several pairs are consecutive. BZ (Brava Zulu), to steal a line from Spitzboov!

Across:

1. Freeway entrances : RAMPS

6. High flier : JET

9. Sour : GO BAD

14. Unexpected victory : UPSET. Linsanity. Are you feeling it? Me neither.

19. "__ the news today, oh boy": Beatles lyric : I READ. And 104D. "Not again" : OH BOY

20. Percent add-on : ILE. Percentile.

21. Give it a shot : TRY TO. And 89D. Beckon from afar : CALL TO.

22. Vertical : PLUMB

27. Hockey Hall of Famer Gordie : HOWE. "Mr. Hockey".

28. Banded quartz : AGATE

29. Where the Piper piped : HAMELIN. Rats!

30. Comical Martha : RAYE

32. Pockets picked at a deli? : PITAS. Delicious clue.

34. Gathers bit by bit : GLEANS

38. Play a part : ACT

45. "Hmm ..." : GEE. And 105A. "Hmm ..." : I WONDER

46. Certain Tibetan : LHASAN. I'm often confused about where to place the H. In Mandarin, the capital is just spelled as Lasa.

48. Choir section : ALTOS. 60. Choir section : APSE

49. L.A.'s Getty Center, e.g. : MUS. Oh, museum.

50. Whimper : MEWL

51. Action film heroes are often in it : PERIL. So was Anthony Shadid, in real life, simply the best of his breed. He was only 43. Dear God, why?

52. "It's __ Unusual Day": 1948 song : A MOST

53. Posed : SAT

54. "__ a stinker?": Bugs Bunny line : AIN'T I

55. Impetuously : HEADFIRST

61. Design deg. : MFA

62. Designer Saarinen : EERO

63. Speak against : NAY-SAY

64. Place to hear a cowbell : LEA. 84F. Flower toxic to cows, ironically : BUTTERCUP. New trivia to me. Ironic indeed then.

66. Fashion monogram : YSL. So Jason Wu for Target sold out in hours.

68. Lat neighbors : ABS

70. Poor writing : PAP. New meaning to me.

71. Fox sci-fi series : FRINGE. Knew the name only because I had to clue ABRAMS at one time.

74. Word in an ultimatum : ELSE

76. Strikers' org.? : PBA. Nailed it.

78. Sister of Lustica in "Born Free" : ELSA. Lustica means nothing to me. But "Born Free" is sufficient to get the answer.

84. Two-event events : BIATHLONS

86. Puts away cargo : LADES

87. Put away dishes? : EAT

88. Legend automaker : ACURA

90. "Good Eats" series creator __ Brown : ALTON. The Nutty Professor of Food Network.

91. Many MIT grads : ENGs. Engineers.

92. Address for a bride, often : MRS

93. Address the throng : ORATE

94. Leave no doubt about : ENSURE

95. Historical period : AGE

99. Orch. section : STR

100. On a streak : RED HOT

102. Longtime sportscaster Harmon : MERLE. Did he stymie you?

103. __ buco : OSSO

108. Air conditioner brand that's "hard to stop" : TRANE

110. Table d'__: fixed menu : 'HOTE. Literally "host's table". Prix fixe.

119. Once more : AGAIN

120. Came to a close : ENDED

121. One-eighty : UIE. Or UEY.

122. Mint product : MONEY. US Mint.

123. "Blame It on the __ Nova": 1963 hit : BOSSA

124. Docket load : CASES

125. Some govt. heads : PMs (Prime Ministers)

126. Small fry : TYKES

Down:

1. Too amusing for words : RICH. I don't get the clue.

2. Suffix for stink : AROO

4. Less ruddy : PALER

5. Star Wars letters : SDI

6. Shot glass : JIGGER

7. Home of Zeno : ELEA. Zeno of Elea. This answer often stumps solvers.

8. Neil Armstrong, e.g., before becoming an astronaut : TEST PILOT. Dangerous job.

9. Sporty VW : GTI.

10. "Oliver!" chorus members : ORPHANS

11. Go around : BYPASS

12. Physics subject : ATOM

13. Chucklehead : DOPE

14. Angle toward the sky : UPTILT

15. Shaver : PLANE. For Splynter/Jerome.

16. Bottom line amount : SUM

17. It'll never fly : EMU

18. USA rival : TBS

24. Six-Day War hero : DAYAN (Moshe)

25. Bank jobs : HEISTS

26. Korbut and others : OLGAS

31. Time and __ : A HALF

33. Play the fife : TOOTLE

35. It may be hidden : AGENDA

36. Gift to play with : NEW TOY

37. Baseball commissioner since the '90s : SELIG (Bud). He's not retiring after all.

38. A, as in Athens : ALPHA

40. "__ Bulba": Gogol novel : TARA'S

42. "Kitchen Nightmares" host Gordon : RAMSAY. He has quite a temper.

43. Auto financing org. : GMAC

44. __ a limb : OUT ON. Quite a few partials in this grid. Four I think. Maximum allowed.

47. Whence some moms are greeted : SIDELINES

50. Writes poorly? : MISSPELLS

53. Hoity-toity sort : SNOB

54. Novelist Seton : ANYA

56. Insect stage : IMAGO. From John again: Here is my photo of a mayfly imago, trapped in a spider web. For you romantics, mayflies mate for life! However, since they live for only a few hours it’s no big deal.

58. "Dies __" : IRAE

59. Caress, wave-style : LAP AT

62. First name in scat : ELLA (Fitzgerald)

65. Forest friends of Frodo : ENTS

67. Chip off the old flock? : SECT. Another fun clue. And 72. Like some chips : RIDGED. Potato chips.

69. Cathedral toppers : SPIRES

71. Pipe collar : FLANGE

73. Calendario start : ENERO

75. Glassy-eyed one : STARER

79. Yoga position : LOTUS. Lotus root is delicious.

81. Longtime Moore co-star : ASNER

82. Like one's conscience, hopefully : CLEAR. Ask yourself!

83. Get fresh with : SASS

85. Suspends : HANGS

92. Small engine : MOTOR

93. Command : OVERSEE

94. Innsbruck iron : EISEN. New word to me also. Looks so wrong.

96. Ivanhoe's beloved : ROWENA. I can never remember this name.

97. Edits : EMENDS

98. Racehorses : PONIES

101. Vintage stereos : HI-FIs

106. Minute minute pt. : NSEC. Nice clue too.

107. Portuguese lady : DONA

109. Tamiroff of "Touch of Evil" : AKIM. Learned from doing Xword.

112. Genealogist's handiwork : TREE. Family tree.

113. Slow Churned ice cream : EDY'S

114. Fast punch : JAB

115. Big head : EGO

116. Scale fourths : FAs

117. OR figures : MDs

118. Prime meridian hrs. : GMT

Answer grid.

Those who solve John’s puzzles regularly know that he is a Nature lover. He has just self-published a book, “Bugged Beyond Belief” which is a collection of the 40 best of his 10,000 macro-photos of insects. Amusing yet factual commentary peppers the pages. $20 Contact John for more info at JohnLampkin@JohnLampkin.com.

C.C.