Saturday, Mar 31st, 2012, Barry C. Silk

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 30

I sensed it was about time for a Silkie, and I was not wrong. A slight variation on the pinwheel, with triple-9's in the down pattern, but only a pair of 11's across - rare to see cheater squares from our constructor. Some proper names flummoxed me, but I did finish, in my personal allotted time; we have -

17A. Dawn star : TONY ORLANDO - Oddly, I already had 1-down, and so I thought this was going to be "PLANET VENUS", which is the 'dawn star'; presently it's the 'evening star' at magnitude -4.5. here's a page for any amateur astronomers out there. As for Tony, he's here.

55A. City south of Mombasa : DAR Es SALAAM - Tanzania, Africa - map, to the right

13A. Fright to the max : SHEER TERROR - this is my kind of sheer

51A. Emergency exit : ESCAPE HATCH - Nailed it, with no crossings, either - what's your favorite "escape hatch" movie moment ???

ON~ward ~!!!

ACROSS:

1. Play matchmaker for : FIX UP

6. Support spec : B-CUP - ya know, I was going to put in _ CUP, but I thought, no, we're not that DF here, are we???

10. Shorten : LOP

16. Maine in D.C., e.g. : AVE - map, at the bottom

18. With 36-Across, many a thirtysomething, briefly : GEN and 36A. See 18-Across : XER

19. Mil. address : APO - A little edification for you

20. Emollient : BALM

21. Concealed : COVERT

23. Netflix transactions : RENTALS

25. National Museum of Indonesia setting : JAKARTA - more geography - was a movie in the late 80's, too, that I liked.

26. Hagen of Broadway : UTA

27. Bowler's accessory : ROSIN BAG - When I play goalie at deck hockey, I use my bowling shoes for better side-to-side "slip"; a rosin bag is for better grip - baseball, too, right C.C.? (!)

28. Astrologer Dixon : JEANE - I knew this, but not how to spell the name.

31. Al __ : DENTE

32. Skeletal opening? : EXO

33. Optic layer : UVEA

34. All CIA directors, to date : MALES

35. It's opposite the face : PEEN - Ah, hammer - sad to say, I did not think of this right away - but then again, I use claw hammers all the time....

37. Exposes : BARES

38. Braces : GIRDS

39. 480-grain ounce, e.g. : TROY UNIT - The Wiki

41. Spot : PIP

42. Loser : ALSO-RAN

43. Writing pair : PEN-PALS - I once wrote to my cousin in England for a whole year during my teens; it was great getting the letter, but we just didn't have much in common.

47. Easy outs : POP-UPS - More baseball for our eager fans awaiting opening day; personally, I am keyed up for the presently NHL-leading Rangers to run deep into June.

48. "Lulu" composer : BERG

49. __ cit.: in the place sited : LOC. - The Wiki

50. Fertilization targets : OVA

54. Word to a dog : SIC - Not SIT, BEG, and ROLL OVER did not fit

56. Compass dir. : ENE - WAGed ESE, since "S" is pretty popular at the end of crossword entries - made 29D a little tough to parse

57. Pop singer Quatro : SUZI

58. Thomas of old TV : MARLO - Nailed her, uh, I mean, it....

DOWN:

1. Procyon or Polaris : F-STAR - I am an amateur astronomer, I have an eight-inch...telescope (easy lois) - looking forward to April's night sky; most people know Polaris as the "North Star"; Procyon is in the constellation Canis Minor, down by Orion; Pollux is one of the "twins" of Gemini

2. Wishful words : I HOPE -....I am the winner of over a half billion dollars - then again, I would probably kill myself with the toys I KNOW I would be buying - amphibious planes, McLaren sports cars, etc. - of course, the Castle would come first....



3. It follows iodine in the periodic table : XENON - OK, I "cheated" - I have the periodic table app on my phone, so I looked - and it was not At, so it must be Xe

4. One-eighty : UEY - starting to get popular in CWs now....180°, U-turn slang

5. Will process : PROBATE

6. "Carol of the __" : BELLS

7. Squeeze : CRAM

8. Decorative vase : URN

9. Audio feeds : PODCASTS

10. Pilsner, for one : LAGER BEER

11. Like most wage earners, so they say : OVER-TAXED

12. Okra cross sections, e.g. : PENTAGONS - Image

14. Refrain syllables : TRA-LA

15. Team prankster's target, often : ROOKIE

22. Delivery aid : VAN

24. Sandwich choice : TUNA

25. 1930 winner of golf's Grand Slam : JONES (Bobby)

27. Find a new tenant for : RE-LET

28. Prepare to compare : JUXTAPOSE - always a great word

29. Bloomin' : Brit : __ : Yank : EVER-LOVIN'

30. Rocket scientist's industry : AEROSPACE

31. "Things" singer, 1962 : DARIN - singer Bobby - feel free to link away ~!!

34. Battle of Bull Run site : MANASSAS - last geography lesson

35. Wally __, whom Lou Gehrig replaced as Yankee first baseman : PIPP - I defer to our baseball and crossword blog host for this one (From C.C.: Pipp asked the day off because he had a headache. He later said "I took the two most expensive aspirins in history".)

37. Did a new mom's job : BURPED

38. Plain-woven fabric : GINGHAM - I did not know this was "this"

40. One of us : YOU

41. Parisian pops : PERES

43. Popular pop : PEPSI - personally, I prefer Dr. Pepper

44. Union site : ALTAR

45. Express alternative : LOCAL

46. Jerk : SCHMO

48. Contemporary of Collins and Mitchell : BAEZ - I thought I was clever, thinking this was an astronaut, like HAIZ (but I knew it was HAISE), since Michael Collins was in the capsule on Apollo 11, and Edgar Mitchell was on the moon for Apollo 14....nope....

52. Grand __: wine classification : CRU

53. Like : À LA




Splynter

Friday, March 30, 2012, Pancho Harrison

Theme: ODD COUPLES! Each of the similarly clued theme answers are a pair of famous people whose last names combine to form a sound alike fill for the clue. I will always have a soft spot for today's constructor who the created the very first LA Times puzzle when TMS syndicate made the switch. A very proper name intense puzzle, and with six theme answers, all clechos, we have an effort which was clearly a challenge to create. let's play.

17A. Actor roomies' mailbox label that sounds like racing groups? : PITT/CRUISE. Pit Crews. Brad Pitt. Tom Cruise. The two appeared together in Interview with a Vampire.

24A. Actor/flutist roomies' mailbox label that sounds like a crook? : CAAN/MANN. Con man. James Caan. Herbie Mann. a great jazz MUSICIAN. (3:50).

32A. TV host/singer roomies' mailbox label that sounds like a vital sign? : HART/RAITT. Heart rate. Mary Hart recently retired co-host of Entertainment Tonight, who also was one of Regis' early co-hosts; and Bonnie Raitt, daughter of musical theater great John Raitt. Bonnie is a star in her own right, and to be PC, I chose her for all female studio apartment.

45A. Actress/comic roomies' mailbox label that sounds like an auto safety feature? : ROLLE/BARR. Roll bar. Esther Rolle, a Florida girl who found fame as JJ Walker's mom, and your favorite comedienne Roseanne Barr.

51A. Actress/cartoonist roomies' mailbox label that sounds like an airport employee? : SKYE/CAPP. Sky cap. You better tip if you want your bags to travel with you. Ione Skye is the actress. Oddly paired with L'il Abner creator Al Capp.

63A. Screenwriter/actor roomies' mailbox label that sounds like an old announcer?: TOWNE/CRYER. Town crier. Robert Towne wrote the screenplay for such diverse wonderful movies  as Chinatown and Shampoo. Jon Cryer, has made a career of being second banana on Two and a Half Men.

On to the puzzle:

Across:

1. Legendary kicker : PELE. I knew it was going to be a good day when I grokked his thought and the Downs confirmed. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who is still considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time.

5. Go slowly : SEEP. So much for a speed run, this took perps as the fill slowly seeped into my brain.

9. Start to strip? : DRAG. Dragstrip. Whoa boys no strip tease HERE.(0:58) This was filmed in part right here in Ft. Lauderdale at the now torn down Solid Gold.

13. Neural transmitter: AXON. Oh goody, our science learning moment.

14. Old carrier : PAN AM. Soon to be cancelled TV SERIES.

16. Count (on): RELY. You can rely on Pancho for really diverse fill.

19. Fifty-fifty : EVEN. Odds.

20. In the wrong way : ASTRAY. Marti is forever trying to lead us astray.

21. On a cargo ship, say : AT SEA.

23. Mink cousin : STOAT. perhaps you are more familiar with its name Ermine.

28. Jodie Foster title role: NELL. Somewhat disturbing MOVIE.(2:22).

31. First apartment, perhaps : STUDIO. The famous 0 bedroom apartment.

37. Begins a tour : OPENS. They usually open in LA and work east.

38. Flamenco shout : OLE.

39. Cyberspace giant : YAHOO. The now also have their own radio sports network.

41. Waikiki wreath : LEI. Aloha. Not to be confused with 29D. Not clerical : LAY. How utterly ironic

42. Digestion-related commercial prefix : PEPTO. Mel Brooks' street name in this silly MOVIE.

48. Youth who flew too near the sun: ICARUS. His father was DAEDALUS, he was just dead.

50. Appointment : DATE. Hey baby, how about going on an appointment with me?

54. Frankfurt's state : HESSE. Not clued with Herman, but this GEOGRAPHY lesson. Comments KZ?

58. Winningest NFL coach : SHULA. The Dolphins' own Don Shula, now a steak house impresario. I guess after watching all those 300 pounders eat, he saw where the real money was.

59. Resentful : BITTER. Also a type of vetch.

60. Former eft : NEWT. Being non-political, no Gingrich humor here. Maybe we can talk about EFT.

65. Track : OVAL.

66. Net business : E-TAIL. I want in this business, I need a piece of etail now!

67. "Sesame Street" giggler : ELMO. Which is your favorite character?

68. Heredity unit : GENE.

69. "Now!" relative : STAT. Used in hospitals, from the Latin STATIM: Immediately.

70. Road sign silhouette : DEER. Be careful crossing over to the downs, oh dear!

Down:

1. Half a '60s quartet : PAPAS. Beautiful VOICES, (2:34)weird people. Dance Cass, dance! Right Papa Cass?

2. Get a life? : EXIST. A very Camus like clue.

3. Game you usually lose : LOTTO. But you never win if you do not play!

4. 3-Down player, e.g. : ENTRANT. Half a BILLION Dollars!

5. Nimble : SPRY. I associate with old people, even if I am one of them.

6. Seine filler : EAU. The French river is made of water; where are you Lolita? Robin, I thought you were back?

7. 30-ton computer : ENIAC. Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer. An acronym.

8. Ristorante offering : PASTA. Italian lesson.

9. Invent : DREAM UP. Don't you wonder how the constructors dream up so many themes?

10. Gun : REV. Engines, not weapons.

11. Stein filler : ALE. My first thought was Alice B. Toklas, but the beer reference was simpler.

12. MD for women : GYNecolegist. The lady parts doctor.

15. Desert rises : MESAS.

18. Work the party, in a way : CATER.

22. Opposite of exo- : ENTO. Latin prefixes for outside and inside.

25. "A Passage to India" heroine : ADELA. It is Friday, and this BOOK about the tension caused when Adela Quested an Englishwoman accuses an Indian Muslim doctor, Aziz, of attempted sexual assault.

26. Montana, once : NINER. Not the state but Joe the hall of fame quarterback.

27. Respectful response : NO SIR. Yes sir!

30. Alibi provider, sometimes : LIAR. Rhymes with Lawyer.

32. Pueblo people : HOPIS. The too have their 2012 PREDICTIONS.

33. Smart guy? : ALECK. ORIGIN.

34. Make good on : REPAY.

35. However, briefly : THOugh.

36. Blabbed : TOLD. Big mouth.

40. Plug end? : OLA. Plugola. Another term the Payola given to 1950s and 60's DJs to promote acts or products.

43. Railroad crossing : TRESTLE. It is the support, can also be part of a table, etc.

44. "That hurt my feelings!" : OUCH. "If you prick me, do I not bleed?" Hey anon.

46. Code of conduct : ETHIC.

47. Visibly furious : BEET RED. Could not resist.

49. Cook on the range : SAUTE. As opposed to using the oven, not out in the fields.

52. Conspires : PLOTS. Some authors are great at plots some at creating characters, the great ones do both.

53. Poke, kitten-style : PAW AT. For all the kitty lovers this LINK.

55. Elegance : STYLE. Like C.C.'s puzzles and blogs.

56. Note next to a red F, maybe : SEE ME. A nice shout out to all of our teachers past and present.

57. Miscue : ERROR.

59. Circular road : BELT. Like at NCIS.

60. Frothy traditional beverage : NOG. EGGsactly.

61. "__ of Destruction": 1965 protest song : EVE. No wonder my generation is all a little crazy with this our ANTHEM. (3:37) Very graphic and violent.

62. Pallid : WAN. This clue pales in comparison to others.

64. Peeples of "Fame" : NIA. I leave you with this memory

Well another Friday and another month almost gone; thanks for inviting me in and see you next time. If you want information on Pancho read his INTERVIEW. Lemonade out.

PS for Dennis, there actually two Jack's Old Fashion Hamburger House restaurants in the area, the other is at 4201 N. Federal Highway, a little south of Commercial. Jack Berry the founder was a wonderful man, and a good friend who died in 2011. If I could get his burgers and 5 guys fries I would weigh a ton. Pompano is just over a two mile walk for me, and Ft. Lauderdale 3 miles.

Here is an article from our LAT constructor Mangesh Ghogre regarding his forthcoming visit to the US as a judge for the ACPT. I especially enjoyed the last paragraph, so true! Click here to see his picture with Will Shortz during the Judges' Dinner.

Thursday, March 29, 2012 Elizabeth A. Long

Theme: T-boned birds. See this answer grid where the birds are in aqua color. Four pair of birds are linked in a “T” shape in this clever theme. To demonstrate, I will show you the theme graphically. Notice that the crossing birds have exactly the same number of letters on each side of the "T", and each "T" is in a different orientation in the grid:

7D Escapade: LARK (Down). Just on a lark...

4A Get down: SWALLOW. Great clue!

SWALLOW
A

R

K

26D: Golfer's coup: EAGLE (Down). Even better, an "Ace"!

39A Dupe: GULL. "Gull" someone into doing something, or dupe them.

E
A
GULL
L
E

35D "Network" Oscar winner: FINCH (Down). Peter Finch, in the 1976 MGM satire.

43A Simpleton: LOON. Or, crazy one, suggested by it's weird cries.

F
I
LOON
C
H

58D Peacenik: DOVE (Down). Vs. the hawk.

71A Rogers Centre baseballer: BLUEJAY. Rogers Centre is formerly the Skydome, home of Toronto's team.

D
O
V
BLUEJAY

The unifier is found at

31D Ford spanning 50 years, or a hint to the four intersecting pairs of answers to the starred clues: T-BIRD. A classic, and the one reason I wanted my sister's boyfriend. He had one of these:

There were a couple bonus birds in this one:

44A Yeats’s “LEDA and the Swan”

and

34D Penguins may be seen on them: FLOES

Marti here, to see what else we can dig up...

Across:

1. Fool : SAP

11. Test site : LAB

14. Nasty mongrel : CUR

15. "SNL" castmate of Jane and 28-Down : LARAINE. Newman. Remember her?

16. Unfavorable : ILL. 'Tis an ill wind that blows no good...

17. It may be about nothing : ADO. Much ado about nothing.

18. Supervise : OVERSEE

19. Stooge with bangs : MOE

20. Beef with a bone : RIB STEAK. Do you have a bone to pick with this clue?

22. Needled at the dentist's office? : NUMBED. So, the dentist has your number?

24. Minor league rink org. : AHL. American Hockey League. The developmental circuit for the National Hockey League. But eddyB can expand for us!

25. Haagen-Dazs shop choice : CONE. Am I the only person in America who does not like ice cream?

26. Like custard : EGGY

29. Outer: Pref. : ECTO

32. Group of workers : STAFF

36. Baba with an ax : ALI. Remember the woodcutter who stole from thieves on Tuesday?

37. Decorative beer mug : TOBY. Various conjectures for the origin of the name, but probably from the character "Sir Toby Belch", a jovial drunkard in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". Very collectible mugs, like this:

38. "That's ___ can say" : ALL I. (Oh, no....I have lots more to say!!)

41. Descendant : SCION

45. "...___put it bluntly..." : OR TO

46. '70s TV lawman Ramsey : HEC. Starring Richard Boone, it was an old-west forerunner to "CSI".

47. Red-coated cheeses : EDAMS

49. Mideast's Gulf of ___ : ADEN. Geography lesson of the day.

50. Dis : BASH. Slam, put down, back-bite, bad-mouth, decry, vilify....

51. Earth Friendly Products detergent : ECOS. With magnolia & lilies, lavender and lemongrass.

53. Coll. admissions criterion : GPA. Grade Point Average.

55. Thingy : DOODAD. Whatchamacallit...

58. Nuts : DERANGED. (It's all in your point of view. I think I am perfectly normal!)

63. Place with no vacancies, in Luke : INN. The bible, Luke 2:7, "...because there was no room for them in the inn."

64. Takeback agent, familiarly : REPO MAN. "Repossession" man, who takes your car if you don't make the payments on time!

66. Island neckwear : LEI. Combined with the greeting at 33D. South Pacific salutation : ALOHA

67. Messy place : STY. Why do pigs always get BASHed??

68. Brewery containers : ALE VATS.

69. Kind : ILK

70. Shell helmsman : COX. There's more to being the coxswain that yelling "row"! See here for a more complete list of commands and duties.

72. Famous last word? : BYE. Wait! I have more for you - don't leave yet!!

Down:

1. Injury memento : SCAR. OK, let's trade scar stories: Mine is a big slice across the bottom of my chin. I was sliding on an icy hill when I was ten, and came down hard on the front runner when I hit a huge jump. Yours?

2. Truth in Engineering sloganeer : AUDI. No competition for the T-Bird, as far as sex appeal goes!

3. "No ___" : PROB.

4. Upside-down branch hanger : SLOTH. "Bat" didn't fit.

5. Ripples : WAVELETS. Instead of wavelets last week in Florida, I was faced with "Red-flag" rip tide currents for four days. But, that didn't stop me from going in the water!

6. Field of knowledge : AREA.

8. Fleur-de-___ : LIS. My house has fleur-de-lis leaded glass windows on each floor, similar to this one:

9. Brief bridge bid : ONE NO. Usually signifying that the bidder has several high cards in more than two suits. Maybe Spitzboov can enlighten us on what type of hand he would bid with this opening?

10. Bairns : WEE-UNS. A Scottish affectation.

11. Life partner? : LIMB. I would risk life and limb to climb in the Alps, or swim in Florida rip-tides...

12. Natural burn soother : ALOE. I was smart, and used SPF 50 lotion last week, so I did not need the aloe!

13. Serviced, as a radiator : BLED. Many of our southern bloggers would have no clue about this. But believe me, having steam radiators bled in New England involves a hefty service fee!

21. "___ what?" : SAY

23. "Heavy" music : METAL. Black Sabbath comes to mind...

25. Hunter in a pack : COYOTE

27. Attached, in a way : GLUED

28. See 15-Across : GILDA. Radner. So sad to see such a talent die so young of ovarian cancer.

30. Winter beverages : COCOAS. (Um, what planet are you from? My winter beverages are hot toddies, with plenty of rum!)

40. Disabled, as a horse : LAMED

42. Unwelcome : NON GRATA. Like a persona...

48. Egyptian charm : SCARAB. Like this beetle.

50. Forbid : BAN

52. 1961 Newbery Medal winner Scott : O'DELL. He won for "Island of the Blue Dolphins", based on the true story of Juana Maria, a Nicoleno Indian left alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island in the 19th century.

54. Cultivated violet : PANSY

55. Record : DISC. You young 'uns wouldn't know about those old-fashioned things, though. Now, it's all mp3 downloads!

56. Not duped by : ON TO

57. Cameo stone : ONYX

59. Key of the last movement of Mendelssohn's Op. 64 violin concerto : E MAJ. Not quite "heavy metal". For those of more classical tastes, here is the rendition by the great Heifitz, conducted by none other than Toscanini. The concerto starts in E Minor in the first "allegro" movement, switches to C Major in the "andante" second movement, and then a final change to E Major in the third "allegretto" movement.

60. Slick, as a speaker : GLIB

61. Slippery : EELY

62. Legendary Haarlem leaker : DIKE. I was thinking of the Harlem Globe Trotters, DUH!!! This clue refers to the dike that was plugged by the hero of Haarlem, in the story "Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates".

65. Little, in Lille: PEU. Just a little French word to finish off the day's offering!

 

Hugs,

Marti

Note from C.C.:Melissa and her daughter visited NY last month. Here are some wonderful photos from their trip. Click each one to enlarge. Melissa appears in photo 54. Look at photo 27, incredible! But which girl doesn't want to be at Serendipity?

Wednesday, March 28, 2012 Mark Bickham

Theme: A Body of Work - The first word of each theme entry can precede BODY.

18A. *Handycam project : HOME MOVIE. This phrase seems almost quaint in these days of YouTube and cameras on every phone.

23A. *Graduates' burdens : STUDENT LOANS. You're saddled with these even if you don't graduate!

34A. *Marshall Plan subject : FOREIGN AID. Specifically, US financial assistance to Western European countries after the end of World War II.

42A. *Frustrating call response : BUSY SIGNAL. I realize it's been a long time since I heard one of these; even when someone's making a HOME MOVIE on their phone you go to voicemail.

50A. *Cornerback's responsibility : WIDE RECEIVER. Football-speak: The cornerback's job is to break up a deep pass thrown to a wide receiver.

and the unifier:

60A. Physiques, and what the starts of the answers to starred clues are : BODY TYPES.

Steve here with your Wednesday offering from Mark. I needed quite a lot of help from crosses to solve this, and therefore had a lot of learning moments making this a very enjoyable puzzle. I thought I'd eventually run into a natick, but everything worked out in the end. I liked the theme and definitely needed the unifier to tie everything together.

Across:

1. Salon chorus : SNIPS. I read "saloon" and wanted "Cheers!" or "NORM!" Not a good start!

6. Modern wall hanging : HDTV

10. Grilling occasions, briefly : BBQS. It won't be long until the weather's good enough for a barbecue. Or bar-b-q. Or a BBQ!

14. White-and-yellow lily : CALLA. Lovely.

15. Requiem Mass hymn word : IRAE. From the Latin phrase "Dies Irae", Judgement Day.

16. Riga resident : LETT. Alternative to "Latvian". I knew this from the novel "One Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich", the inmate who sold tobacco to Ivan is identified as "The Lett" by Solzhenitzyn.

17. Spanish waters : AGUAS. I had a little moment of wondering how "Mediterranean" or "Bay of Biscay" could be squeezed into five letters, then more rational thoughts prevailed.

20. Maritime special ops force member : NAVY SEAL. An acronym from SEa, Air and Land; the US Navy obviously don't like to be pigeonholed regarding their area of operations.

22. Suez Canal locale : EGYPT. "A man, a plan, a canal - Zeus". No, wait, that's wrong.

26. Ames sch. : I.S.U. Graduates of Iowa State University must repay their loans just like anyone else.

27. Mao's gp. : P.L.A. Zedong's People's Liberation Army.

28. "Boardwalk Empire" airer : HBO. The channel is owned by Home Box Office Inc.

31. Picture problem : BLUR. A Steadicam handily takes care of this issue.

38. Vital artery : AORTA.

40. "Let __ Cry": Hootie & the Blowfish hit : HER. A real ear worm even without me posting a link, but this is a wonderful acoustic version from Darius.

41. Word with bald or sea : EAGLE

45. Sounds of disapproval : TSKS. Can sometimes be heard from this blog if the puzzle doesn't seem up to standard. None of these today, at least not from me.

46. LAX calculation : E.T.A. As usual, I need to wait for the cross to decide whether we're estimating the time of arrival or departure.

47. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr. : STE. St. Joan of Arc, en Français

48. Pick, with "for" : OPT. Can you opt against? You can opt in or opt out, so if you can opt for ...

56. Cover : ALIAS

59. React to an unreasonable boss, perhaps : UNIONIZE. I loved this - I had to fill it letter by letter, even when I had ??IONIZE I still didn't see it.

63. Varnish ingredient : RESIN

64. "__ further reflection ..." : UPON

65. Kaneohe Bay locale : OAHU

66. "__ a Letter to My Love": 1980 film : I SENT. Completely unknown to me, which is rather apt as the original French title is "Chère Inconnue", or "Unknown Darling" in my rough translation.

67. Marketing prefix : TELE

68. M.'s counterpart : MLLE. Another head-scratcher for me. I was on a wild "James Bond" goose chase wondering what code name the Russian intelligence service assigned to their chief until the Monsieur/Mademoiselle penny (centime?) dropped.

69. Hauling team : ASSES. I chuckled when I saw that "hauling asses" could describe the speed at which a sprint team runs.

Down:

1. Some hospital procedures : SCANS

2. Bedevil : NAG AT

3. Candy heart message : I LUV U. Hands up who rearranged the contents of the tube so that the object of your affections got the "right one" when you offered them around?

4. Be unsportsmanlike : PLAY DIRTY. Boo!

5. Talks back to : SASSES.

6. Drummer's pair of cymbals : HI-HAT. I think it's hyphenated - we have experts here who will confirm or deny.

7. Waggish : DROLL

8. Skye cap : TAM. A slick way of describing the Scottish hat you'd wear on this particular Hebridean isle.

9. Sign of a winner : VEE. Make sure you hold your palm outwards in the UK if you do this, otherwise you might find yourself sending a quite different message.

10. They may involve rants : BLOGS. Never! Well, not here! Well, not that often here! Next!

11. Flock of quail : BEVY. I never knew this specifically referred to quail. Now I do!

12. Aural hygiene item : Q-TIP. Isn't it borderline illegal now to hold a Q-Tip anywhere near your ear?

13. Editor's mark : STET. More Latin, actually - "let it stand".

19. __ à trois : MENAGE. Absolutely no comment; whatever I say will only get me in trouble.

21. Sufficient, in slang : ENUF. Enuf said 'bout 19D.

24. "Lohengrin," for one : OPERA. Even if you think you know nothing about this Wagner work, you know this.

25. "The Louisville Lip" : ALI. My favorite line from the Champ (before the 1965 Floyd Patterson bout) was "I'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on" and I've still absolutely no idea what it means!

28. Fairy tale baddies : HAGS

29. Con : BILK

30. Horace works : ODES. One of the Latin poets we studied in school.

31. Woods denizen? : BABE. I wanted BEAR first, and couldn't shake the idea for quite some time.

32. Ill-mannered sort : LOUT

33. Celestial bear : URSA. Odd, but the BEAR idea for 31D didn't come from here!

35. "Golly!" : OH GEE. I watched "Fargo" a couple of nights ago, and I think "Oh Gee" accounted for about half the dialog.

36. Friend of Stimpson J. Cat : REN. I never knew that "Stimpy" had a full name - now I do!

37. Fop's characteristic : NATTINESS. What a great word! I vow to use "nattiness" in a sentence today.

39. Court statistic : ASSIST. I went down the legal path first, and with ASS??? was wondering if ASSIZES had something to do with the answer. Considering it's "March Madness" basketball time and I've seen most of the games, I had no excuse.

43. "__ be an honor" : IT'D. It would indeed.

44. Sets of points, in math : LOCI. The plural of "locus". I think it's Latin day today; thank goodness for all those Horace poems we had to translate.

49. Illinois county or its seat : PEORIA. This town has made it onto my bucket list of places to visit simply because of crosswords!

50. Revolutionary general known as Mad Anthony : WAYNE. Complete unknown, crosses all the way for me. I now know that Fort Wayne is named for him.

51. Oscar winner Mercedes : RUEHL. All crosses required! Movies aren't my strong suit as you might gather. Maybe I should watch more HBO and less ESPN.

52. Come after : ENSUE

53. Carpentry tools : VISES. I'd never really considered a vise a tool, more part of the workbench.

54. Cybermag : E-ZINE. Have you noticed that an E-MAG is a cyberzine?

55. Lets out : RENTS. Another giggle for me here - should he let out his pants before he rents them bending over?

56. Border on : ABUT.

57. Easy gait : LOPE. Wolves walk like this - with a lupine lope.

58. Hollywood favorite : IDOL

61. Hebrew day : YOM. I know Yom Kippur; I never knew Yom meant "Day". Now I do!

62. Bud : PAL



And that's it. I'm in Arizona today, and took some photographs of an aloe vera plant (that wonderful crossword staple) which I'll post when I get a convenient excuse. I didn't know it was a cactus - now I do!

Note from C.C.:

Here is a great picture of Steve. Don't we have the coolest bloggers here at the Corner, Irish Miss?

Tuesday, March 27, 2012 Gary Steinmehl(1937-2012)

Theme: Pep Rally - Combine the ends of the theme entries and you get the unifier.

20A. The smile on an email happy face : PARENTHESIS

37A. Barrier-breaking noise : SONIC BOOM

56A. Exalted group leader, facetiously : GRAND POOBAH

65A. Encouraging cry, such as the one formed by the ends of 20-, 37-, and 56-Across : CHEER

Argyle here. Today's constructor passed away in January. C.C. interviewed him in April, 2010. link. Scroll the comments to see his take on his family's name.

Today's theme may have been hard to suss without the unifier. Certainly, some of the entries harder than normal Tuesday's but do reflect Gary's interests; bridge, jazz, sports, etc. But like all puzzles, I have found one man's Natick is another man's gimme.

Triple seven letter files in all four corners.

Across:

1. __ Tomé and Príncipe : SÃO. The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea. Map.

4. Cap on spending, say : LIMIT

9. Norwegian Sea arm : FJORD

14. Footed vase : URN

15. Habituate : ENURE

16. Friend of Fido : ROVER. "Woof!"

17. Agt.'s cut : PCT. (%)

18. Grouchy Muppet : OSCAR

19. The other side : ENEMY

23. Director Reiner : ROB

24. Jazz singer Anita : O'DAY. Skylark(3:07)

25. Vatican City is one : ENCLAVE

27. Split end in a uniform : RECEIVER. A football player that lines up apart from the formation.

32. Air-conditioned : COOLED

33. Tut's cousin? : "TSK!"

34. Andrea __: ill-fated vessel : DORIA. Collided with the MS Stockholm in 1956 off the coast of Nantucket, MA. The Wikipedia article is interesting in how the sinking was handled, given the recent Costa Concordia event.

36. 88 or 98 automaker : OLDS. Not only your father's Olds but your grandfather's, too. Bill Haley and his Comets sing about his "88". Clip.

40. "Pygmalion" playwright : SHAW. (George Bernard Shaw)

43. Reeves of "Speed" : KEANU. Movie with co-star Sandra Bullock.

44. Palindromic Altar : ARA. A southern constellation situated between Scorpius and Triangulum Australe. Which ties in with 42-Down. Supergiant in Scorpius : ANTARES. Antares is a star in the constellation Scorpius.

47. Bridge holding such as ace-queen : TENACE. Nothing to do with TEN ACE. Derived from the same root as TONGS and indicates a pair of cards that is missing the intervening card.

50. Surprises : STARTLES. Verbs.

52. More decrepit : RATTIER

54. Wuss : WIMP

55. Topsy's playmate in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" : EVA

61. __ cotta : TERRA

63. Household cleanser : BORAX. Still available, I believe. 20 Mule Team® Borax

64. Alternate identity letters : AKA. (also known as)

66. Trumpet sound : BLARE

67. __ canto: singing style : BEL. BEL canto (Italian, "beautiful singing") is an Italian opera term. It has several different meanings and is subject to a wide array of interpretations.(per Wikipedia)

68. Leno and Letterman, e.g. : HOSTS. If you're up late.

69. Artist Grant Wood, by birth : IOWAN. So maybe American Gothic were his neighbors.

70. Bermuda hrs. : AST. Summer hours would be ADT (Atlantic Daylight Time)

Down:

1. Provide for, as a dependent : SUPPORT

2. Teen haunts : ARCADES

3. According to plan : ON TRACK

4. Ponce de __ : LEON. He led an expedition to Florida, looking for the Fountain of Youth. And still they come.

5. R&D site : INST.. (institute, such as RPI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)

6. A whole lot : MUCH

7. "Dies __": Latin hymn : IRAE. (Day of Wrath)

8. Short and sweet : TERSE. Not necessarily sweet but you get the point.

9. Mural on wet plaster : FRESCO

10. Comedian Lovitz : JON. Feel free to link your favorite clip.

11. From one end to the other : OVERALL

12. Took out : REMOVED

13. Ditches where creeks once were : DRY BEDS. Oddly clued.

21. A patch may cover one : EYE

22. Co. designation : INC. (incorporated)

26. Rise up dramatically : LOOM

28. Courtroom oath : "I DO". Swear to tell the truth.

29. Otto __ Bismarck : VON. (1815–1898)

30. The Phantom of the Opera : ERIK

31. Puts through a food press : RICES

35. Blind as __ : A BAT

37. Babe Ruth's sultanate? : SWAT. Just one of his nicknames was The Sultan of Swat, coined by sportswriter, Warren Brown.

38. "I'm __ roll!" : ON A

39. Wilder's "__ Town" : OUR

40. Final race leg : STRETCH

41. Bum's rush : HEAVE-HO

44. Woodcutter who stole from thieves : ALI BABA

45. New versions of old films : REMAKES

46. Paving material : ASPHALT

48. Perfectos, e.g. : CIGARS

49. Suffix with profit : EER

51. Pair : TWO

53. Jewish holy man : RABBI

57. __ contendere: court plea : NOLO

58. Shootout shout : "DRAW!"

59. Lawyer's aide : PARA. Shortened from paralegal.

60. Plow pullers : OXEN

62. Inactive mil. status : RET. (retired)

Argyle

Monday, March 26, 2012 Ki Lee

Theme: Executive Privilege, By The Numbers - Four long entries that inelegant I will never encounter.

17A. Elegant business garb : THREE-PIECE SUITS

27A. Elegant business dinner : FOUR-COURSE MEAL

46A. Elegant business accommodations : FIVE-STAR HOTELS. Two plural. Two singulars in the theme set.

61A. Elegant business reward : SIX-FIGURE INCOME

Bonus: 44D. Wealthy group : THE RICH 53D. One in business who is no stranger to the elegant things in this puzzle : EXEC

Argyle here. Neat point is that the numbers are all hyphenated. Our constructor graced us with a Friday puzzle in January. Maybe we will get one for each day of the week. That would be nice(not french).

Across:

1. Filled tortilla : TACO

5. "__ to the Chief" : HAIL

9. Lincoln's legendary log home : CABIN

14. "Pronto!" initials : "ASAP!". (as soon as possible)

15. Killer whale : ORCA

16. Barely ahead in the game : UP ONE

20. Spirited meeting? : SEANCE. I'm not sure whom to thank but there are several mildly tricky clues today.

21. Cell phone message : TEXT

22. Building site : LOT

23. Seemingly forever : EONs

25. Office seeker, briefly : POL

34. Tolkien tree creature : ENT

35. Concerning a heart chamber : ATRIAL. Bad if they fibrillate.

36. New York NFL team, familiarly : G-MEN. (Giants)

38. "__ is human ..." : TO ERR

40. Down with the mouth : EAT. Cute.

41. "__, girl!": words of encouragement : YOU GO

42. __-American : AFRO

43. Quick on the uptake : ASTUTE

45. Down in the mouth : SAD

49. Diplomat's HQ : EMB. (embassy)

50. Captain of the Nautilus : NEMO. The Nautilus(Greek for sailor) is the fictional submarine featured in Jules Verne's novels "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (1870)

51. Imitate : APE

54. Pub order : PINT

57. Increase, as production : RAMP UP

64. Smudge : SMEAR

65. Catchall abbr. : MISC.

66. Heidi's mountains : ALPS

67. Mother-of-pearl : NACRE. and who is the father -of-pearl?

68. Not just one : BOTH

69. Quiz, e.g. : TEST

Down:

1. Body art, for short : TATS. (tattoo's) Remember when TATS meant to make 8-Down : LACE. (Tie, as shoes)

2. Tennis great Arthur : ASHE

3. Dear, in Bologna : CARA. Cara Mia(1:47) A Cappella and definitely not by Jay and the Americans.

4. Warm-up act : OPENER

5. "Heaven forbid" : "HOPE NOT"

6. Magnate Onassis : ARI. Jackie Kennedy's husband.

7. Rapper whose name sounds like a refreshing beverage : ICE T. He has been on the long-running(2000 to present) TV series, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", as Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola.

9. Usual procedure : CUSTOM

10. "The Simpsons" storekeeper : APU

11. Heat, as water : BOIL

12. Captivated by : INTO

13. Egg holder : NEST. 'Tis the season for nesting.

18. Chevy Volt or Nissan Leaf : ECOCAR

19. Kick out : EXPEL

24. Most certain : SUREST

26. Danish toy block maker : LEGO

27. Greek cheese : FETA. 'Tis the season for fresh FETA. It is made with goat's and/or sheep's milk.

28. Wall switch words : ON/OFF

29. Wombs : UTERI. (plural of uterus)

30. Cowboy's rope : RIATA

31. Galileo was the first to observe its rings : SATURN



32. Cause to chuckle : AMUSE

33. Okay, in law : LEGAL

37. Okays with a head bob : NODS

39. Wander : ROVE

41. Naval petty officer : YEOMAN

43. Comparable in size : AS BIG

47. __ State Building : EMPIRE. (in NYC)

48. Alley prowler : TOM CAT

51. Part of NBA: Abbr. : ASSN. (basketball)

52. Soft cotton : PIMA. Did you get it this time?

55. Feeling no pain : NUMB

56. The Musketeers, e.g. : TRIO

58. Global extremity : POLE

59. Strike callers : UMPs

60. Annoying one : PEST

62. At a distance : FAR

63. Superlative suffix : EST. This is the farthEST I go.

Argyle

Sunday March 25, 2011 Sam Ezersky

Theme: Greg's List (Craigslist) - Hard C sound is changed into Hard G sound, resulting in significant spelling change in each key word.

23A. Uses Knorr packets instead of poker chips? : GAMBLES SOUP. Campbell's soup.

29A. Lard display site? : FAT GALLERY. Fat calorie.

31A. Apparition with a proboscis? : MOSQUITO GHOST. Mosquito Coast.

57A. One putting up framed stone carvings? : GLYPH HANGER. Cliff hanger.

69A. Stories told by rapt storytellers? : TALES FROM THE GRIPPED. "Tales from the Crypt."

85A. Superior vis-à-vis Huron? : GREATER LAKE. Crater Lake.

112A. Trade war group? : GUILD IN BATTLE. Killed in battle.

115A. 24 undeveloped photos of Old Faithful? : GEYSER ROLL. Kaiser roll.

122A. Baby's wake-up gadget? : GOO GOO CLOCK. Cuckoo clock. Two part change.

18D. "Don't come any closer, Zombie!"? : STAY, GHOUL. Stay cool.

80D. Prison workers' respite? : GUARD GAME. Card game.

Heavy themage.

Normally we don't see non-theme entries have the same number of letters as the theme entries. Constructors and editors do not want to confuse solvers which are theme entries. Today we have quite a few long Downs. Since the theme entries all have clear question marks, so no confusion here. Plus, those long Downs are all quite sparkling.

This is Sam Ezersky's first published puzzle. And a Sunday. Amazing feat. Congrats!

Across:

1. Scavenged, as the fridge : RAIDED

7. Lines at the register? : UPCS. The scannable lines.

11. Nabokov novel : ADA

14. Throat clearers : AHEMs. I think Argyle's first comment on the blog is "Ahem", right, Santa?

19. Verdi title bandit : ERNANI. Hard to remember.

20. X-Men enemy who can control fire : PYRO. "Fire" prefix.

21. Sniggler's catch : EEL

22. Didn't participate, with "out" : SAT IT

25. Stat for 30-Down : RBI. And 30 Down. MLBer with the most career seasons of 100-plus 25-Across : A-ROD. 14, to be exact.

26. New Mexico's state flower : YUCCA

27. ''Here __ again!'' : I GO

28. Jazzman Al and sportscaster Linda : COHNS. Linda Cohn is with ESPN's SportsCenter.

35. Piece activist's gp.? : NRA. Nice clue.

36. Dress (up) : TOG

37. Pencil maze word : ENTER

38. Teen's room, to many a mom : STY

39. Sailor's patron, briefly : ST. ELMO

41. Gym shorts material : MESH

42. Calendario entry : DIA. Day.

44. "Peek-__!" : A BOO

46. Brit. lexicon : OED

47. Sock end? : EROO. Sockeroo.

48. Penn of "Harold & Kumar" films : KAL

51. Entrée feature : ACCENT.

54. One of a game's 16 : PAWN. Know nothing about Chess. It has 16 pawns?

56. Real mess : SNAFU

60. Do not disturb : LET BE

62. Cards' home: Abbr. : STL. Cardinals. Pujols-less.

63. Windbag : BORE

64. Taina of "Les Girls" : ELG. Another difficult to remember name. Same with her given TAINA. Finnish.

65. Race of Norse gods : AESIR

67. War on Poverty org. : OEO (Office of Economic Opportunity)

75. Upbeat Progressive Insurance spokeswoman : FLO. No idea.

76. Looped handles, in archaeology : ANSAE. Plural of "Ansa".

77. Wasser in Winter : EIS. Ice. Wasser = Water.

78. Type of poll : EXIT. Exit poll.

80. Understand : GET. For Splynter.

83. Noted tart stealer : KNAVE. "The Queen of Hearts" poem.

88. "I'm at your disposal" : USE ME

90. Aqueduct Racetrack nickname : BIG A. Who knows? OK, maybe eddyB.

92. Sequel title words : PART II

93. See 79-Down : MEX. 79. With 93-Across, spicy cuisine : TEX. So what kind of salsa do you prefer? Mild, medium or hot? Medium is the highest I can stomach.

94. Done to __ : A TEE

95. Arabic "son of" : IBN

96. One of the orig. Southern Colonies : N CAR

98. Material studied by Watson and Crick : DNA

100. Durban dollar : RAND. Durban is third largest city in South Africa, says Wiki.

101. Meat shunners : VEGANS. I want to be a vegan, but I'm not that morally high.

103. __ pop: Weezer genre : EMO. Emo pop is also called called "emo pop punk". Whatever. Kids stuff.

106. Plot : GRAPH

110. 24-Down malady : DTS. Delirium tremens. And 24D. Plastered ones : SOTS

111. Lad : BOY

118. More peculiar : ODDER

119. Non-PC? : MAC. I'm a PC.

120. Taking some cuts, say : AT BAT. Baseball.

121. Corrida cheer : OLE

125. Setting for many King novels : MAINE

126. Palindromic pooh-bah : AGA. Turkish pooh-bah.

127. Seedy joint : DIVE

128. __ the bud : NIPS IN

129. Glorify : EXTOL

130. Hoover, e.g. : DAM. Not vacuum cleaner or the president.

131. Amanda of "The Whole Ten Yards" : PEET. Very pretty. Look at her eyes! I think she can launch 900 ships, Lemonade!

132. Lacks the skills for : CAN'T DO

Down:

1. Ruling group : REGIME

2. Catherine of __ : ARAGON

3. Secret to the max : IN MOST. This answer looks odd to me.

4. A little one will "do ya," in old ads : DAB

5. Blowup: Abbr. : ENL

6. Perfect score, to Paolo : DIECI. "Ten" in Italian.

7. Consequence : UPSHOT

8. Taedong River capital : PYONGYANG. North Korea. Pyongyang literally means "flat land". Pyong has the same character as Chinese "Ping", meaning "flat".

9. Valentine recipient, perhaps : CRUSH. Remember your first Valentine's gift?

10. Bribe : SOP

11. Infuse with oxygen : AERATE

12. It's tough to be in a lot of it : DEBT

13. Garage job : ALIGNMENT

14. Places of refuge : ASYLA. Plural of "asylum".

15. U-__ : HAUL. Probably what Dennis used to move his stuff.

16. Odds and ends : ET CETERAS

17. Word coiner? : MICROSOFT. Great clue.

29. Photog's setting : F STOP

32. End-of-proof letters : QED

33. Bathsheba's husband : URIAH. Or Heep from "David Copperfield".

34. Bolivian bear : OSO

40. It'll help you slow down : LOWER GEAR

41. Game pieces : MEN

43. Truman's secretary of state : ACHESON (Dean). Stranger to me.

45. Second-string squads : B TEAMS

48. Old 123-Down foe : KGB. 123D. Cold War foe of 48-Down : CIA

49. Immensely : A LOT

50. Vega's constellation : LYRA

52. Farm newborn : CALF

53. Dürer work : ENGRAVING

55. "I cannot tell __" : A LIE

56. Trickle : SEEP

58. Ill-gotten gains : PELF. LOOT, SWAG too.

59. Mark up or down, maybe : RETAG

61. NW city nicknamed "The City of Trees" : BOISE, ID. NW indicates a shortened name.

66. Everest aide : SHERPA

68. Autobahn auto : OPEL

70. Sommer of "A Shot in the Dark" : ELKE

71. Universal donor's type, for short : O NEG

72. Director Martin : RITT. "Norma Rae", "Hud", etc.

73. Student stressor : EXAM

74. Bank manager? : DIKE. River bank.

81. Heir's burden : ESTATE TAX. Nice answer.

82. Skosh : TEENSY BIT. Good one too.

84. 1960s album with a cover photo of its band crossing the street : ABBEY ROAD. Another good one.

86. Pigeonlike South American bird : EARED DOVE. I can't see her ears.

87. "Does this __ bell?" : RING A

89. __ school : MED

91. Quash : ANNUL

95. Actor/composer Novello : IVOR. I simply forgot his name. My brain remembers what I want to remember.

97. "__: Miami" : CSI

99. Creative output : ART

102. Sparkly : AGLEAM

104. Like some small racecars : MIDGET

105. __-cat: sandlot game : ONE O

107. Maximally : AT MOST

108. Adirondacks lake : PLACID

109. Emphatic refusal : HECK, NO!

111. Medicinal Asian leaf : BETEL. Stimulant.

113. Sarge's superior : LOOIE

114. Tough mount to mount : BRONC

116. Not loco : SANO. Spanish for "sane". Loco is Spanish for "nuts".

117. Gymnast Korbut : OLGA

122. Econ. yardstick : GDP

124. Hosp. employee : LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse)

Answer grid.

C.C.