Friday, August 10, 2012, Steven J. St. John

Theme: C. C. where are you? Oh there you are, at the beginning of the first word in each of the four theme answers (and twice in one!) right before a word beginning with "L." Our friend and part time visitor SJ SJ is back with a Friday offering just right to set the mood for the weekend, one Q short of a pangram. Steven lives and teaches in Orlando, which is where my youngest (who graduated from U. of Central Florida) and I started our journey with the 26 foot truck on the way to Denver. This is a very nice tight puzzle with low word count and lots of originality, nice long fill, punny theme pictures, but it reminds me why I do not try this. Welcome to Fridays SJ, sorry I missed marti, C.C. and Jeff Chen, but now to dissect this war on my neurons after my week off for my cross-country trek.

20A. Problem for French Open tennis officials? : CLAY ON THE LINE.(13) Lots of fun stuff here, but you need to know they play on the red clay at Roland Garros, the only major tennis event left on clay. SJ laid it on the line for us today. (my marti nit; why is it not CLAY ON THE CLINE, maybe clued with Aiken sings Patsy?)

30A. Challenge for an aspiring vascular surgeon? : CLOTS TO LEARN (12). Blood clots being a big part of that surgery, and certainly must be learned.

38A. "Come on-a My House" and "Hey There"? : CLOONEY TUNES (12). Aunt ROSEMARY not George; no cartoons here.

49A. Daily chore for Travolta? : CLEFT CLEANING (13). Great visual, though I do not believe Scientologists are at all liberal.

Across:

1. Mouth part : JAW. My first thought was, really? Then my jaw dropped, and it was all good.

4. Pay a call : STOP IN. SJ seems to have taken up the mantle of the late Dan Naddor in using these word combo answers.

10. 2011 NBA MVP Derrick : ROSE. The Chicago Bull STAR. (4:37).

14. Big time : ERA. Nice change on an old word.

15. Legalese adverb : HERETO. hereinafter, heretofore ad nauseam.

16. Dark, in verse : EBON. Like Othello.

17. It can be placed at a window : BET. At the track; nice clue.

18. While : EVEN AS. See, another one.

19. Much : A LOT. Some grammer gramma? LINK.

23. Deserves a treat, perhaps : BEHAVES. I did my Austin Powers' link last time.

25. Niamey is its capital : NIGER. The only thing I know about this COUNTRY is that it is not Nigeria, but next to it.

26. Number from the past : OLDIE. Musical number, nice!

27. Some columnists : BLOGGERS. Hmm, right next to oldie, I wonder if he was thinking of me?

33. 23-Down holder : KEG. with 23D. Dark quaff : BOCK. Nice Friday word (quaff) in the clue and a BEER shout out for my aspiring brewer son.

34. Bikini event, briefly : H TEST. Not my first thought of a bikini, i do not like it atoll. See below.

35. Spill-handling org. : EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.

42. Ran last in : ANCHORED. very Olympic friendly; did you all see this RACE? (1:13).

45. Converse : SPEAK.

46. Word in some font names : SERIF. INFORMATION.

47. Chums : COHORTS. This stems from the Roman fighting unit within their army.

53. St. ___: Rose's Minnesota home town on "The Golden Girls" : OLAF.

54. Top with no back : HALTER. I like how this crosses 40D. Concert mementos : T SHIRTS.

55. Hypotheticals : IFS.

58. Longtime Eastern European leader : TITO. The Yugoslavian leader, who like Franco is still dead. (SNL anyone?)

59. Words of exhaustion : I'M BEAT. How did he know I am so tired; loading driving 1,991 miles, unloading; whew!

60. Wild scene : ZOO.

61. Discovered : SEEN.

62. Choice examples : PEARLS. Wisdom, often comes before SWINE. Please see the August 9 edition. Lois, Carol, Jeannie?

63. Abbr. on a business card : EXTension.

Down:

1. Bush from Florida : JEB. The youngest brother, initially.

2. "___ you happy now?" : ARE. I hope so, I am working hard here.

3. Burglar alarm alternative : WATCHDOG. Another nice clue.

4. Rural bundles : SHEAVES. More nice fill, perfect Friday Fodder.

5. Musical milkman : TEVYE. Did you recall he was a MILK MAN?(7:34)

6. 100-year-old treats : OREOS. Man, those must be really stale by now.

7. Eponymous 17th-century settler : PENN. This Quaker wanted to name the state Sylvania for its lush forests.

8. "Do ___ once!" : IT AT.

9. Light chow : NOSH. Is this Yiddish word in the language?

10. Work on wheels, perhaps : REALIGN. More good long fill.

11. Make beholden : OBLIGE. SJ SJ makes us beholden for his fine entertainment.

12. Better, to an impatient boss : SOONER. Or later.

13. Appears onstage : ENTERS. Am I the only one who thought of Snagglepuss?

21. Café supply : LAIT. French for Milk. Au lait, ole!

22. Caltech grad, perhaps: Abbr. : ENGR. Engineer. which is nearby 35D. Command from Captain Kirk : ENERGIZE which appeals to me.

24D. Cover girl McPherson : ELLE. A better bikini image.

27. Many a wine : BLEND. The dirty rats!

28. Suffix with Congo : LESE.

29. Like some cereal : OATY. Which is near 32D. Tribe met by Lewis and Clark : OTOE. We drove over the trail.

31. 2011 superhero film starring Chris Hemsworth : THOR. The MOVIE. (2:33)

36. Gardener's supply : PEAT. Not Erle Stanley.

37. Shows curiosity : ASKS.

38. Elegant fabric : CHIFFON. SHOP?

39. Artistic digs : LOFT.

41. "Once ___..." : UPON. Likely story.

42. Sporty ties : ASCOTS. Named for the British race course where they were (are) worn proudly. Maybe.

43. First name in circumnavigation : NELLIE BLY, the famous reporter, who liked Jules Verne. LINK.

44. Be artistic : CREATE.

47. Do lunch? : CATER. Almost neighboring anagrams.

48. Center with an MBA : O'NEAL. Not an honorary one, but earned by SHAQUILLE.

50. Circuit holder : CHIP. Likely micro.

51. Hobbled : LAME, or many of my jokes.

52. Largest island in the Tuscan archipelago : ELBA. We have learned much about this little place.

56. Deceive : FOX. Well I hope SJ did not out fox you today, and make you turn to drink, and become...

57. Inebriate : SOT. Anyway, on that note, time to mosey on out of here. Nice to be back. Thank you Mr. Sinjin, and thank you all for being there.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

John Lampkin constructed today's NYT. It's his first themeless. Congrats, John!

Thursday, August 9, 2012 Ed Sessa

Theme: Got change?

I know little (if nothing) about coin collecting. Everything that follows is totally gg'd!!

20-Across. *7 ___ : BUFFALO NICKELS. Buffalo nickels were minted from 1913-1938. A 1916/16 (double die variety) could be worth $50,000. What would seven of those suckers be worth?

33-Across. *5 ___ : WHEAT PENNIES. Wheat pennies were minted from 1909 to 1958. A 1943 D-bronze/copper could be worth $1,000,000 !! (That's more than a buck, by my reckoning...)

42-Across. *6 ___ : MERCURY DIMES. Mercury dimes were minted from 1916 to 1945. A 1916-D could bring about $375. $2,250 for six of 'em.

And the unifier:
57-Across. What the starred clues and their no-longer-minted answers come to : CHANGE FOR A BUCK. The coins in the other three theme entries are no longer minted. Therefore, they are "changed" from the modern-day version of the respective coins. If you add them all up, 7 nickels, 5 pennies plus 6 dimes all add up to $1.00. Got it?

It's Thursday, and Marti here to look at the rest.

Across:

1. Ones crying foul : REFS

5. Bishop's representative : VICAR. A vicar is any representative. For example, in the Catholic church, the pope is the "vicar" of Christ.

10. Letters for Dick and Jane : ABCS

14. Nerve cell projection : AXON

15. "Guitar Town" singer Steve : EARLE.Link. 2:29

16. Place to find a 62-Across : PERU. And 62-Across. Animal of 16-Across : LLAMA

17. "Not so quick, Silver!" : WHOA. "Hi-ho Silver, awaaaay...!"

18. Tequila source : AGAVE

19. Like some chances : SLIM...to none.

23. Affaire de coeur : AMOUR. "Affair of the heart": Love, in French.

24. Low bender : KNEE

25. Impersonate : APE

27. Classic roadster : REO

28. Gene's "Brigadoon" partner : CYD. Charisse.

31. "Who Wants to Be Me?" co-author, familiarly : REGIS. Philbin. I haven't read it. You?

37. Sutherland solo : ARIA. Joan Sutherland sings the aria from Handel's "Alcina". 4:46

40. Attention-getting sound : ALARM. Don't you just love it when the cats decide to chase a moth at 3:00 A.M., and set off the alarm in the process???

41. Matador's foe : TORO. The "bull", in Spanish.

45. Soft fly : BLOOP. Hmmph, I'll leave it to the baseball experts to explain that one!

46. Country miss : GAL

47. Court do-over : LET. Tennis court, that is.

50. Cyclotron bit : ION

51. Spartan spirits : OUZO. Greek spirits. Tastes like licorice!

55. Bingo relative : BEANO. Or, a gas-preventing pill.

61. False god : BAAL. Any of the spirit deities worshiped as cult images called "ba'al". Regarded as false gods in the Hebrew bible.

63. Like much lore : ORAL

64. Sicilian spewer : ETNA. Italian volcano.

65. Fabled grasshopper, for one : IDLER. Aesop's "The Ant and the Grasshopper"

66. '60s golfer "Champagne" Tony : LEMA. He joked that he would buy champagne for the press if he won the Orange County Open Invitational in 1962. Ironically, he died in a plane that crashed in the water hazard short of the seventh green of the Lansing Country Club on the way to an event there.

67. Knight and others : TEDS. He played Ted Baxter on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show".

68. Dip before dinner, maybe : SALSA. Cute clue.

69. "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" backdrop : ALPS. From "The Sound of Music". Link. 2:21

Down:

1. Place for shuckers : RAW BAR. Aw, shucks!

2. Dig up : EXHUME.

3. Miss Piggy's poodle : FOO-FOO. Hilarious, amazing talented dog! 2:49

4. One fine mess : SNAFU. "Systems normal, all f(owl)ed up"!

5. Saltimbocca meat : VEAL. Yumm!

6. "I hate the Moor" speaker : IAGO. From "Othello"

7. Curmudgeon : CRANK

8. Animated chipmunk: ALVIN. You really don't want an ear worm, do you?

9. Volleyball star Gabrielle : REECE. Did anyone watch the Olympic volleyball matches?

10. Recess near an altar : APSE

11. Casino known for its fountains : BELLAGIO. Have you seen this famous display in Las Vegas, done to music? One of my favs is this one. 2:13

12. Cooked longer, perhaps : CRISPIER. Do you like your steak "crispier", or medium-rare?

13. Tidy ___ : SUM. If you have a 1943 D Bronze/Copper wheat penny, it could fetch a tidy sum!

21. Sneaker feature : ARCH. My first thought was "odor"...

22. "Ol' Man River" composer : KERN. Jerome Kern, composer. This is Paul Robeson's 1936 "Showboat" vocal. 4:18

26. Gas acronym : ESSO. "Standard Oil". (For its initials, "Ess" and "O")

29. About 1.2% of Uranus's orbital period, on Earth : YEAR

30. John on the links : DALY. Ya gotta love his outfits!

32. Tolkien creatures : ENTS. Hands up for those who did not know this, after having it about 1,376 times in the past two months?

33. Baylor Bears' home : WACO. Texas.

34. Little shaver : TAD

35. Puritan : PRIG

36. Jane Austen opus : EMMA

37. Dextrous beginning : AMBI

38. Get a move on? : RELOCATE. Loved this clue!

39. What a tyrant wields : IRON HAND. "HANDs" up for those who thought of IRON "fist" at first?

43. On top of : UPON. Once on top of a time...

44. 1814-'15 exile site : ELBA

47. Victory emblem : LAUREL. Many of our US athletes are wearing laurels this week!

48. Pitch tents : ENCAMP

49. Gertrude Stein confidante : TOKLAS. Alice B. Toklas.

52. Wrinkly fruits : UGLIS. Yes, they are!

53. Author Fitzgerald married to F. Scott : ZELDA. "Save Me the Waltz", about her marriage to F. Scott.

54. "___ the nerve!" : OF ALL

56. "The Hot Zone" subject : EBOLA. virus. Scary.

58. Word of woe : ALAS

59. East End abodes : 'OMES. To 'enry 'iggins, that is.

60. Avis lead-in : RARA. Literally, "rare bird" in Latin.

61. Pot builder : BET. Poker pot.

Answer grid.

I'll bet you had as much fun with this puzzle as I did? Until next week!

Hugs,
Marti

Wednesday, Aug 8, 2012, Jeff Chen

theme: city of angels

17A. Recent history : MODERN (LA) TIMES. modern times is also a 1936 silent comedy film staring charlie chaplin as his little tramp character. and i think anyone doing this puzzle knows what the la times is … nice shout out by jeff.

23A. Custom-based rule : UNWRITTEN (LA) LAW. la law was a popular legal drama tv series on nbc that ran from 1986 - 1994.

48A. Ones who refuse to serve, pejoratively : DRAFT (LA) DODGERS. around these parts (sf bay area), dodgers is a pejorative term also. any dodgers fans here?

58A. It's lowered for a touchdown : LANDING (LA) GEAR. LA gear is a shoe company based in los angeles.

37A. Randy Newman song about SoCal, and a hint to the ends of 17-, 23-, 48- and 58-Across : I LOVE LA

los ángeles is spanish for the angels, and nicknamed the city of angels. city of angels is also a 1998 movie starring nicholas cage and meg ryan. it was loosely based on one of my favorite films, wim wenders' 1987 german film wings of desire, about angels that roam the city of berlin. french architect jean nouvel designed a building in prague (47a) that has the image of one of the angels in the german film etched into the glass on the facade. see it?

also, alanis morissette has a track on her havoc and bright lights cd called guardian, that was inspired by wenders' film.

across:

1. Peter Pan rival : SKIPPY. peanut butter.

7. Childish comeback : AM SO. are not.

11. Not-so-big shot? : BB'S. bee bees.

14. Cold War statesman Gromyko : ANDREI. had no idea.

15. Kilauea output : LAVA. one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, on the island of kauai, hawaii.

16. Inning ender : OUT. baseball.

19. Legendary NHL defenseman : ORR. bobby.

20. Irish humanitarian who co-founded U2 : BONO

21. Biblical middle child : ABEL. cain, abel, seth.

22. "Don't look __ like that!" : AT ME

26. Senior moment, e.g. : LAPSE. has anyone else wondered out loud where your cell phone is, to the person you're talking to on your cell phone? me neither.

28. Some Deco prints : ERTES

29. Change for a 50 : TENS

30. Sideways look : LEER

34. Could possibly : MIGHT

36. Balaam's mount : ASS

39. Long-jawed fish : GAR

40. Online buddies, e.g. : USERS

42. Nautilus captain : NEMO

43. Impose, as a tax : LEVY

44. "Maria __": Jimmy Dorsey hit : ELENA. great cover by ry cooder.

46. Alley pickup : SPARE. bowling alley.

52. Cincinnati nine : REDS

53. Wild time : RIOT

54. Seniors' advocacy org. : AARP. american association of retired persons.

57. Actress Gardner : AVA

61. Kipling classic : KIM. novel by rudyard kipling.

62. "Let __!": "Enough!" : IT GO. or not.

63. Find on the dial : TUNE TO

64. Ernie of the PGA : ELS

65. Many August births : LEOS. so timely. btw, thank you for all the sweet birthday wishes on friday.

66. Knitted, as bones : HEALED

down:

1. Tycoon Walton with a club : SAM. sam's club.

2. Drawer pull : KNOB

3. "... and __ it again!" : I'D DO

4. Asset-protection agreements : PRE-NUPS. pre-nuptial.

5. Onetime Argentine power couple : PERONS. juan and eva.

6. Feminine side : YIN.

7. Perp's excuse : ALIBI

8. "Glengarry Glen Ross" playwright : MAMET. david.

9. Lithe : SVELTE

10. Allied gp. since 1948 : OAS. organization of american states.

11. Bathtub gin distiller : BOOTLEGGER

12. Old maker of sequential highway signs : BURMA SHAVE. speaking of angels ...

13. Disperse : STREW

18. La Brea goop : TAR. la brea tar pits, in los angeles.

22. One voting no : ANTI

24. Hardly rare, in restaurants : WELL. well done.

25. First name in household humor : ERMA. bombeck.

26. Selection made with a frown : LESSER EVIL. unless you're mae west.

27. Sierra Nevada photographer : ANSEL ADAMS

29. Crosslike letter : TAU. 19th letter of the greek alphabet.

31. Many ages : EON

32. Genesis outcast : EVE

33. "Shiny Happy People" band : REM

35. Attempt : TRY

37. Common contraction : ISN'T

38. Earn some lovely parting gifts : LOSE. snort.

41. Whistle blowers : REFS. referees.

43. Garfield's favorite food : LASAGNA

45. Commercial charge : AD RATE

47. Place to meet a Czech mate : PRAGUE

48. Male mallard : DRAKE

49. Rock's __ Boingo : OINGO

50. Utter fools : DODOS. but not our dodo.

51. Popular VW model : GTI

55. Fishing partner of 60-Down : REEL

56. Soiree spread : PATE

58. Dogpatch adjective : LIL. abner.

59. Imprecise ordinal : NTH

60. See 55-Down : ROD

Answer grid.

melissa

Tuesday, August 7, 2012 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Fortitude - Four different ways to spell 2. (From C.C.: Rich said: "I will publish this puzzle on a Tue. Hardly anyone will notice, but at least you and I will know. :-)"

20A. Powerful boxing combo : ONE-TWO PUNCH

36A. Caesar's last question : "ET TU, BRUTE?"

43A. "Could be worse" : "NOT TOO BAD"

56A. Not pie-in-the-sky : DOWN TO EARTH

Argyle here, reeling from the one-two punch of Marti and C.C. Let's just á go-go to the puzzle.

Across:

1. Little chocolate wrapped in foil : KISS

5. Squishy lump : GLOB

9. Cicada predators : WASPS. Very clear and precise site.

14. Woody's boy : ARLO. He's done well for himself. Arlo will not develop Huntington's disease because he did not inherit the gene from his father.

15. Iranian currency : RIAL

16. Full-price payer at the movies : ADULT

17. Santa's runway : ROOF

18. Org. concerned with working conditions : OSHA. (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

19. Fluid transition : SEGUE

23. "I __ Rock" : AM A. This video is of the two boys and one guitar in a coffee house setting. Clip(2:58)

24. Schwarzenegger, formerly: Abbr. : GOV. (Governator)

25. Provided food for, as a wedding : CATERED

27. "60 Minutes" network : CBS. clecho 46A. 60 minutes : HOUR

30. Spiders' handiwork : WEBS. I thought it was Al Gore.

33. Makes faces at the camera : MUGS

34. Cookies mixed in some ice cream : OREOS. On Mars now.

40. "Norma Rae" director Martin : RITT. He also directed "Hud"(1963), with Paul Newman and "The Sound and the Fury"(1959) with Yul Brynner.

41. They mean nothing : ZEROs

42. "Zounds!" : "EGAD!"

45. Big name in arcade games : ATARI

47. High-tech hand-held gadgets : PDA's. (personal digital assistant)

49. Chinese calendar animal : RAT. This year, in fact. (Correction: 2012 is Year of the Dragon.)

50. Toscanini, e.g. : MAESTRO. (conductor)(born in the "Year of the Hare")

53. Your, of yore : THY

55. Sinus specialist: Abbr. : ENT. (ear, nose, and throat)(today)

62. Galore, in disco lingo : À GO-GO. Introduced in France.

64. Fat in the pantry : LARD. Probably safer to keep it in the freezer. Any first hand stories?

65. Folk tales : LORE

66. __ closet : LINEN

67. Oklahoma city : ENID. "Purple Martin Capital of Oklahoma"

68. Eagle Scout, typically : TEEN

69. Boss's terse note : "SEE ME". Might raise your blood pressure.

70. Lights-out tune : TAPS. Hope it's not what the boss' note was about.

71. Calls upon : ASKS

Down:

1. Corn syrup brand : KARO. Use to be in everyone's cupboard.

2. Multivitamin mineral : IRON

3. Wild plum : SLOE

4. One of two in Georgia? : SOFT G. Did she get you with this one? (From C.C.: This is Rich's clue.)

5. Fixed routine : GROOVE. Good to be in the groove, bad to be in a rut.

6. Talk like Daffy : LISP

7. Pearl Harbor locale : OAHU

8. Voice master Mel : BLANC

9. Laundry room fixture : WASHTUB. Multiple uses.

10. Citrusy refresher : ADE

11. Archies hit with the lyric, "You are my candy girl" : SUGAR, SUGAR. You won't get me to link it.

12. Large feather : PLUME

13. Suffix with farm or home : STEAD

21. Makes jaws drop : WOWS

22. "The Plague" author : CAMUS. Novel by Albert Camus, published in 1947

26. "Snowy" wader : EGRET

27. Toe woe : CORN

28. Gusto : BRIO. From Italian, of Celtic origin!

29. Establish a particular mood : SET THE TONE

31. Telly network, with "the" : BEEB. An informal name for BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)

32. Bra part : STRAP. Dennis comment?

35. Four Holy Roman emperors : OTTOs

37. Sondheim's Sweeney : TODD. "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is a 1979 musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and libretto by Hugh Wheeler.

38. Fictional plantation : TARA. (Gone with the Wind)

39. Prepare for publication : EDIT

41. Hero with a trademark "Z" : ZORRO. This bold renegade, Carves a "Z" with his blade.

44. Bested : OUT DONE

45. Tennis great Arthur : ASHE

48. Butting heads : AT ODDS

50. Three squares : MEALS

51. Actress Dickinson : ANGIE. Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970's TV crime series, Police Woman.

52. Baby hooter : OWLET

54. 1945 "Big Three" conference city : YALTA. A city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.

57. Mama's mama : NANA

58. "Dancing With the Stars" blunder : TRIP

59. Deer with three-pointed antlers : ROEs. A Eurasian species of deer, roe deer, called ROE for short, changing the adjective to a noun and adding an S for plural. We pluralize the same way; white-tailed deer can be referred to as whitetails.

60. Tough journey : TREK

61. Lady birds : HENS

63. Ruby, for one : GEM

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, August 6, 2012 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: Oh, Joy! - The last word in happiness, or the last word in the entries can follow the word "happy".

20A. Guy for whom glasses are raised : MAN OF THE HOUR

37A. One-eighty : ABOUT-FACE

43A. The cellar, sportswise : LAST PLACE

58A. Fairy tale outcomes, or, in a way, what the last words of 20-, 37- and 43-Across are : HAPPY ENDINGS

Argyle here so put on your happy face and spend a happy hour in this happy place (if I can find enough links) and may everything end happily.

Across:

1. The "A" in DNA : ACID. (deoxyribonucleic acid)

5. Go on enthusiastically : GUSH

9. Drawn-out assault : SIEGE

14. Stories from the ancients : LORE

15. One of Pittsburgh's three rivers : OHIO. Allegheny and Monongahela rivers merge to form the Ohio. map

16. Open-mouthed : AGAPE

17. "Will you let me finish?" : "AHEM!"

18. Prefix with correct, in texting : AUTO. That's auto-correct, in theory.

19. Upper body : TORSO

23. Baby's bodysuit : ONESIE. Brings out the oohs and aahs.

24. Swiss river : AAR. Born from the great Aar Glaciers of the Bernese Alps, it rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Wiki. If you look at the site, check out the awesome Aar Gorge photo.

25. Tolkien's Treebeard, for one : ENT

28. McEntire of country music : REBA

31. Carpenter's tool : HAMMER

33. Dallas NBAers : MAVS. The Dallas Mavericks play at the American Airlines Center, commonly called the AAC. That would pair nicely with the AAR.

39. Ta-ta, in Tours : ADIEU. Bye-bye, in Bordeaux.

41. Like a rotten apple : BAD

42. "Fear of Flying" author Jong : ERICA

45. Piggy bank opening : SLOT

46. Andre with eight Grand Slam wins : AGASSI. His middle name is Kirk.

47. Singer Kristofferson : KRIS. Who will nit about KRIS being part of the clue? Not I.

50. "You got it" : "YES!"

51. Bag-screening org. : TSA. (Transportation Security Administration)

53. Bahamian capital : NASSAU. Officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

61. Cast member : ACTOR

64. Govern : RULE. The Bahamas is a Commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.

65. Notes before mi : DO RE

66. Friars Club event : ROAST. Manac made a timely post last night.

67. "Why would __ to you?" : I LIE

68. Washstand pitcher : EWER

69. Pear centers : CORES

70. Show the way : LEAD

71. They can get rid of the gray : DYES. Or not all of it, Touch Of Gray®.

Down:

1. San Antonio tourist spot : ALAMO

2. Broadway composer George M. : COHAN. An early hit version of "The Yankee Doodle Boy", was recorded by Cohan's contemporary and fellow Irish-American Billy Murray, 1906. Clip(4:56) Well worth a listen. If you have the time(I don't right now), you can read about "Little Johnny Jones", the Cohan musical the song came from. Link

3. Cara or Castle : IRENE

4. Floor models : DEMOS

5. Colonel Sanders trademark : GOATEE

6. "No way" : "UH UH"

7. Set of Web pages : SITE

8. Big commotion : HOO-HA

9. Waterlog : SATURATE

10. Composer Stravinsky : IGOR. A contemporary of Cohan, yet worlds apart.

11. Corn purchase : EAR

12. Some family docs : GP's. (general practitioner)

13. Fair-hiring letters : EEO. (equal employment opportunity)

21. Cedar relative : FIR

22. Diamond Head's island : OAHU. Hawaii

25. Online letter : EMAIL

26. Big name in candy wafers : NECCO. (New England Confectionery Company)

27. Pick up the tab : TREAT

29. Gilda Radner's __ Wawa : BABA

30. Taken __: disconcerted : ABACK

32. GE and GM, for two : MFR's. (manufactures)

33. Southeast Asia's __ Peninsula : MALAY

34. Proverb : ADAGE

35. Passport stamps : VISAs

36. Adjusts, as an alarm clock : SETS

38. German border river : ODER

40. Presumptuous nouveaux riches : UPSTARTS

44. Speech imperfection : LISP

48. Requiring assistance : IN NEED. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Link to The Phrase Finder.

49. Tear-jerking : SAD

52. Showery month : APRIL

54. Allied oneself (with) : SIDED

55. Like many New England winters : SNOWY

56. Shake on it : AGREE

57. Icon clickers : USERS

58. Garden waterer : HOSE

59. Santa's busy season : YULE. And how!

60. Director Kazan : ELIA

61. Circle segment : ARC

62. Loving murmur : COO

63. __ Heel: North Carolina native : TAR

Answer grid.

Argyle

Happy Trails!(1:40)

Sunday August 5, 2012 Elizabeth C. Gorski

Theme:"Double Overtime"- Each theme entry contains two OTs.

23. *Like Disneyland, vis-à-vis theme parks : PROTOTYPICAL. This is the only entry where two OTs are together.

25. *Perform efficiently : GO TO TOWN (Edited later: The two OTs here are together also.)

48. *Tryst venue : NO-TELL MOTEL. And 57. Bit of 48-Across talk : COO

67A. *Bit of campaign nastiness : POTSHOT

90A. *Get-rich-quick buy : LOTTO TICKET. We met a guy who pulled a Mickey Mantle 1/1 special insert from a $2.99 pack he bought at Walmart. He sold on eBay for $15K.

113. *Writer's bottom line? : FOOTNOTE

116. *1978 Commodores hit : TOO HOT TA TROT. Not familiar with the song. You, Argyle?

13D. *Absolutely perfect : HOTSY-TOTSY

73D. *"Zilch" : NOT ONE IOTA

117D. There are two of them in each starred ans. : OTs

The reason all the theme entries are starred is because some of the non-theme fill are longer or of same length as the theme answers. The constructor & editor did not want any potential confusion.

Look at these great entries:

22A. "I like your invention!" : "GOOD IDEA!"

93A. Oscar winner's words : "I'M HONORED"

16D. "Remind me" : "I DON'T RECALL"

66D. "Honestly ..." : "TRUTH BE TOLD"

90D. Lesser-of-evils situation : LOSE LOSE

Simply amazing. But it's nothing out of ordinary for Liz Gorski, whose originality and creativity are awe-inspiring. She does what others can't. She's always the first. The only.

Across:

1. Madison Ave. figure : AD REP. Or AD MAN.

6. DEA employees : NARCS

11. Convert into an anesthetic : ETHERIFY. New word to me. Makes sense.

19. Much of Egypt : SAHARA

21. Hawaiian welcome : ALOHA. "Ni Hao" in Chinese. Ni = You. Hao = Good.

26. Rd. atlas listings : STs

27. Dessert cart array : PIES

28. Friars Club main courses? : ROASTS. Ha ha, "main courses!"

30. Tokyo-based electronics giant : NEC (Nippon Electric Company)

31. Dancer Falana : LOLA.

32. Crochet loop : PICOT. I forgot. I googled this word a while ago.

34. "Take a shot at it" : YOU TRY

37. Meal : REPAST

40. Amy Winehouse's reaction to rehab, in the song : NO, NO, NO. "...They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, no, no, no...". From her famous "Rehab" song.

41. British Invasion drummer : STARR (Ringo)

42. Baker with the breakout album "Rapture" : ANITA

43. Oft-quoted Yogi : BERRA

44. Unwanted tabloid fame : NOTORIETY. Poor Kristen Stewart.

50. Mad as __ hen : A WET

51. Berry touted as a superfood : ACAI

52. Old Russian ruler : TSAR

53. "WKRP" costar with Gary, Gordon, Howard et al. : LONI (Anderson). Marti likes her.

54. __ Island: NY/NJ landmark : ELLIS

55. Hearty partner : HALE

56. Current designation : AC/DC

58. DNA shape : COIL

61. "May It Be" singer : ENYA. So beautiful.

63. __ Wolf: Disney comics kid : LI'L. No idea. I googled, Li'l Bad Wolf showed up. Same kid?

64. "They'll Do It Every Time" cartoonist Jimmy : HATLO. Stranger to me also.

69. Green course : SALAD

71. Drop the ball : ERR

72. First-year law student : ONE-L

75. Wreck : RUIN

76. Job particular : SPEC

78. Letters to creditors? : IOUs

80. Central Florida city : OCALA

82. They may stay till closing time : SOTS. So many wonderful bars in Guangzhou.

84. Four-ring-logo company : AUDI. I wonder what kind of ring said "Buy me" to Irish Miss during her visit to Maine.

88. "The lady __ protest ...": "Hamlet" : DOTH

89. Lake __, Blue Nile source : TANA

95. Nebraska's largest city : OMAHA

96. Physicist Bohr : NIELS

97. Twix or Trix, e.g. : BRAND

98. "Permission granted" : IT'S A GO

100. "Juno and the Paycock" playwright : O'CASEY (Sean)

101. Boil : SEETHE . I don't know how I reacted if I were Husker Gary's niece.

103. Caterpillar rival : DEERE

104. Some faux outerwear : FURS

105. Routine : ACT

106. Ahab's kingdom : ISRAEL. All friendly letters, hence its frequent appearance in crossword.

109. Confirmation, e.g. : RITE

110. __TV: Court TV, since 2008 : TRU

120. Joined the Navy : ENLISTED. Ah, for Spitzboov/D-Otto/eddyB.

121. Rob of "90210" : ESTES

122. St. Francis's birthplace : ASSISI

123. Six-pack units : SODA CANS.


124. Score notations : RESTS

125. Prop for Monet : EASEL

Down:

1. Deadly snakes : ASPS

2. Blowgun missile : DART

3. P-like letters : RHOs

4. Enjoy, with "up" : EAT. My cherry tomatoes are especially good this year.

5. Offer : PROPOSAL

6. Afternoon breaks : NAPs

7. "American Gladiators" co-host Laila : ALI. The only Laila I know.

8. Mythical bird : ROC

9. Patio bagful : CHARCOAL

10. Tavern : SALOON

11. Nog basics : EGGS

12. Traffic sound : TOOT

14. Shogun stronghold : EDO. Modern sushi started in Edo Era.

15. Score slow-up: Abbr. : RIT

17. Not as many : FEWER

18. '50s TV adventurer __ Derringer : YANCY. Sigh. No idea. The only thing I want from '50s is the baseball cards. I like '60s though. The fashion, the cat eyes, Jane Birkin.

20. Leaning : ATILT

24. Vote for : YEA

29. Like some 20th-century music : ATONAL

31. Indirect and creative, as thinking : LATERAL

32. White House entrance : PORTICO

33. Memo starter : IN RE

35. Stick in a scull : OAR

36. Dickens baddie Heep : URIAH

37. Lose control : RANT

38. Baseball's Slaughter : ENOS. And 110. Speaker of Cooperstown : TRIS

39. Pocket bread : PITA

40. Light on Broadway : NEON

41. Oktoberfest purchase : STEIN

43. College QB, often : BMOC (Big Man on Campus)

45. Barn baby : OWLET. Thought of PK for no reason.

46. Sylvester's "Rocky" co-star : TALIA

47. Triangular sign : YIELD

49. Honorary legal deg. : LLD

54. K-12 : EL-HI

59. Other, in Oaxaca : OTRA

60. The Bengals of the Big Sky Conf. : ISU (Idaho State University). Don't know anything about this conference.

62. Widow in "Peer Gynt" : ASE. Peer Gynt's mother.

64. Alpine heroine : HEIDI

65. Forster's "__ With a View" : A ROOM

67. Flier : PLANE

68. In "Wicked," say : ON STAGE. Hahtool liked "Wicked".

70. Trees favored by giraffes : ACACIAS. Kazie mentioned they were called wattles in Oz.

74. Online greeting : E-CARD

76. Ancient public walkway : STOA

77. SFO setting : PST

79. Brief : SHORT

81. Fancy-schmancy : LA-DI-DA

83. Emperor after Galba : OTHO. He reigned for only 3 months. This appeared a few times in in the old Wayne R. Williams puzzles.

85. Luau instruments : UKES

86. Take-out order? : DELE. Great clue.

87. Wee : ITSY

91. "A Book of Verses underneath the Bough" poet : OMAR

92. Bump up : INCREASE

94. Slangy turndown : NAH

99. Seesaw : TEETER

100. "I'm __ here!" : OUTTA

101. They may be blown or cracked : SAFES. What were you thinking?

102. Low-budget lead-in : ECONO

104. In good shape : FIT

107. British submachine gun : STEN

108. Wine list heading : REDS

109. Supreme leader? : ROSS (Diana). "The Supremes". Nothing Iran related.

111. It's romantic to give one : ROSE. I want these.


112. Condo expense: Abbr. : UTIL

114. __ Maria: liqueur : TIA

115. Presidential policy support gp. : NSC (National Security Council)

118. Worked (up) : HET

119. Flight safety org. : TSA

Answer grid.
C.C.