Friday, January 18, 2013 David Poole

Theme: "You dirty - !" (hmmmm...something seems to be missing here)

17. Bolshevik film festival fodder? : R-ratED MOVIES. Loved the alliteration in the clue. Too bad there isn't a well-known Russian city beginning with "F." Would "Dr. Zhivago" be considered a red movie?

21. With 51-Across, Puerto Rico pecan and Cuban coconut custard? : PIratES OF THE
51. See 21-Across : CARIBBEAN. Yummm...caribbean pies.  More alliteration. Coconut custard is one of my favorite pies - second only to pecan!

26. Auden's vineyard? : THE GRAPES OF WratH. A quick check tells me I have never read W.H. Auden's work.

46. Side dish made with russets and Tanqueray? : POTATOES AU GratIN. This one made me laugh out loud.  I'll have to try that recipe sometime!!

62. Legendary musician responsible for what's missing from 17-, 21-, 26- and 46-Across : PIED PIPER. Who, of course, led all the rats out of Hamelin and became a hero.

Marti here, on a Friday no less. And thank you Lemony for so eloquently pinch-hitting for me yesterday under cruel and unusual circumstances!

Across:

1. Socks for Clinton, e.g. : PET. Didn't fool me, but I couldn't remember if it was a cat or a dog. (Nope. Just a pet.)

4. Mums' relatives, in a way : GLADS. Ok this one got me.  I definitely was not thinking of chrysanthemums or gladiolas.

9. Weber State University city : OGDEN. Total unknown. Needed some perp help before I could make a WAG.

14. Trouble : ADO.

15. Petrol purchase : LITRE. British spelling hinted at by "petrol."

16. ___ Laredo, Mexico : NUEVO. It is across the river from Laredo, Texas. Map.

19. Key of the "Eroica" symphony : E FLAT. I always remember this because E is the first letter of "Eroica."

20. Grant : ENDOW. As in National Endowment for the Arts.

23. Ode preposition : O'ER.

25. Musician's deg. : MFA. Not to be confused with 45A. Doctor of music? : DRE. And also 24D. 45-Across genre : RAP.

33. Dawn deity : EOS. When I searched for images, I got more cameras and cars than dawn goddesses.

34. Last words : EPILOG.

35. "___ Peach": Allman Brothers album : EAT A. A musical Mountain Jam intermission. 13:38

38. Subdued : MUTED.

40. Montréal moniker : NOM. French for "name."

41. Jewel box item : CD ROM. Why is it called a jewel box? I just learned that it comes from the word for the two plastic bearings in the hinges on the CD case. Watchmakers call these types of bearings "jewels" because they were often made from gemstones, which had low friction properties. So there you have it.

42. Gym ball : PROM. Nice misdirection. Ball as in dance, not as in basket or volley...

43. Attic window : DORMER.

49. Sigma follower : TAU.

50. Hosp. readout : ECG. Electrocardiogram.

57. "The Kiss" painter : KLIMT. This was a gimme - I have a poster of it in my office.

61. Lot of baloney : CROCK. That's a crock, and you know it!

64. It's often stored upside-down : CANOE. I wanted kayak...but mine is stored right-side up suspended from chains in the garage.

65. City on the Penobscot : ORONO. Maine.  Where is Mainiac?

66. Have a life : ARE.

67. "Naturalis Historia" author : PLINY. Without looking it up: Elder or Younger?

68. Parlement français division : SENAT. More French.

69. "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" author Brown : DEE.

Down:

1. Cut down : PARE.

2. Adam's apple spot : EDEN. Cute clue.

3. Lincoln in-law : TODD.

4. Looked askance : GLOWERED. Not exactly synonymous, imho. Looking askance seems more sideways or dubious. Glower is the look I give DH when he forgets to take out the trash!

5. Actress Tyler : LIV. Daughter of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.  I always remember her from her role as Arwin in "The Lord of the Rings." So hauntingly beautiful!

6. Left ___: rewarded : A TIP.

7. Cologne crowd? : DREI. German for "three."

8. Zaire's Mobutu ___ Seko : SESE. Pronounced seh'-say.

9. Unrepeated event, in Essex : ONE OFF. Everything you need to know about this saying here.

10. Roared : GUFFAWED. I do that a lot when reading some of your comments!

11. Upper-bod muscle : DELT.

12. Cole Porter's "Well, Did You ___?" : EVAH. Another musical interlude, from the movie "High Society."

13. A or E, but not I, O or U : NOTE. Musical notes.

18. Instrument heard on Simon & Garfunkel's "Bookends" : MOOG. And more music! Listen for the moog...

22. EPA concern : SMOG.

26. Sub : TEMP. Substitute / temporary worker.

27. Happy ___ : HOUR. It's five o'clock somewhere!

28. Legally prohibit : ESTOP.

29. Côte-d'Or crop : PINOT. Côte-d'Or is a town in the burgundy region of France, famous for both PINOT noir and Chardonnay wines.

30. Ecuadoran province named for its gold production : EL ORO. "Gold" in Spanish.

31. Its capital is Amiens : SOMME. Back to northern France. The cathedral there is breathtaking.

32. Gauge opening? : HARD G. Hey Don!

36. Bagels, shapewise : TORI. We have had this before. Plural of "torus." Some people might recognize it as the shape of a hemorrhoid pillow:

37. Closing word : AMEN.

39. Cyberface : EMOTICON. (^0^)

41. Nutty : CRACKPOT. It can be a noun or an adjective, like a "crackpot idea."

43. Smear : DAUB.

44. Denver-to-Wichita dir. : ESE. I guess.

47. Q neighbor : TAB KEY. On the keyboard, not in a James Bond movie.

48. Citrus hybrid : UGLI.

51. Soviet letters : CCCP. Союз советских социалистических республик, where they show RED MOVIES?

52. Kazakhstan border sea : ARAL.

53. Pasta ___: food brand : RONI. From the makers of Rice a Roni, the Golden Grain Company.

54. Long poem : EPOS.

55. Yorkshire river : AIRE.

56. Gas on Broadway : NEON. There are a lot of NEON signs there.

58. Tech debut of 2010 : IPAD. That recently? It's already time for me to upgrade!

59. Just : MERE. Simple clue/answer that had me going for a while.

60. Genealogy chart : TREE.

63. Trial evidence, at times : DNA. I have done additional reading about the "co-discoverers" of DNA since they last came up in December. Very controversial, but fascinating when you understand some of the back-stabbing that goes on in scientific research.

That's it for now.  I'll be back in my regularly scheduled spot next week!
Marti

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to dear Blue Irish (Susan)! She told me "My Birthday falls on January 18th.  Usually everyone is tired from the holidays and bad weather and cold has set in. Not my favorite time of the year." In Chinese, 18 is very lucky number, The office floors in 18th floor tend to be more expensive than other floors. 

2) I was very pleased that our blog was restored yesterday afternoon. I want to thank Lemonade for alerting me as soon as he discovered the problem. And Husker Gary for his invaluable mailing list and hard work to inform everyone about our glitch & the Ginger Roots change. I also want to thank those who reported to Blogger forum about the removal of our blog. It's incredibly comforting for me to see familiar names there and "Where's our blog" reports (I read all your posts). I'm so grateful that you cared & took actions. Thank you also to those who wrote to me privately & regulars who stoically stuck with us at Ginger Roots!

3) After much discussion with Dennis and Argyle, I've decided to use Captcha between midnight & 5:30 am (Central Time) in the Blog Comments section to prevent spam. You'll need to type in those hard-to-recognize letters when you want to comment in those early  hours. I've long resisted Captcha because I want a friendly & easy-to-interact Corner, but we've been hit hard by spam lately. Thanks for your understanding.

Thursday, January 17, 2013, Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

(Note from C.C.: Due to a blog lock-down, we had to move to Ginger Roots blog to review the puzzle. Please click here to see our discussions on this crossword.)


THEME: Neurotic double reverse.

Lemonade on a rare Thursday appearance so you did not end up with the constructor telling you how great her own puzzle is.

Wow! I think what happened is marti saw a combination of words, like SPIDER MAN (maybe from the release of the movie) and thought 'I wonder if people who afraid of spiders (arachnophobes) would be afraid of Spiderman?' Then  she created this puzzle, where the poor neurotic was given a second problem, like the MAN  in Spiderman would give you a HERMIT as someone who would neurotically avoid people. I think the fill came before the clues, which is where I see the reverse. To sum up each two word phrase, which represent a single stand alone concept, are broken in two and clued by a psychology term and an informal term for a behavior. Overall, not a terribly tough Thursday, but the intricate theme left lots of threes and fours, as well as couple of very hard clue/fill combos. let us see where miss m takes us.

18A. Double trouble...for a hydrophobic teetotaler? : WATER BOTTLE.(11) Hydro meaning water, and the bottle representing the receptacle for the  alcohol.

29A. ...for an arachnophobic hermit? : SPIDER MAN.(9) Spiders are arachnids, from the Greek.

36A.. ...for a acrophobic wallflower? : SUMMIT MEETING.(13). I am acrophobic, because when I am up high I want to jump, parachute or not. Wallflowers do not like meeting people.

42A. ...for a xenphobic couch potato? : ALIEN RACE.(9) This is one lazy hater, who does not like foreigners, and will not go exercise.

53A. ...for an agoraphobic soldier? : PUBLIC ENEMY.(11). I have a friend who after staying home to raise her four children, actually got to the point she could not leave the house.

A different theme for sure, now to the rest.

Across:

1. Vintner's vessel : TUN. These large casks are also used in brewing beer. The liquid measure is equivalent to 252 gallons. Nice alliteration.

4. Avis rival : HERTZ. For all you sentimental people this AD.

9. Amazon.com nos. : ISBNS.  International Standard Book Number, is becoming a common fill. The first initialism of the day.

14. Bearer of bear cubs, in Madrid : OSA. Spanish for a female bear, nicely crafted clue.

15. Cheri who impersonated Judge Judy on "Saturday Night Live" : OTERI. I found no links, you CD?

16. Gardener's transplant : GRAFT. Not Erle Stanley but the soil one.

17. Sales pro : REP. Well since pro is abbreviated, but are all reps pros?

20. Pueblo brick : ADOBE.

22. Stone unit : CARAT.

23. Dance that tells a story : HULA. They do tell a story LINK.(7:45).

24. Skyline haze : SMOG.

26. Id controller : EGO.Freud returns.

32. Chest-maker's wood : CEDAR.Not referring to an over-active plastic surgeon, but the old fashioned

34. Pharmaceutical oil : OLEUM. I had a very hard time with this one, even though I believe we have had it before, it was a fuming sulfuric acid?

35. Arduous : TAXING. Whew, that clue was taxing.

39. Make a meal of : DINE ON. An despite the fact the word comes from the Latin name for olives, I do not think you put any oleum on your toast.

40. Apportion : ALLOT.

41. Clubs: Abbr. : ASSNS. Associations.

46. Shtick : BIT. Do you appreciate this ONE.(8:03)

47. Long to be with : MISS. I often miss my miss.

48. This time only : ONCE. Like my blogging on a Thursday.

49. Smithy's tool : ANVIL. All I ever learned about anvils comes from TV westerns and roadrunner cartoons.

52. Harp (on) : DWELL. We do not need to beat this clue to death.

58. AAA freebie : MAP. Does anybody use paper maps anymore?

59. Rockers Van ___ : HALEN. The old DAYS. (4:02).

60. Not just odd : EERIE.

61. Online qualifier : IMO. In My Opinion.

62. Steel plow pioneer : DEERE. WH, as our farm expert, what do you think of John Deere products?

63. Creeps up on : NEARS. We are almost at the halfway point.

64. Fitting : APT. Time for a quick break.

Down:

1. Some ark contents : TORAHS.

2. Depleted : USED UP.

3. "Port near Vesuvio : NAPOLI.  If you are interest in history, read this LINK, this is part of my eldest's area of study and the statistic that the 79 CE eruption was " hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing" is amazing.

4. "Battle Hymn of the Republic" lyricist : HOWE.

5. SFO posting : ETA.

6. On Soc. Sec. : RET.

7. 3-Down trio : TRE.

8. December stone : ZIRCON. If you think that month was gypped because they got a fae gemstone, there is a big difference between cubic zirconia and this STONE.

9. Yaroslavna's spouse, in a Borodin opera : IGOR.

10. Span. title : SRTA.

11. Driven home : BATTED IN. the BI in RBI.

12. Grp. for Jets, but not Sharks : NFL. National Football League. Tebowmania gone?

13. ___-Foy, Quebec : STE. Wow, is this obscure or what? First we have to use the French abbreviation for Sainte, while recalling a city which no longer exists.  C'est tres difficile.

19. Purse : BAG.

21. It's not a good sign : BAD OMEN. Are we referring to the movie?

24. Tom Lehrer song : SMUT. Already linked in Argyle's write up.

25. Mice and men : MAMMALS

27. Sharks or Jets : GANG. West Side Story. (2:48)

28. Non-profit's URL ending : ORG.

30. "___ World": "Sesame Street" feature : ELMO'S.

31. Hold back : REIN. from horseback riding, or the other way around?

32. Williams title starter : CAT ON.

33. Seating offering more space : EXIT ROW.

35. Graph heading? : TELE. Not the column, the word.

36. Assent to a capitán : SI SI. More Spanish.

37. Shaky : UNSTABLE

38. Yale bowl cheerers : ELIs

39. Dollop : DAB

42. Quinn of "Annie" : AILEEN

43. Weak state : ANEMIA.

44. Workshop device : C CLAMP.

45. Sniggler's tool : EEL POT.

47. Stereo jack label : MICrophone.

50. Buc or Met : NLER.

51. Kudzo, for one : VINE.

52. Sources of some highlights : DYES.

53. Advanced deg. : PHD.

54. OPEC member : UAE.

55. Family tree word : NEE. From the French stem naître to be born, used for the birth name of females.

56. Chunk of history : ERA.

57. Fallen space station : MIR.  Interesting PROJECT.

Lemonade

Notes from C.C.:

1) Sorry for the inconvenience earlier. You can click here to see our earlier discussions on the puzzle.

2) Happy 22nd wedding anniversary to Jazzbumpa (Ron) and his beautiful wife Gloria! Click here for more pictures. Gloria's mom had another setback on Tuesday, but Ron still wrote us a brilliant post with his usual wit and humor for Wednesday's blog, despite all the stress. Thanks, Ron!

3) Say Hello to Kazie's beautiful granddaughter Lea Isabel. Click here for more. She was born at 2:37am this morning, German time.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Jean O'Conor

Theme: All in a year's work or As ye sow, so shall ye reap.  Five common two-word phrases not specifically with agriculture in common usage, the first word of which is a verb in context, and figuratively an agricultural reference.  In its literal sense, each of these agri-words can be used as either a noun or a verb.  Collectively, they represent phases of the growing season, and a portion of a farmer's labor throughout the year.

 17A. Deal with, as a stack of dull paperwork : PLOW THROUGH  Chug, plug and grind until the task is done.  Then it's Miller time, I suppose.  A plow is an implement for breaking up the soil in preparation for what follows.  As a verb, to plow means to use a plow for its intended purpose.

 24A. Investor's initial support : SEED CAPITAL  The initial funding used to get a new business going.  A seed is a flowering plant's unit of reproduction, or, more formally, "a ripened plant ovule containing an embryo."  As a verb, it means to sow the land by spreading seeds.

 33A. Create an incriminating trail : PLANT EVIDENCE  Place [false?] evidence in a place where it is likely to be found.  A plant, according to the Free Dictionary, is "Any of various photosynthetic, eukaryotic, multicellular organisms of the kingdom Plantae characteristically producing embryos, containing chloroplasts, having cellulose cell walls, and lacking the power of locomotion."  Evidently, whoever wrote this definition knows nothing about Triffids.  As a verb, "plant" means to stick on of these organisms in the ground in hopes that  it will grow.

48A. How long to shop, on a spree? : TILL YOU DROP.  I've never understood recreational shopping.

 55A. Autumn lunar phenomenon : HARVEST MOON.  This is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox.  These nights it might have romantic implications, but in the not so distant past, farmers took advantage of this bright moon to work long hours bringing in their crops.  The product of this labor is the HARVEST, and as a verb describes this action.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa driving the combine.  This may be the first time we've seen Jean O'Conor in action.  Let's find out what sprouts for us today.

Across:

1. "Now I understand" : GOT YA.  Slang

6. Congressional proceedings airer : C-SPAN.  I have actually watched this.  Once or twice.  For a few minutes.

11. Much-studied flavor enhancer : M S G MonoSodium Glutamate.   Does not taste good by itself, but mixes well with many other flavors if used in small quantities.

14. Wilt : DROOP. Sag, slump.

15. Foodie's words for subtle flavoring : A HINT.  A hint of MSG might be just about right.

16. Pint filler : ALE.  Excellent idea.

19. Rocky prominence : TOR.  Probably of Celtic origin.

20. One may be rolled up : SLEEVE.  Preparatory to getting down to work.  I always think of this guy.

21. Galsworthy's "The Forsyte __" : SAGA.  A series of stories about a new money upper crust extended British family, written between 1906 and 1921.

22. One of a chair pair : ARM.  But only if it's an armchair.  The only other thing I can think of with four legs and two arms is a centaur. They are not compatible with chairs, but can be used for bare back riding.

28. Very disagreeable : BEASTLY.   Brutish, brutal, nasty, unpleasant.  Centaurs might qualify.

30. Singer Björk's birthplace : ICELAND.  Here she is.  I have no idea.  Really.  Can you HARVEST anything from this?

31. Cosby's "I Spy" co-star : CULP.  In over 50 years of TV acting Robert Culp made hundreds of appearances in a variety of different programs.

32. Tour de France stage : ETAPE.  Just plug in the French word for "stage."  I think it means one day of the tour.

39. Bring up : RAISE.  As in children, an issue for discussion or a point of order.

40. Simple beds : COTS.

42. Montana neighbor : ALBERTA. To the north, eh.

45. Defining quality : ESSENCE.

50. AM frequency meas. : KHZ.  KiloHertZ

51. Bidding site : E-BAY.

52. Screwball behavior : ANTICS.  Here is a fine example.

54. Kitty's love in "Exodus" : ARI.  Could he have been portrayed by Sal Mineo?

60. Checker on a board, say : MAN.  Such sexism. Game board pieces are never female.  In chess, even the queen is a man.

61. French clerics : ABBES.  Not to be confused with 21A nor 56D.

62. Duck : ELUDE.  Evade or avoid, not go under.

63. Tallahassee-to-Tampa dir. : SSE. South-southeast.

64. Bank job : HEIST.   Actually, any robbery.  When somebody asked Willy Sutton why he robbed banks, he replied, "Because that's where the money is."  (1:28 at the clip)

65. Flighty : DITSY.  Silly or foolish.  But in tracking it down I learned that there is also a thing called a "ditsy print," evidently meaning small scale scattered multi-directional design motifs.

Down:

1. National econ. yardstick : GDP  Gross Domestic Product.  The total value of goods produced and services provided in a country during one year.

2. Fla. NBA team : ORL.  The Orlando Magic.

3. Like overly tight clothing : TOO SMALL  But it's still a fashion statement.

4. Cry of pain : YOWL.  I wanted OUCH

5. H.S. exam for college credit : AP TEST Advanced Placement

6. "Wayne's World" co-star : CARVEY.  Dana.

7. Did a smith's work : SHOED a horse

8. More, musically : PIU.   I see PIU mosso on music sometimes.  I means "more movement" = quicker tempo.

9. Filmmaker Lee : ANG.  Do The Right Thing

10. Math degree : NTH.   Clever misdirection.  The Nth degree is some unspecified higher power.

11. "Hakuna __": "The Lion King" song : MATATA.  What, me worry?

12. Maxwell House's "Good to the last drop," e.g. : SLOGAN  Classic commercial.  No extra charge for gratuitous rudeness.

13. Spiro's successor : GERALD.  Vice presidents Agnew and Ford.

18. Obedience school command : HEEL.  Sit. Stay. Sic 'em.

21. "Shh!" : SILENCE.  My dad used to say, "Keep it down to a dull roar."

22. Preschool song opener : A B C [etc]  But it took Big Bird to teach us how to pronounce it.

23. Enlist again : RE-UP.  Typically in the armed forces.

25. Bank lead-in : CITI.  CITIbank is the commercial banking division of CITIgroup, the 3rd largest bank holding company in the U.S.  Probably too big to fail.

26. Military sch. : ACAD.  Academy.  Note abrv in cl & ans.

27. Animated Le Pew : PEPE.  The always amorous skunk.

29. In an economical manner : SPARELY.  If by economical you mean cheap.

32. Celebration before the celebration? : EVE.  Twas the night before  .  .  .

34. Not (a one) : NARY.  .  .  . a creature was stirring.

35. Jackson 5 brother : TITO.  Along with Jackie, Jermain, Marlon, and that other one.  What was his name?

36. Rebekah's eldest : ESAU.  No, that ain't it.  Who saw what ESAU saw?

37. Goes kaput : CONKS OUT.  Stops working, as a machine.

38. Make an engraving : ETCH.  Remember those Engrave-a-sketch toys?

41. "__ who?" : SEZ.  More slang, SEZ I.

42. First-stringers : A TEAMS.

43. Some October babies : LIBRAS.   The 7th sign of the Zodiac, between 180 and 207.25 degrees of celestial longitude, or Sept 23 to Oct 23 on the calendar.

44. He replaced Ken as Barbie's beau from 2004 to 2006 : BLAINE.  But then Barbie and Ken got back together.  And I missed it all.

45. Actor Borgnine : ERNEST.  I remember him from 60's TV.

46. They're often stewed : SOTS.  Drunkards.  Prunes wouldn't fit

47. Was nasty to : SPITED.  Was deliberately hurtful or offensive.

49. Barry and Brubeck : DAVES.  Brubeck just died last month, one day short of 92.  Here is one of his gentler songs.

53. Mid 10th-century year : CMLI.  951.  According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Elfeah, Bishop of Winchester, died on St. Gregory's mass day.

55. "A likely story!" : HAH.  Really, he did.

56. 16th prez : ABE.  Honest!

57. Slugger's stat : RBI.  Runs Batted In.

58. Gorges oneself (on) : O.D.S  OverDoses. Borrowed from medial terminology

59. Napoleonic marshal : NEY (Michel).  I can never remember this guys name.

Well, I'll call this a bountiful harvest, and now I'm gong to call it a night.

Cool Regards!

JzB

Tuesday, January 15, 2013 Gareth Bain

 Theme: Tonsorial Items - Things related to that almost bygone place, the barbershop.

17A. *Wanted poster picture, usually : MUG SHOT. Shaving mug.

21A. *Well-positioned driver at Indy : POLE SITTER

35A. *Sailboat built for speed : CLIPPER SHIP. I was thinking catamaran.

45A. *Board meeting VIP : CHAIRPERSON.

58A. With 65-Across, a cappella group, and what the starts of the answers to starred clues comprise : BARBERSHOP

65A. See 58-Across : QUARTET

Argyle here. First: tonsorial. link Word of the Day. Second: 35-Across normally is plural in form but for the sake of consistency, I highlighted the items as singular. And while the theme is fine for a Tuesday, some entries were difficult.

I'm looking forward to your opinions. ♪♩♬♫•*¨*•.•*¨*•♫♪♫♪.

Across:

1. Gun barrel cleaners : RAMRODS

8. Be audibly sad : [SOB!]

11. Poetic planet : ORB. Or moon. "Cold hearted orb that rules the night"

14. Steel foundry input : IRON ORE

15. Grounded flier since 2001 : TWA. (Trans World Airlines) It was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001, so not exactly grounded.

16. British lav : LOO. (toilet)

18. Traces of gunpowder, e.g. : RESIDUE. Old cop show stand-by. The new CSI's hardly mention it anymore.

20. Big bird : EMU

23. Crib part : SLAT

26. Volleyball divider : NET

27. Biol. or geol. : SCI.

28. Five-term sen., say : POL. (politician)

30. Coolers in windows, briefly : AC's

32. Med. care providers : HMO's

40. Before, in poems : ERE

41. Uriah was one : HITTITE. Uriah the Hittite was the ill-fated soldier in King David's army in the Books of Samuel but what he is doing in a Tuesday puzzle is the real question.

42. Female political refugee : EMIGREE

44. Cycle starter : UNI. (unicycle)

47. Rowdy bunch : GANG

49. Trains above the road : ELs

50. Fr. holy woman : STE.

51. Jug handle : EAR

53. Addams family cousin : ITT

55. Indian tourist destination : AGRA. Home of the Taj Mahal.

62. Hosp. areas : OR's

64. Behind the eightball : IN A SPOT

68. Chocolate shape : BAR

69. Kimono closer : OBI. and 60D. Kimono cousin : ROBE

70. Set free : UNLOOSE

71. Barnyard enclosure : STY

72. 1/60 of a min. : SEC.

73. Tweezer target : EYEBROW

Down:

1. "The __ of the Ancient Mariner" : RIME. Earlier word for rhyme.

2. South African lilies : ARUMS. 13D. Dutch South African : BOER. Gareth Bain is a South African. And he knows about 59D. Vet sch. course : ANAT. Animals have anatomies, too.

3. Powerful person : MOGUL

4. BP takers, often : RNS

5. "Look at that!" : OOH

6. Let fall : DROP

7. Determined to have : SET ON

8. Emergency gear : STRETCHER

9. Has obligations : OWES

10. On a need-to-know __ : BASIS

11. Whippersnappers' opposites : OLD TIMERS

12. Lecherous sort : ROUE

19. Calamine target : ITCH

22. Pastoral places : LEAs

24. Meeting with an atty. : APPT. (appointment with an attorney.)

25. Something to talk about : TOPIC

29. River in Hades : LETHE. Also known as the river of unmindfulness, it was one of the five rivers of Hades.

31. Dimwits : SIMPS. PC?

33. Popular dunker : OREO

34. Caught in the act : SEEN

35. Train engine sound : CHUG. Steam engines, at least.

36. Filmmaker Wertmüller : LINA. She is Italian. Wiki link.

37. Planned travel route : ITINERARY

38. Down-to-earth : REALISTIC

39. Michelangelo statue : PIETA

43. Golfer Norman : GREG

46. Connecting strip of land: Abbr. : ISTH. (isthmus, like Panama)

48. Yaks and yaks : GABS

52. Bank takebacks, for short : REPOs

54. Chef's headgear : TOQUE

56. Chopper blade : ROTOR. (helicoptor)

57. "Am not!" rejoinder : "ARE SO!"

58. Tops of overalls : BIBS

61. Unimposing : PUNY

63. Crock-Pot dinner : STEW

66. Brewpub brew : ALE

67. Burgle : ROB. Bilbo Baggins was hired to burgle.

Argyle

Monday, January 14, 2013 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

 Theme: Oh Oh, It's W's This Time - The duo's last puzzle was two words that started with "O". This time it is three words that start with "W".

20A. "Just lookee here" : "WELL, WELL, WELL"

33A. "But it was working when I left!" : "WHAT WENT WRONG?"

40A. 2000 Mel Gibson film : "WHAT WOMEN WANT"

55. Information superhighway whose abbreviation inspired this puzzle's theme : WORLD WIDE WEB

Argyle here. Maybe this is a start of a wonderfully wacky week. Fifty blocks for the theme on a Monday.

Across:

1. Indian spiced tea : CHAI

5. Certain PC laptops : IBM's

9. Attack baked-on grease, say : SCRUB

14. Posterior : HIND

15. Ding-a-ling : KOOK

16. On the __: no charge : HOUSE

17. Hence : ERGO

18. World's longest river : NILE

19. "Shucks!" : "AW, GEE!"

23. Plank in a playground : SEESAW

24. "Exodus" actor Mineo : SAL

25. "__ you listening to me?" : ARE

28. Genie's offering : WISH

31. Blubbered : SOBBED

36. German eight : ACHT

38. "As I see it," in email : IMO. (in my opinion)

39. Like a pretentious museumgoer : ARTY

45. Transparent : LIMPID. "Those cool and LIMPID green eyes".

46. Clutter-free : NEAT

47. __-cone: shaved ice dessert : SNO

48. Christmas cupful : NOG. Hmm, an eggnog sno-cone.

50. 1980 Olivia Newton-John/ELO hit : XANADU. Ever watch the movie? IMDb

58. Comic Smirnoff : YAKOV. "What a country" Where is he now? He has been in Branson, MO. Site.

61. Lake bordering Ohio : ERIE

62. "__Cop": 1987 film : ROBO. Two sequels and a TV series, none as good as the original, imo.

63. Trim whiskers : SHAVE

64. Gullible types : SAPS

65. Gumbo veggie : OKRA. Pickled or deep fried?

66. Down the road : LATER

67. Manuscript editor's "Leave it in" : STET

68. You may be ushered to one : SEAT

Down:

1. Works on a licorice stick : CHEWS

2. New staffer : HIREE

3. Protractor measure : ANGLE

4. Fan favorites : IDOLS

5. "Told you so!" : "I KNEW IT!"

6. Swelter : BOIL

7. Gangland gal : MOLL

8. Depicts unfairly, as data : SKEWS

9. Like kiddie pools : SHALLOW. [NO DIVING]

10. Monk's hood : COWL. Cowlies?

11. Piece on one's head : RUG. Good one.

12. Take advantage of : USE

13. Blossom buzzer : BEE. Alliteration extended to the answer.

21. Electric guitar effect : WA-WA. Guide to Guitar - The Wawa pedal.

22. Oregon-to-New York direction : EAST

25. End abruptly : ABORT

26. Lessor's charge : RENT. "Dollars for quarters" - that was a good one.

27. On pins and needles : EDGY

29. Enjoy a dip : SWIM

30. Studly dudes : HE-MEN

32. Stuff in a muffin : BRAN

33. Hula Hoop manufacturer : WHAMO. And so much more.

34. Start of a 55-Across address : HTTP. (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

35. Sold-out amount : NONE. I got caught thinking how much was sold instead of how much was left.

36. Hole-making tools : AWLs. (Leather working)

37. Goatee's location : CHIN. A pointed tuftlike beard on the chin, so called from its resemblance to a male goat's chin hairs.

41. Persuade : WIN OVER

42. Sign of spoilage : ODOR

43. Most shiny, as a car : WAXIEST

44. Ever so slightly : A TAD

49. Sharon of "Cagney & Lacey" : GLESS. Let's see if I can get it right this time. Sharon Gless was Cagney and Tyne Daly was Lacey.

51. Pianist Peter and a fiddling emperor : NEROs. But they never played a duet.

52. Came to : AWOKE

53. Messing of "Will & Grace" : DEBRA. The show was just as much "Jack and Karen".

54. WWII attacker : U-BOAT. The U-boat was underwater and the E-boat was on the water. Both carried torpedos.

55. Used a loom : WOVE

56. "Phooey!" : "DRAT!"

57. Use a rag on : WIPE

58. Pricey handbag letters : YSL. (Yves Saint Laurent)

59. "Bingo!" : "A-HA!"

60. Kit __: candy bar : KAT. For breakfast?

Argyle

Notes from C.C.

1) Happy one year blog anniversary to dear Irish Miss (Agnes), a mysterious lady with 12 rings. Argyle met with Irish Miss twice and said she's just as kind and charming as she is on the blog. In fact, they're going to meet again this morning for coffee.

2) Happy Birthday to our beautiful JD, who has been with the blog since 2008. It's so much fun watching her family grow.

Here is a photo of JD's family in April 2008 when her daughter Shelby got married. Truman was just a tiny baby.

Here is a photo taken in 2012 when their family went to San Diego to celebrate JD's birthday.

Also great news: Cameron will be a big brother in July. Congratulations again, JD!

Sunday Jan 13, 2013 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "Editorialization" - ED is added to the first word of each common phrase. 

23A. Snow-laden spruce? : COATED TREE. Coat tree.

25A. Noble in a he-man contest? : OILED BARON. Oil baron.

49A. Aghast runway figure? : FLOORED MODEL. Floor model. Model Brooklyn Decker, wife of Andy Roddick, in case you wonder.

 70. Posse? : ARMED BAND. Armband.

95A. Intimidated ballplayer? : COWED CATCHER. Cowcatcher. Who's the catcher who got punched here? (Don't click on the picture & cheat.)

 118A. Disgraced stage production? : FOULED PLAY. Foul play.

122A. Saloon wholly endorsed by its patrons? : BACKED DIVE. Back dive.

 36D. Hoodwinked management group? : SNOWED BOARD. Snowboard.

 48D. Philanthropic Mensa member? : GIFTED GIVER. Gift giver.

Notice that the second words are all clued in a different sense than what they are in the original phrase? It's the key to this type of letter(s) addition theme type.

I'm always amazed by how clean Gail's grids are. Every entry is solid. She knows her fans very well. She's not going to get you with hip entries like YOLO (You Only Live Once) or obscure fill like LEK (Albanian coin). Just clean & solid words.

Across:

1. Primary : MAIN

5. Lays an egg : FLOPS

10. Part of a pot : ANTE.  And 21. Agreement : DEAL.

14. On the level : LEGIT

19. Start of an afterthought : ALSO

20. Out of whack : ASKEW

22. Hot : IRATE

27. Throw with effort : HEAVE

28. Introductory course : SALAD. And 69. Take in a course : EAT. Food, Steve!

30. Sandbags may be used for them : LEVEES

31. 13½-inch-tall honors : OSCARS. "Lincoln" this year.

33. People often see patterns in them : STARS. I was thinking of STATS.

35. San Joaquin Valley city : FRESNO. "Raisin Capital of the World". San = Three in Chinese.

39. Curved shapes : LOOPS

42. Beethoven's Third : EROICA

45. Seven-Emmy actor : ASNER. That's a record Emmys by a male actor.

46. Biblical trio : MAGI
52. Reveal, in verse : OPE

53. Etcher's supply : ACID

54. Powder mineral : TALC

55. Wagner heroine : ISOLDE. "Tristan und Isolde".

56. Ill-gotten gains : SWAG

57. Justice Dept. bureau : ATF

58. "No arguing!" : BE NICE!

60. No longer in force : NULL

61. Dramatic start? : MELO. Melodramatic.

62. Wintertime lost-and-found item : MITTEN

64. Assert with confidence : AVER

67. Interfered with : MESSED IN. Non-theme ED word.

73. Tourist transport : CAB. I was surprised that the taxis in Brussels are all Mercedes Benz. I was also at a loss about bidets there.

74. Source of colorful autumn foliage : RED MAPLE

77. Botch : RUIN

78. Hardly around the corner : FAR OFF

81. "Picnic" playwright : INGE

82. Film feline : ELSA

84. Become involved : STEP IN

87. Styled after : A LA

88. Warts and all : AS IS

89. Frère's siblings : SOEURS. "Sisters".

92. Product created by a Kansas Dairy Queen owner : ICEE. New trivia to me.

93. Increase : GROW

94. Letters seen near an 8 : TUV. Phone button!

97. City SSE of Sana'a : ADEN

98. Battleground : ARENA

100. Informant : SNITCH

101. Ocean predators : ORCAs

103. Colorful cover-up : SERAPE

105. Milo of the movies : O'SHEA

107. Kicks out : EXPELS

111. Took care of a toy? : PET SAT. D'oh!

114. Socks away : SAVES

117. Uncanny : EERIE

124. Exudes, as confidence : OOZES

125. Pic Sans Nom, par exemple : ALPE. Pic Sans Nom is in the French Alps. Literally "Peak without a name". Marti might know it.

126. Refers to : CITES

127. Sailed through : ACED

128. Steal passwords, e.g. : PHISH. Those people, any on-line thief, virus creator are the worst of human kind. They're no different than terrorists. Jerks!

129. Saloon supply : RYES. Liquor.

130. Plods : SLOGS

131. Young kilt wearer : LASS. I guess they do. But often LADs wear kilts.

Down:

1. Like Eastwood characters : MACHO. Seems like Qli loves "Dirty Harry". What's your favorite Eastwood movie? 

2. Succulents that soothe : ALOES

3. Son of Sarah : ISAAC

4. Full of holes, in a way : NOT VALID

5. It runs its course quickly : FAD

6. WWII carriers : LSTs

7. Pickled or deep-fried veggie : OKRA. I love pickled food, esp herring. Never had pickled or deep fried okra though.

8. Sheds some skin : PEELS

9. Skiwear item : SWEATER

10. Hoo-ha : ADO

11. Bronx-born playwright : NEIL SIMON. Nice full name.

12. Grimm account : TALE

13. High-sign letters? : ELEV. Great clue too.

14. Ample : LIBERAL. Liberal amount of .... vinegar. Good to remove kitchen stains.

15. Wipes clean : ERASES

16. Long-snouted fish : GAR

17. Jurist in 1995 news : ITO (Lance)

18. Decimal base : TEN

24. Designer Saarinen : EERO. To live forever in Xwords, your name has to be short, and vowel heavy. ERLE, ESAI, e.g.

26. Dict. entry : DEF. I had a few interesting email exchanges with Kazie, JD and Lucina last week on Long U sound. Do you also call the oo sound in MOON long U? To me, only the "yoo" sound in MULE, or USE are Long U's.

29. "Is it too risky?" : DARE I

32. Give in somewhat : SOFTEN

34. Casting needs : RODS

37. Katmandu native : NEPALI. Mysterious country.

38. Crater Lake locale : OREGON

40. Get ready for the wedding, say : PLAN. Traditionally, Chinese brides wear red in weddings.

41. Diva highlights : SOLI

43. Newspaper part : COLUMN

44. In a fog : ADDLED

46. Hat-tipper's word : MA'AM

47. Play period? : ACT I

50. William of __, for whom a logical "razor" was named : OCCAM

51. Ocean burrowers : EELS

56. Bit of ugly politics : SMEAR

58. Key letter : BETA. Always a stumper for me. Fraternity/Sorority key.

59. "Did you __?" : EVER

63. Brings under control : TAMES

65. Part of an academic address : EDU

66. MLB stats : RBIs.

68. Reading at the checkout counter : SCAN

70. Tolerates : ALLOWS

71. Watched again : RE-SEEN

72. Marx trademark : ANTIC

74. Vaqueros' gear : RIATAS

75. Make certain : ENSURE

76. Tampico tender : PESO. Easy guess. No idea where Tampico is.

78. Intense : FIERCE

79. Arctic sight : FLOE

80. Young Faline, in "Bambi" : FAWN. Faline's mother is ENA.

83. Recording of a sort : AUDIOTAPE

85. Return call? : ECHO. Great clue.

86. Look closely : PEER

90. They're needed for returns: Abbr. : RCTs. Or RCPTs.

91. Goldman __ : SACHS

93. Step on it : GAS PEDAL. This clue used to bother me, as grammatically the clue ≠ answer. Same as "What's up" for SKY.

95. Facetious "Get it?" : CAPEESH. What's the non-facetious "Get it"? Capisce or Capisci?

96. Preschool subject : THE ABCS

99. Caruso's birth city : NAPLES

102. Gave the boot : AXED

104. LAX datum : ETD

106. Help : AVAIL. Thanks for the Java disabling instruction, JJM.

108. Soap vamp __ Kane : ERICA. "All My Children".

109. What seatbelts save : LIVES

110. Origins : SEEDS

112. Yard or boom, e.g. : SPAR. Did not know "Yard" has a spar meaning.

113. One on your side : ALLY

115. Prefix with plasm : ECTO

116. Surfboard fin : SKEG. I'm borrowing a picture Splynter used before. Looks like some surfboards have 2 skegs, some one. Wiki said "A surf board fin improves the board's directional stability..."

118. Dandy : FOP

119. "I'm impressed!" : OOH. Rarely do I read a "tepid" comment from Yellowrocks on a puzzle. But technical errors like last Friday might happen again. Crossword software Across Lite just does not allow empty clues or unnumbered entries. So, the editor/constructor has to put a "-" to indicate that there's no clue for that fill.

120. Action film firearm : UZI

121. Okay : YES

123. Tricky curve : ESS

C.C.