Tuesday, October 29, 2013 David Steinberg

Theme: Fonetic Progression - FL followed by a phonetic long vowel sound progressing through a, e, i, o, u.

17A. Food Network's "Throwdown!" host : BOBBY FLAY

24A. '60s song about an insect who "hid / Inside a doggie from Madrid" : SPANISH FLEA. Clip with lyrics, not the Herb Alpert instrumental version.

41A. 1996 R. Kelly hit : "I BELIEVE I CAN FLY"

51A. Difference between money coming in and money being spent : NET CASH FLOW

66A. Contagious dog malady : CANINE FLU

Argyle here. Very similar grid to Monday including the middle grid spanner. A Tuesday feel to the puzzle though. Thanks, David, we needed this.

Across:

1. Tom, Ma or Pa, in "The Grapes of Wrath" : JOAD. Okies.

5. Ballpark judges : UMPS

9. Greek i's : IOTAs

14. Doing nothing : IDLE

15. Put a stop to : HALT

16. Russian currency : RUBLE

19. Actor's platform : STAGE

20. Remove pencil marks : ERASE

21. Vinyl flooring piece : TILE

23. Skin care brand : OLAY

27. Palsy-walsy : CHUMMY

                               Chumlee

31. Mongrel : CUR

32. Villainous Norse god in the 2012 film "The Avengers" : LOKI

                                 LINK

33. Musical pause : REST

37. Guffaw : LAUGH

44. Baffling question : POSER

45. Sesame Street giggler : ELMO

46. Increase, as prices : GO UP

47. Singer Sumac : YMA. "Peruvian songbird" has been with us for years now.

49. Deceives : LIES TO

57. Grand Ole __ : OPRY

58. Beverage nut : KOLA

59. Newton with laws : ISAAC

64. Squirrel away : HOARD

68. Take place : OCCUR

69. SOS responder : USCG. (United States Coast Guard)

70. Fast horse : ARAB

71. Bridge predecessor : WHIST. The 16th century game you can now play online.

72. Stadium that hosted a 1965 Beatles concert : SHEA

73. Muscle firmness : TONE

Down:

1. Be in sync (with) : JIBE

2. Febreze target : ODOR

3. "Fantastic Four" actress Jessica : ALBA

4. Society newbies : DEBs. (debutante)

5. Frequency between 300 and 3,000 MHz : UHF. Ultra High Frequency, VHF, 30 MHz to 300 MHz : Very High Frequency. Television before cable and satellite.

6. Island nation near Sicily : MALTA. Située dans La mer Méditerranée. (How did I do?)

7. __ Jane : PLAIN

8. Touchscreen-touching tools : STYLI. Plural of stylus.

9. Org. that's the target of April glowers : IRS

10. Not close enough : OUT OF RANGE

11. Game for young batters : T-BALL

12. Aquarium buildup : ALGAE

13. "I'm outta here!" : "SEE YA!"

18. Polite rural assent : YES'M

22. PC bailout key : ESC

25. Pile that aptly rhymes with fire : PYRE

26. Hawaiian dance : HULA. 29D. 26-Down instruments : UKEs

27. Film excerpt : CLIP

28. Vagabond : HOBO. Yes, yes. Got it right this time.

30. Hannah Montana portrayer : MILEY CYRUS. Not what she is famous for now!

34. Eden outcast : EVE and Adam.

35. Poivre companion : SEL. French 'pepper' compadre, 'salt'.

36. Duncan of the NBA's Spurs : TIM. Not a very well known TIM. His Wiki page.

38. Usually fuzzy tabloid pics : UFOs

39. Market surfeit : GLUT

40. Doc's shot provider : HYPO. (hypodermic syringe)

42. Culinary maven Rombauer : IRMA. "The Joy of Cooking" author.

43. Denver's st. : COLOrado

48. Inquire of : ASK

50. Victor's cry : I WIN

51. "Never in a million years!" : "NO HOW!"

52. Pleistocene, e.g. : EPOCH

53. "Baywatch" actress Bingham : TRACI. Not a very well known TRACI. Her Google images.

54. Magician's opening : HOCUS - Pocus, often followed by a flash.

55. Word with drive or memory : FLASH

56. Cavalry weapon : LANCE. The lance is longer, stouter and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing.

60. "Save me a __!" : SEAT

61. Bushy do : AFRO

62. Arkin of "Argo" : ALAN. Father of Adam Arkin.

63. Sugar bowl unit : CUBE

65. 2000 Richard Gere role : DR. T. "Dr. T & the Women"

67. Red-and-white supermarket logo : IGA. (Independent Grocers Alliance) Holy cow! Check out the coverage.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy 88th Birthday to dear Dodo, who used to be very active on the blog. Are you still reading us daily, Dodo?

(L-R back row: Chickie, Clear Ayes, Garlic Gal; Front: JD, Lucina, Dodo. 

Picture taken on June 23, 2011

Monday, October 28, 2013 Steve Blais

Theme: Trick or Treat - Or give us something crunchy to eat. We find we've gotten four entries with a decidedly crunchy finish.

17. Computer storage medium : MEMORY CHIP

24. Quick-on-the-uptake type, in slang : SMART COOKIE

37. Carton-cushioning unit : STYROFOAM PEANUT

46. Showy authority figure : WHIP-CRACKER

58. Tense pre-deadline period ... or when to eat the ends of 17-, 24-, 37- and 46-Across? : CRUNCH TIME

BOO! Argyle here. What was (or is) your favorite Halloween treat? This grid has rectangles in two corners and a triangular shape in the other two. A gridspanner in the middle. It reminds me of a candy bar. I'll share it with you. (BTW, there are some more crunches in the puzzle.)

Across:

1. Forget where one put, as keys : MISLAY

7. Pedro's eye : OJO. Spanish.

10. Golf great Ballesteros : SEVE. Also Spanish.

14. Crumbly Italian cheese : ASIAGO. Aged Asiago cheese resembles Parmesan cheese in flavor.

15. Lao Tzu's "path" : TAO

16. Slangy prefix meaning "ultra" : ÜBER

19. When repeated, island near Tahiti : BORA. Northeast of New Zealand.

20. Male sibs : BROs

21. Kadett automaker : OPEL. Produced between 1937 and 1940, and 1962 until 1991.

22. Apple music players : iPODs

23. Vintner's prefix : OEN. Oenophile - a connoisseur of wines. 58D. French vineyard : CRU

26. Athenian walkway : STOA

28. Otherwise : ELSE

29. Persian rulers : SHAHs

31. Irene of "Fame" : CARA

33. Used-up pencils : NUBS

40. Latin being : ESSE

41. Latin love word : AMAS. Amo, Amas, Amat.

42. Muslim pilgrim's destination : MECCA

43. Tombstone lawman Wyatt : EARP

45. Mischievous trick : DIDO. More often clued as the Queen of Carthage. There is a singer so named, also.

51. Facebook notes, briefly : IMs. Chat with Instant Messaging.

54. Put back to zero : RESET

55. Orator's place : DAIS

56. Vivacity : ELAN

57. Fitzgerald of jazz : ELLA

60. Bedframe part : SLAT

61. Notes after dos : REs. On a different note from 51-Across.

62. Pop singer Spector who fronted a '60s girl group named for her : RONNIE

                                       LINK

63. Alley prowlers : TOMs Cats

64. Function : USE

65. Chuck who broke the sound barrier : YEAGER. Some tidbits I didn't know. WIKI

Down:

1. Up-tempo Caribbean dance : MAMBO

2. River of Grenoble : ISÈRE. France.

3. Kids' imitation game : SIMON SAYS

4. Vietnam neighbor : LAOS

5. Part of USDA: Abbr. : AGRiculture

6. Multiple Grammy-winning cellist : YOYO MA

7. Catchall option in a survey question : OTHER

8. They're related to the severity of the crimes : JAIL TERMS

9. Caveman Alley : OOP. Administered justice with a club.

10. Summoned as a witness : SUBPOENAED

11. Novel on a small screen, perhaps : E-BOOK

12. "Falstaff" was his last opera : VERDI

13. Wipe clean : ERASE

18. Tax pro: Abbr. : CPA. Have you noticed sometimes CPA isn't indicated as an abbr.?

22. Cyclades island : IOS

24. Nothing to write home about : SO SO

25. Applaud : CLAP

27. Feats like the Yankees' 1998, '99 and 2000 World Series wins : THREE-PEATs

29. Opposite of NNW : SSE

30. 6'3", 5'4", etc.: Abbr. : HTs. (height)

31. Close associates : COMPADRES. From Spanish.

32. Roadside assistance org. : AAA

34. Preparing to use, as a hose : UNCOILING

35. Tampa Bay NFLer : BUC

36. RR stop : STAtion.

38. Jamie of "M*A*S*H" : FARR. Cpl. Klinger.

39. Arabian leader : EMIR

44. Play a part : ACT

45. Discern : DESCRY

46. Take by force : WREST

47. "Is anybody here?" : "HELLO?"

48. Quran religion : ISLAM

49. Underlying reason : CAUSE

50. Relatives : KIN

52. Mrs. Eisenhower : MAMIE. The First Lady, 1953 to 1961.

53. Snide smile : SNEER

56. Sicilian volcano : ETNA

59. Earth chopper : HOE

Argyle

Sunday October 27, 2013 Ed Sessa

Theme: "Catching Some Zs" - Z sound is added to the end of a long vowel in each theme entry. The transformed new words are all in the pattern of *ZE.

24A. Really big hangover? : A DAZE LIKE NO OTHER. A day like no other.

36A. Mythical siren's boast? : I CALL 'EM AS I SEIZE 'EM. I call 'em as I see 'em.

50A. Couch potato's preparations? : LAZE AWAY PLAN. Layaway plan.

66A. North Pole resident's motto? : LIVE FREEZE OR DIE. Live Free or Die.

89A. "You might wanna clean your glasses"? : THAT AIN'T HAZE. That ain't hay.

100A. Harvest time in the Corn Belt? : MERRY MONTH OF MAIZE. Merry month of May.

117A. "L, XL, XXL—who cares?"? : A SIZE IS JUST A SIZE. Double action here. A sigh is just a sigh. From the lyric of "As Time Goes By": ... a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh..."

So we caught 8 Z's in 7 theme entries, mostly are all fairly long. Theme answers with 16 or more letters are not easy to handle, esp if you have Z's or J's or X'es. Actually K's are tricky too.

But Ed is a pro, every Down *Z* is a clean fill. Ed is one of the very few constructors who make both themed and themeless grids. I think themeless experience is very important when it comes to Sunday grids.

Ed Sessa, Xword Info

Across:

1. Cry from the heartbroken : ALAS

5. All-in-one Apple : iMAC. Does it work better than PC, D-Otto?

9. Masterful, pitching-wise : NO-HIT.  Who is your all-time favorite pitcher?

14. 92-Across newbie : PLEBE. And 92A. Annapolis inst. : USNA. Our Navy guy Spitzboov graduated from RPI, so did the Saturday Stud.

19. Bits of fibrous fuzz : LINT

20. Second ballot, often : RUN-OFF VOTE. This is plurable, isn't it?

22. Marathoner, e.g. : RACER

23. Dole (out) : METE

26. Bond film title beginning : A VIEW.  "A View to a Kill".

28. Title for Lancelot : SIR

29. Blow-ups : ERUPTIONS

30. Video file format : MPEG. Did not know what it stands for until today: Moving Picture Experts Group.

32. Online read, for short : E-MAG. So, TTP, what do you read for fun? I hope it's not those boring tech stuff.

35. Nada, to Nanette : RIEN. "De rien" = "You're welcome".

42. Demolition material : TNT

45. Rain delay result : LATE START

46. Prefix with scope : TELE

47. In __ of: replacing : LIEU

48. NYC subway : IRT

49. Better part of a loaf? : HALF. Half a loaf is better than none. 

54. George Smiley portrayer Guinness : ALEC

56. Rihanna song title meaning "I love you" : TE AMO.  Thanks for  the additional "I love you". I don't really know any of her songs.

58. Nicholas II's consort : ALEXANDRA

59. Florida's "Blue Monster" golf course : DORAL. Lemonade played there once.

61. Museum gift shop offering, briefly : REPRO

64. Loser to DDE : AES (Adlai Ewing Stevenson)

65. Balaam's mount : ASS

72. Toon Chihuahua : REN. Ren & Stimpy.

75. Crab eater's neckwear : BIB

76. Treat with disdain : SCORN

77. Belarusian bread : RUBLE. Money! I bet Joe Biden will be stumped by this clue.

81. Whatever the price : AT ANY COST

85. Nasal airways : NARES. Learned from doing Xwords.

88. Unlike fiction : REAL

94. Wheel spinner's purchase : AN "I". "Wheel of Fortune".

95. Foot segment : INCH

96. Aviation prefix : AERO

97. Valedictorians, e.g. : A STUDENTS. Yellowrocks must be one.

99. Alley-__ pass: hoops play : OOP

104. Prescription indication : DOSE

105. List catchall : ET AL

106. Mardi Gras, for one : FETE

107. Caddies of old : EL DORADOS. Cadillacs. Not the likes of Steve Williams I had in mind. Good old days, Tiger!

112. Yak : JAW 

114. Big name in bookselling : NOBLE. Barnes & Noble. I was upset Amazon upped their free shipping to $35 a few days ago.

122. Bigheaded : VAIN

123. Debussy contemporary : RAVEL. No "Boléro" today. Let's try "Daphnis et Chloé".

124. Steinbeck novel set in the Salinas Valley : EAST OF EDEN. I saw the movie because of James Dean. He's OK. No Daniel Craig.

125. Iberian river : EBRO

126. Nixon fundraiser Maurice : STANS. No idea. Look, Shakopee, he was born in MN! I've been to Shakopee. The big racing track Canterbury Park is there. Also a big casino.

127. Path to a wedding : AISLE

128. Posted : SENT

129. Breads for Reubens : RYES. EddyB liked his Reubens.

Down:

1. __ mater : ALMA

2. Actor Schreiber : LIEV. Did you see "Glengarry Glen Ross"?

 3. Part of the Enterprise's power source : ANTIMATTER. "Star Trek" stuff. No idea.

4. Pealing place : STEEPLE

5. CPA's recommendation : IRA

6. Strong java : MUD. Do you drink "Strong java", PK?

7. Santa __: offshore winds : ANAs

8. Like the best fireplace fire : COZIEST

9. Org. with Bucs and Broncos : NFL

10. Duct opening? : OVI. Oviduct.

11. Manipulate, as statistics, with "up" : HOKE.  I fogot. We had this before.

12. Old Roman way : ITER

13. Teacher's security : TENURE

14. President __ : PRO TEM

15. Language of many a motto : LATIN

16. It's repetitive : ECHO. Indeed.

17. "Someone's __ sleeping in my bed" : BEEN

18. Slips : ERRS

 21. 1938 Physics Nobelist : FERMI (Enrico). This guy is never a gimme for me.

25. Role for Ronny : OPIE

27. Llanfairpwll citizens : WELSH. Never heard of Llanfairpwll. See here. Steve might have stopped there before.

31. Imply : GET AT

33. Nick and Nora's dog : ASTA. And 39D. Line for 33-Down : ARF ARF

34. "Shoot" : GEEZ

36. 24-part epic : ILIAD

37. "Two Women" producer Ponti : CARLO. Husband of Bill G's Sophia Loren.

38. Like all bucks and some broncos : MALE

40. Intestinal parts : ILEA

41. Enthusiasm : ZEAL

42. Oscar winner Swinton of "Michael Clayton" : TILDA. The George Clooney movie. Glooney is single again!! (Sorry, Clooney, typo, Call Me, Maybe?)

43. Approaches : NEARS

44. Albacore and ahi : TUNAs

47. Hosp. worker : LPN

50. Easy strides : LOPES

51. Sport : WEAR

52. Felled in the forest : AXED

53. PLO chairman before Mahmoud : YASIR

55. "Iron man" Ripken : CAL. Very classy guy. He was at Kirby Puckett's funeral.

57. Sea, overseas : MER

60. Tripoli's country : LIBYA

62. R&R component: Abbr. : REC. Wow, Recuperation? I always thought R & R stands for "rest and relaxation".

63. One of the greenhouse gases : OZONE

67. One of a Caesarean trio : VICI. "Veni, vidi, vici"!

68. Poet's deep black : EBON

69. Reagan __ : ERA

70. Torrent : ONRUSH

71. Aus. setting : EUR

72. 9 to 5, e.g. : RATIO. Great clue.

73. Prefix with botany : ETHNO

74. Rights gp. since 1909 : NAACP

78. Collectible stuffed animal : BEANIE BABY. Lots on sale at the flea markets.

79. Woody Woodpecker's creator : LANTZ. I only know his given name Walter.

80. Beethoven's "Für __" : ELISE

82. Degree in math : NTH

83. Guide to Bethlehem : STAR

84. "__ are the we of me": McCullers : THEY. What does the quote mean?

86. Juan's "this" : ESTO

87. Put (out) : SNUFF

90. Weapon for Napoleon : ARME

91. __ suit: '40s apparel : ZOOT

93. Commercial developers : AD MEN

97. They have legends : ATLASES

98. Dine next door, say : EAT OVER. If it's Chez Jayce's.

100. Honeycomb-like fungi : MORELS. Our grocery store has the dried ones. Very pricey.

101. Morales of "NYPD Blue" : ESAI. Tony. LaLaLinda's faovrite TV cop is Andy Sipowicz. Or maybe Lennie Briscoe? I forgot.

102. Exodus obstacle : RED SEA

103. City south of Baghdad : NAJAF. In red. Does the "An" mean "the"?

104. Pair of sixes : DOZEN

107. Hammer sites : EARS. Tricky clue.

108. Future jurist's exam, for short : LSAT

109. Prima donna : DIVA

110. California home of the Bionic Woman : OJAI

111. Figure (out) : SUSS

113. Like EE shoes : WIDE

115. Old Pisa dough : LIRE. Money again. "Pisa dough" for Dave!

116. Slaughter in the field : ENOS. And 118. Letters for baseball's Cards : STL. What is Pujols thinking now?

119. Kid's piggy : TOE

120. Buddhism sect : ZEN

121. Tonsillectomy MD : ENT

Happy Birthday to my husband Boomer, who's going to bowl at the Midwest Senior Classic today. Boomer has been coaching the bowling team at his old high school and found the volunteering work extremely rewarding.

C.C.

Saturday, Oct 26th, 2013, Ned White

Theme: None

Words: 70 (misssing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 30

   How's this for an early Halloween scare???  My first look at the triple triple-15-letter spanners and I immediately ran for the DOWNS.  And that didn't help much.  Too many abbrs., names and vagueness to be of any good - at first.  The key to solving this construction, for me, was to go with my 'crossword instinct', meaning that the long answers would most likely end with E, S, T, R, etc. - and then, with my smattering of DOWN fill, I literally worked my way from the bottom up.  I'll admit to one bad cell (*), and I cheated and went to my analog dictionary for the spelling of 1A.  

The Spanners:

1. Wedding reception fare : HOT HORS D'OEUVRES - I missed the "U", and jumbled my "R" and "V"

16. Hunter's accessory : AMMUNITION POUCH - I delivered a box of ammo to a guy yesterday who was questioning why I required a signature; it had nothing to do with his 2nd Amendment rights, but UPS does require an adult to sign for explosives.  Period.

17. Fourth-generation relative : GREAT- GRANDNIECE

32. Certain cohabitant : DOMESTIC PARTNER - when I was in the Sober House, everyone would talk about their "S.O." - I thought it was a variation on a P.O. - parole officer.  Turned out to be their "significant other" - sounds pretty cold to me

37. Anglican leader : EPISCOPAL PRIEST

38. Beethoven work completed the same year as the "Moonlight" : PASTORALE SONATA - let's hear a little

53. Have a considerably negative effect on : MILITATE AGAINST - about the only one that is not a 'common phrase'

58. Recipe datum : PREPARATION TIME

59. Fitness specialist : STRENGTH TRAINER

O~N~W~A~R~D~!

ACROSS:

18. Wrong : SIN

19. 1980s pop duo with an exclamation point in their name : WHAM!

20. Stowe novel : DRED - more here

21. Chanel competitor : COTY - They used to make "IRON" cologne, and I loved it: I miss it, too - it really defined "me" - it's a Ferro-pheromone alloy....

22. Chihuahua chatter : ARFs - eh, not YIPs

25. Rent-__ : A-CAR

28. Jolly Roger crewman : SMEE

29. Desperate letters : S.O.S.

39. Cobb and others : TYs

40. Get up : RISE

41. Scrapes (out) : EKES

42. Moments : SECs

43. One may be zapped : TV AD - I zap every one of them, because I watch everything from my DVR - and there's no one else in the UPS truck to spoil a show for me~!

46. Deuce follower : AD IN - advantage in - when the server is one point up after deuce on his/her opponent, and could take the next one and win - the Wiki if you really want to get confused

49. Cup part : BRIM

50. One of Can.'s Maritime provinces : P.E.I. - Prince Edward Island - one of those crossword instinct answers that does NOT end in E, S, T, R.

DOWN:

1. Crones : HAGS - I put in PALS, but that's cronies.

2. "Dallas" actor Katz : OMRI - IMDb

3. Bootleggers' foes : T-MEN - I put in FEDS to start

4. '70s Chinese leader : HUA - I defer to our very own C.C. for more on this (From C.C.: HUA brought Cultural Revolution to an end, for which I'm very grateful. He's Chairman Mao's handpicked successor.)

5. Huddle directive : ON TWO....

6. In order : RIGHT - and an anti-clecho 27D. Not in order : AMISS

7. Cattle drive concern : STRAY - I tried DINGO, but the word I meant to fill in was DOGIE

8. Spherical meas. : DIAMeter

9. Suffix with bass : OON - BassOON

10. Close : END - the verb

11. "Buffy" airer after The WB : UPN

12. Cancels : VOIDS

13. Penitent : RUER - The noun, in this case; I always think of the scene from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" when I hear penitent

14. Old Roman cry : ECCE~!  Behold~!

15. Discard : SHED - Not TOSS, going with my instinct

21. Peak : CREST - hey, nice peaks

22. Liberal : AMPLE - quite ample

23. Takes in : REAPS

24. Alloy prefix : FERRO - "Iron", like in these fine examples

25. Pro : ADEPT

26. Pharmacy figure : CO-PAY and a semi-clecho with;

28. Bygone pharmacy fixture : SCALE

29. Preview opener? : SNEAK - sneak preview

30. Montevideo-to-Buenos Aires dirección : OESTE - map

31. Sp. lasses : SRTAs

33. Tie, perhaps : SCORE - you bet your ASCOT I got this one~!

34. Like doughnuts : TORIC - OK, so I went with HOLEY - I had a very white grid....

35. "Not for me" : "I PASS"

36. Pointed, in a way : TINED

42. Marsh bird : SNIPE - STORK, EGRET~?

43. It may be inherited : TRAIT

44. Bounce : VIGOR - yes, she's got some 'vigor' to her....

45. Appliance maker once owned by Raytheon : AMANA

46. Intensifies, with "up" : AMPS

47. Skinny : DIRT - and the title of Mötley Crüe's biography

48*. Robert of "The Sopranos" : ILER - the "L" got me

49. Three-time LPGA Player of the Year Daniel : BETH

50. Nabokov novel : PNIN - pronounced P'neen

51. Edward's adoptive mother in the "Twilight" series : ESME - a WAG, since I have not, and do not care to see any of these movies - but it worked well with my E, S, T, R instinct

52. Anatomical passage : ITER - Latin for journey - I can see that

54. A spray might be used for one : TAN

55. Uru. neighbor : ARGentina, constructor Ned must like the area - see 30D.

56. Parlor work, briefly : TATtoo - and a chance for a music link

57. "Lord, is __?": Matthew : "IT I?"

Splynter

Friday, October 25, 2013 Jacob Stulberg

Theme: "And I quote..."

18. Start of a quote : A HEN IS ONLY

23. Quote, part 2 : AN EGG'S

40. Quote, part 3 : WAY OF

54. Quote, part 4 : MAKING

61. End of the quote : ANOTHER EGG.

16A. With 66-Across, author of this puzzle's quote : SAMUEL. and 66-Across. See 16-Across : BUTLER. 

Marti here, trying to fill Lemonade's shoes on a Friday.  Whoo boy, I sure struggled with this one. I took me almost twice my normal Friday solving time, and even when I finished it, there were some things I still didn't know (LEONA, EGAN, TREME, for instance.)

I believe this is Jacob's debut LAT puzzle, so, congratulations!

Across:

1. City SE of Milan : LODI. BAM! Right off the bat, I get sucker punched. Anyone else enter "Rome?" Map.

5. Station occupant : COP.

8. Extended stays : ABODES. I didn't like this clue. It should have referred to the obsolete meaning of the word.

14. Dept. with a sun on its seal : ENER.gy. Among other things...

15. Dish made in an oven called an imu : POI. Total WAG. But a learning moment.  The imu is basically a deep pit, with a wood fire in the bottom that is covered with fist-sized stones. The food is wrapped in leaves (to steam), placed into the pit, then covered with the dirt.  A rolled up palm leaf is often used to keep a vent open at the top of the pit.

17. Some museum work : OILS. Anyone object to the seemingly singular "work?"

20. Super stars? : NOVAE. I entered NOVA*, but knew enough to wait for perps before deciding on "S" or "E" for the last letter.  Alas, I did not know the perp.  Finally wagged the answer at the end and got it right.

22. Sitting setting : STUDIO. Cute clue.

25. "Hear, hear!" : AMEN.

26. Self-obsessed sort : FOP.

29. Grub : EATS.

31. Legal appurtenance? : ESE. Legalese.

32. Barbary __ : APE. Endangered species.

33. Medium : CHANNELER.

37. Rich dessert : TORTE. My house guests from Vienna brought me a Sacher Torte. And yes, they are extremely rich!

39. "Hold it!" : HALT.

42. "... 'Tis a pageant / To keep __ false gaze": "Othello" : US IN. Meaning, "It's a trick, to confuse us."

43. __ coffee : IRISH.

45. They can be wound up : NEUROTICS.

47. Green shade : PEA.

48. Hosp. readout : ECG. I always wonder if the middle letter will be E, K or C?

50. Incentives to cooperate : SOPS.

51. Tee sizes: Abbr. : SMS. Smalls.

52. "It's __!": ballgame cry : A HIT.

58. Goes right, e.g. : STEERS.

60. It sometimes results in a double play : LINER. I started entering LINE drive, but ran out of room.  Is it really called a liner?

65. Dominion : RULE.

67. NYC subway overseer : MTA. Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

68. Three-point B, say : TILE. In Scrabble, the letter "B" is worth three points. Hahtoolah and Irish Miss both knew that, though!

69. Shakespearean title character : ANTONY. and Cleopatra.

70. Handy skill for a gambler? : ESP. Yes, indeed!

71. Leave in : STET.

Down:

1. British singer/songwriter Lewis : LEONA. OK, Leona, you're on! 4:39

2. Source of some rings : ONION. Yummm!

3. Probe, with "into" : DELVE.

4. Feds concerned with returns : IRS AGENTS. And a clecho with 5-Down:

5. Pro concerned with returns : CPA. Certified Public Accountant.

6. Expressions of wonder : OOHS.

7. Two-figure sculpture : PIETA. If you see this in person, you will never forget the name of one of Michelangelo's most famous works.

8. Dramatic revelations : ASIDES.

9. Medieval helmet : BASINET. Another variant spelling, this time of "bascinet."

10. Novel that begins in the Marquesas Islands : OMOO. I had the last "O" so it was a WAG.

11. Bug for payment : DUN.

12. Member of the genus Anguilla : EEL. Freshwater eels.

13. Not straight : SLY.

19. Legion : NUMEROUS.

21. Richard of "A Summer Place" : EGAN. Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee also appeared in that film. I mostly just remember the song. 2:29

24. Worry : STEW.

26. Kurdish relative : FARSI.

27. __ nerve : OPTIC.

28. Hammer parts : PEENS.

30. More jargony : SLANGIER.

33. Salty bagful : CHIPS.

34. "Don Juan DeMarco" setting : HAREM. Starring Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway.

35. Bit of checkpoint deception : ALIAS.

36. Organ that may be caught : EYE.

38. Rural-urban transition area : OUTSKIRTS.

41. Sent by : FROM.

44. Missionary's target : HEATHEN.

46. Gem mined mostly in Australia : OPAL.

49. All smiles : CHEERY.

53. HBO series set in New Orleans : TREME. About the residents of the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans following the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

55. Greenland native : INUIT.

56. "Ally McBeal" lawyer : NELLE. Played by Portia de Rossi. Never watched it.

57. Welcome : GREET.

58. D-Day city : ST. LO.

59. York et al.: Abbr. : SGTS. Sergeant York.

61. Legal org. : ABA. American Bar Association.

62. One of the Poor Clares : NUN.

63. Memorable Giant : OTT. I know his first name is Mel.  And that's all I know, other than the fact that he's convenient crossword puzzle fill.

64. Orthodontist's concern : GAP.

Leaving you with my quote of the day:

"If every day is a gift, where do I go to return Mondays?"

Marti

Note from C.C.:

Good luck to all who attend tomorrow's  Crossword LA. Do say hello to our Wednesday sherpa Steve.
  

Thursday, October 24, 2013, Marti DuGuay-Carpenter & Jerome Gunderson

Theme: Twist and Shout,  it is anagram time!

Well this Thursday offering from our new Titanic Twosome, had me twisting in the wind in places until I finally shouted Eureka! I used up my anagram last time I blogged this pairing, so you all are on your own. Anagram puzzles are different because either you see it or you do not, which would make it very hard even with the reveal, but remember words like, Change, Shake Up, or in this case SWITCH etc. tell you it is an anagram. Lemonade here pinch writing for our shy Thursday thumper, unraveling the product of two beautiful minds. I am still not used to the day, but this had some very nice intermediate fill, such as NUDISTS, PARASOL, PATROLS, PLOPPED, CATWOMAN and SEAFARER and a couple of real challenges. Let's take a walk on the wild side and see.

20A. *Garden display : FLOWER PETALS. (12).

34A. *Paper fastener : METAL STAPLE. (11).

41A. *Feature of some kilts : KNIFE PLEATS. (11). As the grandson of a Tailor, I am embarrassed to say I did not know this TERM.

51A. Electrician's covers, and a hint to the ends of the answers to starred clues : SWITCH PLATES. (12).

Time to flick to ON and get to work.

Across:

1. Like much Oscar-night attire : CHIC. Not an easy one for me to see and I was struggling with 1 down too; This is one of those puzzles where I could provide a link for almost every answer, but I will restrain myself so you can focus on their words.

5. Under-the-sink installation : P TRAP. Is there a hyphen? For all you DIY people.

10. Take a shine to? : BUFF. Okay, maybe a few.

14. Jazz singer Horne : LENA. 70 years ago. LISTEN. (5:05). A real treat.

15. Island near Curaçao : ARUBA. Two of the three Dutch ABC islands off of the Coast of Venezuela.

16. 1930s migrant to California : OKIE. A no no? 23A. Oklahoma tribe : OTOE.

17. Far __ : EAST.

18. River where Romulus and Remus were abandoned : TIBER. My son the archaeology major named his dog REMUS, but after the Harry Potter character!

19. Hot : SEXY. Equal time.

24. Sends regrets : SAYS NO.

28. Crazed Muppet drummer : ANIMAL. A man, a woman and now for you furries, HIT IT. (0:43).

31. Bright light : NEON.

33. Bamboozled : HAD. Tricky clue for a little answer.

36. Where Andy Capp 'angs 'is 'at : 'OME.

37. Noggin : BEAN. Mr. Bean would be at 'ome with Andy.

38. Go in haste : HIE. A Shakespeare word, how cool.

39. Stretch : SPAN.

40. Med. lab letters : LDL. Low-density lipoprotein The bad cholesterol. Lipo proteins often lead to liposuction.

45. Actor Wallach : ELI. He played the UGLY. (5:04).

46. Creatures of habit? : NUNS. Really fun example of the minds of our constructors.

47. Unfancy to the max? : LOATHE. Fancy meaning to like, not the adjective. Did it fool you?

48. Ready to be served : SEATED.

50. Three French horns, in a Prokofiev classic : WOLF. A true CLASSIC. (4:11).

57. Take a verbal shot at : ZING. Not to be confused with Bazzinga.

60. Small porch : STOOP. To me, it just means the steps in front of the porch.

61. Sitarist Shankar : RAVI. His famous daughter is Norah Jones, this is ANOUSHKA. (6:23).

62. Busy : AT IT.

63. Mel-Tones frontman : TORME. The velvet fog and muse for Night Court.

64. Place for the first 42-Down? : EDEN. Really cute cross-referential with 42D. Colony residents : NUDISTS. No ant colony for these two, and of course I have to add

65. Opens, as a car trunk : POPS. So many choices.

66. Sprinter's asset : SPEED.

67. Stinky : RANK. May be from our word RANCID?

Down:

1. Pitch indicator : CLEF. Man I need to go back to music class, when I was in school I was not only tone deaf, but pitch black.

2. Get back on one's feet : HEAL.

3. "You are __ much trouble!" : IN SO. a common sibling comment.

4. Supervillain with a whip : CATWOMAN, There have been so many beautiful women in that costume, who is your FAVORITE?

5. Pounds a beat : PATROLS.

6. Sheer nonsense : TRIPE. We know of the food made from entrails, so I guess it makes sense for the Slang definition: something, especially speech or writing, that is false or worthless; rubbish.

7. Hick : RUBE.  I guess there were a lot of Reubens in the country.

8. Disable the security system for, say : ABET. Complicated clue for a simple answer.

9. Lightweight umbrella : PARASOL. This is actually from the French to protect from the SOLEIL.

10. Domineering : BOSSY.

11. Maui strings : UKE. Where are all the the Hawaiians?

12. Tough spot : FIX.

13. Tina of "Date Night" : FEY. She is out of work and not happy, I hear.

21. Abbr. for the nameless? : ET AL.

22. Shipping route : LANE.

25. Patronize : SHOP AT.

26. Jet legend : NAMATH. Joe Willie, will the Jets ever have another hero?

27. Danish seaport : ODENSE. I am not really familiar with this city, though I can see the name coming from the Norse god, Odin and therefore a Jerome clue/fill. It looks like Aruba with the orange roofs.

28. Moseys : AMBLES.

29. Compass point? : NEEDLE. Another one, where you say, damn north, east, south, west are all too short.

30. Venezia's land : ITALIA. For marti our travelling saleswoman.

31. Innocents : NAIFS. The same stem as naive; there is a similar Yiddish word.

32. Foil kin : EPEE. Not tin or aluminum.

35. Deli slicing request : THIN. So why do we get it sliced thin and then out 6 pieces on the sammich?

39. Old salt : SEAFARER. Swabbie, sea dog, tar...or our missing marine?

41. More than suspected : KNEW.

43. Sat (down) ungracefully : PLOPPED. But did not fizz.

44. Hang out in the hammock : LOLL.

49. USAF E-6's : T-SGTS. "Technical Sergeant is the sixth enlisted rank (pay grade E-6) in the U.S. Air Force, just above staff sergeant and below master sergeant. " No longer a rank in the Army and not to be confused with 52D. 'Vette roof option : T-TOP. marti loves those 'letter-word' words.

50. Question before "Yeah, you!" : WHO ME?

53. Pear remnant : CORE. How cute, let's trick them and not use apple.

54. "Yay, me!" : TADA. Almost time.

55. Neck and neck : EVEN. I hope you are keeping up with me.

56. Hole on the green : SINK. Hole the verb, not the noun/ "Man, he holed a 50 footer!"

57. Static jolt : ZAP. Don't drag your feet on the carpet.

58. Skater Midori : ITO. I always link her for dear Clear Ayes, but this time I will pour a Midori sour.

so we can finish up with a

59. Swig : NIP.

What fun it is to toast these two, even with green liqueur on the rocks (sorry Tinbeni). A bit confusing for my Friday brain, but much fun. I leave you with some words from the divine one.

This is another puzzle that Jerome and I co-constructed. I love it that Rich published both in the same month! I was working on a theme idea with the unifier "SWITCH PLATE" that had anagrams of "plate" in it. When I got stuck trying to find good entries, I turned to the master of anagrams and asked for help. He suggested making PLATE plural, and came up with the theme entries.

Having only four entries, I told him I thought I could design a respectable grid, and he said: "I DON'T WANT TO BE PART OF ANYTHING RESPECTABLE!!" So that's how 42-Down got into the grid...

Note from C.C.:

Please click here to solve Marti's "Top Bananas" puzzle published at George Barany's website. Love that banana picture! Click here to see a cool picture of Marti and a funny bio. Who else on our blog can brag that he/she had a hole-in-one? Husker Gary's was a great mulligan.