Friday, December 6, 2013, Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: Turn the puzzle upside down, by Warti.

As I heard the story, this was inspired by the divine one's childhood, when she was little she was called Warti, which made her embarrassed, so she changed her name to Marti, and this puzzle ensued. (I hope she does not sue me for libel!). Or maybe Ian Fleming changed his mind about the name of James Bond's boss? Fun, simple theme presented in a pinwheel (2 across, 2 down) with a very cute but too late to be helpful reveal. The 'in the language' phrases are tweaked with the simple W to M change to create new and amusing phrases. So much fun in marti's puzzles, I am going to shut up and let her entertain you.

20A. Odd way to check for ore? : M(W)INE TASTING. (11). We know our resident oenophile may have started with this seed entry. Licking rocks does not sound appealing.

57A. What you need when your car is stuck in the mud? : M(W)IRE SERVICE. (11). Nice convoluted clue, which I hope did not bog you down.

11D. Summons from the cosmetician? : M(W)AKEUP CALL. (10). Really great visual of the beautician calling and saying, "Quick get in here now, your mascara ran!"

29D. Fix potatoes the hard way? : M(W)ASH BY HAND. (10). Another great transition to a visual.

and the reveal, in the center of the grid...

37D. Audi rival, and, when spoken as a command, a hint to this puzzle's theme : BMW. "Be M, W." Maybe this was the seed....Gather up all of the Ws and make them M, that will turn the Morld on its ear.

Across:

1. Some arm bands : TATS. Fun clue and the perfect counterpart for the last Across clue. 71A. "Toodles!" : TATA. A repeat from yesterday.

5. Work on the web : SPIN. I am sure marti planned this is a misdirection involving spiders and not the internet, but with the spin doctors out there, it works both ways.

9. Grant access : ADMIT.

14. Earthy hue : ECRU.

15. "That can't be!" : OH NO.

16. Heat energy source? : MIAMI. Cute since So'Fla. is often the only place in the US where the sun is warm this time of year. The the team seems bored, waiting to see of Greg Oden is healthy.

17. On the roof of : ATOP.

18. __ accompli : FAIT. A French expression clearly in the language in the US meaning already done. You can see where our word accomplished comes from.

19. Seeing red : IRKED.

23. Dreyer's partner in ice cream : EDY.

24. Blooms with hips : ROSES. Did you know roses bore FRUIT ? Many health benefits.

25. Waimea Bay locale : OAHU. Supposed great surfing, too bad all of our Hawaii posters are not active.

27. Uncomfortable place to be in : LIMBO. Initially a religious concept.

30. Friendly response to a knock : IT'S OPEN.

33. Atty.'s group : ABA. American Bar Association.

34. Letter before mu : LAMBDA. Do you know your Greek ALPHABET? (2:19) Sing it!

38. It may be a lot : ACRE. Wonderful play on words.

39. '50s sitcom name : DESI. Mr. Arnaz, or Mr. Lucille Ball?

41. Pyle of Mayberry : GOMER. More tv, Jim Nabors, the loveable marine from Mayberry, who Rock Hudson found so fetching; maybe it was the music.

42. Mumbai music : RAGA. My learning moment. Obviously you need to know Bombay is now Mumbai, and then know about Indian music. LEARN. Think of it as the beginning of Reggae.

43. 1939 Garland co-star : LAHR. Bert, and I am not Lion.

44. Without exception : ALWAYS.

46. Remove : LOP. We will lop off a few inches.

47. Attaché's place : EMBASSY. Not the case, the diplomat.

49. Is inclined : TILTS. Another clever use of words, taking the literal meaning of an incline.

51. Shows of support : YEAS. Raise your hands if you like this clue?

52. Bit of a scrap : RUN IN. Not iron, confrontation.

55. Dash no. : MPH. My "eh" of the puzzle. Dash = dashboard?  Sure, but only in context, or maybe this is just too clever for me. 100 yards was my first thought.

62. Muse for Millay : ERATO. What kind of middle name is VINCENT for a woman?

64. Culture medium : AGAR.

65. Scraped together, with "out" : EKED. I think this may be the most used fill of all.

66. Maker of the Mighty Dump : TONKA. Oh, the toy....my first thought did not pass the breakfast test.

67. Pace : GAIT.

68. Texter's button : SEND.

69. Optional component : ADD ON.

70. Some shooters, briefly : SLRS. A single-lens reflex (SLR) camera is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex", from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured, contrary to viewfinder cameras where the image could be significantly different from what will be captured. (Wikipedia).

Down:

1. One in the standings : TEAM.

2. Opening on Broadway : ACT I. They all have to start somewhere.

3. "__: Uprising": Disney sci-fi series : TRON.

4. A-one : SUPERB. The exact reverse from yesterday.

5. Remote hiding places? : SOFAS. More cute misdirection, marti is really in control today.

6. Introduce gradually, with "in" : PHASE.

7. DDE and JFK, e.g. : INITS. My initial nit of the day.

8. Words of denial : NOT I?  At least by an English teacher.

9. Pamplona pals : AMIGAS. The female friends from Spain.

10. E, but not A, I, O or U : DIRection. Actually more misDIRection.

12. Contacted, in a way, briefly : IM-ED.

13. Neat : TIDY.

21. Trade item? : TOOL. Not trade like an exchange, but a career.

22. Official with a seal : NOTARY. Every office needs a few.

26. Winter coat : HOAR. The sliver of silver coating the ground.

27. Serve from a pot : LADLE.

28. Steel girder : I-BEAM. You knew she would get one of these in the puzzle.

30. Bean sprout? : IDEA. Oh such wit! Hers is obviously in full bloom.

31. Rye fungus : ERGOT. Home for LSD.

32. Some tides : NEAPS.

35. "Open" autobiographer : AGASSI. I am so bad with with book titles, I read it and did not know it was his until I had the AG. Did you know you cannot copyright a Title? Want to do your own Gone with the Wind?

36. Herb that protected Odysseus from Circe's magic : MOLY. All perps, never knew of this HERB, which once again is Greek in origin.

40. "Dies __" : IRAE.

45. Move a little : STIR.

48. South Pacific islander : SAMOAN.

50. Use money to make money : INVEST.

52. Majestic : REGAL.

53. Allegheny, as of 1979 : USAIR. From a regional to a huge international, to swallowed up by American....

54. "Darn!" : NERTS. An old variation of NUTS, probably from the regional dialect of the northeast.

55. Self-referential prefix, in modern lingo : META. Metadata, data about data is the only example I can think of, but it is more of our recent clue fascination with all that is Greek.

56. Impel : PROD.

58. Tabloids, to some : RAGS. Riches to others.

59. Flat pack furniture seller : IKEA.

60. One seen in a store dish : CENT. Take a penny, leave a penny.

61. Icelandic literary work : EDDA. A word I know only from crosswords, but I have seen it for so many years.

63. Ref's ruling : TKO. Technical Knock Out.

Speaking of Out, I am out of material, so it is time to hit the road. Thanks marti, I got dizzy doing this while standing on my head. I hope you all have the blood rushing to all the right places. Have a great week end. Lemonade out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Here is a picture JD took on her first trip to South Africa. She said "The children created this likeness of their hero on a wall in Cape Town, Nelson Mandela, using hand prints."

2) Happy Birthday to dear Lucina, the only regular I've met in person. She's just as cheerful and fun as she is on the blog.

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

Picture taken on June 23, 2011

Thursday, December 5, 2013 Steve Blais

Theme: Clueless

20-Across. " " : I'M DRAWING A BLANK.

36-Across. " " : HOW WOULD I KNOW?

53-Across. " " : I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE.

I don't know if your paper had a blank for the clue, a dash, or just empty quote marks (as my Across Lite version did.) I remember seeing a similar theme from Daniel Finan, where "CLUELESS" was the revealing entry, and each theme entry described some sort of airhead.  It was a few years ago, so many solvers likely would not remember it. But when I saw it I was blown away by the cleverness, so it stuck in my mind.

In this one, I thought 20 and 53-Across were spot on, since they refer to a blank or not having a clue. But 36-Across didn't quite hit the same note.  Maybe I'm picking a nit here? Or maybe I'm just crabby and frazzled from dealing with contractors who never show up when they are supposed to.

Let's move on...

Across:

1. Rewards for waiting : TIPS. Simple words today, but some devilish clueing had me scratching my head.

5. Sauce finisher, often : CREAM.

10. Bit of Halloween makeup : SCAR.

14. Gray subj. : ANAT. "Gray's Anatomy" was my bible in pre-med. The TV popular show was spelled "Grey's Anatomy."

15. Expansive : LARGE.

16. Parting words : TA-TA.

17. Family nickname : NANA. Funny to see nana after tata...

18. Parting word : ADIOS. Clecho of 16-Across.

19. Erelong : ANON.

23. Presidential nickname : ABE.

24. Inflationary fig.? : PSI. Pounds / Square Inch. It's the number on your driver's door telling you how much to inflate the tires.

25. Drive off : REPEL.

26. Language of Pakistan : URDU.

28. Peak on the 1,000-yen note : FUJI. Yen = Japanese. What other mountain would it be?

31. Language suffix : ESE. JapanESE, ChinESE, JavanESE, etc.

32. __-Julie, Quebec : STE.

33. Nail-biting way to win : BY A NOSE.

40. Jerks : YANKS ON.

41. Morse code letter after dit-dit-dit : DAH. (Or, last syllable after ZIP-A-DEE-DOO...)

42. Outlaw Clanton : IKE.

45. Get rid of : LOSE.

46. Gorilla trained to use sign language : KOKO. "Supposedly" trained...

47. Holiday air : CAROL.

49. Mao __-tung : TSE.

51. Ten-cent pres. : FDR.

58. Designer Schiaparelli : ELSA.

59. The Joe in Detroit, for one : ARENA. Joe Louis Arena.

60. Superb : A-ONE.

61. Tallow source : SUET.

62. Huge : GIANT.

63. Earthworm habitat : SOIL.

64. Stun, in a way : TASE.

65. Bout of retail "therapy" : SPREE.

66. Fine subject? : ARTS. Kind of a mini-clecho with 14-Across.

Down:

1. "Lost" actress Raymonde : TANIA. No clue.

2. How soldiers may lie : IN AMBUSH.

3. Gratify the baser side of : PANDER TO.

4. Have the lead : STAR.

5. Shellfish morsels : CLAWS. Mmmm, we just had crab that our buddy in New Orleans shipped to us the other night.

6. Lines from the center : RADII.

7. 33-Down's homeland : ERIN.

8. Open-mouthed : AGOG.

9. Western landform : MESA.

10. Clichéd : STALE.

11. Happy hour morsel : CANAPE.

12. Makes amends : ATONES.

13. Rub the wrong way : RANKLE.

21. Manjula's husband on "The Simpsons" : APU.

22. Like autumn mornings : BRISK.

27. Like morning grass : DEWY.

28. Made-up : FALSE.

29. Loosen, as laces : UNDO.

30. Enroll : JOIN.

33. U2 frontman : BONO.

34. Belly laughs : YUKS.

35. Prefix with morph : ENDO.

37. Pixar title robot : WALL-E.

38. Hardwood option : OAK FLOOR. I'm leaning toward an engineered oak floor for the living room next door. Any thoughts on durability, Splynter?

39. Mystery : WHODUNIT.

42. Most distant : ICIEST.

43. Black Russian component : KAHLUA. I had the "K" so it was a gimme.

44. Fulfills a takeout order? : ERASES.

46. Alpine parrot : KEA.

48. Roundish : OVATE.

49. 1,000 kilograms : TONNE. Metric ton. Not to be confused with the short ton or long ton.

50. Kerry's department : STATE. John Kerry, current Secretary of State.

52. Projection room stack : REELS.

54. Badgers : NAGS.

55. It may be round : TRIP.

56. Stuff in a backpack : GEAR. GORP was my first thought...

57. José's home : CASA. His casa is su casa.

That's it for me. Gotta run!

Marti

Wednesday, December 4th 2013 Ed Sessa

Theme: Simple 1040 - All the theme answers contain "EZ"

18A. Plate ump's purview : STRIKE ZONE

ESPN and Fox baseball coverage can now paint a virtual strike zone above the plate. I like it - some baseball purists don't.

25A. Soda for dieters : COKE ZERO. Zero calories, but a whole bunch of caffeine. It is nicknamed "Bloke Coke" in the UK as the target demographic is young males.

49A. Blush wine, for short : WHITE ZIN. Wine! Not my favorite zinfandel, I prefer the bold red zins.

60A. "She's Not There" rock group : THE ZOMBIES. Catchy song from 1964 paired here with a very dramatic "Outer Limits" episode.

3D. Citrus shavings : ORANGE ZEST. The Microplane brand of graters and zesters are wonderful - stocking stuffer idea alert!

- and the hint ...

31D. This crossword, literally for some, phonetically for all : EASY PUZZLE. Which wouldn't work in the UK. Huh? E-ZED what?

Good morning everyone - Steve here and a very z-filled Wednesday from Ed Sessa. You may or may not have gotten the circles indicating the location of the "EZ" letter pairings from your puzzle source - mine had them and after the first couple of theme answers were completed it was all plain sailing.

I thought it was pretty impressive to fit that number of z's in the grid and still provide some slick fill.

What else caught my eye?

Across:

1. Caesar's love : AMOR

5. Signal to an on-call doctor : BEEP

9. Omits : SKIPS

14. Chowhound's request : MORE

15. Sharif who played Zhivago : OMAR. Many dramatic one-sheets for this David Lean epic. Sharif won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performance.

16. World Court site, with "The" : HAGUE. Located in the South Holland province of the Netherlands.

17. Shepard in space : ALAN. The Apollo 14 lunar golfer. He's not to be held responsible for the nails-on-a-chalkboard common misspelling of "German Shepherd" by an amazingly large number of dog owners.

20. Brand for heartburn : ZANTAC

22. Providence-to-Boston dir. : N.N.E.

23. Scraps for Rover : ORTS

24. Unit of work : ERG

28. French season : ÉTÉ. Summer in the land of the Marseillaise.

30. Thin pancake : CRÊPE. Diacriticals galore! And Food! Strictly speaking, a crêpe has a sweet filling; the savory-filled variety is called a galette.

31. Violinist's gift : EAR

34. Move very slowly : OOZE

36. Suffers from : HAS. I have a cold at the moment. Two long flights back and forward to Rio over the last couple of weeks pretty much guaranteed I'd be picking up some kind of sniffle. To London next week, so hopefully I'll be over it before I spread misery around the LAX to Heathrow flight.

37. In recent times : OF LATE

39. Mechanic, at times : GREASER. Popular sub-culture in the 1950's - motorcycles, leather and slicked-back hair.

41. "That works!" : SUITS ME

42. 4-Down collector : LESSOR

43. Boy king : TUT

44. Made a hue turn? : DYED. Fun clue.

45. Suffix for records : EST. "Highest, Fastest, Strongest" - the original Latin motto of the Olympic Games.

46. Oater group bent on justice : POSSE

48. Nile biter : ASP. It's been a while since we saw this clue - it seemed to be getting overused a while back, but Rich gave it a well-deserved rest.

51. Short market lines? : UPC. The short lines that make up a Universal Product Code, usually rendered as a barcode.

The first five digits identify the manufacturer, the second five digits the product. The one above is for Kimberly Clark's (36000) Huggies Wipes (29145)

54. Piedmont wine region : ASTI. More wine! Best known for the sweet, sparkling Asti Spumante.

57. Erie Canal mule : SAL "I've got a mule, Her name is Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal..."

58. __ Pipeline, Oahu surfing attraction : BANZAI. Eek! That's a big wave!

63. "Ripostes" poet Pound : EZRA

64. Overnight refuge : MOTEL

65. Theater part : LOGE

66. Choir part : ALTO

67. Blow some dough : SPEND

68. __ collar : ETON

69. Stonewall's soldiers : REBS. The nickname for General Thomas Jackson clues the nickname for his troops.

Down:

1. Shock : AMAZE

2. Large grinder : MOLAR

4. Payment to 42-Across : RENT

5. "Thick and Rich" chocolate syrup : BOSCO. Food! (Possibly?) I've never tried this stuff - reading the label, I'm not sure I've missed much - there's more "High Fructose Corn Syrup" and "Corn Syrup" in there than anything else.

6. Rescue pro : E.M.T.

7. Ones on the payroll : EARNERS

8. Freddie __ Jr. of "Scooby-Doo" films : PRINZE

9. Ship reference : SHE. Try explaining to someone the logic of a ship always being a "she" even when "she" may be named for a "he". How can the USS Ronald Reagan be a girl?

10. Musical buzzer : KAZOO. I'm not sure this should be described as "musical" - "thoroughly annoying" would be more accurate, in my humble opinion.

11. Composer Stravinsky : IGOR

12. Fourth-down play : PUNT. I love the fake punts. Here is a great example from the Texas Tech-Texas game on Thanksgiving evening.

13. Dates : SEES

19. Property border warning : KEEP OUT

21. The Red Sox' Jon Lester, e.g. : ACE

26. 1980s Chrysler product : K-CAR. Not the best-looking design I've ever seen.

27. Altered mtge. : RE-FI. This clue seemed really clumsy to me - the abbreviation for "mortgage" is a little contrived?

29. Social cupfuls : TEAS

32. "Please don't yell __" : AT ME

33. Oboe, e.g. : REED

34. Eye rudely : OGLE

35. They're found in lodes : ORES

36. Reason for a medal : HEROISM

38. Classic Fords : LTDs. Marginally better design than the Plymouth, but certainly from the "Big-Ass Detroit" school.

40. Last year's frosh : SOPH

41. 1956 Mideast dispute area : SUEZ

43. J. Alfred Prufrock creator : T. S. ELIOT

47. Straw-strewn shelter : STABLE. Nice alliteration - clue and answer!

48. Santa __ winds : ANA

49. Shrivel : WIZEN. I'd never thought of this as a verb before - I've only used it in the adjectival form - "a wizened old man". Nice learning moment.

50. "A Doll's House" playwright : IBSEN

52. Medicare section : PART B

53. Informal byes : CIAOS

54. Dollar dispensers, for short : A.T.M.S

55. Hit a Target? : SHOP. Pronounced "Tar-jhay" by those who would prefer to be shopping at Nordstrom, but can't pass up the value-for-money in these stores.

56. Head of Paris? : TÊTE. It's where a Frenchman wears his beret. Cue national caricature:

Ooh La La!

59. Close by : NEAR

61. Getting on in years : OLD

62. Big one on the set, perhaps : EGO. Ready for my close-up, Mr. De Ville!

That's it from me - I'm off to dose myself up with DayQuil. I'll give myself a belt of cold remedy Tinbeni-style later, but there's still work to be done. Ciao!

Steve

Tuesday, December 3, 2013 Mike Peluso

Theme: Tree - Last word is parts of a tree.

18A. Thin, decorative metal : SILVER LEAF

23A. Gets married : TIES THE KNOT

37A. Dangerous things to risk : LIFE AND LIMB

48A. Equestrian's supply box : SADDLE TRUNK

56A. One, to one, e.g. : SQUARE ROOT

Argyle here. No unifier but you shouldn't have needed it. The entries run top to bottom of a tree, more or less. A few extra black squares gives a unique look to the grid but nothing special that I can see. Cruciverb is back up(I hope) but everything Google is messed up.

Across:

1. Cathedral area : APSE

5. Tons : SCADS

10. Reps: Abbr. : AGTs

14. Garden center supply : SEED

15. Dot in the ocean : ISLET. Did you know ait or eyot is an islet, esp in a river . (British dialect)

16. Circus performer? : FLEA

17. Tune : SONG

20. What a 63-Across may speak : ERSE. 63A. Hebrides native : GAEL. Off the west coast of Scotland.

21. The last Mrs. Chaplin : OONA. Daughter of Eugene O'Neill.

22. Grand Rapids-to-Detroit dir. : ESE

27. This, to Michelle : CET. For a masculine word beginning with a vowel, right?

28. Morose : SAD

29. Geometric suffix : GON

30. Like potato chips : SALTY

32. Lulus : DILLIES

36. Mass transit carrier : BUS

39. Retirement destination? : BED

40. Wimps : SISSIES

41. Underworld group : MAFIA

43. Printer's widths : EMs. The "em" value is based on the width of the uppercase M. We've had a better explanation before but the blog search is on the fritz.

44. Cookie container : JAR

47. Renoir output : ART

53. Spoil : ROT

54. Alabama, but not Kansas? : TRIO. Alabama, Kansas, The Doors (crossing word)

55. "Picnic" playwright : INGE. Labor Day picnic in Kansas, 1953.

60. "Ain't Misbehavin'" Tony winner Carter : NELL. Clip from the musical. (Catch a small shout out to Erie, PA)

61. Throw hard : HURL

62. Hero's quality : NERVE

64. Desires : YENS

65. Burning desire? : ARSON. Mini-clecho.

66. Chop __: Chinese American dish : SUEY

Down:

1. Valuables : ASSETS

2. Illinois city that symbolizes Middle America : PEORIA

3. Had a hunch : SENSED

4. Barely beats : EDGES

5. Member of the fam : SIS

6. CBS drama with two spin-offs : CSI. (Crime Scene Investigation)

7. "Everything's fine" : "ALL OK"

8. Exeter's county : DEVON

9. Dictation whiz : STENO

10. The K.C. Chiefs represented it in Super Bowl I : AFL. American Football League, operated from 1960 until 1969.

11. High school choral group : GLEE CLUB

12. Dollhouse cups, saucers, etc. : TEA SETS

13. Protected condition : SAFETY. Clue seemed awkward to me but valid.

19. Pied Piper followers : RATS

24. End-of-the-workweek cry : TGIF

25. Pebble Beach's 18 : HOLEs. Par 72 (blue tees)

26. China's Zhou __ : ENLAI

31. SALT concerns : ABMs. (Anti-ballistic missile)(Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)

32. "__ say something wrong?" : DID I

33. Elected ones : INs

34. '50s automotive failure : EDSEL

35. Goo : SLIME

37. There's a lane for one at many intersections : LEFT TURN

38. Superlative suffix : IEST

39. Like Bach's music : BAROQUE. Bach

41. Boggy : MARSHY

42. Solar system sci. : ASTRonomy

44. Alaskan capital : JUNEAU

45. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" director : ANG LEE

46. "I Believe I Can Fly" singer : R. KELLY.  Video It starts out so lovely then the boom box comes in...ugh!

49. Stadium : ARENA

50. More desperate, as circumstances : DIRER

51. Some portals : DOORS. And a trio.

52. Adornments for noses and toes : RINGS

57. Gore and Green : ALs

58. Lacto-__ vegetarian : OVO. They do eat eggs and dairy products.

59. Years in a decade : TEN

Argyle

Monday, December 2, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: A Girl's Best Friend - The theme entries' first word can be ahead of the unifier.

17A. Illegal activity admitted by Lance Armstrong in January 2013 : BLOOD DOPING. Blood diamonds are used to fuel violent conflict and human rights abuses. Also, a 2006 film.

24A. Singer with Crosby, Stills & Nash : NEIL YOUNG. Neil Diamond (plus a little something for Bill G)

                             LINK

37A. ESPN show with an "Inside Pitch" segment : BASEBALL TONIGHT

                                   LINK

50A. Trousseau holder : HOPE CHEST. Hope Diamond

61A. Volcanic Hawaiian landmark, and a hint to the first word of 17-, 24-, 37- and 50-Across : DIAMOND HEAD

Argyle here. Another C.C. offering with long entries, including a spanner, but a little tougher than the NW indicated. At this point, Cruciverb is still down but there aren't any circles anyway. YouTube isn't co-operating either.

Across:

1. Mooing critter : COW

4. Ancient region surrounding Athens : ATTICA

10. Reagan era mil. program : SDI. (Strategic Defense Initiative)

13. Disgusted grunts : UGHs

15. Resident of Tibet's capital : LHASAN

16. Muscle spasm : TIC

19. Writer for whom the Edgar award is named : POE

20. Not sacred : SECULAR

21. Secret matters : ARCANA

23. Baba who stole from thieves : ALI

27. Glass container : JAR

29. Actress Cannon : DYAN

30. Peter Fonda's title beekeeper : ULEE

31. Opposed (to) : AVERSE

34. Hurts with a tusk : GORES

42. Willem of "Platoon" : DAFOE

43. 100-lawmakers group : SENATE

44. "Peter Pan" pirate : SMEE

47. Hang around : STAY

49. Pretoria's land: Abbr. : RSA. (Republic of South Africa) (City)

53. Stomach-punch response : [OOF!]

55. Start of the line that includes "wherefore art thou" : "O, ROMEO"

56. Female star : HEROINE. Juliet

60. Comfy room : DEN

64. Night's opposite : DAY

65. __ Pie: ice cream treat : ESKIMO

66. Reached base in a cloud of dust : SLID

67. "Tasty!" : "YUM!"

68. Unsettling looks : STAREs. could be 2D. Look at lasciviously : OGLE

69. Arid : DRY

Down:

1. Baby bears : CUBS

3. "So what?" : "WHO CARES?"

4. Alan of "M*A*S*H" : ALDA

5. Like rosebushes : THORNY. "Don't let the fear of the thorn keep you from the rose." - Groucho Marx

6. Pub spigot : TAP

7. "Woe __": Patricia T. O'Conner grammar book : IS I

8. Gondolier's "street" : CANAL

9. Hopping mad : ANGRY

10. One of Minn.'s Twin Cities : ST. PAUL. Adjoins Minneapolis.

11. Singer Warwick : DIONNE

12. Frigid historic period : ICE AGE

14. Aretha's genre : SOUL

18. 551, at the Forum : DLI. 500+50+1

22. Dad's nephew : COUSIN

25. Aerie hatchlings : EAGLETS

26. Playing an extra NBA period, say : IN OT. (overtime)

27. Quick blow : JAB

28. Gardner once married to Sinatra : AVA

29. Refusing to listen : DEAF

32. Use, as a coupon : REDEEM

33. Entrepreneur-aiding org. : SBA. (Small Business Administration)

35. Optimistic : ROSY

36. Opposite of WSW : ENE

38. Come in last : LOSE

39. Lasagna-loving cat : GARFIELD

40. Growth chart nos. : HTs

41. Brewed drink : TEA

44. Poorly made : SHODDY

45. Wells' "The Island of Dr. __" : MOREAU

46. Arnold Palmer or Shirley Temple, drinkwise : EPONYM

48. Where charity begins : AT HOME

51. Formally gives up : CEDES

52. Raise, as a sail : HOIST

53. Old fort near Monterey : ORD

54. Sounds of wonder : OOHs

57. Grandson of Adam : ENOS

58. Depilatory brand : NAIR

59. Hot tub swirl : EDDY

62. Alias letters : AKA

63. Former Russian space station : MIR

Argyle

Sunday December 1, 2013 Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: Misstakes (Miss-takes) - Take is missing from each them entry.

23A. Accept unpleasantness : (Take) THE GOOD WITH THE BAD

37A. Be skeptical about :  (Take) WITH A GRAIN OF SALT

56A. Demonstrate unselfishness : (Take) ONE FOR THE TEAM

75A. Find a path of least resistance : (Take) THE EASY WAY OUT

91A. Start to deteriorate : (Take) A TURN FOR THE WORSE

110A. Tackle a problem head-on : (Take) THE BULL BY THE HORNS

  

3D. Use a roundabout route : (Take) THE LONG WAY HOME

51D. Emulate a bank robber : (Take) THE MONEY AND RUN

I actually misread the puzzle as "Mistakes". You?

Can't tell you how impressed I am with Dr. Fludzinski's grid today. Read more about him here. 

Let's count. Total 120 theme squares. Very high. And only 136 words and  65 black squares. Very low. Our norm is 144 words & 78 black squares. Simply amazing.

 

Pawel Fludzinski

  

Across:    

 
1. Mystery writer Cornwell : PATRICIA. We don't often see a 8-letter for 1-Across.

9. Former clandestine org. : KGB

12. Ruler of Asgard : ODIN

16. Beer choice, briefly : IPA (India Pale Ale)

19. Command levels : ECHELONS

20. Subatomic particle : NEUTRINO. The Saturday Stud just had this yesterday, clued as "It's not charged".

22. Lass : GAL

25. Neil Armstrong's L.A. alma mater : USC

26. First word of Dante's "Inferno" : NEL. I forgot. I've seen identical clue before.

27. Lid troubles : STYES

28. Like non-oyster months, traditionally : R-LESS

29. Cold War defense acronym : SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization). The Asian equivalent of NATO.

31. In concert : AS ONE

33. Worked undercover : SPIED

35. Browning output : SONNET. Browning the poet, not food.

36. Part of MSG : MONO

42. Certain RPI grad : ENGR. Hi there Spitzboov & Splynter & Dr. Fludzinski! Who else on our blog went to  RPI?  Argyle went to Cornell, so did Bill G.

43. Relevant, in law : AD REM

44. Greek vacation spot : CORFU

45. Finagle : WANGLE. More familiar with WRANGLE.

47. Bear witness : ATTEST

50. To be, to Bizet : ETRE

54. MLB stat : ERA

60. Snookered : HAD

61. Lighter yet warmer, as winter wear : LAYERED

63. Covered walls : PAPERED. This reminds me of Marti's walls.

64. "The Three Faces __" : OF EVE

66. More pale : ASHIER

67. Champagne word : SEC

68. Hank Schrader's org. on "Breaking Bad" : DEA

69. Record listings? : CRIMES. Oh, criminal record.

70. Screen gems : ICONS

71. Sources of soft wool : MERINOS

73. Corrupts : POISONS

74. "Platoon" setting, briefly : NAM

78. Clandestine org. : NSA

79. Part of a CSA signature : (Robert) E. LEE

81. Feelings of dread, in Düsseldorf : ANGSTE. We just had this last Sunday.

82. Like Craig Ferguson's show : ON LATE

84. Cunning : GUILE

86. Boorish : CRUDE

88. Gomer or Goober : PYLE

97. Film critic Pauline : KAEL. For "The New Yorker".

98. Parking garage location : LEVEL A

99. Totaled : RAN TO

100. __ hand: help : LEND A

101. Magna __ : CARTA

102. Destines, not in a good way : DOOMS

104. French for "chewed" : MACHE.  So Papier-mâché = "Chewed paper". Learning moment for me.

108. A few minutes in the pool, say : DIP

109. Mama bear, in Madrid : OSA

114. "Oy __!" : VEY

115. Openings to fill : CAVITIES

116. Official state dog of Alaska : MALAMUTE. Alaskan Malamute. I have no idea what's Minnesota's state dog.

117. O staff, briefly : EDs (Editors). Oprah's magazine O.

118. Wellness gps. : HMOs

119. Org. for marksmen : NRA

120. Many divas : SOPRANOS

Down:

1. Sugar or cookie : PET NAME. Never been called "Cookie".

2. Truman secretary of state : ACHESON (Dean). I forgot also. We had him before. Here is what Wiki said: "Acheson helped design the Marshall Plan and played a central role in the development of the Truman Doctrine and creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization."

4. Gas pump spec. : REG

5. Words of defeat : I LOSE. I say "I LOST".

6. Rail family bird : COOT

7. __ 500 : INDY

8. "Even __ speak ..." : AS WE

9. Dubbed one: Abbr. : KNT

10. Ripken broke his record : GEHRIG (Lou).  For consecutive games played. Gehrig: 2,130. Ripken: 2,632. 

11. Whodunit cliché : BUTLER

12. They're mined for metal : ORES

13. Schoolyard claim : DIBS

14. Grieg's "Piano Concerto __ minor" : IN A

15. Dozes : NODS OFF

16. Exotic pet : IGUANA

17. Muted color choice : PASTEL

18. "Little Women" writer : ALCOTT (Louisa May)

21. Silents star Bara : THEDA

24. "This __": formal phone response : IS SHE

30. Follow : ENSUE

32. "A Doll's House" heroine : NORA

34. Canola oil spray : PAM

35. More or less, informally : SORTA

37. Baseball great Honus : WAGNER. His T 206 card is the Holy Grail of baseball card collection. It's worth over $1 million in "Very Good" condition. Over $2 for "Near Mint".

38. Killed time : IDLED

39. Not kosher : TREF. This stumped some last time.

40. Cooler in hot weather : ICE TEA.  No D.

41. Poked : NOSED

46. Gripe from the weary : NO REST

47. Netmen's org. : ATP

48. It has its ups and downs : THE DOW

49. Mother with a Nobel prize : TERESA

52. Super Bowl XLVII champs : RAVENS. Can't they just change Roman numerals to the year? 

53. Ancient capital of Macedonia : EDESSA. In modern day Turkey. Learned from doing xwords.

54. With 106-Down, 2000s Secretary of Labor : ELAINE. And 106. See 54-Down : CHAO. She was born in Taiwan, where Jayce spent a few years. The best snacks are made in Taiwan, in my opinion.

55. Scamp : RASCAL

57. Covent Garden offerings : OPERAS

58. Intolerant sort : RACIST

59. "The Karate Kid" co-star Pat : MORITA

62. German article : EIN

65. Hi-__ : FIs

67. "If I Had a Hammer" co-writer : SEEGER (Pete)

69. Washington's Grand __ Dam : COULEE. Is this pronounced the same as "Cooli"? 

71. __ Park, N.J. : MENLO. And 83. I-95 comprises most of it in N.J. : TPKE

72. Science guy Bill : NYE

73. Swimming spots : PONDS

76. Israeli port : HAIFA

77. "__ move" : YOUR

80. Marsh bird : EGRET

85. Open, in a way : UNLATCH

86. 100 lbs. : CWT. Another answer I only see in xwords. It stands for "Centum weight". Centum= Hundred.

87. Spacious : ROOMY

89. Prefaced : LED INTO

90. Ticks by : ELAPSES

91. Breakfast spot : ALCOVE

92. Ribbed : TEASED

93. Beach hazard : UV RAYS

94. Steelhead, e.g. : TROUT

95. Lincoln's first vice president : HAMLIN. Hannibal Hamlin.

96. Tony-winning playwright Eve : ENSLER. No idea. But I must have googled her before. I remember seeing her play title: "The Vagina Monologues".

100. "The Merry Widow" composer : LEHAR (Franz)

102. "Whip It" band : DEVO

103. Ties in Tokyo : OBIs

105. Bank offerings : ATMS

107. Menu that includes suggestions : HELP. Computer menu.

111. It's often cured : HAM

112. Eagles' org. : BSA. Boy Scouts.

113. Medical suffix : OMA

C.C.