Friday, March 20, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: PeePee time.

A return to Friday for another of my favorite regular constructors, Jeffrey Wechsler, who gives us five two word phrases, with the first word ending in P and the second starting with P but one of the Ps is eliminated. Gratuitously for my write up I have chosen the P at the beginning of the second word as the eliminated letter. For me, the key to all letter adding or subtracting is the wit in the reveal and here is a really fun one. If I had been eating SPLIT PEA SOUP I would have spit pea soup. I started out with a bit of trouble only because the HUMAN BRAIN has such adaptive qualities that I read STRIPOKER, as if both Ps were present. There have been so many studies of this phenomenon, it was cool to see it as the basis of a puzzle. So what did one P say to the other P? "Time to split, man." The grid also has incorporated the reveal and one themer in the downs, which I always like. Lots of workable but challenging fill EARTHEN, HAD A KID, OLD WEST, WREATHE, APPARENT, GET A BITE, HARRISON, HOOSIERS and some shorter fun words ADDLED, BURROW, CANTOR, OCTAVE, ORIENT, PARSEC, SCATHE, URANIA.

A nice balance with some crunch to make you earn the Ta Dah.

17A. Where shirts may be lost? : STRIP POKER (9). I like the double entendre of the clue/fill as you can lose your shirt, literally and lose your shirt figuratively playing poker.

32A. California Marine Corps base : CAMP PENDLETON (12). OOH RAH. What do our resident marines think of its ban?

39A. Realm of some self-help books : POP PSYCHOLOGY (12). My undergraduate degree.

62A. Update : KEEP POSTED (9). I now recognize KYP, in texting. (Keep You Posted).

13D. Travel agent's suggestions : TRIP PLANS (8). My least favorite of the theme, but needed to balance the reveal.

35D. Soup variety, and a feature of five puzzle answers : SPLIT PEA (8). As mr. Gleason would say, And away we go....

Across:

1. Shoot the moon : GO BIG. This was real challenge as well, because it has so many meanings, and I mostly associate with Hearts where you must take all hearts and the Queen of Spades.

6. "Say from whence / You __ this strange intelligence?": Macbeth : OWE. Not my favorite play, but:

Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more.
By Sinel’s death I know I am thane of Glamis.
But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives,
A prosperous gentleman, and to be king
Stands not within the prospect of belief,
No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence
You owe this strange intelligence, or why
Upon this blasted heath you stop our way
With such prophetic greeting. Speak, I charge you.

9. Word of possibility : MIGHT.

14. MDX maker : ACURA. An SUV.

15. __ Pacis: altar of Peace : ARA.  This EDIFICE. PAX, was the Roman goddess of peace, from whence we derive Pax Vobiscum.

16. Tough test metaphor : A BEAR.

19. Dish man? : PETRI.  An interesting  STORY about a very cultured man.

20. Measurement for Sagan : PARSEC. Carl is back. Twice. 58A. Muse for Sagan : URANIA. A bit of a scientific mini-theme with the Galileo reference. This amusing MUSE.

21. One sending out bills : ATM. Automated Teller Machine. Nice deception.

23. Field guard : TARP. More fun cluing, for the tarpaulin protecting the baseball diamond.

24. Bolivian president Morales : EVO. A member of an Indigenous Tribe in Bolivia as well as a Coca farmer. LINK.

25. Denounce unmercifully : SCATHE. I do not go in for the Rex Parker tendency for scathing reviews.

27. Natl. debt unit : BILlion. Sadly trillion is the real answer.

28. Mountain __: soft drinks : DEWS. There are many kinds.

30. White : ASHEN.

31. Galileo's birthplace : PISA. His BIOGRAPHY.

35. Snowboarding gold medalist White : SHAUN.

38. Begins : OPENS. Our write begins with a made up theme/name.

45. Easy pace : LOPE.

46. Idle colleague : PALIN. No Sarah but Monty Python and Fish Called Wanda star MICHAEL. Nice Eric Idle misdirection..

47. Conan Doyle, for one : SCOT. The damn Scott's Lawn commercials have ruined it for me.

51. "Love __ Rose": Neil Young song : IS A. Neil got bashed for his CSNY work.

52. At sea : ADDLED. Not out on the ocean but confused.

54. LAX stat : ARRival.

55. Fade out : TIRE which describes how I feel about...

57. Film with six sequels : SAW.

60. Equals : PEERS.

64. Kovacs of early TV comedy : ERNIE.

65. Tao follower? : ISM. Taoism.

66. "JFK" director : STONE. Oliver.

67. Late bloomer? : ASTER. They bloom in the fall.

68. Skid row woe : DTS. Delirium Tremens, the shakes.

69. Prepares for recycling : SORTS.

Down:

1. Suddenly inspired : GASPED. Along with the equally confusing 5D. Is visibly thunderstruck : GAPES. These words do confound me.

2. Staff span : OCTAVE. Musical staff.

3. Underground shelter : BURROW.

4. Camera component : IRIS.

6. Sturdy tree : OAK.

7. Encircle : WREATHE. Not a usage to which I was familiar, but of course it makes sense.

8. Like 3-Downs : EARTHEN.

9. Place for an X, perhaps : MAP. It marks the spot.

10. "That's dubious" : I BET. The tone must be sarcastic.

11. Go for lunch, say : GET A BITE. Not related but see 41D. Started one's family, casually : HAD A KID.

12. President who signed the Sherman Antitrust Act : HARRISON.  Benjamin who was the grandson of William Henry and president before and after Grover Cleveland. This ACT. Shall we break up Apple?

18. Razor man? : OCCAM. It is simple, it really is.

22. Patch : MEND.

26. Venomous snake : ASP.

29. Informal pardon? : 'SCUSE. Is this supposed to be English?

31. 1666 London fire chronicler : PEPYS. A glimpse into the past with his DIARY.

33. "__ luck?" : ANY. Luck had nothing to do with it.

34. Two-by-four source : LOG. Simple, elegant.

36. Classic 1986 sports movie : HOOSIERS.

37. Obvious : APPARENT.

40. Makers of many skeds : CPAS. I am sure accountants use it but I do not like 'sked.'

42. Grey area? : OLD WEST. Zane Grey that is.

43. Small, made smaller : LIL.

44. Get ahead of : ONE UP.

48. Fixture at Rosh Hashanah services : CANTOR. At all services.

49. Put on course : ORIENT.

50. Masonry and such : TRADES. One of my mother's brothers taught masonry at trade school in Brooklyn, Connecticut.

53. Metallic waste : DROSS.

56. City on its own lake : ERIE. A shout out to our own.

59. In the matter of : AS TO.

61. Sun. delivery : SERmon. Ecumenical equal time for the Church.

63. Acute care initials : EMS. Emergency Medical Services.

Thank you Jeffrey, I had a really good time. I hope you and all the others have a great week end at ACPT, and I hope everyone has a great spring. Lemonade a bit under the weather signing out.

Notes from C.C.:

1) Welcome back, Gary! What Irish Miss said yesterday: You were missed and no more setbacks allowed! Now we need Yellowrocks to check in.

 

2) Happy Birthday to Commander Al (Spitzboov), a blog regular whose loyalty, friendship and advice I've been relying on the past few years. Al served in the Navy Reserve for over 20 years and retired as Commander. You can click here for more pictures of Spitzboov, Betty  and Argyle at the Washington County Fair last August.

 Spitzboov and Argyle with John (Deere)

 
3) Happy Birthday to John28man as well. The lady in his avatar picture is his wife. They were in a restaurant in Vienna, Austria.

 

Thursday, March 19, 2015 Ed Sessa

Theme: "Day at the Spa"

20. Area : NECK OF THE WOODS.

32. SONIC's Quarter Pound Coneys, e.g. : FOOT LONG HOT DOGS.

39. 1985 sci-fi classic : BACK TO THE FUTURE.

And the reveal:
56. Hamlet's satisfied comment about the starts of 20-, 32- and 39-Across? : AY, THERES THE RUB. I stumbled with this entry by putting "Ah" at first, instead of AY. The first editions of the play actually say "I, there's the rub."

So we have three types of massage on the table:
NECK RUB, FOOT RUB or BACK RUB.  I'll take one of each, than you!

Across

1. Dancing shoe item : TAP.

4. Initially : AT FIRST.

11. Doo-wop syllable : SHA...na na.

14. Modern address : URL.

15. Seedless raisin : SULTANA.

16. Oakley forte : AIM.  Annie, get your gun!

17. Cape Town's nation: Abbr. : RSA. Republic of South Africa.

18. Farm hauler : TRACTOR.

19. Jurist in 1995 news : ITO. "People of the State of California vs. Orenthal James Simpson."

23. "Come __!" : ON IN.

24. Govt. stipend provider : SSI. Supplemental Security Income.

25. __ Addict: fragrance brand : DIOR.

27. Spot relative : FIDO. Immediately followed by:
28. Hound : NAG. Naturally, I was on the "cur" wavelength.

31. Fictional Melbourne Dame : EDNA. Such a character!

37. "Sweet as apple cider" girl of song : IDA. Eddie Cantor made it a standard.

38. Extinct emu relative : MOA.

48. "Argo" setting : IRAN.

49. Flying Cloud, for one : REO. They are also known for their "Speed Wagon."

50. "... __ is given": Isaiah : A SON.

51. Sub builder : DELI.

52. It may be pitched : WOO. Hmm, the AV crossword yesterday had a theme entry of "Pitch WOO." I had never head the phrase before, and now it's hit me two days in a row.

55. High-level predator : PUMA. They are also known as "Mountain Lions."

61. Dadaism founder : ARP. Jean or Hans.

62. Virgin America's frequent-flyer program : ELEVATE. Easily inferable.

63. Pipe turn : ELL.

64. Commuter's choice : BUS.

65. Backs out : RENEGES.

66. "The Murders in the __ Morgue" : RUE. Gimme.

67. Star quality : EGO.

68. Ballpark officials : SCORERS.

69. Old atlas abbr. : SSR. Soviet Socialist Republic.


Down

1. Alienate : TURN OFF.

2. Hall of fame : ARSENIO. Nice misdirection!

3. Tenor Domingo : PLACIDO. Drat - I already used my music link!

4. Concerning : AS TO.

5. Gang lands : TURFS.

6. Reasons for breakdowns : FLATS.

7. Result of many a bite : ITCHING.

8. Deserve : RATE.

9. Storm output : SNOW. Enough already!!

10. Hawaiian root : TARO.

11. Took marriage vows : SAID I DO.

12. Top-ten tune : HIT SONG.

13. Latin trio word : AMO. amas, amat.

21. Unit of speed : KNOT.

22. Had too much : ODed. Over Dosed.

26. Dorm figs. : RAs. Resident Assistants (or Advisors.)

29. Words of woe : AH ME.

30. Idle, with "off" : GOOF.

33. Fired : LIT.  I just fired my fireplace?

34. Potpourri quality : ODOR.

35. "The Great" boy detective : NATE. WAG.

36. Greek consonant : TAU.

39. Bridge column datum : BID.

40. Decorator's recommendation : AREA RUG.

41. Nymph in Homer's "Odyssey" : CALYPSO. Ack - I filled in CAListO without thinking. But that nymph is spelled with two L's.

42. Baby bootee, often : KNIT.

43. "Wait, there's more" : HOWEVER.

44. Ticker __ : TAPE.

45. Loan sharks : USURERS.

46. Eponymous city founder : ROMULUS. Founder of Rome.

47. Co-dependency figure : ENABLER.

53. Oklahoma tribe : OSAGE.

54. Playful fish-eater : OTTER.

57. "His," per Ambrose Bierce : HERS. From The Devil's Dictionary.

58. Juice you can't drink: Abbr. : ELEC.tricity.  Cute.

59. Attorney general after Barr : RENO.

60. Gas company with a green-bordered logo : HESS.

61. Profiled penny prez : ABE. Not sure it needed the word "profiled," but it makes for some nice alliteration.

That's it for me - your turn!
Marti

Wednesday, March 18th, 2015 Ryan McCarty

Theme: You .... you .... PUZZLE, you ... Paired phonemes at the start of the five theme entries.

18A. Inspiration for a chewy candy : JUJUBE FRUIT. Food! Also known as the "Chinese date" (or 红枣) amongst 30-odd other names. C.C. can check my Mandarin spelling. (From C.C.: The dates in your picture are exactly the kind I grew up with, Steve. My grandma had two date trees. 红枣 are pronounced "Hong Zao", literally "red dates".)

28A. Horns banned at the 2014 World Cup : VUVUZELAS. This was singularly the best thing FIFA has ever done. I love the World Cup - I watched every game in the 2014 tournament except one - those horns would have driven me crazy, literally.

39A. Colorful island dresses : MUUMUUS. I had "MOUMOUS" first before I realized I was being something of a dummy by ignoring the theme. If you're going to be strict about it, "MUUMUU" would be the plural in the original Hawaiian - there's no "S" in the Hawaiian alphabet and plurals are spelt the same as the singular noun form.

47A. Yoga-inspired athletic apparel brand : LULULEMON. Notorious for the pants being more sheer than intended. I was out on my bike for a Sunday half-century ride last year and I was passed by a girl wearing a pair on a fixed-gear sprint bike. How I didn't eat pavement I have no idea. I did manage to keep up with her for a good five miles though - of course I was just drafting off her rear wheel, honestly.

59A. Dish at a 37-Down : PUPU PLATTER. More hawai'ian. Why not PUUPUU or MUMU? We should be told.

Food! Yay!

Morning all! I hope there are no post-St Patrick's Day hangovers to deal with today, and if there are, remember it's a self-inflicted injury so you get no sympathy. We haven't seen Ryan's name before, so congratulations on a fine debut. This actually reminds me of a "C.C."-style puzzle with a neat theme and some nice long downs. There's no reveal entry as the theme is pretty self-evident once the solution starts to come together. It's an 80 word-count grid, which means a lot of 3's and 4's, but I didn't particularly notice that while I was solving, so that's a good sign. Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Cellist's need : BOW. Not if you're playing pizzicato-style. Let's cue Yo-Yo and some Bach.

4. North of Colombia : NORTE. I like these "in another language" style of clues.

9. P.T. goal : REHAB. Physical Therapy.

14. In a style resembling : A LA. Here's one of my Food! favorites - Daube a la Provençale - basically beef stewed in red wine.

15. Make less dangerous : UNARM. I would use "disarm".

16. Clear : ERASE

17. Hipster : CAT. I view hipsters as more new-age, cats as old-school.

Hipster Cat

20. Doglike scavengers : HYENAS

22. Bird on Australia's coat of arms : EMU. Not emuu?

23. __-di-dah : LAH

24. "Frasier" role : ROZ

25. Run __: find : ACROSS

31. Tons : A PILE

35. Nobelist Pavlov : IVAN. He of the psychological conditioning fame.

36. Visual greeting : NOD

37. Peruvian wool sources : LLAMAS

38. "Yo, how's things?" : 'SUP? Greetings to Hipster Cat.

41. Game show VIPs : MC'S. Masters of Ceremonies. High-falutin' title.

42. Umpteen : A LOT OF. Tons and umpteens today.

44. "Hometown Proud" supermarket chain : IGA. Crosses all the way for me. I discover that my nearest IGA store is 70 miles away in a town I've never visited.

45. Give (out) : METE

46. It's a wrap : SARAN. Fun clue/answer.

49. Actor Piven of "Entourage" : JEREMY. Not familiar - I needed the crosses. He won a Golden Globe and three Emmys for his role in the show, so I guess he's pretty good at it!

51. __ trip : EGO

52. Master : ACE. Verb or noun? Either would work.

55. Kyoto cash : YEN

56. Hammerheads, e.g. : SHARKS. There's a comic strip in England called "The Pathetic Sharks". They can't swim without floaties and they faint at the sight of blood. Very "British" humor.

63. Electron-deficient particle, e.g. : ION

64. Varnish resin : ELEMI. A learning moment. The tree is formally known as Canarium luzonicum and, as the second word in the name suggests, it is native to the Philippines.

65. Pet problem? : PEEVE. Favorite clue/answer of the day.

66. Alias lead-in : AKA. Common enough now to have lost the abbreviation designation.

67. Crashed, so to speak : SLEPT. Hipster cats probably crash rather than sleep.

68. Closer : ENDER

69. Morning salmon : LOX. More Food! Loving this puzzle today. Most "lox" you see nowadays isn't really lox, more accurately it's "nova". It's much less salty than traditional lox.

Down:

1. One of music's Three Bs : BACH. We heard him at 1A if you clicked the link.

2. Maker of Regenerist skin care products : OLAY. I think we've had the OLAY/ULAY brand-name discussion before.

3. Steam : WATER VAPOR

4. Contemporary electronic music genre : NU JAZZ. Crosses to the rescue. At this point I was waiting for the pangram to show up, but in spite of all those "U"s, there's no "Q" to be found.

5. Weighty obligation : ONUS. If we share the burden, I guess the onus is on us.

6. Howard's best friend on "The Big Bang Theory" : RAJ. Crosses again. Thankfully, very approachable perps.

7. "Storage Hunters" network __TV : TRU. Belying the name of the network, the show is allegedly staged and the auctions are fake.

8. Bonfire leftovers : EMBERS

9. Turndowns : REFUSALS

10. Misspeak, say : ERR

11. Swag : HAUL

12. Where Bhutan is : ASIA. Landlocked country at the eastern end of the Himalayas. Cracking flag!

13. "Little Women" woman : BETH. The only sister with four letters. Jo, Amy and Meg are the others. Obviously, we never see Jo in the crosswords, but we meet her other sisters from time-to-time.

19. Rock genre : EMO. Does Hipster Cat listen to this genre or is it too depressing? Here's my favorite, courtesy of Green Day.

21. Any thing : NOUN

25. Felipe of baseball : ALOU. I prefer his Indian relative, Saag Alou, but I think he probably plays cricket.

Food! Saag Alou - spinach and potato curry

26. Element in a rechargeable battery : CADMIUM. Nickel is the other element in the Ni-Cad.

27. Hydromassage facility : SPA

28. Travel papers : VISAS

29. Soft palate dangler : UVULA. A partial anagram of those annoying horns too.

30. Plenty, to texters : ENUF. Apparently I date myself by using correct punctuation and spelling in my texts. I read that if you capitalize the first letter in a text message you are guaranteed to be over 50. Guilty as charged.

32. Timeless : IMMEMORIAL. Wait, so "since time immemorial" means "since time timeless?" Doesn't sound right to me.

33. __-ovo vegetarian : LACTO. No meat. Dairy and eggs are OK though. When I went to India I became LOV for the duration of each trip, the "veg" food is so good.

34. Krupp Works city : ESSEN

37. Island bash : LUAU. Let's see if you were paying attention at the top of the blog. What do you call two of these?

39. Do-it-yourselfer's nightmare : MONEY PIT

40. Homely : UGLY

43. __ Mahal : TAJ

45. Start of something big? : MEGA

47. Delaware tribe : LENAPE. More learning for me today and the final fill.

48. Presidential debate moderator Jim : LEHRER

50. Seminary subj. : REL. Religion, I presume.

52. Big primates : APES

53. Select : CULL

54. Fencing blade : EPEE

56. Golf great Ballesteros : SEVE. Anyone who saw his victory fist-pump at the 1984 Open Championship at St. Andrews will never forget it. Sadly, he died in 2011 at the early age of 54 from brain cancer.

57. Gorilla who learned sign language : KOKO

58. Junk food, in adspeak : SNAX

60. Official at a base : UMP

61. Commonly used base : TEN. In my computing life I've used binary, octal and hexadecimal too. There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those that understand binary, and those that don't.

62. "Ideas worth spreading" conference acronym : TED. (Technology, Entertainment, Design).

Here's the grid, and as Eminem said to the music executive "It's a rap".

Steve

Tuesday, March 17, 2015 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: A Walk in the Park - The various parks are in the central part of the theme entries.

36A. Manhattan landmark, and a hint to this puzzle's circles : CENTRAL PARK

17A. Bureau of Indian Affairs purview : TRIBAL LAND. Ball Park, no surprise there.

23A. 1989 handheld gadget release : NINTENDO GAMEBOY. Dog Park, watch your step.

50A. Mr. Wilson's bane : DENNIS THE MENACE. Theme Park, think of Gary.

57A. Polynesian-themed restaurant chain : TRADER VIC'S. RV Park, for when traveling in your recreational vehicle.

"Erin Go Bragh!" Argyle here with O'Burnikel. While it was a walk in the park for the most part, I almost was mugged in one spot. Perps to the rescue.

Across:

1. Device in a jogger's armband, maybe : iPOD

5. Off-mike comment : ASIDE

10. Deck swabbers : MOPS

14. Emperor with a bow : NERO

15. Language of 14-Across : LATIN

16. Mayberry kid : OPIE. Little Ronnie Howard.

19. Heating or cooling outlet : VENT

20. Nationality suffix : ESE

21. BB-shaped veggie : PEA

22. Pay attention to : MIND

29. "Magic Mike" actor Channing __ : TATUM. C.C., what aren't you telling us? (From C.C.: Santa, I clued it as [2012 People's Sexiest Man Alive].)

30. Disparaging : SNIDE

31. Have yet to pay : OWE

32. Prof's aides : TAs. (teaching assistant). They get mad if you call them teacher's assistant.

34. Stat for Madison Bumgarner : ERA. Nicknamed "MadBum", he has pitched for the Giants since 2009.

35. Chaplin of "Game of Thrones" : OONA

39. Word before drill or engine : FIRE

41. Clothes drier : AIR. A CSO to Lucina from last night's comments.

42. Fish-on-the-line sign : TUG. I expect to see some funny links, guys.

43. "__ knows?" : WHO

44. Gentle gaits : TROTS

46. Implicit : TACIT

53. Comparable : AKIN

54. Modern, in Berlin : NEU

55. Through : VIA

56. "__ go bragh!" : ERIN. We're all Irish today. (Right, Miss?) (From C.C.: I clued this as [Fox Sports host Andrews]. See what an attentive editor Rich is! By the way, Irish Miss, I did have to ask Boomer what Dagwood  sandwich is. Holy smoke!)

61. Data unit : BYTE

62. Ready to hit : AT BAT

63. Event with specials : SALE

64. 1930s heavyweight champ Max : BAER

65. Oddballs : GEEKS

66. Mined materials : OREs

Down:

1. Sharply focused : INTENT

2. Empire conquered by Alexander the Great : PERSIA

3. "Murder on the __ Express" : ORIENT

4. Driver's lic. info : DOB. (date of birth)

5. "Midnight in Paris" writer/director Woody : ALLEN. (2011) Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams.

6. Light lunches : SALADS

7. "Give __ rest!" : IT A

8. Racket : DIN

9. Come to a halt : END

10. "Philadelphia" or "Chicago," e.g. : MOVIE

11. Test type : OPEN BOOK

12. Force to make a commitment : PIN DOWN

13. Tennis match part : SET. (game, set, match)

18. Theoretical evolutionary link : APEMAN. As sung by the Kinks, Link.(3:41)

22. Bovary's title: Abbr. : MME. (Madame)

24. Helen Keller, to Anne Sullivan : TUTEE

25. In this world : ON EARTH

26. Young lady : GIRL

27. Alter to fit : ADAPT

28. Passing remark? : "YEA!"

33. Planetarium projections : STARS

35. Liver or kidney : ORGAN

36. Longtime newsman with the catchphrase "And that's the way it is" : CRONKITE

37. Prison uprising : RIOT

38. Filmmaker with a distinctive style : AUTEUR. A filmmaker whose personal influence and artistic control over a movie are so great that the filmmaker is regarded as the author of the movie.(AUTEUR is the French word for "author")

39. F on a DVD player, perhaps : FWD. "Forward"

40. Informal "Understood" : "I HEAR YA"

44. Sardine container : TIN

45. Writer/illustrator Maurice : SENDAK

47. Pricey hors d'oeuvre : CAVIAR

48. Spiky winter hanger : ICICLE. BEGONE!

49. Pokes fun at : TEASES

51. West Coast NFLer : NINER. (San Francisco 49ers)

52. Hooks up with : MEETS

56. Partner of flow : EBB

57. License plate : TAG

58. Postal worker's beat: Abbr. : RTE. (route)

59. Grandpa Simpson : ABE

60. Brandy bottle letters : VSO. (Very Superior Old) (Very Old, Abe Simpson)

Argyle

Monday, March 16, 2015 Amy Johnson

Theme: Jocularities - Start Monday off with a smile.

20A. McDonald's freebies : HAPPY MEAL TOYS

27A. Multi-day event featuring rainbow flags : GAY PRIDE WEEK

43A. Ride with wooden horses : MERRY-GO-ROUND

51A. Fruit-flavored hard candies : JOLLY RANCHERS

Argyle glad to be here. Well done, Amy.

Across:

1. Ignore the teleprompter : AD LIB

6. Take for a ride, so to speak : SCAM

10. Pyramid, to Tut : TOMB. The Boy King. (Buried in his Jammies)

14A. Supermodel Klum : HEIDI. Half akimbo?

19A. Sedgwick of "The Closer" : KYRA. The other half?

 

15. "Look what I did!" : "TA-DA!"

16. Old-time knife : SNEE

17. "Full House" star Bob : SAGET. IMDb

18. Alphabetically first of the acting Baldwin brothers : ALEC

23. Contractor's approx. : EST. (estimate)

25. Word ending for enzymes : ASE

26. Outcome : RESULT

31. Alaskan native : ALEUT

32. Forever and a day : EONS

33. Opposite of NNE : SSW

36. Campus official : DEAN

37. Willy with a chocolate factory : WONKA

39. Indian spiced tea : CHAI

40. Kazakhstan, once: Abbr. : SSR. (Soviet Socialist Republic)

41. For the lady : HERS

42. Prankster's favorite month : APRIL. Really, no foolin'.

46. Scramble, as a secret message : ENCODE

49. Dawn goddess : EOS

50. Old AT&T rival : GTE. (formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation)

55. Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT

56. "You hurt?" reply, hopefully : "I'M OK"

57. Really bad turnout : NO ONE

60. Feel concern : CARE

61. Luigi's "Bye!" : "CIAO!"

62. Conclude : INFER

63. "Faster __ a speeding bullet ..." : THAN

64. Tailor's sewn folds : HEMS. Not enough room for pleats.

65. Sidewalk eateries : CAFÉs

Down:

1. Sighs of satisfaction : AHs

2. Agcy. with narcs : DEA. (Drug Enforcement Administration)

3. Astronomical distance : LIGHT YEAR

4. "I had no __!" : IDEA

5. Walk-on role : BIT PART

6. Hung around : STAYED

7. Not windy : CALM

8. "Zip-__-Doo-Dah" : A-DEE

9. '90s Los del Río dance hit : MACARENA. Link at your own risk.

10. "For shame!" : "TSK TSK!"

11. "Shame __!" : ON YOU

12. Two-time Best Actress Oscar winner Streep : MERYL

13. Beauty's beau : BEAST

21. Tire pressure abbr. : PSI. (pound per square inch)

22. Popular jeans : LEES

23. "Jeepers!" : "EGADS!"

24. Black Friday deals : SALES

28. Many a punch line : PUN

29. __-weensy : EENSY

30. Chinese cookware : WOK

33. Doesn't lose sleep over : SHRUGS OFF

34. New Orleans footballer : SAINT

35. Oscar who quipped, "True friends stab you in the front" : WILDE

37. Lottery winners' cry : "WE'RE RICH!"

38. Bobby of hockey : ORR

39. Naval noncom: Abbr. : CPO. (Chief Petty Officer)

41. Actress Lamarr : HEDY. Official Site

42. As, on the periodic table : ARSENIC

43. Like lava : MOLTEN

44. Colorful little lizards : GECKOs.



gecko setae

45. "Impressive!" : "OOH!". "Ahh!"

46. Cockpit panic button : EJECT

47. "Little Broken Hearts" singer Jones : NORAH

48. Civil War nurse Barton : CLARA

52. Parisian gal pal : AMIE

53. Linguist Chomsky : NOAM

54. Gossip columnist Barrett : RONA

58. Michelle Obama __ Robinson : NÉE

59. EMTs' destinations : ERs. (emergency room)

Argyle

Sunday March 15, 2015 Debbie Ellerin and Jeff Chen

Theme:  "For the Fun o' It" - The OF in each theme entry is humorously re-interpreted as O' F*, where F is merged with the next word.

24A. Irritating swarm? : PACK O' FLIES. Pack of lies.

26A. Halloween party invoice? : BILL O' FRIGHTS. Bill of Rights.

50A. Complex airline route map display? : THOUSAND POINTS O' FLIGHT.  I had to google "Thousand points of light" afterward. I missed the whole Bush Sr. presidency. It's likely coined by Peggy Noonan, who also wrote Bush's "Read my lips: no new taxes" speech.

62A. Guy who rakes leaves, cleans gutters, etc.? : JACK O' FALL TRADES. Jack of all trades. This is the only theme answer where the word following F does not start with L or R.

83A. What measures one's ability to endure traveling inconvenience? : DEGREE O' FRISK TOLERANCE. Degree of risk tolerance. Boomer did not go through TSA Precheck when we traveled last month, yet his boarding pass had special mark, which allowed him to go through the quick TSA line. Mine did not. Weird.

108A. Blundering physician? : DOCTOR O' FLAWS. Doctor of laws.

112A. Campus phobia? : FEAR O' FRATS. Fear of rats.

We have another new constructor, this is Debbie Ellerin's LAT debut. Congratulations!

I mentioned before, 15-letter entries often make the weekday puzzle easier to grid, but grid-spanning 21's are always challenging (19's and 20's are no better). Suddenly you have lots of letters in place (42 letters for Debbie and Jeff). And you have lots of entries that intersect two theme answers. Hard to make them clean. Today's grid is incredibly clean and smooth.

Across:

1. "The King and I" heroine : ANNA. And 5. "The King and I" (1956) co-star : KERR. We also have YALIE (88. Jodie Foster, e.g.). Jodie Foster also played Anna.

 

5. Lakers' all-time leading scorer, familiarly : KOBE. Why the additional "familiarly"?

9. Predator of ungulates : PUMA

13. Say yes : OPT IN

18. Horse coloring : ROAN

19. Spirits that come in bottles : GENII. Mine was GENIE, of course.

20. Pioneer in car safety : OTIS. Is this the elevator guy?

21. Puget Sound traveler : FERRY. Not person "traveler". Jeff lives in Seattle.

22. Cantata component : ARIA

23. Sumatran swinger : ORANG

29. Get off the leash : RUN LOOSE

30. ... and then __ : SOME

31. Sell : RETAIL

33. iPhones, e.g. : PDAS

34. They have heads : LAGERS

36. Square __ : KNOT. Could be MEAL/MILE. Also  72A. Cake __ : MIX. Could be PAN. Also 68D. Space __ : CADET. Could be OPERA. This type of fill-in-blanks clue is not easy.

38. DHs, as a rule : RBI MEN. We also have 82. Two masked men may be behind it : HOME. Home plate. Umpire and the catcher.

42. Wise guy : SOLON. Not MAGI, for a change.

 43. Razz : TEASE

47. Gecko's grippers : SETAE. New to me.

49. Nagano Olympic flame lighter : ITO (Midori)

54. Johns of Scotland : IANs

55. Missays "say," say : LISPS

56. Weird Al Yankovic song parody : EAT IT. Parody of Michael Jackson's "Beat It".

57. Opponents : THEM. Not FOES.

58. ICU staffers : RNS

59. Torso muscle : PEC

60. Grub : FARE

61. Winner's prize : TITLE. Jeff Chen became a father last October. Here is his beautiful daughter Tess.

68. Watched over, with "for" : CARED. I miss my grandma so much, esp when I'm sick.

71. Upper limb bone : ULNA

73. Belle of the ball : DEB

76. Mariner's heading : ALEE

77. Occupied, in a way : SAT AT

79. Provoke : INCUR

87. Swing __ : ERA

 

89. Titter : TEHEE

90. French bean products? : IDEES. Can't fool veteran solvers.

91. Pre-Aztec native : TOLTEC. Hard to come up with fresh clue for this entry.

93. Poster mailer : TUBE

95. Thus far : TO DATE

97. Tarbell and Lupino : IDAs

99. Beaten on the mat : PINNED

103. Mr. Burns' teddy bear on "The Simpsons" : BOBO. Heard of the bear. But did not know he's in "The Simpsons".

104. Handlebar spot : UPPER LIP. Mustache!

114. Saintly glows : AURAE

115. Scads : A TON

116. Leading : ON TOP

117. Giggly redhead : ELMO. Fun clue.

118. Creator of Dogbert, Catbert and Ratbert : ADAMS (Scott). Googled afterward.  Those are Dilbert's pets.

119. Emergency room supplies : SERA. Tricky non- S answer.

120. Sloughs off : SHEDS

121. Kurt refusal : NEIN. Very curt.

122. Sonic Dash publisher : SEGA

123. Sub : TEMP

Down:

1. __ League : ARAB

2. Sushi wrapper : NORI. The dark toasted seaweed. I also like them in Ramen noodles.

3. Polish sites : NAIL SALONS. Great clue/answer.

4. Akin : ANALOGOUS

 

6. Sign at a studio : ON AIR

7. Spree : BINGE

8. Skating figure : EIGHT. I like this clue also.

9. Stops by : POPS IN

10. Three-time Boston Marathon winner Pippig : UTA. Don't recall this name.

11. Very small: Pref. : MICR

12. Invite from the balcony : ASK UP

13. Not FDA-approved, as a drug treatment : OFF-LABEL

14. First female Speaker of the House : PELOSI

15. Salt-N-Pepa, e.g. : TRIO. I mentioned last time I thought they were a duo.

16. Ticks off : IRES. Wish it were IRKS.

17. Home to MMM and JNJ : NYSE. 3M is based here in MN.

19. Errand runner : GOFER

25. Tapped out? : ON DRAFT. I was thinking of "exhausted".

27. Signs : OMENS

28. "Star Trek" actor with a popular Facebook page : TAKEI. Funny guy. Fun cologne name also.

32. Letter writing, for example : LOST ART

34. "Mean Girls" star : LOHAN (Lindsay). Watched the movie ages ago. Quite a few ex-SNL members.

35. Xmas visitor : ST. NICK

37. Professor, at times : TESTER

39. Strength : MIGHT

40. Fictional landlady : ETHEL. "I Love Lucy".

41. "I'm innocent" : NOT ME

42. __-crazy : STIR

 

44. Mag wheels? : EDS. Magazine big wheels.

45. Smartphone download : APP

46. Nine-tap signal : SOS. Not familiar with "Nine-tap".

48. Parisian pronoun : TOI

51. Frequent "SNL" host Baldwin : ALEC

52. Cassady of the Beat Generation : NEAL.Interesting read.

53. "Honest!" : IT IS!

59. __ Thai : PAD

60. Keys home: Abbr. : FLA. Florida Keys.

61. Everycowboy : TEX

62. Heckle : JEER

63. Something worn : OUTFIT

64. Sudden outburst : FLARE UP

65. Naysayer : ANTI

66. Charm : AMULET. My friend Roberto wears an evil eye.

67. Critical : DIRE

69. Olds model : ALERO. And 70. Buick model : REGAL

73. Executed perfectly : DONE TO A TEE. Nice.

74. Role shared by Fey and Poehler at the last three Golden Globe Awards : EMCEE. They're a great pair.

75. Certain contests : BEES

77. Harbor seal : SEA CALF

78. Letters in many email addresses : AOL

79. Prez after Harry : IKE

80. Highest degree : NTH

81. Amateur golfer Charlie with three top-ten finishes at the Masters : COE. Had no memory of him. I just found out that he died the day I arrived in the US (May 16, 2001).

82. Really enjoyed oneself : HAD A BLAST. Love this fill.

84. They can make your pupils greater : EYE DROPS

85. Dictator's assistant : STENO. Gimme for veteran solvers.

86. No longer burdened by : RID OF

92. Steering system part : TIE ROD

94. Goes for on eBay : BIDS ON. Topps Heritage is just out. It'll take us lots of bidding to complete the Chrome set.

96. Double-reed winds : OBOES

98. Temptation on the rocks : SIREN. Not drinks.

100. Annual coll. tourneys : NCAAs

101. Practice piece : ETUDE

102. Snug headgear : DO-RAG

104. Alleged visitors : UFOs

105. Phnom __ : PENH

106. Hors d'oeuvre spread : PATE. Want some? I just got a big cup of home-made cornichons from Nelson's Meat yesterday.

107. Lacking color : PALE

109. Avatar of Vishnu : RAMA

110. Virus kin : WORM

111. "Darn it!" sound : SNAP

113. Response to an oversharer : TMI (Too Much Information)

C.C.

Saturday, Mar 14th, 2015, Gail Grabowski

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 28

  This is my second Saturday puzzle from Gail - the last one dates back over three years - Mar 3rd, 2012.   I have seen many of her Sunday constructions for my local paper - Newsday; their "Saturday Stumper" is an accurate description.  Today's offering for the LA Times was much the same.  Lots of cloudy cluing which led to a white-wash grid over the first two passes, and while I got the proper names, it was the NE corner that gave me fits, and I caved in to Google, then red-letters.  Oh well.  Triple 9-letter down corners, triple 10-letter across corners.  Some of the longer fill;

16a. Dating term usually abbreviated : ANNO DOMINI - argh~!  I was looking for something like "IN SEARCH OF", as on a dating SITE

30d. Passing legislation? : ESTATE LAW - My friend from Ohio, Ibby, the woman who got me onto the movie set back in 1997, lost her husband yesterday - Friday the 13th.  I do not know the details, but he did have health issues

50a. Like some sirens : BEWITCHING - not the "SCREAMING" kind, but the female version of "siren"

3d. "Every Breath You Take" band : THE POLICE - they took reggae and made it commercial; this is my favorite pick from them

o-on-onw-onwa-onwar-onward~!

ACROSS:

1. D.C. sports group : NATS - The Washington Nationals - NLE Champs last year - and I'm sure C.C. is excited that baseball is back~!  That means just one month left in regular season hockey....

5. Hit the roof : BOILED OVER - I had "GO I---", tried "-NTO A RAGE", but needed a bigger grid

15. School acronym : ELHI - Elementary and High school

17. MSNBC anchor Wagner : ALEX - did I mention I love the name Alexandra~?  Gail had Alexia in that first puzzle, but that's not as pretty

18. Specialty brokers : LAND AGENTS - ugh.  Got the "AGENTS" part....

19. Head : TOP

20. The Whiffenpoofs of a cappella fame : ELIs - from Yale - and I did not know this

21. Finely contoured : SLEEK - Svelte did not fit

22. Only fair : TWO STAR - ah.  Like a review.  "The hotel food was only fair"

24. Sherry type : PALE DRY - ugh.  I did not see this listed in any of the sites I checked.  So it started as "PALE RED", and then I WAGed the "DRY" part

26. Swap magazines : RELOAD - I had RELOA-, and this just did not dawn on me.  Until now.  The clip of a machine gun - referred to as a magazine

27. Outback order : FILET - my only meh for the day

28. No-brainer? : IDIOT - like how I feel after a particularly rough crossword

29. Gifts for aficionados : BOXED SETS

33. VIP of the USAF : CIC - Commander in Chief

34. Chess grandmaster Spassky : BORIS - Once the "B" showed, it was WAG time

35. Span. title : SRA

36. Joint support : KNEE BRACE

39. Disastrous : FATAL

41. Come (from) : ARISE

42. They're assembled at bars : SALADS - oh, SALAD BAR.  Guess I'm still not that far from a drink

43. Player in eight Super Bowls : PATRIOT - ah - not a proper name at all; the New England Patriots

46. Herbal beverage : MINT TEA

47. Then, in Rennes : ALORS - Frawnche

48. Boring, maybe : LONG

49. Punch line, say : END

53. Kyrgyzstan border range : ALAI - not URAL - that's too far north

54. "Block-Heads" co-star, 1938 : STAN LAUREL - a-ha~! Did not have to Google it~!

55. Temporary place to stay : CAMP - not INNS

56. Project planning datum : TARGET DATE

57. Crimp-haired critters : EWES

DOWN:

1. Bit of cleverness : NEAT TRICK

2. Admitted : ALLOWED IN

4. Pack leader? : SIX - Six-pack, got it

5. It's not a complex number : BALLAD - well, some rock ballads can be - for the guitar player; here's one 'Top 100' List; here's my idea of a tough ballad

When Children Cry - White Lion

6. Happy way to walk : ON AIR

7. Temporary places to stay : INNS - Ah - here it is.

8. City served by Ben-Gurion airport : LOD

9. Author LeShan : EDA - perps

10. Husky follower : DOG SLED

11. They're filled and folded : OMELETS - I figured it was either a Spanish/Mexican dish, or um, that, er, whatsitcalled Italian thingy - Calzone~!  I just could not think of the word, and it was wrong anyway

12. Like some brick walls : VINED - Like, say, Wrigley Field

13. Join : ENTER - Dah~!! Not UNITE

14. Touch-and-go : RISKY - OK, I think of this phrase as more 'delicate' or 'sensitive'

20. Dakota du Sud, e.g. : ETAT - More Frawnche - that's Dakota of the South, of the United States

23. __ Canals : SOO

24. "Angry" adversary in Enid Blyton's "Faraway Tree" series : PIXIE - OK, I cheated.  I had to look this one up, even with "--XIE" - shoulda guessed

25. Dogfish Head products : ALES - sounded like a beer name to me - the Wiki

27. Pressure : FORCE

29. Sound off : BOAST

31. Business identifier : TRADE NAME - I thought it might end with "CARD" at first

32. They go with chips : SALSA DIPS - messed my 'INNS' up

34. Vivacity : BRIO

37. Hoop, for one : EARRING

38. Take offense : BRISTLE

39. Venom source : FANG - ah, not ASPS

40. Flying fig. : ALT - altitude - not ETA, ETD, or ARR. 

42. Unattached : SINGLE - like me~!   :7(

43. L.A.-based brewery : PABST - did not know this

44. Prince Valiant's bride : ALETA - mostly perps

45. "Path __": 2002 LBJ biopic : TO WAR

46. "Woman With a Parasol" painter : MONET

48. Pre-euro currency : LIRA

51. Monopoly token that replaced the iron : CAT - I remember the iron, but did not know it was replaced with a CAT

52. Cabinet dept. created under LBJ : HUD - Housing and Urban Development

53. One on the links : ACE - I pondered TEE, PAR, and PIN before realizing we are talking about a score of ONE

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy 57th Birthday to our thrill-seeker JJM! He loves baseball, so do our TTP  & Abejo. So maybe you three should have a Corner Chicago Gathering.