Monday, January 23, 2017 Joel Mackerry

Theme: No Reveal Monday - Start with three letters; a vowel progression and the same two consonants.

17A. Hebrew or Latin, e.g.: ANCIENT LANGUAGE

23A. Meetings of self-improvement seekers: ENCOUNTER GROUPS

39A. Form 1040 and schedules: INCOME TAX RETURN

53A. Doctor with a pager: ON-CALL PHYSICIAN

61A. Most of the Atlantic, to Columbus: UNCHARTED WATERS

Argyle here. The kicker is the five entries are all grid spanners and in language. Well done!

Across:

1. Contractor's detail, briefly: SPEC. (specification)

5. NYSE listings: COs. New York Stock Exchange/companys

8. Shade-loving plant: HOSTA

13. Pull's opposite: PUSH

14. Sitting on: ATOP

16. "That's __!": "Piece of cake!": A SNAP

20. Cpl., for one: NCO. Corporal/non-commissioned officer

21. Sundial number opposite I: VII

22. Kitty coat: FUR

29. Child of a boomer: Xer. Generations

30. With 31-Across, flying exhibition: AIR

31. See 30-Across: SHOW

32. More than fair, less than great: GOOD

34. Petting __: ZOO

36. Composer Bartók: BÉLA

44. Right triangle ratio: SINE

45. "Impractical Jokers" network __TV: TRU. truTV.

46. Most fit to be drafted: ONE A

47. Captures: NABs

50. Plus: AND

52. "CSI" evidence: DNA

58. Itinerary word: VIA. (by way of)

59. Dubai's fed.: UAE. (United Arab Emirates)

60. Glamorous Gardner: AVA

68. Allow to board: LET ON

69. "Frozen" queen: ELSA

70. Game with rooms and weapons: CLUE

71. Natives for whom a Great Lake is named: ERIEs

72. Like a clever devil: SLY

73. Outdoor faucet attachment: HOSE

Down:

1. Massage facility: SPA

2. Joke with a homophone, say: PUN

3. Top-left PC key: ESC

4. Trouser material: CHINO. Trousers of such a fabric gained popularity in the U.S. when Spanish–American War veterans returned from the Philippines with their twill military trousers.

5. Elevate to sainthood: CANONIZE

6. Giants great Mel: OTT

7. Work a crossword puzzle: SOLVE

8. "Macbeth" cauldron stirrer: HAG. One of the three Weyward Sisters.

9. Buckeye State sch.: OSU. Ohio State University.

10. Acronym for a big mess: SNAFU

11. Prepare to advance after a fly ball: TAG UP

12. Mimics: APERS

15. Bridge partnerships: PAIRS

18. S.A. country at zero degrees latitude: ECUA. (Ecuador)

19. About to happen: NIGH

23. Army vet: EX-GI

24. Vegas signs: NEONS

25. Early spring blooms: CROCI

26. Easy run: TROT

27. Hanger near the shower: ROBE

28. Be a debtor of: OWE TO

33. Summer of disco: DONNA

35. Cereal grain: OAT

37. Monday, in Metz: LUNDI. French.

38. "Ben-Hur" setting: ARENA

40. Dinner, e.g.: MEAL

41. Like Superman's special vision: X-RAY

42. Flees: RUNS AWAY

43. Indian flatbread: NAAN

48. "It all happened so fast" memory: BLUR

49. Sudden burst: SPATE

51. Operatic icon: DIVA

53. Developing egg: OVULE

54. Forty-__: NINER

55. Desert plants: CACTI

56. Shoes that make you look taller: HEELS

57. Hidden downside: CATCH. There's always a catch.

62. Soil-moving tool: HOE

63. Ques. response: ANS. (answer)

64. Broadband letters: DSL. (Digital Subscriber Line)

65. Rock gp. with winds and strings: ELO. (Electric Light Orchestra)

66. Moscow's land: Abbr.: RUSsia

67. Lay eyes on: SEE

Argyle

Sunday, January 22, 2017 Matt McKinley

Theme:  "Dropping In" - In is dropped from the start of each theme entry.

23A. Knowing one makes the best moonshine? : STILL CONFIDENCE. Instill confidence.

30A. Pressing concern? : CREASE QUALITY. Increase quality. "Improve quality" sounds more idiomatic.

42A. Vessel for the corporate lake outing? : BOARD MOTORBOAT. Inboard motorboat is new to me.

64A. Where geese learn the ABCs of Vs? : FORMATION CENTER. Information center.

88A. Passable publicity? : DECENT EXPOSURE. Indecent Exposure.

95A. Close examination of past and present English? : TENSE SCRUTINY. Intense scrutiny.

110A. Priest's fashion consultant? : VESTMENT ADVISER. Investment adviser.

All IN's are dropped from the start of the first word. Quite consistent.

I like when the new words change meanings drastically: STILL/CREASE/BOARD/FORMATION/TENSE/VESTMENT. They're all nouns, which tend to have shades of meanings, so easier to maneuver.

Not much change from INDECENT to DECENT though. Just a prefix drop. Adjective before and after.

Across:

1. Harder to see : DARKER

7. Heavenly bear : URSA

11. East Lansing sch. : MSU. The Spartans.

14. Vice __ : VERSA

19. "Seinfeld" role : ELAINE. KRAMER  and NEWMAN have the same letter count.

20A. Groups on its covers included 'N Sync and Hanson : TEEN BEAT. Hanson is the "MMMBop" boy band.

22. Alternate strategy : PLAN B. Sitting next to by 25. "I Am the Walrus" was one : SIDE B. Tiny dupe.

26. Fair instrument : CALLIOPE. I only know the Muse meaning.

27. Many a stray : CUR. Not CAT.

28. Land of the banshee : EIRE

29. Songwriter Sands : EVIE

36. Energy pricing unit : BARREL

39. Submerged ridge : SHOAL

40. "Friendly Skies" co. : UAL

41. Quicken product : E-LOAN. So now E-loan has become a common word rather than the company E-Loan?

48. Put (on) hastily : SLAP

49. Metallic hybrids : ALLOYS

50. Stand __ : PAT. Not OUT/INS.

51. Green shelter : ARBOR

53. Destroys totally : TORPEDOES. Great fill.

55. Hitting : AT BAT

57. Moist : DEWY

58. Canonized ones: Abbr. : STs

59. Sticky stuff : GOO

60. Cook with high heat : BROIL. Chinese kitchens don't have ovens. We steam everything, including our bread (Mantou).

62. Ominous ending : OR ELSE

68. Vote for : CHOOSE

71. Côtes du __: wine region : RHONE. Also 107. Normandy department : ORNE. Not OISE.

72. "Clickbait" was added to it in Sep. 2016 : OED. Nailed it.


73. Not letting things slide, briefly : TCB. Take Care of Business.

76. Influence : PULL

77. Some Jutland natives : DANES

79. Stood : STOMACHED

82. Excavate anew : RE-DIG

84. '70s-'80s Pakistani president : ZIA. Learned from doing crosswords.

85. NFL's Oilers, since 1999 : TITANS. Learning moment to me.

87. "__ Land": 2016 Stone/Gosling film : LA LA. Oh, hi, LaLaLinda! She still reads our blog and comments.

91. How prancing is done : GAILY

92. Emmy-winning scientist : NYE (Bill)


93. Wear : ERODE

94. Liquor from currants : CASSIS. I never had currants, You?

101. Ado : FUSS

102. Not do, maybe : OMIT

103. Canberra school : UNI (University)

104. Classic Cadillac : ELDORADO. My idea of "Classic" is the old beat-up green Jeep Chinese Army used to have. Very cool. All other cars are the same. Just cars.

108. Mini successors : NANOs

114. Cries from sties : OINKs

115. Sweet-talked : WHEEDLED

116. Like the pre-Easter season : LENTEN

117. Candidate's handout : FLYER

118. Canon offering, briefly : SLR

119. Bros, say : SIB. My brother is chasing his Go 4d rank. 

120. Driving force : ENGINE

Down:

1. Genealogy abbr. : DESC. Hi there, PK! Great to see you back.

2. Utah ski resort : ALTA

3. Complain : RAIL

4. Game that sells consoles, say : KILLER APP. Another great fill.

5. Pep up : ENLIVEN

6. Shrink back : RECOIL

7. __ Reader : UTNE. Our local Barnes & Noble does carry this magazine.


8. Flag thrower : REF

9. Cinque e uno : SEI

10. "Wait, there's more ... " : AND

11. Diner host's stack : MENUs

12. "__ bleu!" : SACRE. Bleu to replace "Dieu". "Mon Dieu".

13. Colorado native : UTE

14. Bush and Gore: Abbr. : VPs. Bush Sr.


15. Architect Saarinen : ELIEL. Eero's father. We also have 32. St. Louis bridge architect : EADS

16. Circle lines : RADII

17. Dik Browne dog : SNERT. "Hägar the Horrible".

18. Monk's home : ABBEY

21. Immobilize at sea, in a way : BECALM. I suppose it's a common word for sailors, Spitzboov/D-Otto.

24. Expose in verse? : OPE

30. Bedlam : CHAOS

31. One of the Gilmore girls : RORY. Not etymological related to ROARS (Also  38. Comedy club reactions)

33. Marketing target : QUOTA

34. Short-lived Egypt-Syr. alliance : UAR. Also 109. Abbr. on old Eurasian maps : SSR

35. Goya's "Duchess of __" : ALBA

36. Outplays : BESTS

37. Give in shares : ALLOT

 
39. One and only : SOLE

42. Flower : BLOOM

43. Some kind of nerve : OPTIC

44. Statistician's aid : TABLE

45. Information for a waiter : ORDER.  The clue dupes the original word "Information" in 64A. Hard to detect this in a Sunday grid.


46. Biblical brother : ABEL

47. Garage services : TOWS

49. Couldn't get enough of : ADORED

52. White alternative : RYE. Bread.


54. They may clash in debates : EGOS. So true!

55. Supreme : A ONE

56. Carved poles : TOTEMS

60. IMDb.com entries : BIOs. IMDb is a great cluing source for constructors, full of great trivia.


61. Director Howard : RON

63. Shameful fictional symbol : RED A

64. __ acid : FOLIC. Not AMINO.

65. Golf great, to his "army" : ARNIE

66. What an unproductive worker might get : THE AX

67. Herman's Hermits frontman Peter : NOONE. Stranger to me. Same with 99. Oscar-winning actress Mercedes __ : RUEHL. I still have not fully figured out why Rich sometimes uses ___ in name clues. Here 67D has no ___, but 99D does. But person with ___ tends to be unknown to me.

Peter Noone

Mercedes Ruehl

68. Hosp. administration : CPR

69. Tinged : HUED

70. Quaint store adjective : OLDE. What I feel about the clue for 73. Massenet opera : THAIS

74. Symphonic strings : CELLI

75. Occasions for cake, briefly : B DAYS. Not in my childhood. Always noodles & two eggs.


78. Nahuatl speaker : AZTEC

79. Detailed analysis : STUDY

80. Container weight : TARE

81. Senior's memento : CLASS RING

83. Hereditary code carrier : GENE

85. Spelling on TV : TORI. Tori Spelling seems to have a very chaotic life.


86. Has the stage : IS ON

89. Finger Lakes locale: Abbr. : NYS (New York State)

90. Dress size : PETITE

91. Appliance with a pilot : GAS OVEN

94. Get snuggly : CUDDLE

95. Beaucoup, with "a" : TON OF

96. User's service : EMAIL. So disappointed with Outlook/Hotmail's last update. One day I'll move to Gmail completely.

97. Fool : NINNY

98. Fuel : STOKE

100. Indy 500 family name : UNSER

101. St. with a panhandle : FLA

104. LAX postings : ETDs

105. Piedmont wine region : ASTI

106. "Paula's Home Cooking" host : DEEN. I bet you all want to try our own "Steve's Home Cooking". His Facebook pictures are often mouthwatering. He even makes Sashimi himself.


110. Bug and Golf : VWs

111. ER VIPs : MDs.

112. Yalie : ELI

113. Lincoln's place: Abbr. : NEB

Thanks for the kind comments and emails on our blog birthday. Each means a lot to me. Nice to learn that BunnyM has been quietly with us for three years. So glad you finally joined us after your birthday!

Happy 71st Birthday to  our grid master and friend John Lampkin, who is now living in Florida. I was very lucky to get to know John & blog his puzzles at the start of my blogging/constructing venture. I just love this picture. Are you still in contact with Annette, Lemonade?

Lemonade and John

Saturday, Jan 21st, 2017, Neville Fogarty

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing F,J,Q,X,Y)

Blocks: 30

Well it's about time I smoked through a Saturday puzzle; I was starting to wonder if the difficulty level was ever going to come down.  I recognized the constructor's name, and I sensed that I had struggled with his grids in the past - but I was wrong.  It has been over four years since he last gave us a Saturday challenge, and that one was a fun romp, too - my words.  Six ten-letter answers in today's grid, with triple 8- and 6-letter corners;

 4. Some breaks in the NFL action : TV TIMEOUTS

20. Biting criticism : ACID TONGUE

12. Fruity chip go-with : MANGO SALSA

29. Contemporary "Be yourself" : KEEP IT REAL - I liked Dave Chapelle's "when Keeping it Real goes wrong", but due to the "adult content", I must refrain from posting it here  :7))

50. Dark personification : GRIM REAPER

27. Goes wild : WHOOPS IT UP

ON❤ARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Robin on '60s TV : BURT WARD - oh so proud of myself for filling in SIDEKICK, and it worked well with my 15a, too

9. Mischievous kids : SCAMPS

15. What one taking a flight doesn't use? : ELEVATOR - a flight of stairs, and it didn't fool me

16. Mustang rival : CAMARO - I'll take the Mustang every day of the week, twice on Sunday

17. Abomination : ANATHEMA

18. Common soccer result : ONE-NIL - hockey games that end 1-0 are boring

19. Coach Eric Taylor's wife on "Friday Night Lights" : TAMI - perps

22. Hardboard brand : MASONITE - at first I was ashamed that I couldn't nail this one, but then when the crossings filled in, I realized I was thinking Homasote, and not Hardboard.  Fake 6-panel doors are made with hardboard, and cheaper

24. William Donovan's WWII org. : OSS

25. Dropped jaws : WOWED 'EM

28. Computer media : DISKS - perps got me all but the "K", and I wondered if it might be "C"

30. Cold sound? : "ACHOO~!"

31. "Star Trek" rank: Abbr. : ENS. - the one I can think of is Ro, from The Next Generation

32. __ St. Louis : EAST - vague, but it's Saturday

35. Exodus pronoun : THOU - THEE or THOU~? Had to wait

36. Liquid diet component : BROTH - my liquid diet of some years ago did NOT consist of broth....

38. "The Time Machine" race : ELOI - Crosswordese

39. Traffic sound : TOOT - dah~! Not HONK

40. Jethro Tull frontman Anderson : IAN - I knew this - but I am not a fan; Iron Maiden covered Cross-eyed Mary

Note the Grim Reaper on the card

41. Big name in printers : EPSON - CANON~? XEROX~?  Ugh.  Had to wait

42. Library exchanges : PSSTs - BOOKS fit, but I doubted it was the answer; my last fill was the "S", tho I had "A" there first - hey PSATS sounded reasonable - but no ta-DA~!

44. Drea de Matteo's role on "The Sopranos" : ADRIANA - did not watch the show, filled via perps

46. Sources of remote power : AAs - TV remotes, etc.

48. Balderdash : UTTER ROT - ever play Balderdash~? Great board game

52. Speeds (up) : REVS

56. More affected, in a way : ARTIER

Black & White - I'm getting "artier"

57. More than familiar with : INURED TO - my "SAGAS" at 49d. led me to GEARED TO

59. Arrive copiously : POUR IN

60. Some summer homes : COTTAGES

61. Toll road convenience : E-Z PASS - word is, NY State is going total E-Z Pass and unmanned booths; cameras will catch those who don't play well with others.  I already have my tags

62. Site of Napoleon's last exile : St. HELENA

DOWN:

1. Overpower : BEAT

2. Radius neighbor : ULNA

3. Office quantity : REAM

5. Nursery noise : WAH - guitar noise, too, for those who know

6. Base command : AT EASE

7. "Think Like a Man Too," e.g. : ROM-COM

8. Exhaust : DRAIN

9. Terrier type : SCOTTISH

10. Participates in a camp activity : CANOES

11. Grace closing : AMEN

Amen~!

13. Hybrid hatchback : PRIUS - there are two kinds of Prius owners - either the ones who drive so slow that they never use the gasoline engine, or the other ones, who should have never invested in a hybrid in the first place - a Mustang would have been cheaper for these leadfoots

14. They may leave prints : SOLES

21. "We __ Start the Fire": Billy Joel : DIDN'T - great song; much of the history pre-dates me, and being the curious type, had to find out more

I arrived during "punk rock" @ 3:25

23. Shakespearean title word : ADO

25. Power eponym : WATT - James Watt, who made the first major improvement to the steam engine - the Wiki

26. Dos cubed : OCHO - 2³, in Spanish

31. Great spell : EON - spell as in stretch of time

33. "Are we there yet?" reply : SOON

34. Brown of publishing : TINA - no clue, all perps and WAG

36. Marshland waders : BITTERNS - had some of the crossings, and this rose up from the depths of my mind

37. Dreaded figure? : RASTA

41. "__ e Leandro": Handel cantata : ERO

43. "Yup!" : "SURE IS~!" - followed by:

44. "Nope!" : "ARE NOT~!"

45. Longtime "Sexually Speaking" host : Dr. RUTH - had it, took it out with SAGAS being wrong

46. Catching flies, so to speak : AGAPE

47. Pollo partner : ARROZ - Chicken and rice

49. Sweeping stories : EPICS - SAGAS~? Bzzzt~!

51. "Look, amigo!" : "MIRA~!" - rockin' the Spanish today; I need to learn more - it's the dominant language in the kitchens where I work

53. One of a cube's dozen : EDGE - so proud of myself for figuring this out

54. Engine with a lot of juice : V-TEN - pondered V-tec, from Honda, but V-10 makes more sense; popular in the Dodge Viper - check out this Viper~!

55. Slugger who began and ended his career as a Texas Ranger : SOSA - Good WAG for me

58. Hwy., e.g. : RTE

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Our blog turns 9-year-old today! Among regulars,  Argyle is probably with me the longest. Do you all still remember the first time you visited our blog?

Friday, January 20, 2017, Debbie Ellerin

Title: Sounds like....homonym home.

We have our fifth offering from a Nancy Salomon, Jeff Chen disciple, and her first Friday. Debbie takes advantage of the beauty and variety of the English language. RUED and RUDE, ROWED and ROAD are clear sound a-likes. DUCKED and DUCT, PASSED and PAST may vary geographically, but the concept is the same. You take a familiar phrase and change the first word for a sound a-like word that creates a new meaning. Like all punny or sound a-likes, once you get the idea, they are easy but it requires filling lots of perps. These are all reasonable if not dramatically funny. Debbie also fits in some nice long fill WEBINAR,  FIXINGS,  SNARLED,  THERMOS and two that are as long as theme entries- RARING TO GO and EYE OPENERS. On to the solve!!!!

16A. Played hooky from the office? : DUCKED WORK (10). DUCT work.

26A. Was sorry to have set the alarm? : RUED AWAKENING (13). RUDE awakenings.

46A. Made it through the Civil War? : PASSED HISTORY (13). PAST history.

60A. Reached the 2016 Olympics the hard way? : ROWED TO RIO (10). ROAD to Rio.

Across

1. Quick : RAPID.

6. Zurich-based sports org. : FIFA. Fédération Internationale de Football Association, not only the governing body of world wide futbol, but also beach soccer!

10. Dis : RIP.

13. Metaphorical title word in a McCartney-Wonder hit : EBONY. Ivory is suing SONY.

14. Major composition : OPUS. We have seen this often lately.

15. Dr Pepper Museum city : WACO. I had no idea. LINK.

18. Journalist/author Larson : ERIK. A very talented author.

19. Telegram period : STOP.

20. Long in the tooth : OLD. which is how I am feeling, not being able to walk, unaided.

21. Texas-Louisiana border river : SABINE. now that clues must be PC, we get this river.
I am sure our cajun contingent jumped all over this CSO.

23. "Without further __ ... " : ADO.

25. Taco toppings : FIXINGS.

31. Random selection : ANY.

32. Give a halfhearted effort : DOG IT. We use dog in many ways. READ.

33. Gratified and then some : SATED.

36. Pizzeria staples : PIES.

38. Romantic dining spot : PATIO. Never thought of that as a romantic spot, but that is just me.

40. Bush advisor : ROVE. Karl. No politics but you can READ his slant.

41. You can skip it : STONE. One of many fun clues.

43. Piaggio transport : VESPA. Interesting HISTORY.

45. X or Y preceder : GEN.

49. Lunchbox container : THERMOS. Vacuum sealed container. A valid trademark? The CASE.

51. "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" airer : NPR. National Public Radio.

52. Small creek : RUNLET. Nope. Never heard of it.

53. Meet at the poker table : SEE. I'll see you $1,000,000.00 and raise you...does anybodt watch the WSOP ?

55. Hound sound : YELP.

59. Downwind : ALEE.

63. Joker, for one : CARD.

64. Continental divide : URAL. Europe and Asia. LESSON.

65. "Buffy" spin-off : ANGEL. David Boreanaz has gone seamlessly from Buffy to Angel to Bones.

66. Superhero symbol : ESS.

67. They're fixed shortly after being intentionally broken : EGGS.  Convoluted but cute clue.

68. Crystalline stone : GEODE.

Down:

1. Bench mates? : REDS. Really fun deception, as Hall of Famer Johnny Bench played for the Cincinnati Reds.

2. Bump up against : ABUT. A great word for Cartman.

3. Little, to Luis : POCO.

4. Rubber stamp partner : INK PAD.

5. Highlight provider : DYE. Those nice highlights in your hair.

6. Barnyard regular : FOWL.

7. 2001 Apple debut : IPOD. How time flies.

8. Lab coat : FUR. We continue with witty cluing using the capital letter starting the clue to attempt to deceive.

9. Welcomes warmly, as a visitor : ASKS IN. Of course, "ask sin" might be a warm greeting.

10. Ready in a big way : RARING TO GO.

11. Cupcake cover : ICING. Alliteration.

12. Uses a fireplace tool : POKES. That is why it is called  poker.

15. Online workshop : WEBINAR. Very big in the law world.

17. The Platters' genre : DOO WOP. According to the dictionary it is a style of pop music marked by the use of close harmony vocals using nonsense phrases, originating in the US in the 1950s. LISTEN?

22. x or y follower : AXIS.

24. Senior, to Junior : DAD.

25. Amulet : FETISH. We tend to think more of behavioral fetishes.

26. Emulates Eminem : RAPS.

27. Meter or liter : UNIT.

28. Revelations : EYE OPENERS. Nice long fill.

29. Plants used to make tequila : AGAVES.

30. Cashed, as a forged check : KITED. Sorry, kiting has nothing to do with forgery. Check kiting is a form of check fraud, involving taking advantage of the float to make use of non-existent funds in a checking or other bank account. In this way, instead of being used as a negotiable instrument, checks are misused as a form of unauthorized credit. (per wiki).

34. "... happily __ after" : EVER. The fairy title of life.

35. Say no to : DENY.

37. Tangled : SNARLED.

39. Put in one's two cents : OPINED.

42. Mrs. Cullen in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" : ESME. Played by Elizabeth Reaser.

44. Venomous snake : ASP.

47. "I know, right?" : SO TRUE.

48. Sign next to free samples : TRY ONE.

49. Hint : TRACE. Only reminds me of Hodgins.

50. Luau entertainment : HULAS.

53. Gala giveaways : SWAG. The famous Hollywood swag bags now worth about $40,000.00 at the Oscars.

54. "Electric" swimmers : EELS.

56. "For that reason ... " : ERGO. Latin word co-opted by English.

57. Told a fantastic story, perhaps : LIED.

58. North __ : POLE. A little late for Santa.

61. URL ending : ORG.

62. Identify on Facebook : TAG. A prefect segue, as tag you the reader are IT, as I have had my say with all the typos and errors that a human can create. Because there were so many words filled by the downs, this was pretty easy. As for the theme, YMMV. lemonade out.