Monday, November 16, 2009 Nancy Salomon

Theme: A Man of Action - Action phrases ending with synonyms of "huge".

17A: Striding self-confidently: WALKING TALL

60A: Enjoying an extravagant existence: LIVING LARGE

11D: Shooting for the stars: AIMING HIGH

29D: Carrying on conceitedly: TALKING BIG

I'm not sure what else to to call these four words. Three (TALL, LARGE and BIG) relate to size but HIGH is about position. Does that make sense? UPDATE: I see now I should have considered both words in the entries as the theme, so C.C. and I changed my theme title.

Argyle here, it is a scrablely puzzle, 3 X's but no q or z. Two Across theme entries and two Down entries are all 11 letter long and are all 'in the language'. Very tightly focused theme, as is always the case with Nancy's puzzles.

And plenty of 7/8/9 - letter non-theme answers to cohere the whole grid.

Across:

6A: Movie music: SCORE. And SONG (31D. iTunes download).

11A: Cigar residue: ASH.

14A: Like loud crowds: AROAR.

15A: "Family Matters" nerd Steve: URKEL. The "Did I do that?" kid.

16A: "I like __": '50s campaign slogan: IKE.

19A: Blender setting: MIX.

20A: Having sufficient skill: ABLE.

21A: No-brainer college course: EASY A.

22A: Lamp-to-plug link: WIRE. I wanted CORD.

23A: God of thunder: THOR. Germanic and Norse mythology.

25A: Short races: SPRINTS. NASCAR Sprint Cup races, however, are not SPRINTS. Go figure!

27A: It's a virtue, so they say: PATIENCE.

31A: iTunes download: SONG. Today's theme SONG.

32A: Midterms, e.g.: EXAMS.

33A: Emitted a delighted sigh: AAHED.

35A: Beaver or boater: HAT.

38A: Tick off: RILE.

39A: Paid to play: ANTED. You put some money in the pot to be dealt into a hand of poker. Small stakes games might have a nickel ante and a quarter limit to any raises.

40A: Hepcat's jargon: JIVE.

41A: Condescending cluck: TSK.

42A: Climbing tool for frozen surfaces: ICE AX.

43A: TV host Philbin: REGIS. I liked it when his wife, Joy, would co-host.

44A: About, in a memo: IN RE.

46A: Words while delivering a blow: TAKE THAT. AND THAT, for a second blow.

48A: Team supporters, collectively: FAN BASE.

51A: Hobbling gait: GIMP.

52A: Tiny pond plant: ALGA.

53A: Aired, as a TV show: WAS ON.

55A: Wolf's shelter: LAIR. Check out the alternate meanings to LAIR.

59A: Dry gently, as tears: DAB.

62A: Brit. record co.: EMI. (Electric & Musical Industries Ltd.)

63A: "Maria __": 1940s song: ELENA. Beautiful.

64A: Kitchen tearjerker: ONION.

65A: Pooch: DOG.

66A: '50s Ford flop: EDSEL. A success in crosswords, though.

67A: Part of a Santa costume: BEARD.

Down

1D: Muted trumpet sound: WA-WA. How about a clip, Jazzbumpa?

2D: Mideast native: ARAB.

3D: Dice throw: ROLL.

4D: Provide a schedule slot (for): MAKE TIME.

5D: Indian title: SRI.

6D: Crop yielding a common sweetener: SUGARCANE.

7D: PC monitors: CRTS. What with flat screens now this might soon be 'former computer terminals or monitors that included a Cathode Ray Tube.'

8D: Gives the nod to: OKAYS.

9D: Went off the wagon, e.g.: RELAPSED.

10D: Right-angled pipe: ELL.

12D: Mini, midi or maxi: SKIRT.

13D: Whammies: HEXES.

18D: Casino sign gas: NEON. The Strip.

24D: "For __ a jolly ...": HE'S.

26D: Towel holder: ROD.

27D: Saucy: PERT.

28D: Graph's x or y: AXIS.

30D: Bother big-time: EAT AT.

34D: Six-sided: HEXAGONAL.

36D: Nike competitor: AVIA.

37D: Try out: TEST.

39D: Game in which "bullets" can be whatever card you decide: ACES WILD. "Bullets" is poker lingo for aces.

40D: 747, for one: JET PLANE.

42D: Nest egg component, for short: IRA.

43D: Sleep lab acronym: REM. That is an acronym not for the sleep lab itself but what they use for a stage of sleep, Rapid Eye Movement, characterized by dreaming.

45D: Org. with dribblers: NBA. National Basketball Association.

47D: Crowned checker: KING.

48D: Washed-out: FADED.

49D: San Antonio mission: ALAMO.

50D: Gutter sites: EAVES.

54D: Trig function: SINE.

57D: Operatic prince: IGOR. Prince IGOR is an opera in Russian by Alekander Borodin.

58D: Tear apart: REND. Past tense can be a tricky RENT.

61D: Soft toss: LOB.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday November 15, 2009 Mike Torch

Theme: Ling-uistics - Ling is inserted into familiar phrases.

24A. Migration of gregarious birds?: STAR(LING) TREK. "Star Trek". Starlings are gregarious and noisy birds.

50A. Bovine argument at the lanes?: OX BOW(LING) INCIDENT. I've never heard of the movie "The Ox-Bow Incident". "The" is cut in the new phrase. Bowling lanes.

71A. Game for lazy kids?: ID(LING) TAG. ID Tag.

95A. Drinking too much?: PICK(LING) YOUR BRAIN. Pick Your Brain. Do you find the new phrase amusing?

122A. Courtroom intuition?: LEGAL FEE(LING). Legal Fee.

3D. Result of way too much praise?: EGO TRIP(LING). Ego Trip.

31D. McCarthy suspicion?: RED INK(LING). Red Ink.

58D. Affleck on the mound?: BEN HUR(LING). "Ben-Hur". Ben Affleck. My favorite theme phrase.

74D. Quartet of storytellers?: FAB(LING) FOUR. Fab Four. The Beatles. Did not know fable can be a verb.

Besides the "quartet" in the last theme clue, we also have several Latin "group" clues:

21A. Common sonnet line quintet: IAMBI. Stumped me. Plural of iambus.

42D. Deadly septet: SINS

111D. Salty septet: SEAS

Clever theme and dense theme answers. But the two affixes, real as they are, feel so forced to me:

128A. Prefix with -nomic: GASTRO. Gastronomic. Gastro means "stomach".

82D. Psychological suffix with para-: NOIA. Paranoia. Noia means "conditions of mind".

Across:

1. Full of: Suff.: OSE. As in verbose. Often clued as "Sugar suffix".

4. Played (around): HORSED

10. Helmsman's challenge: SHOAL. Sandbank.

15. PC programs: APPS (Applications)

19. Truck stop sight: RIG

20. Ring of color: AREOLE. Or AREOLA (AREa + OLA). Like these two rings. And of course, the beautiful Katrina Kaif.

22. Model T contemporaries: REOS

26. Eden-to-Nod direction: EAST. East of Eden.

27. Release to attack: LET AT. Release the dog?

29. President who attended Eureka College: REAGAN. Eureka College is in Illinois.

30. Responds to "Come again?": ITERATES. "Come again?" = "Excuse me?"

32. Go from pub to pub: BARHOP. My wasted precious youth in Guangzhou.

36. Yr.-end period: DEC

37. Gary's home: INDIANA. Gary is a city in Indiana. Nailed it.

41. Squirrel's partner, to Boris and Natasha: MOOSE. From "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show".

44. Mosque toppers: DOMES. What's the name of the prayer cap Muslims wear?

48. Very softly, in music: PPP. P, PP & PPP all indicate "soft" in varying degree.

53. Will Varner's daughter-in-law in "The Long, Hot Summer": EULA. Got the answer from crosses.

55. Beethoven dedicatee: ELISE. "Für Elise".

56. Krakatoa's country: INDONESIA. Easy guess. I've never heard of Krakatoa, an volcanic island in Indonesia.

57. Bounces on a court: DRIBBLES. Basketball.

59. Handful: FEW. Not many.

62. Home in bed, maybe: SICK

63. Radical campus gp.: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)

65. Most passengers in "Titanic," e.g.: EXTRAS. The cast, not the real passengers.

68. Disney lioness: NALA. "The Lion King" lioness. I wrote down ELSA ("Born Free" lioness) first. And today ELSA is clued as 118D: Supermodel Benitez, an unknown Mexican model to me.

73. As a joke: IN FUN

80. Like many home movies: ON TAPE

84. West Point letters: USMA (United States Military Academy)

87. Like material goods: TANGIBLE. Tangible goods.

89. Amusement park rides: MONORAILS

92. Best of the best: ELITE. Crème de la crème.

94. Declined: SLID. As price.

99. Part of TGIF: IT'S

100. 1972 U.S./Soviet pact: SALT I. Well, I am sure it's not called SALT I at that time.

101. Denounces: DAMNS

102. Write: SET DOWN. And PENS (114D. Writes). I love this kind of clue echos.

104. Southernmost Canadian prov.: ONT (Ontario)

108. "__ at the Opera": A NIGHT. Nope, have never heard of this Marx Brothers film.

111. Temporary fixes: STOPGAP

116. Conqueror of Mexico: CORTES (Hernando). Also an unknown figure to me. Wikipedia says his expedition caused the fall of the Aztec empire.

121. Rank below marquis: EARL. The answer emerged itself.

126. __ breve: ALLA. An indication to play in cut-time. Alla is Italian for "according to the". Learned from doing Xword.

127. Mural opening?: INTRA. Intramural. Valid (and clever) prefix cluing.

129. Half of dos: UNO

130. Smirnoff alternative: SKYY. So blue. No wonder the name.

131. State in northeast India: ASSAM. The tea state.

132. Certain Nebraskan: OMAHAN. Warren Buffett is called "Oracle of Omaha".

Down:

1. Dental floss brand: ORAL-B

2. It's usually a hit: SIDE A. Cassette. I was thinking of baseball hit.

4. Concerns, with "with": HAS TO DO. Multiple words again.

5. Scrap: ORT. One of the very early crosswordese I've learned.

7. Angry: SORE

8. First name in scat: ELLA (Fitzgerald). The scat queen.

9. Condescend: DEIGN

10. Enlists: SIGNS ON. Penned in JOINS IN first.

11. Monopoly token: HAT

12. Ahab's father in the Bible: OMRI (OM-rahy). No idea.

13. Help the wrong way?: ABET

14. Enjoyed: LIKED

15. Three-digit ID: AREA CODE

16. Gardening moss: PEAT

17. Photographer's suggestion: POSE. Too short for SAY CHEESE.

18. Old Atl. crossers: SSTS. Atl. = Atlantic.

28. "Kung Fu" actor: AHN (Philip). I mentioned a few times before that the Korean name Ahg = Chinese Ang (as in Ang Lee). It can be either surname or given name.

33. Digital dots: PIXELS

35. "If the fans don't come out to the ballpark, you can't stop them" speaker: YOGI (Berra)

39. Made a racket: NOISED. I was picturing tennis racket rather than "noise' racket.

40. Nursery reactions: AWS

43. Credits follow it: ENDING. D'oh, film credits.

46. City WNW of Stillwater, Oklahoma: ENID. Easy guess.

47. RR stops: STAS

48. Pitcher Martinez: PEDRO. With the Phillies. Not really a bad World Series for him.

54. Didn't miss __: A BEAT

60. Beach birds: ERNES

61. Conestoga driver: WAGONER. Did not know wagon can be a verb. Also did not know the real name for this kind of wagon.

66. Good-sized sizes: XLS. Needs an abbr. hint in the clue.

67. Apt name for a cook?: STU. A good name indeed. Stew.

69. Opposing forces: ANTIS

71. Under consideration: IN MIND

72. Outfit: ATTIRE

75. Illuminated indirectly: UPLIT. Uplight is a verb?

76. Calls for: NEEDS

80. Flatware company, or the New York community where it began: ONEIDA. Literally "erected stone".

81. Calls the game: UMPS. Baseball.

83. Part of the pkg.: INCL. ENCL too.

85. Bit of plankton: ALGA

88. Rat-__: A-TAT

90. Ready for action after an injury, in sports: OK TO PLAY. I can't believe I was right.

91. Mozart's No. 1 through No. 41: SYMS. Symphonies? New abbreviation to remember then.

93. Scale divs.: LBS

96. A buck: ONE CLAM. Nailed it. Clam is slang for money.

97. "What's the __ Wond'rin'": "Carousel" song: USE OF. No idea. Here is a clip.

98. Nine-sided shape: NONAGON. Nona is a prefix for 9.

103. Mich. neighbor: WIS

105. Shire of "Rocky": TALIA. She also played the annoying Connie in "Godfather". Most of the actor/actress today were gimmes to me.

107. Ragú rival: PREGO. Ah, we just had plenty of discussion on tomato sauce.

109. Co-creator of Yogi and Boo Boo: HANNA. Hanna-Barbera cartoons. YOGI is an answer in the grid, albeit clued differently.

110. Town on the Firth of Clyde: TROON. Royal Troon Golf Club has held several British Opens.

112. Converse: TALK. Oh, I was thinking of "opposite' converse.

113. Paris hub: ORLY. Charles de Gaulle too.

115. Some NCOs: SGTS

117. Squad: TEAM. Sports squad.

119. Group that opposed the Jedi: SITH. "Star Wars".

123. Neighbor of Scorpius: ARA. Latin for "altar". Three letter star is always ARA.

124. Org. with a lot of heaters?: NRA. Heater is slang for "gun". It's an "Org. with a lot of haters" too, gun-haters.

Answer grid.

To Canadian solvers, your Mail and Globe Saturday 21*21 is by Wayne R. Williams (the previous TMS editor) and the puzzle is not on-line. Do feel free to post questions at the Comments section if you need help.

C.C.

Saturday November 14, 2009 Frederick J. Healy

Theme: None

Total blocks: 30

Total words: 72

A quintessential LAT Saturday themeless. Multiple words abound. Some are short (I HAD, I CAN'T, I LOST, HIT AT, IT BE, etc), some are long, such as the triple-stacked 10's in upper left/lower right as well as the four long Downs. Total 20 (excluding the proper nouns), if I counted correctly, a few of them are sports related.

What's your entry point today? Mine was INS (19A), which proved to be quite important in my overall solving. Cheated big and earlier on JIM BACKUS. Had a total mess in that J area.

Across:

1. Hide: KEEP SECRET. Rarely does 1A come to me immediately, today was no exception.

11. Video CD file format: MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group). I can never remembe what it stands for.

15. "Land sakes alive!": I DO DECLARE. Both the clue and the answer are new exclamations to me.

16. Hipbone prefix: ILIO. Filled in the hipbone ILIA first.

17. Overdid it: WENT TOO FAR

18. Woodworking groove: DADO. Like this, the receiving end.

19. Helpful contacts: INS. Helped me nail down the intersecting KIWI (1D. Flightless bird).

20. Hares' tails: SCUTS. New word to me as well. Dictionary says it's also the short tail for deer.

21. Brickell and Falco: EDIES. The former is a singer, latter an actress.

22. "__ no idea!": I HAD

23. Cooperative after-dinner offer: I'LL DRY. Not from my husband.

24. One in a hole: DEBTOR. In a hole = in debt. I kept picturing hole in one and the golf ball.

27. Does over, as an ascot: RETIES

29. Player's lament: I LOST. Toughie for me. Player can lament anything. I wonder if I was the only one who thought of golf Hall-of-Famer Gary Player first.

30. Voice of Mr. Magoo: JIM BACKUS. Did not ring a bell. He looks like a whiner.

33. Island off the Tuscany coast: ELBA. Where Napoleon was exiled.

34. Artificial movie background: MATTE. Not familiar with the film term "matte shot".

35. Old Italian capital: LIRE. The singular is lira. Old capital/bread always refers to money on late weekday puzzles.

36. French capital?: DES MOINES. Capital of Iowa. Literally "of the monks" in French. The clever clue fails to impress me.

38. Jeep in the movie "Cars": SARGE. No idea. Have never seen "Cars".

39. Department store section: LINENS

40. Fit one within another: NESTED. Got the intersecting SEED (32D. Nutmeg or sesame) early on, so I knew fit is past tense here. The E from SEED also prevented me from wobbling between LIRA and LIRE.

41. Rapid river thaw: ICE RUN. Spring is such a long way to go.

43. Lukas of "Witness": HAAS. I simply forgot. Here is a picture of him as a kid.

44. Score settlers?: CODAS. D'oh, musical score. Clever play on "settle the score".

45. Like a cool fall morning: BRISK

47. Rx amt.: TSP. And our old pal TER (10D. Rx specification). Barry G probably still wants TID.

50. "High Voltage" rock band: AC/DC

51. West Coast racing venue: SANTA ANITA. Another unknown to me. Wikipedia says its parent company filed for Chapter 11 in March.

53. Carolers' offering: NOEL

54. Shaq, 15 times: NBA ALL-STAR. Kept thinking of his NBA championship rings.

55. Shipping deduction: TARE. The empty truck's weight. Don't forget the waste allowance TRET.

56. Like Hail Mary passes: LAST- SECOND. I like how a football reference is placed under a basketball fill.

Down:

2. Steinbeck title site: EDEN. "East of Eden". The movie (with James Dean) is pretty good.

3. Hundreds of centuries: EONS

4. Nevada summer hrs.: PDT

5. Basketball two-hander: SET SHOT. Not a basketball fan. Free throw is a "two-hander" too, isn't it?

6. Green vehicle: ECOCAR

7. Sun screen?: CLOUD. Great clue.

8. Pond floater: RAFT. Thought of SCUM. Do you like "On Golden Pond"?

9. Diamond stats: ERAS. I gambled on RBI first.

11. Large group with upper and lower segments: MIDDLE CLASS. Did not come to me readily.

12. Many a kilt, essentially: PLAID SKIRT. Essentially yes.

13. Down source: EIDER. From eider duck.

14. Foolish: GOOSY. New word to me. I felt goosy not knowing the English word for plunger yesterday.

21. "Popular Fallacies" essayist: ELIA. From "Essays of Elia". Unknown to me also.

22. Revival meeting shout: IT'S A MIRACLE. Wish it were a gimme to me.

23. "Never let __ said ...": IT BE. Is this an idiom?

24. Stopped running: DIED

25. That femme: ELLE. French for "her".

26. Winter Olympics competitor: BOB SLEDDER. Just learned that bob sled was invented by an Englishman called Robert Sleigh. Always wondered why it's not called mary or judy sled.

27. Church practices: RITES

28. 9-1-1 respondents, briefly: EMTS

30. Rolling Stone co-founder Wenner: JANN. Unknown figure to me also. Mick Jagger seems to have been on the cover of "Rolling Stone" a lot.

31. Push for: URGE

34. Bearing: MIEN. This word always bring to mind the Marlboro marine. Gritty mien.

37. Unpleasant duty: ONUS

38. Coastal plant with collard-like leaves: SEA KALE. Of mustard family. Looks like real kale. Is it edible?

40. French "gn" sounds, e.g.: NASAL

41. "Out of the question": I CAN'T. I always have trouble with I CAN'T, regardless of how it's clued.

42. Warming drink: COCOA. Sweet!

43. Try to strike: HIT AT. Baseball. I was in the "stop working" direction.

45. Cake with a kick: BABA. The kick comes from the rum.

46. Protein-building polymers: RNAS

47. Longtime Yugoslav president: TITO. Long time indeed. Tito was very well respected in China when I grew up. He was defiant to Stalin.

48. Laurel in films: STAN. Of Laurel and Hardy.

49. Ranch chum: PARD. Bet this makes Melissa groan again.

51. NBC show that began its 35th season in Sep. 2009: SNL

52. Defense advisory gp.: NSC (National Security Council)

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday November 13, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: Here You R at Last! - Letter R is added to a common phrase ending with GE.

17A. Park official who tickets speeding bears?: RADAR RANGE(R). Not familiar with the base phrase "Radar Range", the range of cops' radar gun? Park official = Ranger.

22A. Smallest allowable bet?: MINIMUM WAGE(R). Minimum Wage. The current Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

35A. Steals a plumbing supply?: TAKES THE PLUNGE(R). Take the Plunge. Plunger is a new tool name to me.

45A. San Fernando creator of fake van Goghs?: VALLEY FORGE(R). Valley Forge, the winter camp of Washington's Continental Army. San Fernado Valley. "Creator of faker van Goghs" = forger.

53A. Burrowing critter cited for excellence?: MERIT BADGE(R). Merit Badge, boy scout award. Burrowing critter = badger.

Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 11. Three of the Down ones intersect three theme entries.

This is the type of the puzzle I like, very few proper nouns and plenty of cleverly misguiding V-8 clues. Wordplay transcends culture/age gaps. Proper names, as sparkling as they are, should be used in moderation.

Across:

4. Alice doesn't work there anymore: MEL'S. Mel's Diner in the TV series "Alice". Blind spot for me.

8. Spring: LEAP. "Spring" seems to be a verb whenever it's a clue.

12. Oft-named time: ERA. Like the Obama Era.

13. Some trick-or-treaters: GHOSTS. We got very few trick-or-treaters this year. Kids seem to prefer candies over Joe Mauer baseball cards.

15. Annual spring race, for short: INDY. Indy 500. Held over Memorial Day weekend.

19. More than upset: IN A RAGE. Was thinking the answer might end in "er".

21. Dickinson output: VERSE. Penned in POEMS first.

27. It'll grow on you: HAIR. Of course! But I am a dummy. Dennis once said that hair grows 2 inches per month.

28. Tennis court ploy: LOB. Rather a straightforward clue. "Court ploy" would be tricky.

31. Like some stockings: MESHY

33. Drop the ball, e.g.: ERR

34. Course-plotting "Star Trek" crewman: SULU. Nailed it today.

39. Cubist Juan: GRIS. No idea. He's a Spanish painter and he died in 1927. Here is his portrait of Picasso.

41. Columnist Noonan: PEGGY. Gimme. I used to follow her columns on Wall Street Journal. Reagan's speech writer.

43. Parsley relative: DILL. For your pickle.

44. Field of study: AREA

49. Zeal: ARDOR

52. They help get the lead out: ERASERS. Good clue too.

57. "Mazel __!": TOV. Literally "good" in Hebrew. Mazel = luck/fortune.

58. Big picture: EPIC. Of course, I was not thinking of film.

59. Pictures on a screen: IMAGES. Nice consecutive "picture" clue.

61. "Forget it!": NOPE

62. Low islands: CAYS. Same as keys, correct?

63. Some appliances: GES. I've been extremely loyal to GE, despite the stock price plunge under the leadership of Jeff Immelt.

Down:

2. Commercial suffix suggesting pasta: A-RONI. As in Rice-A-Roni.

3. Stereotypical pratfall cause: BANANA SKIN. Oh, I just call it banana peel.

4. Web surfing tool: MODEM

5. Pablo's "that": ESA. Not ESO?

6. USPS delivery: LTR

7. Turkmenistan, once: Abbr.: SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic)

8. Eyelid application: LINER. Can't stand eye liner on men.

9. Certain Caltech grad: Abbr.: ENGR (Engineer)

11. Combustible heap: PYRE. Funeral heap.

13. They're scheduled to be awarded at the Staples Center on 1/31/2010: GRAMMYS. The answer emerged itself.

14. International Court of Justice site, with "The": HAGUE. In the Netherlands.

18. Declare as fact: AVER

23. Sweet-talk: WHEEDLE. This fill is located at the heart of the grid and connects three theme answers.

24. Seniors' D.C. lobby: AARP. Bet they are not as powerful as AMA or NRA.

25. Miss: GIRL. Thought "miss' might be a verb.

28. Identifier seen on a carousel: LUGGAGE TAG. The baggage carousel.

29. Jackie's designer: OLEG (Cassini)

30. Hide, dog-style: BURY. Got the answer from crosses.

31. PDA entries: MTGS. Meetings.

32. "I'm all __": EARS

36. Suspect's concern: TAIL. Follower.

37. Sledding spot: HILL

38. Hullabaloos: UPROARS

43. Scurry: DART

44. "Parties must ever exist in __ country": Edmund Burke: A FREE. Not familiar with this Burke line at all.

45. Spokesperson: VOICE. Wrote down AGENT first.

46. Hoods with safe jobs?: YEGGS. D'oh, safecrackers.

47. Irregularly notched: EROSE

48. Much of a bride-to-be's mail, for short: RSVPS. Did the answer come to you readily?

49. "Right on!": AMEN

50. Seized wheels: REPO

51. Crashing bore: DRIP. New meaning of drip to me.

54. Pen name: BIC. Ballpoint pen. Nailed it.

55. Doc bloc: AMA (American Medical Association). Nice rhyme.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday November 12, 2009 Kelsey Blakley

Theme: DNA SEQUENCE (64A. Human fingerprint, and what's hidden in five puzzle answers) - DNA is sequentially embedded in each theme answer.

17A. All-big-gun battleship: DREADNAUGHT. Dread Not. Fear Nothing.

24A. Deeply ingrained habit: SECOND NATURE

39A. Shanghais: KIDNAPS. This extended "kidnap" meaning is named after the seaport Shanghai. Wonderful nightlife there. Great bars.

42A. Gap subsidiary: OLD NAVY

53A. Cuba or Puerto Rico, e.g.: ISLAND NATION

Two of the non-theme entries (31A. Most piquant: ZESTIEST & 48A. Convenience store: MINI-MART) have longer letters than the two shortest theme answers. Odd. They don't normally bother me if placed in Down rather than Across.

Neat to have three "filler" clues for a trio of three-letter fill:

52A. Hard-rock filler: AS A. Hard as a rock.

71A. Museum filler: ART

66D. Balloon filler: AIR

I loved the tie-in answer DNA SEQUENCE. Terrific title and great theme concept.

Across:

1. FBI sting that began during Carter's presidency: ABSCAM. What does AB stand for?

7. In this way: THUS. More used to "As a result" clue.

11. Tapped-out message: SOS. Morse code.

14. Sheep herder: COLLIE. Correct clue this time.

15. Old World Style sauce maker: RAGU. Or do you prefer Prego?

16. Hawaiian Punch rival: HI-C. Was stumped again. The C here refers to vitamin C. The Minute Maid drink brand.

19. It might be pale or brown: ALE

20. Blackguards: CADS. Blackguard is a new word to me.

21. Powerful health care lobbying gp.: AMA. "Powerful" indeed, appearing in Xword so often.

22. Budget noodle dish: RAMEN. Rooted in Chinese lamian ("pulled noodle"). The Japanese kanji for RAMEN is the same as Chinese character.

28. TV sched. notation: TBA

32. Extremely cold: POLAR

34. Birthplace of "Wayne's World," briefly: SNL. I was ignorant of the fact that the film was adapted from a sketch of the same name on SNL.

35. Cheese in a ball: EDAM. The Dutch cheese.

44. "The Time Machine" leisure class: ELOI. They are blond, they are beautiful and they are yummy entrees for the the Morlocks.

45. Org. with the blog Greenversations: EPA. Easy guess, with the "Green" hint.

47. Further off the beaten path: ODDER. "Off the beaten path" = unusual.

57. Parisian's "Presto!": VOILA!

58. Family nickname: SIS

59. "__ the hint!": I GET. I simply say "I get it!", not "I get the hint!".

63. Lat neighbors: ABS. Lat the muscles. Not the country.

68. ___ Percé: Pacific Northwest tribe: NEZ. No idea. Nez Percé is French for "pierced nose" (nez=nose). Maybe the tribe members all had pieced nose when first encountered by the explorers.

69. Irish Rose's beau: ABIE. "Abie's Irish Rose". Learned from doing Xword.

70. Prepare to slip off: UNLACE. Of shoes or lingerie.

73. Singer Sheena: EASTON. Scottish singer. Here is her "For Your Eyes Only". I've never heard of her name before.

Down:

1. Type of elec. adapter: AC/DC

2. Afghanistan's Tora __ region: BORA. The region where our military could have caught Osama during that intensive battle.

3. Huskies' burden: SLED

4. School group: CLASS

6. Serious threat: MENACE. Such as the Fort Hood military major who opened fire at the base. Ultimate betrayal.

7. Unauthorized absentees: TRUANTS. Such as the military AWOL's. And ATTEND (23D. Show up).

8. Broom rider: HAG. Could only think of witch.

9. Exclamation with a shudder: UGH

10. Buddha's teachings: SUTRAS. I wonder when Kama Sutra was written.

11. SeaWorld celebrity: SHAMU

12. Carrier of crude: OILER. Crude oil.

13. Dramatic segment: SCENE

18. Songwriter Tori: AMOS. Pure guess. What's her most famous song?

25. University founder Cornell: EZRA. You should eat worms if you missed this one. I've mentioned his name several times on the blog before.

26. Pebbles's pet: DINO. From "The Flintstones".

27. "Little" Dickens girl: NELL. No idea. Little Nell is a character from Dickens' "The Old Curiosity Shop".

28. Pay-as-you-go rd.: TPKE (Turnpike)

29. Cook, in a way: BOIL. Boiled (freshly picked) peanuts are very tasty.

30. Gucci of fashion: ALDO. Man, I can never remember his name.

33. Mink or sable: ANIMAL. Well, FUR is too short. Nice clue.

36. Pop, to baby: DADA. Chinese baby would say "BABA".

37. Parade rtes., maybe: AVES

38. Vidal's Breckinridge: MYRA. Here is the book cover. We've seen this clue before.

40. Remain undecided: PEND

46. Gathered up: AMASSED. As fortune.

49. When Rome wasn't built?: IN A DAY. Idiom: "Rome wasn't built in a day". I don't like the word "When", though I could not think of a better alternative.

50. Play to __: draw: A TIE

51. Off-color: RISQUE. Tried RIBALD first.

53. Trump with a cameo in "The First Wives Club": IVANA. Donald Trump's first ex.

54. Not even tipsy: SOBER

55. "Faust Symphony" composer: LISZT. "Faust" is also a play by Goethe.

56. Physicist Bohr: NIELS. The Danish physicist.

60. Swarm insect: GNAT

61. Nestlé cereal beverage: ECCO. Totally unknown to me. It's a barley, rye and chicory-based beverage. ECCO is Italian for ECCE, "behold".

62. High schooler: TEEN

65. Jazz org.?: NBA. Utah Jazz. Nailed it.

67. Italian "a": UNA. Spanish "a" too.

Answer grid.

Thanks for the stuffing recipes, everyone. Will ask my husband to add dried cranberries to ours this Thanksgiving (the only day Boomer actually cooks).

C.C.

Wednesday November 11, 2009 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: Hit List - The first word of each # 1 hit song title is a synonym of "permanent".

20A. 2002 #1 hit for rapper Ja Rule: ALWAYS ON TIME. I've never heard of the the song or the rapper. Ja Rule's real name is Jeffrey Atkins.

36A. 1989 #1 hit for Paula Abdul: FOREVER YOUR GIRL. Know Paula Abdul from her previous gig with "American Idol". The song faintly rings a bell.

56A. 1989 #1 hit for the Bangles: ETERNAL FLAME. Someone just linked the Bangles on the blog the other day. The song is a total unknown to me.

Were all the above hits familiar to you?

This theme reminds me of David W. Cromer's "Always Faithful" puzzle, but with a tighter structure. Only three 12-letter theme answers, which allow for plenty of sparkling long entries (I counted 22 non-theme fill with 6 letters or more). And only 32 blocks. We often see 38 on weekdays.

Great to see Allan E. Parrish's byline again. Like Barry Silk, he likes to use scrabbly letters, though not much in this puzzle.

Across:

1. Taylor of "The Nanny": RENEE. She played Fran Fine's mother.

10. Patsies: SAPS

14. Are: EXIST. ARE is often clued as "Exist".

15. ''Star Wars'' royalty: LEIA. Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher. I am surprised that her mother, Debbie Reynolds, is still alive. Tough luck in men.

17. Senate minority leader McConnell: MITCH. From Kentucky. His wife is Bush 43's Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. Contemporary political names are normally my gimmes.

18. Enchilada wraps: TORTILLAS. And REESE'S (51D. Popular candy pieces). Hmm, food is always welcome in our blog. By the way, care to share with Jeannie and all of us your thanksgiving stuffing recipe? A bit of Minnesota wild rice can flavor up the taste immensely.

22. Lake Wobegon creator: KEILLOR (Garrison). Ah, Minnesota reference. Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average...

23. Without any help: UNAIDED

27. "¿Cómo ____ usted?": ESTA

28. "__Cop": 1987 film: ROBO. Always wanted "Mall Cop".

30. Sugar coating: GLAZE

31. Thrice, in Rx's: TER. Again, no TID (ter in die), Latin for "three times a day".

33. Bone: Pref.: OSTE. As in osteoarthritis.

35. Rural area: LEA

41. Milne marsupial: ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".

42. Airline to Ben-Gurion: EL AL. Ben Gurion International is EL AL's home base. Named after Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

43. 1950s-'60s "Man on the Street" comic Louis: NYE. Learned his name from doing Xword.

44. Radio station alert sign: ON AIR

46. Academia VIP: DEAN. The clue seems to be asking for an abbreviated answer, doesn't it, Jerome?

48. Apt. balcony: TERR (Terrace). I am inured to the "territory" clue.

52. He shared a Nobel Peace Prize with de Klerk: MANDELA. In 1993. For their work in ending the apartheid in South Africa.

54. Will beneficiary: LEGATEE. With TEE in place, I mindlessly wrote down TRUSTEE.

58. Ploy: STRATAGEM. Awesome entry.

61. Country singer McCann and others: LILAS. No idea. Here is her "I Wanna Fall in Love". Do you like her bangs?

62. Mil. no-show: AWOL

63. Heavyweight bout?: SUMO. Heavyweight indeed.

64. Blazing: AFIRE

66. Grandson of Eve: ENOS. Son of Seth.

67. Hardwood trees: TEAKS. The wood is used in shipbuilding.

Down:

2. Forces out of the country: EXILES. Stupid Saddam should have accepted exile offer. War would have been avoided.

3. Jerk: NITWIT

4. Intensify: ESCALATE. Another great entry.

5. __ alcohol: ETHYL

6. Corrida charger: EL TORO. Spanish for "the bull".

7. Quite a long time: AEON

8. Master performer: VIRTUOSO. Italian for "skilled".

10. Cirque du __: SOLEIL. Literally "sun" in French. Has anyone seen a Cirque du Soleil show in person?

13. '60s activist gp.: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)

19. Mental pictures: IMAGERY

21. Chestnut horse: SORREL. And ROAN (38D. Colorful horse).

24. Mustachioed Spanish surrealist: DALI. Most famous for his melting clock ("The Persistence of Memory")

25. Former Israeli president Weizman: EZER. Wanted EBAN. Confused him with Abba Eban.

29. Peter of "Everybody Loves Raymond": BOYLE

32. City NNE of Seattle: EVERETT. Obtained the answer from crosses. What's Everett famous for?

34. Prison escape route, perhaps: TUNNEL. Love "The Shawshank Redemption".

36. Gift tag word: FROM. Christmas is coming.

37. Chaplin's last wife: OONA. The "Alley Oop" character OOOLA.

39. Speed trap device: RADAR GUN

40. "Mind your own business!": GET A LIFE. Oh, I had the wrong understanding that "Get a life" means "Don't be so obsessed with something".

45. Role models, say: IDEALS

47. Los __: Manhattan Project site: ALAMOS. In New Mexico.

49. And others: Latin: ET ALIA. Neutral plural of et al; et alii is masculine plural, et aliae is feminine plural.

50. Comment: REMARK. Here is a detailed explanation on this "How to Post a Comment" on our blog. Come and join us for the daily crossword (or non-crossword topics as the day goes on) discussion.

53. Purchase alternative: LEASE

55. F-sharp equivalent: G-FLAT

57. Verne captain: NEMO. Literally "no one" in Latin. From Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea".

59. Pan Am rival: TWA. Once owned by Howard Hughes.

Answer grid.

Happy Veterans Day, Dennis, Argyle and all those who have served in the military.

C.C.

Tuesday November 10, 2009 Donna S. Levin

Theme: DRIVE (68A: Hit from a tee, and word that can follow the first words of 20-, 28-, 49- and 59-Across)

20A. One-hit wonder: FLASH IN THE PAN

28A. Controversial school subject: SEX EDUCATION.

49A. President's selective rejection: LINE ITEM VETO.

59A. Pact addressing nuclear proliferation: TEST BAN TREATY.

FLASH DRIVE: A small electronic device used to store digital data, more portable and robust than a hard drive, ranging in capacities from 64MB to 256GB. I'm not savvy enough to need one.

LINE DRIVE: Baseball term for a batted ball that travels low, fast, and straight. The bane of pitchers.

TEST DRIVE: Taking a car out for a ride prior to purchase.

I left out SEX DRIVE because who here doesn't know about that!

Argyle again. This puzzle is not as scrabbly as Barry's yesterday, but smooth as well. Several nice Bob Klahn style clue echos (either sequential or crossing).

Some might have some trouble but the perps will probably rescue them.

Across:

1. Labor union foe: SCAB. SCABS was just clued as "Picket line crossers" yesterday.

5. 1999 Ron Howard film: ED TV. Starring Matthew McConaughey.

9. Clunker of a car: LEMON.

14. Building passage: HALL. Crossing SHAFT (1D. Mine passage). Nice "passage" echo.

15. Retired Cunard flagship, for short: QE II. Trouble for anyone?

16. Atlanta campus: EMORY. The university is recognized internationally for its outstanding liberal arts college, superb professional schools and one of the Southeast's leading health care systems. Emory's main campus is located in the suburban Atlanta neighborhood of Druid Hills.

17. Diva's number: ARIA.

18. Samovars: URNS. Samovar is a Russian term for a metal urn with a spigot, used to boil water for tea and traditionally having a chimney and heated by coals. Picture

19. Love, to Luigi: AMORE. Italian. OK, here is Dean Martin's "That's AMORE".

23. Stylistic judgment: TASTE.

24. Fishing aid: NET.

25. Hitter's stat: RBI.

36. It may be copped in court: PLEA. Cop a plea.

37. VCR successors: TIVOS. C.C. won't like 13D: TV's "Science Guy": NYE. because of TV in the clue.

38. Oodles: A LOT.

40. Mlles., in Spain: SRTAS. Mademoiselle is French for Miss, señorita in Spanish.

43. Soccer immortal: PELE.

44. Like thick carpets: PLUSH.

46. Beehive State college team: UTES.

48. No-goodnik: RAT.

54. European toy dog, briefly: POM. Pomeranian.

55. Enter, as data: INPUT. Data is the plural of DATUM (31D. Bit of information)

64. Gemologist's weight: CARAT. What's the difference between CARAT and KARAT again? (From Crockett: CARAT a unit of weight and KARAT a unit of pureness.)

66. Perjurer: LIAR.

67. "__ and Away": 1960s hit: UP, UP

71. Hood's scheme: CAPER.

72. Halloween cover-up: MASK.

73. IRS IDs: SSNS. Typical bottom edge word.

Down:

2. "Cheers" waitress: CARLA. Rhea Perlman (CARLA) is married to Danny DeVito. And 6. Actor Bruce: DERN. Bruce is the father of actress Laura Dern, whom he had with his ex-wife, actress Diane Ladd.

3. Fictitious name: ALIAS. Oh, C.C. gets quite a few annoying porn comments from this Nora Pearlstone (Rich Norris alias name) blog entry. Can someone have a look and see which link might cause such problem? Be careful with what you link at the Comments section too.

4. Explosions: BLASTS.

5. Prefix with lateral: EQUI. Meaning "same".

7. Windshield option: TINT.

8. Four-armed Hindu deity: VISHNU (VISH-noo). “The Preserver". Brahma is the Creator and Shiva is the Destroyer.

9. Eagerly took advantage of, as an opportunity: LEAPT AT.

10. Jane Austen novel: EMMA.

11. Song with the lyric "I'm crossing you in style": MOON RIVER. "Moon River", was composed by Johnny Mercer (lyrics) and Henry Mancini (music) in 1961, for the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's.

12. NHL legend Bobby: ORR.

21. Dickens schemer Uriah: HEEP. From "David Copperfield".

22. Common Mkt.: EEC. European Economic Community.

26. When repeated, Yalie's cheer: BOOLA. "Boola Boola" is Yale's fight song.

27. Map in a map: INSET.

29. T-shirt sizes: XLS.

30. Eternally, in poems: E'ER. V is normally omitted (as in ne'er too).

31. Bit of informatition: DATUM

32. Bit of advice: TIP. Sequential "Bit of..." echo.

33. Canada's national tree: MAPLE. Hi, Geri!

34. Do-or-die poker bet: ALL-IN.

35. There and back: ROUND TRIP.

39. Mao __-tung: TSE. Wayne R Williams is probably still using his "Half a fly?" every day now. Tung simply means "east" in Chinese.

41. Off-road ride, briefly: ATV. Repeated offender.

45. Cool cat: HIPSTER.

47. Mix: STIR.

51. The Democrats' donkey, for one: EMBLEM.

52. Outdoes: ONE-UPS.

56. Half of the "California Dreamin'" singers: PAPAS.

57. One-eighty: U-TURN. 180 degrees is half-way round a circle (360 degrees)

58. Works on a keyboard: TYPES.

60. Icicle site: EAVE.

61. Verdi's slave girl: AIDA. The princess from Nubia (thanks, JD, and welcome back).

63. Difficult journey: TREK.

64. Swine flu watchdog agcy.: CDC. Center for Disease Control. Quite a topical fill.

65. Coach Parseghian: ARA. Of Notre Dame. Literally "Altar" in Latin.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday November 9, 2009 Barry Silk

Theme: Hocus Pocus

20A. Toy that might answer "It is decidedly so": MAGIC EIGHT BALL.

35A. Sly inquiry: TRICK QUESTION.

51A. Cesar Millan dog-training apparatus: ILLUSION COLLAR. Unknown to me. He is The Dog Whisperer. His wife's name is Ilusion Wilson Millan, so is the collar an allusion to her?

If it is Monday, then I must be Argyle.

Alright! A Barry Silk for a Monday. Sixties music and muscle cars. And just short a 'V' from a pangram. Three Z's. Plenty of lively multiple words too, esp Down entries. Neat to have END (64A. Finish) complete the grid.

For those of you that may never have had a Magic 8 Ball, it has little sayings that float up to the viewing window after you turn the ball over a few times. Like all seers, it is often cryptic. The Wikipedi article has the list of the 20 standard answers. Plus, there are several specialty 8 Balls out there.

Across.

1. Sends a duplicate to, for short: CCS. Carbon Copy, used as a verb. (or as a shout-out to our leader.)

4. Half-baked, as ideas: CRAZY.

9. Tended: SAW TO.

14. Fink: RAT. Both verb and noun.

15. 3:1 or 7:2, e.g.: RATIO.

17. Thurman who played June in "Henry & June": UMA. The 1990 film was loosely based on the book Henry and June by our old friend, French diarist Anaïs Nin.

18. Maine college town: ORONO. Hi Mainiac!

19. Improvise lines: AD LIB.

23. Pub orders: BREWS

24. W. Hemisphere defense gp.: OAS. Organization of American States

25. "Cats" poet's monogram: TSE. T S Eliot.

27. Average: SO-SO.

28. Ancient moralist: AESOP.

31. Despair's opposite: HOPE.

32. Knight fight: JOUST. A la Don Quixote, though he tilts at the windmills.

34. Imus's medium: RADIO. Don Imus, shock jock.

40. Charlatan: FAKER. A good entry for today.

41. Helen of Troy's mother: LEDA. Helen's father is Zeus.

42. OneZip bag maker: HEFTY. Rival of Glad.

48. Cell "messenger," briefly: RNA. RiboNucleic Acid, a single chain, while DeoxyriboNucleic Acid is a double chain, the famous double helix. (Was in yesterday's puzzle.)

49. Critic Reed: REX. Film critic.

50. Barbecue equipment brand: WEBER.

58. Cavity fillers' org.: ADA. American Dental Association.

59. Crooner Mel: TORME. "The Velvet Fog". Silky!

60. November birthstone: TOPAZ. Pure topaz is colorless and transparent but is usually tinted by impurities; aren't we all?

61. Meditative sect: ZEN. Derived from Chinese Chán, literally, "quietude".

63. Covered with marsh vegetation: SEDGY.

Down.

1. Bread bits: CRUMBS.

2. Chevy muscle car: CAMARO.

3. Puts on, as a show: STAGES.

6. Yours, in Paris: A TOI.

7. Criticize in a witty way: ZING.

8. Classic chocolate drink brand: YOO-HOO. Yogi likes it; I didn't.

9. Picket line crossers: SCABS.

11. Affluent: WELL-TO-DO.

12. Sudden and precipitous downturn: TAILSPIN.

21. Pacific island on which a memorable WWII photo was taken: IWO JIMA. !

22. Audible dance style: TAP.

26. Job listing initials: EEO. Equal Employment Opportunity

28. Northern diving bird: AUK. The Great Auk is extinct.

29. Attorney's abbr.: ESQ. Esquire. Also, Esqr.

30. Fill, as with padding: STUFF.

31. Styling goo: HAIR GEL. For some, only Dapper Dan will do.

33. Military training acad.: OCS. Officer Candidate Schools.

34. Hwy.: RTE. Highway - Route

35. Miley Cyrus, for one: TEEN IDOL. Her ticket sales are not that hot any more.

36. Ready-for-the-worst status: RED ALERT.

38. Wild blue yonder: SKY. Nice clue.

39. Camera type, for short: SLR. Single-Lens Reflex.

42. "__ So Fine": 1963 #1 hit: HE'S. By The Chiffons.

43. Is: EXISTS.

45. On fire: ABLAZE. I originally had AFLAME but for a Barry Silk puzzle, I needed ABLAZE.

46. Hard to move: LEADEN.

47. Quick trip that's "run": ERRAND.

49. Foot-long stick, often: RULER.

50. Reeling from a blow: WOOZY.

52. Tibetan priest: LAMA. One 'L'. Literally "guru". Dalai means "ocean". Dallai Lama, "Ocean Teacher", means a teacher who is spiritually as great as the ocean.

53. Native Nebraskan: OTOE. The clue may not be accurate; they moved around a lot but they always show up in crosswords.

54. "Law & Order" gp.: NYPD. New York(city) Police Department

55. Jagged rock: CRAG. Like this picture. Those mountain goats do not seem to have tails, do they?

56. "Let's call __ day!": IT A.

Answer grid.

Argyle