Thursday August 19, 2010 Gene Newman

Theme: Idiom Antonyms - The starting positional prepositions in familiar phrases are flip-flopped and the resulting phrases are humorously reinterpreted and clued with question marked one-word adjectives.

17A. Dishonest?: BELOWBOARD. When you are honest, you are said to be aboveboard in your dealings.

26A. Happy?: UP IN THE MOUTH. Sad = down in the mouth.

42A. Sick?: OUT OF THE PINK. Healthy = in the pink.

56A. Incompetent?: OFF THE BALL. Competent = on the ball.

This theme is similar to neagative (in-/im-/un-/dis-/non-/extra-) words that no longer have a corresponding positive in the language, as in this poem, A Very Descript Man, attributed to J. H. Parker, one day late for bad poetry day:

I am such a dolent man, / I eptly work each day; / My acts are all becilic, / I've just ane things to say. / My nerves are strung, my hair is kempt, / I'm gusting and I'm span:/ I look with dain on everyone / And am a pudent man. / I travel cognito and make A delible impression: / I overcome a slight chalance, / With gruntled self-possesion. / My, dignation would be great / If I should digent be:/ I trust my vagance will bring / An astrous life for me.

Al here, with a fun Thursday. I think I might have gotten this without the theme, but figuring that out sure sped things up. I think this is a first for me, no links today...

Cross:

1. Boot's meal: MESS. Boot camp, I suppose...

5. What houses may be built on: SPEC. Speculation that if you build it, it will sell.

9. Li'l Abner's creator: CAPP. Al Capp, born: Alfred Gerald Caplin.

13. Some finals: ORALS. Final tests for graduate college/university degrees.

15. Machu Picchu's land: PERU. Translates to "old mountain".

16. Jewish youth org.: YMHA. Young Men's Hebrew Association.

19. Baseball Triple Crown component: RBIS. Runs Batted In. Also Home Runs and batting average, three statistics required for batters. Pitchers must lead in wins, strikeouts and Earned Run Average (ERA).

20. Winter sailcraft: ICE BOATS.

21. Locks up: JAILS.

22. Sgts.' superiors: LTS. Sergeants, lieutenants.

23. Galeón booty: ORO. Spanish gold. Galeón is Spanish for galleon.

24. Specialty, informally: THING. It's your/my thing to solve crossword puzzles.

30. Coach in the air?: CLASS. Coach class is the cheapest way to travel by plane, train, etc.

33. Tries to sink, perhaps: RAMS. Battleship collisions, also the part of the ship specifically designed to do such damage.

34. "Now I get it!": OHO.

35. Journalist Clare Boothe __: LUCE. Busy lady for an illegitimate child: Playwright, editor, journalist, ambassador, socialite and US Congresswoman.

36. Teases maliciously: BAITS.

38. MLB All-Star Game day: TUES. Baseball season approximate mid-point, played usually on the second Tuesday of July.

39. ___-de-France: ILE. The most populous region of France, contains most of metropolitan Paris.

40. War ender: PACT. Latin pactum, covenant, contract.

41. Serious borders?: ESSES. The letter "S" is first and last in the word SeriouS. Was anyone fooled?

46. America's Cup entry: YACHT.

47. Bank book no.: INT. Interest.

48. Asian title of respect: SRI. Sanskrit for "beauty", especially of divinities and kings.

51. Illegal pickoff moves, e.g.: BALKS. A few baseball terms in the puzzle... This is when a pitcher makes a move as if to throw, but instead interrupts his motion. If he can make a smooth throwing motion to the base instead, then it isn't a balk and a runner with too far of a lead-off can possibly be tagged out.

53. Out of the box: UNCRATED.

55. Russian city on the Oka: OREL. A geographical answer to confuse you along with the Ural Mountains and the Aral Sea.

58. First name in Old West fiction: ZANE. Grey. Roughly 90 books with 110 movies made from his work.

59. "Go away!": SHOO.

60. Like Serling stories: EERIE. Rod Serling, narrator of the Twilight Zone.

61. Be compliant: OBEY.

62. Get wise with: SASS.

63. U.S. Army decorations: DSCS. Distinguished Service Cross. One step below the Medal of Honor.

Down:

1. Gas brand with a red "o" in its logo: MOBIL.

2. Upright: ERECT.

3. Rep's work: SALES. I guess REP isn't considered an abbrev. in this context...

4. Schulz's Pig-Pen, e.g.: SLOB. Charles Schulz, Peanuts comic. Pig-Pen is the one constantly in a cloud of dust, even when it rains or snows.

5. Exact, to a Brit: SPOT ON.

6. Porridge morsels: PEAS.

7. Goof: ERR.

8. Ruminant's mouthful: CUD. To ruminate is to turn something over in your mind, or as a cow, chew cud.

9. Rostand's long-nosed lover: CYRANO. Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, who actually existed, however, the play's plotline involving Roxane and Christian is almost entirely fictional — the real Cyrano did not write the Baron's love letters for him

10. Equivocal: AMBIGUOUS.

11. Punxsutawney predictor: PHIL. Groundhog day.

12. Coquette's wink, say: PASS. The word pass has been associated with a fencing move definition, to lunge at, also to make an attempt or try, or to make a "play" for.

14. Eagles' attacks: SWOOPS.

18. Adriatic port: BARI. Italy. Only got it through perp fills...

21. Slim __: snack items: JIMS. So greasy. I suppose they help wash the beer down...

24. One of those things: THAT

25. Bottom lines?: HEMS. Was not thinking sewing here, wanted NETS for the profit sense.

26. Take habitually: USE. Addiction.

27. Like overused crossword clues: TRITE.

28. Biblical pronoun: THEE.

29. Ponderosa heavyweight: HOSS. Dan Blocker was a large man.

30. Adman's award: CLIO. Named for the Greek muse of history, Clio is known as The Proclaimer; the name is from a root word that means "recount" (narrate) or "make famous".

31. Beaut: LULU. Bret Favre, for example.

32. Welder's need: ACETYLENE.

36. British spa town: BATH. Aptly named.

37. Sieben follower: ACHT. Seven, eight in German.

38. Sound made with a head shake: TSK. Made along with the shake, as opposed to an actual noise generated by having loose screws or missing marbles.

40. U.S. Army E-3s: PFCS. Privates, First Class. Technically the abbreviation is contained internally either singular or plural with the first word, so it shouldn't really have an "S" at the end, but this rule is broken a lot in everyday use.

41. Early bird special item: ENTREE. Extended early restaurant hours where the price can be cheaper to generate additional business off-peak.

43. "Little Sure Shot": OAKLEY. Annie.

44. Mottled horses: PINTOS. Large patches of white plus any other color.

45. Move furtively: INCH. Little by little.

48. Oscar Night assembly: STARS.

49. Dig find: RELIC. Archaeology.

50. What a slacker does: IDLES. Slack as in lax, limp, unmoving.

51. Oaf: BOZO. Oaf is related to elf, and comes from a changeling; a foolish child left by the fairies. Some dictionaries still give the plural as oaves. Bozo perhaps from Sp. bozal, used in the slave trade and also to mean "one who speaks Spanish poorly."

52. Certain Semite: ARAB. Semite from Shem, one of the three sons of Noah.

53. Area 51 sightings: UFOS. I have it on pretty good authority that this is really much ado about nothing. I'd tell you how I know, but then I'd have to have you taken care of...

54. Reading by a night light, perhaps: ABED. I will be doing this soon, I hope. I think words like these were made up by poets to stretch out the number of syllables.

56. WWII spy org.: OSS. Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of the CIA.

57. Govt. loan insurer: FHA. Federal Housing Administration.

Answer Grid,

Al

Wednesday August 18, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: ALTERATIONS - The second word of each two word theme answer indicates someone or something that causes some sort of transformation, in plural form.

16A. Some den boxes : CABLE CONVERTERS. "Den box" gave me pause. This is the box that allows your old non-cable-ready TV to hook up to cable. CONVERTERS can also change their religions, or transform things.

22A. Hookups to many electronic devices : POWER ADAPTORS. They change the voltage from line current to whatever your device requires.

35A. Jacob Riis et al. : SOCIAL REFORMERS. They try to make things better. Riis' cause was the impoverished of New York City, 100 years ago.

44A. Currency pros : MONEY CHANGERS. They'll convert your Shekels to Denarii - for a price. But the pros have their cons, and might get chased out of an inappropriate venue by an activist SOCIAL REFORMER, who might even try to CONVERT them.

55A. Insurance investigators : CLAIMS ADJUSTERS. Per Wikipedia, they "investigate insurance claims by interviewing the claimant and witnesses, consulting police and hospital records, and inspecting property damage to determine the extent of the company’s liability." Otherwise, an adjustment is often a small scale fine-tuning, as to your radio dial or 6th cervical vertebra.

Hi gang, it's JazzBumpa, the Toledo Trombonist, blessed to have a Dan Naddor puzzle to share with you.

Today, Dan gave us three grid-spanning theme answers, plus two more at 13 letters each, making for an extremely dense and rich blend. Very seldom do we see a total of 71 theme squares on a weekday puzzle. With 36 blocks (4 cheaters/helpers), 74 words, and an averages length of 5.11, this is technically very close to a Thursday puzzle.

Difficulty seems about right for a Wednesday, though. I chunked through in 14:43. I had a feeling we were due for one of Dan's, but didn't recognize this as his style. The cluing seems a bit straightforward, not the normal Devious Dan Delights. But this is a superb puzzle: the theme is tight and coherent, and the long down fill is exquisite.

Across :

1. "The Facts of Life" actress Charlotte : RAE. By me. I never watched. I think she's the one in the middle.

4. Swiftly : APACE. Fast enough to walk abreast - so to keep pace.

9. Just __: minimal amount : A DAB. This was a slow fill for me. Could be A TAD, or A BIT, without the perps.

13. Dual-purpose room shape : ELL. Kitchen and dining room, perhaps. But for kitchen and bathroom, I'd say, "ELL no!"

14. Raptor's gripper : TALON. Frex, an eagle's claw, or this.

15. Academy freshman : PLEBE. Probably derived from PLEBIAN, the class of Roman common citizens of lower status than Patricians.

19. Mimi's "mine" : AMOI. Oh, my. Alliteration for a foreign word seems pretty standard, the French name clues the language.

20. Clown for the camera : MUG. Occasionally a kid will do this.

21. Pounce on : LEAP AT. Maybe you should look first.

25. Solar wind particle : ION.

26. "Alley __" : OOP. Ally OOP was a cartoon cave man. He gives me an eary feeling. Or it can be something quite uplifting.

27. Yale or Harvard : IVY. The Ivy League Schools, offering lots of tradition, and very expensive educations.

30. Form 1040 IDs : SSNS. Social Security Numbers. Somewhere out there is an identity thief who wants yours.

32. Hammer-wielding god : THOR. It seems to me I've blogged this god before. Then again, what the Valhalla do I know.

34. Gave the boot : AXED. In Valhalla, you get hammered.

38. Fruity pastry : TART. They can be interesting and quite appetizing. The first two pictures here give some hint as to the variety.

39. Community word : OURS

40. "Powerful you have become, the dark side I sense in you" speaker : YODA. From Star Wars the saga, a character sagacious he is; speak this way he does. More attention he should have in ESL class paid.

41. Go downhill fast? : SKI. Our cabin last week was on SKI View Drive at an elevation of 2900 feet, and the way up was SKI Mountain Road. I was concerned about going downhill fast, without SKIs.

42. Course taught bilingually: Abbr. : ESL. English as a second language. Part of the cosswordese nouveau.

43. Dorothy Gale's state: Abbr. : KAN. Dorothy from Kansas, the reference from the Wizard of Oz: "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." The mean elevation of Kansas is 2000 feet. Toledo is 615.

51. Card carrier : MEMBER. Some organizations have membership cards so you can prove you belong. I am a card carrying MEMBER of the flat-landers.

53. Sound from a wowed crowd : OOH. Or from the view on Ski View Drive. The parking lot of Ober Gatlinburg was 400 feet below us.

54. Do in : SLAY

58. Shrewd : CAGEY

59. Helmsley dubbed "Queen of Mean" : LEONA. She is the hotel owner who opined that, "taxes are for little people." Riis would have had a thing or two to say to her.

60. "__ lost!" : GET. My response to Leona.

61. Specks in la mer : ILES. Islands in French. Or in the stream, perhaps.

62. Op-ed piece, e.g. : ESSAY.

63. Timeline divs. : YRS. Years. Abbrv in cl & ans.

Down:

1. Postgame summary : RECAP.

2. Crockett's last stand : ALAMO. Not our Crockett. Davey from Tennessee. The Alamo was the site of a 13 day siege and final assault that left all but two of the defenders dead. You can learn more about it here.

3. Be rude in a crowd : ELBOW. I needed perp help for this one. A rude person can use his elbows as weapons or pry bars to get ahead of the little people.

4. Enjoyed a blue plate special : ATE. I enjoyed some ice cream with a couple granddaughters this evening.

5. Pellet gobbler of old games : PACMAN. You can play here.

6. For all to hear : ALOUD. Are we allowed to say ALOUD ALOUD?

7. Line dance : CONGA. Let Gloria show you how.

8. Ltr. holder : ENV. Envelope. Anoth. Abrv.

9. Rite site : ALTAR. A rite is an established, ceremonious, usually religious act or process. The altar is a designated place or structure for such religious activities. It also echoes "ALTER," a much too subtle hint at the theme.

10. Threw overboard : DEEP SIXED. Maybe one of our sailors can fill us in on this colorful phrase.

11. __ Kadabra: foe of the Flash : ABRA. No idea, but it was an easy guess.

12. Blue ribbon-worthy : BEST. First prize at the county fair is often a blue ribbon.

15. Before surgery, briefly : PRE-OP. People get so nervous here, they take drugs to calm down.

17. What to do after making your metaphorical bed : LIE IN IT. No sympathy here. Deal with the consequences of your actions. Nice combination, though.

18. Corrida combatant : EL TORO. The bull in the bullfighting ring. Alas, poor bull - you never win.

23. Parks in '50s news : ROSA. ROSA Parks refused to give her seat on the bus to a white man, and this caused a national ruckus. In my life time. Wow.

24. Vanishing sounds : POOFS. Does a disappearing magic dragon go POOF or PUFF?

28. Designer Wang : VERA. Here is her style.

29. Gridiron gains: Abbr. : YDS. Yards. There are 100 between the opposite goal lines.

30. Overcharge, slangily : SOAK. Another colorful phrase. Anybody know where it came from?

31. Practice grid game : SCRIMMAGE. The NFL pre-season practice games are shown on TV. Better as fill, IMHO.

32. With sincerity : TRULY

33. Part of H.R.H. : HER. HER ROYAL HIGHNESS - the Queen. We aren't supposed to have any here. Except for LEONA, I guess.

34. Surrounded by : AMONGST. AMONGST and AMIDST sound so archaic.

35. Oft-numbered rtes. : STS. Streets, I guess. But STS are usually named, not numbered.

36. They aren't champs : LOSERS. And their RECAPS aren't much fun, either.

37. "You've Got Mail" co-star : RYAN. Meg RYAN. I wanted to fit in a first name, and that just wasn't working. Looks like her plastic surgery was no great success, either.

42. Bad guy : ENEMY. But I'm his ENEMY, too. Does that make me a bad guy?

43. Islands VIP : KAHUNA. Again, from Wikipedia: Kahuna is a Hawaiian word, defined in the Pukui & Elbert (1986) as a "Priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession."

45. Big Apple awards : OBIES. Annual Off Broadway awards bestowed by The Village Voice, and another part of crosswordese nouveau.

46. Cryptographers' creations : CODES. Software developers, too.

47. Orange-roofed eateries, for short : HOJOS. Howard Johnson's. Here is one of Howard's finest moments.

48. Poem of lament : ELEGY. Now is when we need Clear Ayes.

49. Not as easy to come by : RARER. Dan's puzzles are getting RARER.

50. Handicappers' methods: Abbr. : SYSTS. Systems. This relates to wagering on sports, I'll bet.

51. 13th-century date : MCCI. Roman 1201. My memories of that year are quite vague.

52. Airline to Tel Aviv : EL AL. And a frequent flyer in crosswords.

56. Pub pint : ALE

57. "Come to think of it ..." : SAY. And I say this was a fine solving and blogging experience.

Answer grid.

Here is a picture of the much vaunted Varsity Chili Dogs Dennis drove hundreds of miles for last week. Strange to have mustard over chili over hot dogs, isn't it? Here's another look.

Cheers!

JzB

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Steve Salitan

Theme: Presidential Vocalists - The last names of the four singers, their famous song part of the clues, are also the names of US Presidents. Two-part unifier.

17A. "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" singer : BRYAN ADAMS. The song. The President or President. Our second President was John Adams and served from 1797 to 1801. Our sixth President was John Quincy Adams and served from 1825 to 1829.

29A. "How Glad I Am" Grammy winner, 1964 : NANCY WILSON. The song. The President. Our twenty-eighth President was Woodrow Wilson and served from 1913 to 1921.

45A. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" singer : BONNIE TYLER. The song. The President. Our tenth President was John Tyler and served from 1841 to 1845.

61A. 1971 Oscar winner for "Theme from 'Shaft'" : ISAAC HAYES. The song. The President. Our nineteenth President was Rutherford B. Hayes and served from 1877 to 1881.

12D. With 36-Down, patriotic song that's a hint to this puzzle's theme : "HAIL TO..." and 36D. See 12-Down : "...THE CHIEF". The song. Can't be placed symmetrically due to 6/8 letter combination. Also impossible to put HAIL TO THE CHIEF together in the middle as it has a total of 14 letters. The middle theme answer has to have an odd number of letters.

Argyle here.

Too bad the Presidents weren't in chronological order. I didn't find much about our constructor; the first time we have seen him. He did attend the 33rd Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. I hope he drops by and that we may see more of his work.

Across:

1. Jib supports : MASTS

6. Apparel : GARB

10. Waikiki's island : OAHU

14. Preminger and Klemperer : OTTOs. A film director and a music conductor.

15. Skinned knee, to a tot : OWIE

16. Pained sound : MOAN

19. Where the pupil is : IRIS

20. School cheer : YELL

21. Tofu source : SOY

22. Be a snitch : TATTLE

24. Shower wall growth : MILDEW

26. Fireplace fuel : LOG

27. Broke fast : ATE

28. TV network with an eye logo : CBS

32. Prefix with violet : ULTRA

34. Gladiators' venue : ARENA

35. Mexican money : PESO

36. Tuckered out : TIRED

38. Gym iterations : REPS

42. Dislike big-time : ABHOR

44. Fess up : ADMIT

50. Tissue layer : PLY

51. Beatle bride Yoko : ONO

52. Tuber also known as a New Zealand yam : OCA . To whom is it known as a New Zealand yam? Kazie?

53. Does spectacularly : EXCELS

55. From the beginning : AFRESH

57. 12/24 or 12/31 : EVE

58. Ice cream holder : CONE

60. In apple-pie order : TIDY

64. One of the HOMES lakes : ERIE . HOMES is a mnemonic device for remembering the Great Lakes.

65. Be deserving of : EARN

66. Techie's clients : USERs

67. In-basket stamp: Abbr. : REC'D.

68. Pool table cloth : FELT

69. "One of __ days, Alice...": Ralph Kramden : THESE

Down:

1. Melville's "__-Dick" : MOBY

2. Quaking : ATREMBLE

3. Hair salon staffers : STYLISTS

4. "... and __ a good-night" : TO ALL . I knew this one! Santa.

5. Fig. in an identity theft case : SSN

6. Decrease in value : GO DOWN

7. On vacation, say : AWAY

8. Backboard attachment : RIM . The basket in basketball.

9. Presented, as an honor, with "upon" : BESTOWED

10. Forget to include : OMIT

11. Main arteries : AORTAs

13. Not visible : UNSEEN

18. On the bounding main : ASEA

23. Opposed to, in dialect : AGIN

25. Evidence in paternity suits : DNA

26. Orpheus' instrument : LYRE

28. Sugar borrower's amount : CUP

30. Haul in one's arms : CARRY

31. Fat in the pantry : LARD

33. Horse coloring : ROAN

37. Greek "i" : IOTA

39. One on the payroll : EMPLOYEE

40. Pale lagers : PILSNERS . Beer.

41. Porker's pad : STY

43. Life stories, for short : BIOs

44. Rainbow shape : ARC

45. Yachtsman, e.g. : BOATER

46. In flames : ON FIRE

47. From Scandinavia : NORDIC

48. Pianist/actor Oscar : LEVANT . Oscar Levant's celebrity was based upon his reputation as a pianist. Here he plays the Chopin Etude in c# minor,op.10,no.4., recorded on August 26, 1946.

49. Corp. bigwig : EXEC.

54. Online shopping outlay : E-CASH .

56. Watched warily : EYED

57. __ of Sandwich : EARL

59. Latin "to be" : ESSE

62. MS. enclosure : SAE . Stamped Addressed Envelope.

63. Crude abode : HUT

Answer grid.

Here is a great photo of JD, Dick and Carol (in purple) seated in front of lily pond at Sunset Botanical Gardens. JD is based in California, Dick lives in Pennsylvania, and Carol has spent all her life in Oregon I think. They met via our blog and spent a few days vacationing together in Bandon, OR.

Argyle

Monday, August 16, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: Get Moving - The actions indicated by the first word of the four theme entries might describe the start of a person's day, in an orderly fashion.

17A. Be inactive, like a volcano : LIE DORMANT.

26A. Be in a favorable position : SIT PRETTY. John has a few photos demonstrating theme answers 26A and 55A, please scroll down to the end of my write-up.

42A. Don't give in : STAND FIRM.

55A. Proceed very cautiously : WALK ON EGGS.

Argyle again.

A bit of a stiff breeze for a Monday but diligence allows headway and safe passage into port.

Quite low black square (34) and word (74) count, which bring us plenty of non-theme long fill, including nine 7-letter and fourteen 6-letter entries.

Across:

1. Trig or algebra, e.g. : MATH. We also CIRCLE (21D. Geometry shape) and TRIANGLE (36. Pool rack shape).

5. Range dividing Europe and Asia : URALS. Geography 101

10. "Java" trumpeter Al : HIRT. I always picture the Muppet version.

14. Professor 'iggins : 'ENRY. From "My Fair Lady". Both Hs are dropped in Cockney accent.

15. Brown-toned old photo : SEPIA. So called because of a brown pigment used was obtained from the ink-like secretion of the cuttlefish.

16. Basie's "__'Clock Jump" : ONE O. Some more jazz.

19. Johnson Space Center org. : NASA. Originally known as the Manned Spacecraft Center, the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is located in Houston, Texas.

20. Showing profound knowledge : ERUDITE. From Latin ērudītus, from ērudīre to polish, from ex-(not) + rudis (unpolished, rough). Sort of a backhanded compliment.

21. Red bullring props : CAPES.

22. To the extent that : AS FAR AS.

24. Like many old movies : SILENT. Very old!

25. Highlands family : CLAN.

29. Tony of "Some Like It Hot" : CURTIS. Here with Jack Lemmon (Tony on left) from the 1959 film.

32. Brother's daughter : NIECE.

33. Pro __: for now : TEM.

34. TV surfer's selection : CHANNEL. Not a block in the middle of the grid, John?

36. __ chi: martial art : TAI. Tai chi chuan (literal translation "Supreme Ultimate Fist"). That is what Wikipedia said.

39. Bobby of the Black Panthers : SEALE. Founder, chairman and national organizer of the Black Panther Party.

40. Remains of a wreck : DEBRIS.

46. Dublin's land : EIRE.

47. Go berserk : LOSE IT.

48. Satisfy by offering concessions : APPEASE.

51. '50s "The Tonight Show" host Steve : ALLEN. Classic clip of Steve Allen cracking up at himself during a sportscaster sketch on live TV. Every time he looked at a monitor, he'd go off again.

52. From abroad : FOREIGN.

54. Make a sharp turn : VEER.

58. Crossword constructor's germ : IDEA. How did you get the IDEA for today's theme, John?

59. Spruce oneself up : PREEN.

60. St. __'s fire : ELMO. I've never seen it. Any of you sailors witnessed it?

61. Egyptian Christian : COPT. The word "Coptic" was originally used to refer to Egyptians in general, but it has undergone a semantic shift over the centuries to mean more specifically Egyptian Christian. Per Wikipedia.

62. Given to pouting : MOODY.

63. Splinter group : SECT.

Down:

1. Singer Tormé : MEL. The Velvet Fog.

2. Singer DiFranco : ANI. The Righteous Babe.

3. Supplier of firs : TREE FARM

4. Firefighter's water source : HYDRANT.

5. Vitamin intake std.: US RDA. std = standard. RDA Recommended Daily Allowance.

6. Neglectful : REMISS.

7. Give __ on the back : A PAT.

8. "Come here often?" is one : LINE. This could be clued as geography related too.

9. H.S. senior's exam: SAT

10. Puff the Magic Dragon's land : HONA LEE.

11. Acting peevishly : IN A PET. Being petulant.

12. Take offense at : RESENT.

13. Warm and cozy : TOASTY.

18. Lord's Prayer starter : OUR.

22. Bank statement no. : ACCT..

23. Revolve on an axis : SLUE.

24. Radar gun reading : SPEED.

27. Word before self or sanctum : INNER. An echo to the INNER SELF (ego) puzzle last week.

28. Oz Woodman's makeup : TIN. And no heart. From "The Wizards of Oz".

30. Stranded in winter, perhaps : ICED IN.

31. Mine passage : SHAFT.

35. Self-proclaimed "Greatest" boxer : ALI.

37. Runs on TV : AIRS.

38. "Understood" : "I SEE".

39. Show disdain for : SNEER AT.

41. "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack singers : BEE GEES.

42. Like Serbs and Croats : SLAVIC.

43. Holy Ohio city? : TOLEDO. There are many theories of where "Holy Toledo" came from.

44. Catching z's : ASLEEP.

45. Like cards in a crooked deck : MARKED.

49. Showy perennial : PEONY.

50. Wrestler's victory : PIN.

52. Casino card game : FARO.

53. Nondairy spread : OLEO.

55. Typing test fig. : WPM. Words Per Minute.

56. Maker of Terrain and Acadia SUVs : GMC. Terrain and Acadia The Acadia is bigger and much more expensive.

57. Boozehound : SOT.

Answer grid.

Constructor John Lampkin is also an avid Nature photographer. He writes:

"Last month I shared some of my butterfly pics as a tie-in to one of my theme entries, PAINTED LADY. Today, two entries, SIT PRETTY and WALK ON EGGS, reminded me of a photo journal I self-published six years ago. “Into a Nest of Tree Swallows” chronicles the hatching and development of a family of young birds from egg to fledgling. The book is a hand-crafted set of 16 pages of the best of the hundreds of images I created by photographing the inside of a nest at a local park over a three week period. Coincidentally, the shots were all taken with a Coolpix, the same camera C.C. received as a gift in June! Here are seven pics from the book, guaranteed to melt even the hardest of heart."

If you are interested in John's photographs, music or other artistic work, please visit his website.

Argyle

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Sunday August 15, 2010 Gia Christian

Theme: Knock 'Em Dead - Letter M at the beginning of one of the words in each of these familiar phrases is dropped. The vowel sound remains the same.

23A. What would trouble Trixie if the Kramdens moved away? : ABSENCE OF (M)ALICE. The base phrase is Absence of Malice. Alice Kramdens is from "The Honeymooners". Trixie is her best friend. M precedes short A.

51A. Parallel world? : (M)OTHER EARTH. Mother Earth. Short O.

69A. Badly burned British dish? : BANGERS AND (M)ASH. Bangers and Mash. Bangers = Sausages. Lois probably still could taste them. Short A. Triple B alliteration in the clue.

85A. Pint-drinking buddies' experience? : (M)ALE BONDING. Male Bonding. Long A.

117A. 19th-century queen's tough tests? : VICTORIAN (M)ORALS. Victorian Morals. Short O. Or is it "aw" sound?

14D. "Wiggly dessert stale, kemosabe" : JELLO (M)OLD. Jello Mold. The only theme entry without a question mark. Tonto is speaking ungrammatically, telling the Lone Ranger that jellos is old. Long O.

17D. Religious dissenters? : PRAYING (M)ANTIS. Praying Mantis. Dissenter = Anti. Short A.

61D. Type that regularly visits Willy Wonka's factory? : CHOCOLATE (M)ILK. Chocolate Milk. Type = Ilk. Short I.

83. Mischievous long-eared critter? : (M)ARCH HARE. March Hare. Mad as a march hare. Arch = Mischievous. I am only familiar with the "roguish/sly" meaning of arch. AR combination.

Fun puzzle from Rich Norris. Gia Christian is his alias name, an anagram of "Again, it's Rich".

No E or U is in play. I can think of (M)EAT BALL or (M)UTE POINT/BUTTON. Rich might have considered other ME* and MU* options and did not think the phrases are sparkly enough. Or sometimes the transformed phrases do not lend themselves to easy clues. Another reason for the discard.

Rich divided his upper and lower edges into three rather than standard Sunday four sections, so quite a few long words there. No helper/cheater square in this puppy either.

Very neat theme answer placement. Noticed how none of the theme entries (with four Downs) crosses each other? Artful! Rich evenly spread them in every part of the grid and gave solvers something theme-y to nibble everywhere.

On Sunday grids, we sometimes see all the theme answers placed in Across. More often two are placed in Down and intersected by some Across theme entries.

Total 13 Fill-in-the-Blank answers. Made the solving easier. Four entries with individual A as the start. A bit too much. Most of the other multi-words are quite interesting.

Across:

1. Citrus source : LIME TREE. Wish we had a lemon tree in our yard.

9. __-Turkish War : ITALO. 1911-1912. Fought between Ottoman Empire and Italy. Unknown to me.

14. Quartz variety : JASPER. Usually red. And usually our answer is ONYX.

20. Boss's okays, often : INITIALS

21. Twangy : NASAL

22. Duck à l'orange, e.g. : ENTREE. Have never had the dish.

25. "Gil Blas" novelist : LESAGE (Alain). I remember we had LESAGE as the answer before. And I tried to remember it as LE SAGE.

26. __-jongg : MAH

27. Half a dance : CHA. Cha Cha.

28. Daily opinion page, briefly : OP ED

29. Van Gogh works : OILS

31. Designer monogram : YSL

32. Whacked, biblically : SMOTE

34. Key of Brahms's Symphony No. 4 : E MINOR. Used Spitzboov's either MINOR or SHARP theory.

36. Notorious '80s-'90s crime boss : GOTTI. The Dapper Don.

38. Three-handed card game : SKAT. And WAR (84D. Simple card game). Card game echo.

39. Regret deeply : LAMENT

41. Maker of Nutri-Grain Waffles : EGGO. Crossing IGGY (30D. Pop of rock). Double Gs.

43. Cell messengers : RNAS. Thought of cell phone first.

46. Roman holiday : FESTA. Literally "holiday" in Italian. Nice play on the movie title "Roman Holiday". "Italian holiday" clue would not be so evocative.

48. "The Mod Squad" role : LINC

49. Record material : VINYL

50. Fairy tale baddie : OGRE

53. Onetime Burmese statesman : U NU. Burma's first prime minister. U = Mr. Same as the U in U Thant.

54. Go : DEPART. Al was probably thinking of the game GO.

56. Picnic spoiler : RAIN. Sorry ANTS. Next time.

57. Cars over the road : ELS. I need a train/rail reference.

58. Rocking Turner : TINA

59. Sonoma and Safari : GMCS

62. Mauna __ : LOA

64. Computer acronym : ASCII

66. Customer file ID : ACCT NO

68. Fed. medical org. : NIH (National Institutes of Health)

72. Red-and-white supermarket logo : IGA (Independent Grocers Alliance). Can never remember the name.

73. Bottom line, ideally : PROFIT

75. When gluttons eat : OFTEN. "When" made me think of a specific time. Then I parsed the answer as OF TEN.

76. Tick off : IRK

77. Rehab admission : USER. Or abuser.

78. Hail __ : A CAB. I wanted MARY.

79. Get to work again : FIX. Hey, no RE in the answer. Nice!

80. "Take __ from me": A TIP

82. Nova __ : SCOTIA

84. Bentley of "American Beauty" : WES. Saw the movie. Don't remember him.

91. Jazz immortal : ELLA. Sure immortal in Xword. And SET (45D. Jazz group?). Jazz echo. The latter refers to Utah Jazz, correct?

92. Do a double take, say : REACT

94. Wool: Pref. : LANI. Who knows?

95. Addition symbol : CARET. Like ^ . Editing addition.

96. Fanaticism : ZEAL

97. Golfer's option : CART. Many of the senior PGA guys take cart.

98. From the heart? : AORTAL. Superb clue.

100. "Soap" family name : TATE. I peeked at the answer sheet. The names are killing me.

101. PC troubleshooters : TECHS

103. Courses at bars : SALADS. Very rewarding to make salad out of our own garden now.

105. Idyllic spots : EDENS

107. Own, to a Glaswegian : HAE. Have.

109. "Excuse me ..." : AHEM

111. Store of ore : LODE. Nice rhyme.

112. Cheerleader's word : RAH

113. Space : GAP

115. Richards of "Jurassic Park" : ARIANA. First encounter with this actress.

121. Not as chilly : MILDER

122. Prosecutor's burden : PROOF

123. Perturbs : AGITATES

124. Bully's dare : MAKE ME. I hope the bully in our school is in jail now. Very bad guy.

125. Personnel : STAFF

126. Ship's cargo list : MANIFEST. Good word.

Down:

1. Neeson of "The A-Team" : LIAM. Liked his Oskar.

2. To-do pile site : IN BASKET. I only have IN TRAY.

3. Hodgepodge : MISHMASH

4. Automne preceder : ETE. Automne = Autumn. French.

5. Touch of color : TINCT

6. "The Sea Around Us" author Carson : RACHEL. Nope. Complete stranger. Marine biologist and nature writer. Must be very famous to be on the stamps.

7. Zeno's home : ELEA. Zeno of Elea.

8. That, in Tijuana : ESO

9. If nothing else works : IN A PINCH. Awesome fill.

10. Scout's discovery : TALENT

11. "... say, and not __" : AS I DO

12. Europe's __ de Genève : LAC. Lake. LPGA's annual Evian Masters is played around that area.

13. Dairy case item : OLEO

15. "__ of robins ..." : A NEST. No idea. "... A nest of robins in her hair...___ of robins ...". From Kilmer's poem "Trees".

16. OK and others : STS (States). OK = Oklahoma.

18. Bean measures? : EEGS. Bean = Head.

19. Virginia __ : REEL

24. Instigate : FOMENT

33. Aquatic frolickers : OTTERS

34. Middle East VIP : EMIR

35. Restrains : REINS IN

37. Torrid Zone boundary : TROPIC. I only know tropical zone.

38. Bay Area hub: Abbr. : SFO

40. Friends-and-family support group : AL-ANON. Used to stump me.

42. Safari sighting : GNU. Alliteration.

44. Adapt musically : ARRANGE

45. Jazz group? : SET

47. Notre Dame's Parseghian : ARA

49. Spock, partly : VULCAN. "Live long and prosper".

52. Israeli port city : EILAT. Always wanted HAIFA.

55. Inscribe : ETCH

57. Southend-on-Sea's county : ESSEX. Not familiar with Southend-on-Sea. A seaside resort in Essex.

59. Econ. measure : GNP (Gross National Product)

60. Word with drug or mile : MIRACLE. Didn't jump out to me immediately.

63. Previously : AGO

64. Museum exhibitor : ARTIST

65. Uganda's Amin : IDI

66. Invite as one's date for : ASK TO

67. Wake maker : OAR. The wave behind boat "wake".

69. Netanyahu of Israel, familiarly : BIBI. Used to have a crush on him.

70. Results : EFFECTS

71. Lawrence's land : ARABIA. "Lawrence of Arabia".

74. Femme __ : FATALE

77. Keep current : UPDATE. Nice alliteration too.

81. Business mag : INC. OK, has anyone actually read the INC magazine?

82. Speaks in slang? : SEZ

85. What you might take if you're tired? : A LOAD OFF. Another gorgeous answer.

86. Food storage area : LARDER

87. Sinus specialists, briefly : ENTS. ENT = Ear, Nose, and Throat

88. Reagan-era scandal : IRAN GATE

89. Proprietor's calculation : NET SALES

90. Onetime AT&T rival : GTE

93. Relax : EASE

98. Many : A LOT OF

99. Get closer, as to hear better : LEAN IN. Not a phrase I use.

102. Cave __: beware of the dog : CANEM. This cave and the caveat in "Caveat Emptor" is the same root I presume?

104. Foil maker : ALCOA

106. Hindu loincloth : DHOTI. Like this, Vidwan? We also have RAGA (112. Hindu music style).

107. "Go for the Goal" autobiographer : HAMM (Mia). Easy guess.

108. Operatic highlight : ARIA

110. MLB honorees : MVPS. My avatar was MVP once. Still on DL due to concussion.

114. It ain't quite "Hey!" : PSST

116. Drink stand buy : ADE. Meh!

118. NYC subway : IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit)

119. "__ Sam": "Green Eggs and Ham" opening : I AM

120. U.K. defense arm : RAF (Royal Air Force)

Answer grid.

Here are a few beautiful scenic pictures from JD's recent Oregon gathering with Dick, Carol and their spouses. What is that stuff in Picture #1?

C.C.

Saturday August 14, 2010 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total word: 72 / Total block: 30

Average word length: 5.42

This puzzle is framed by triple stacks of horizontal 11s in the top and bottom sections:

4A. Versatile crafts item : PIPE CLEANER. Only know the cleaning pipe cleaner. Not aware of the craft type.

16A. Decisive stroke : COUP DE GRACE. Literally "stroke of mercy".

18A. Eagle, notably : LUNAR MODULE. Was thinking of the band Eagles. This might be Barry's seed entry.

50A. "Mr. Television" : MILTON BERLE. Always nice to see a full name.

55A. Error result, often : UNEARNED RUN. Did you think of baseball immediately?

57A. Region of the North 30-Across : SARGASSO SEA. And ATLANTIC (30. It covers about 20% of the Earth's surface). These two do not consist a mini-theme as they are not symmetrically placed. Just a simple cross-reference.

Barry seems to be fond of clue cross-references now, esp in his themeless puzzles. Also, no more expected pangram. I think he's focused more on clean & smooth fill rather than scrabbliness. He also debuted quite a few new entries in this grid.

Total eleven 7-letter answers, all of them are in Downs, mostly placed in each corner paralleling one another.

Across:

1. Year in Pope Innocent III's reign : MCC. 1200. His reign: 1198-1216. Who knows? Why is he called "Innocent"?

15. "Memories __ Made Of This": 1956 chart-topper : ARE. Easy guess.

17. Sweetie : HON

19. Fills in for : ACTS AS

21. Much cybercommunication, briefly : IMS

22. One of the fam : SIB

23. Beat : THROB. Only one vowel.

24. Bean named for the Italian word for "bean" : FAVA. Good to know.

26. Default consequence, for short : REPO. Oh, auto payment default.

27. "Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies" author : MEAD (Margaret). Her name escaped me.

28. See 51-Down : SALE. And TAG ( 51D. With 28-Across, bargain hunters' mecca). Tag sale.

29. "Find out" : GO ASK

32. 1970s New York mayor : BEAME (Abe). From 1974-1977. He's in my memory shelf now.

33. Dessert shaper : JELLO MOLD. Did not come to me easily. I don't eat jello.

35. Have an outstanding loan from : OWE TO

37. Lengthen : PROTRACT. I like this entry too.

41. Damage indications : SCARS. What damage?

42. They aren't behind you : FOES. Tricky clue.

43. Under the decks : ALOW. As opposed to "aloft". Stumped me last time.

44. "Listen!" : HARK

45. Swell and dandy : FOPS. Swell and dandy here are nouns rather than adjectives.

46. Not a good thing to make in a restaurant : SCENE. Great clue.

47. Wall St. hedger : ARB (Arbitrager)

48. Salyut successor : MIR. Russian for "peace". De-orb-ed in 2001.

49. Vehement : FIERCE

54. Toon, familiarly, who debuted in "Devil May Hare" (1954) : TAZ. No idea. The Tasmanian Devil.

56. Threshold : EVE

58. German article : DER. German "the".

Down:

1. Sanskrit for "great soul" : MAHATMA. Tagore gave Gandhi this title.

2. Work with hooks : CROCHET. Literally "small hook".

3. Main : CENTRAL. Wouldn't be nice to see this entry in the very center of the grid?

4. Techie training site : PC LAB

5. Markers : IOUS. Don't know this slang meaning of "marker".

6. "I'd like to study philosophy, but I just Kant," e.g. : PUN. Buckeye's style of pun.

7. AQI calculator : EPA. Barry used AQI (Air Quality Index) in his grid before. Twice I think.

8. Windows disk designation : C DRIVE. My recovery is D Drive. I don't really understand why.

9. Auxiliary proposition : LEMMA. Need your help. I don't grok the clue and the answer means nothing to me

10. Strong ones may clash : EGOS. An echo from our hidden EGO on Thursday.

11. Dull ending? : ARD. Ending to the word dullard. Also drunkard. No other way to clue ARD.

12. Ad follower : NAUSEAM. Ad nauseam.

13. Surpass : ECLIPSE

14. Adidas subsidiary : REEBOK

20. Counterworker? : SODA JERK. Why question mark?

24. Tank : FAIL

25. Portmanteau drink : ALCOPOP. Portmanteau of alco(hol) and pop. Barry used this entry in his March 6, 2010 puzzle.

26. It might be a drag : ROAD RACE. Windhover would have nailed this one.

28. Battleground of 1944 : ST. LO. Or CAEN. They are close.

29. Moolah : GELT. Hanukkah moolah.

31. Prudential Center team : NETS. NBA.

32. Ballpark chorus : BOOS

34. G.I. fare : MRES

35. Tin whistle relative : OCARINA. Literally "little goose" in Italian. Oca = Goose.

36. Canary, at times : WARBLER

38. Tipped off : ALERTED

39. Like band shells : CONCAVE. Had to google "band shells" image to see what they are.

40. Grooming tool : TWEEZER. Love my teezer.

41. Detective, in slang : SHAMUS. New slang to me.

42. Business issue since 1917 : FORBES. Wow, such a long history.

45. Espoo natives : FINNS. Espoo is Finland's second largest city. At the bottom. Quite close to Helsinki.

46. City S of Florence : SIENA. In Tuscany.

48. New Mexico county or its seat : MORA. Too obscure for my taste. Three geography clues in a row!

49. Drawing device : FLUE. I sure was not thinking of chimney, Santa!

52. Shogun's capital : EDO. Shogun is derived from Chinese "Jiangyun" (general).

53. Where to see some sleepers: Abbr. : RRS. Railroad "sleepers".

Answer grid.

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C.C.