Saturday August 28, 2010 Joe DiPietro

Theme: None

Total words: 68. Total blocks: 27

Average Word length: 5.82. Missing: J, Q, X & Z.

Rather low in terms of total words and blocks account.

The puzzle is framed by triple stacks of horizontal 11s at the upper right and bottom left, intersecting another vertical 11 and triple columns of 7s on each end. Another triple columns of vertical 7s in the upper left and lower right completes the basic skeleton of the grid. The eight 11s are:

4A. Workout apparatus : STAIRMASTER. The only one word 11.

16A. Old fortune-telling site : PENNY ARCADE. Have never heard of this term. Is it in a mall?

18A. Carried out by : ON THE PART OF. Can you give me an example of how the clue & answer equates?

58A. Sought some shelter? : OPENED AN IRA. Tax shelter, I suppose.

62A. Balance in the end : COME OUT EVEN. Nice entry.

64A. Had an in : KNEW SOMEONE. Didn't come to me readily.

5D. Garments lacking waistlines : TENT DRESSES. Gisele is wearing one here. She's gorgeous no matter what she dons.

25D. "El Cid" co-star : SOPHIA LOREN. Nice to have her full name. I've never watched "El Cid" though.

Very difficult solving for me. Lots of unfamiliar references. This is our first encounter with Joe DiPietro, who has constructed over 100 puzzles for NY Times, mainly hard late week themeless grids.

Across:

1. Cable initials : TMC. I figured it would start T??. TBS, TNT.

15. Joey in Milne stories : ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh". Joey is young kangaroo.

17. The Cyclones of the Big 12 Conf. : ISU (Iowa State University). In Ames.

19. Mystery author whose work has been translated into more than 100 languages : CHRISTIE (Agatha)

21. "I can do that" : LET ME

22. Made one's view known : OPINED

23. 1940s-'70s bandleader Edmundo : ROS. Alien to me. He's still alive. 99 years old now.

26. Tahari of fashion : ELIE. Nope. Have never heard of the guy or his brand.

27. Heading to overtime : TIED

28. Exude : REEK OF

31. LAX posting : ETD

32. Scattered : STREWED

34. Union members? : SPOUSES. The ? hints it's not about labor union. Awesome clue.

36. Carefree state : EASE

37. Chain with links : IHOP. Nice clue too.

38. Multiple-ride ticket : BUS PASS

41. Terry of Monty Python : GILLIAM. Was he in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"? I just could not understand the humor. Stopped watching after 2 minutes of nonsense.

45. Adder's kin : ASP

46. Aircraft company since 1927 : CESSNA. Named after its founder Clyde Cessna.

48. When Eliza sings "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?" : ACT I. Filled in ACT immediately.

49. Tough test : BEAR

51. Called with chips : SAW. Poker reference often confounds me. See and raise.

52. Liquor store buys : LITERS

54. Doctor, ideally : CURER. Why "ideally"?

56. Expiate : ATONE FOR

61. Dramatic way to go? : APE. Go ape.

63. Mauna __ : LOA

65. You'll trip if you drop it : LSD. This damned drug often tripped me, no matter how it's clued.

Down:

1. Warp-knit fabrics : TRICOTS. New word to me. It's pronounced like "TREE-koh". T is silent.

2. Slam-dancing area : MOSH PIT. Stymied me last time.

3. Express service employee : COURIER

4. "Imagine, Zeke ..." : S'POSE. Dennis told me he did not like this clue. Zeke is a nickname for hayseed, correct?

6. Nonpro? : ANTI. I'd prefer "Non pro?".

7. What a hider shouldn't say to a seeker : IN HERE

8. Bar order : RYE. Whiskey I suppose.

9. It may include highs and lows : MAP. What do "highs" and "lows" here refer to?

10. Uzbekistan border sea : ARAL

11. Rocky debris : SCREE. Like this.

12. Snitches : TATTLES

13. Early inhabitant along the Dead Sea : EDOMITE. Descendant of Esau's land Esau. Got me.

14. Carb-up days, to low-carb dieters : REFEEDS. Well, maybe Al can explain to us what the heck is going on here. Makes no sense to me, both the clue and the answer.

20. Committed and then some : IN DEEP

24. Circular signal : OK SIGN

29. Greek regional capital : EDESSA. No idea. Modern name is Urfa. Early center of Christianity in Mesopotamia, says Dictionary.

30. Trick : FOOL

33. WWII enlistee : WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps). I can never remember this initialism.

35. Burning the midnight oil : UP LATE

38. Detroit Red Wings coach Mike : BABCOCK. Here he is. Out of my knowledge zone.

39. Consume with regard to : USE UPON

40. "Puh-leeze!" : SPARE ME. Nice one.

42. Irregular glacial mass : ICEFALL. Spitzboov seems to know a lot about this stuff, and geology.

43. One of the Fates : ATROPOS. The Fate who cuts the thread of life. I simply forgot.

44. See Tears for Fears? : MISREAD. Does Capital T look capital F to you?

47. Gershwin's first hit : SWANEE. George Gershwin. Here is clip. Unknown to me.

50. Agree to more issues : RENEW. More issues of the magazine.

53. Harebrained : INANE

55. Old Royale 8's, e.g. : REOS

57. Save for later, in a way : TIVO. Drew a blank.

59. Comedy team, usually : DUO

60. Pharmacy convenience, often : ATM.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday August 27, 2010 Mike Peluso

Theme: Odd Ending (oddity)- ITY is added to the end of the second word (a noun) of a two-word common noun phrase. The resulted nouns all have different roots than the originals.

20A. Oil company's penchant for employee transfers? : EXXON MOBILITY. The base phrase is Exxon Mobil.

29A. Measure of neighborhood drug traffic? : OPIUM DENSITY. Opium Dens, the places where opium was sold.

46A. Egotism that brings you to tears? : MOVING VANITY. Moving Van.

56A. Pigmentation variations? : SKIN DIVERSITY. Skin Divers. Skin diving is defined as "the sport of swimming under water with flippers and a face mask and usually with a snorkel rather than a portable air supply". Not a familiar term to me.

Though the changing pattern for 29A and 56A is the same, adding ITY to a S ending phrase, the original words are profoundly different.

It's a carefully selected & rather exhaustive theme set. Not easy to attach ITY to any noun phrase and come up with a sensible new phrase ending with a different root word. Constructors give lots of considerations to their themes.

I thought of author (Anonymous Author) & authority. But the two derived from the same word, not to mention ANONYMOUS AUTHORITY has 18 letters. Equal & equality do not work either. John Major (former British PM) might though, since Major is a proper name here. Major & Majority. But then how do you clue JOHN MAJORITY?

Tough puzzle. Tough cluing.

Across:

1. W.E.B. Du Bois was among its founders : NAACP. Stumped immediately. Did not know who this Du Bois guy was. He's the first African-American graduate of Harvard.

6. Coot's cousin : RAIL. Oh, man, I did not know coot is a bird. Always associate it with old & crotchety person. We also have ERNE (15A. Coastal predator).

10. Barcelona-born muralist : SERT. Josep Maria Sert. Rockefeller Center muralist. Quite a few art references in this grid.

14. Of an arm bone : ULNAR

16. Hawaii neighbor : MAUI. Could be a clue error. Mike probably wanted "Lanai neighbor" or "Hawaii island". (Correction: The clue is correct.)

17. "The Wreck of the Mary __" : DEARE. Mike used the same clue in his last puzzle.

18. Benefit : SAKE

19. Far Hills, N.J.-based sports org. : USGA (United States Golf Association). Who knows? You'd think USGA is based somewhere in Florida. PGA is there, right, Lemonade?

23. Pennzoil letters : SAE. No idea. Society of Automotive Engineers.

24. Carrier with a hub at LAX : UAL

25. Con opening : NEO. Opening for the word neocon, the likes of Bill Kristol (Weekly Standard). Windhover can give you 10-page essay on them.

26. Arena cheer : RAH

32. Part of CPA: Abbr. : ACCT

35. Where Charlie was trapped, in a Kingston Trio hit : MTA. Learned from doing Xword.

36. Doomed city : SODOM. The sin city.

37. Red : RARE. Was not thinking of steak. Dennis would love a "Pink" clue.

38. Peruvian address : SENOR. Not a real place address.

41. "Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story" star Sherilyn : FENN. Total stranger. Alluring look, yes?

42. Puccini offering : OPERA. And CARO (4D. Puccini's "O mio babbino __"). Literally "dear" in Italian. "O mio babbino caro" = "oh, my dear papa". I was stymied.

44. "__ Woman": 1975 hit : I'M A

45. Muy, across the Pyrenees : TRES. Was ignorant that "muy" means "very" in Spanish.

50. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN A. Or any vowel.

51. Half a cocktail : TAI. Mai tai.

52. "Kinda" suffix : ISH

53. Half-witted : DIM

60. Pedestal : BASE. The supporting base for statue/column, etc.

62. Like Erté's art : DECO

63. Any Frankie Avalon song : OLDIE

64. Follow : OBEY

65. Gardener, at times : HOER. Boring.

66. Like many a motel air conditioner : NOISY. So true.

67. Crown's girl, in a 1935 opera : BESS. I've never seen "Porgy and Bess". What's the crown reference?

68. "Gotcha" : I SEE

69. One who's generally bottled up? : GENIE. Genie in a bottle.

Down:

1. Sculptors' subjects : NUDES

2. Billy Joel's daughter : ALEXA. She tried to kill herself with sleeping pill last year. Big headline.

3. Has __ to grind : AN AXE

5. Asset protection plan, briefly : PRENUP (Prenuptial). Drew a blank.

6. Determined : RESOLUTE. Nice entry, crossing 2 theme answers.

7. __-Israeli War : ARAB

8. Equitable way to pay : IN KIND. Confused me last time.

9. Sobieski of "Joy Ride" (2001) : LEELEE. No idea. She looks like Jewel, doesn't she?

10. Blue books? : SMUT. Blue = Off-color/Risque.

11. 1969 road movie : EASY RIDER. Bet Gunghy and Windhover loved this movie.

12. Toupee : RUG

13. Madre's hermana : TIA. Hermana = Sister.

21. Injures badly : MAIMS

22. They're not free of charge : IONS. They are charged. Awesome clue.

27. Make restitution : ATONE

28. Service songs : HYMNS. Church service.

29. '90s "SNL" regular Cheri : OTERI

30. Frenzy : MANIA

31. Hardly the drill sergeant type : SOFTY. Never know what the words those drill sergeant are muttering.

32. Coffee asset : AROMA

33. Fowl on a menu : CAPON. Castrated chicken.

34. Climbers' obstacles : CREVASSES. New word to me. Same as "crevice".

39. Man, e.g. : OMNIVORE. Too tricky a clue for me.

40. See, and then some : RAISE. Poker.

43. Fighting : ANTI. Wanted AT IT.

47. Kingsley role : GANDHI. Great movie.

48. Family gathering staples : VIDEOS

49. Crowd : THRONG

53. Slew : DID IN

54. Formal doorstep response : "IT IS I". Keep waiting then!

55. "Yeah, right!!" : MY EYE. "Baloney!"

57. F and G, but not H : KEYS. Would make me happy if Jayce was fooled!

58. Slurpee alternative : ICEE

59. __ gin : SLOE

60. Sportscaster Costas : BOB. I like him.

61. Harlem Globetrotters founder Saperstein : ABE. Uh uh. Nope. He died in 1966. The two founder clues today killed me.

Answer grid.

Our Crossword Corner blog team photo series ends today with two recent pictures of the beautiful Melissa Bee from her Girls Weekend Out (Santa Cruz) trip. Here is Kaya and Melissa (in pink scarf). Here are the girls on the wharf. For more delicious pictures, click here.

C.C.

Thursday August 26, 2010 Don Gagliardo

Theme: "Hit the..." Idioms - Spelled out in the clues for 22D HIT and 42D THE which reference each other: Words that can precede the answers to starred clues. Please see the note from constructor Don Gagliardo at the end of my write-up for his theme inspiration.

1A. *Bag: SACK. Hit the sack: Go to bed.

5A. *Pump output: GAS. Hit the gas: Step on it.

8A. *Follow: TRAIL. Hit the trail: Take a hike.

16A. *Road surface: PAVEMENT. Hit the pavement: Get moving.

18A. *Holdup causes?: BRAKES. Hit the brakes: Cut it out.

28A. *Rain protection: ROOF. Hit the roof: To the moon, Alice!

44A. *Grilling site: DECK. Hit the deck: Duck!

59A. *Cola holder: BOTTLE. Hit the bottle: Get drunk.

60A. *Range target: BULL'S -EYE. Hit the bull's-eye: Right on.

64A. *Warehouse aids: SKIDS. Hit the skids: Bottom out.

65A. *Guinea pig food: HAY. Hit the hay: Get some sleep.

66A. *Location: SPOT. Hit the spot: I'm stuffed.

22D. With 42-Down, words that can precede the answers to the starred clues: HIT

42D. See 22-Down: THE. Unusual unifier placement, with a black square placed in between.

Al here today.

Wow, 14 theme entries (total 66 theme squares) in a weekday puzzle, including the two tip off down clues. Pretty impressive effort to squeeze that many in symmetrically. None of the theme answers is longer than 8-letter due to the unique theme.

There are probably a few more answers that might work: books, bricks, road, lights, floor, wall...how many more can you come up with? I found solving this one pretty easy, more like a Tuesday perhaps. I didn't officially time myself, but I know it was well under 10 minutes, and I didn't even see several of the clues until I added them here.

Across:

13. Longtime portrait studio __ Mills: OLAN. I wonder if they use 36A. Like many cameras: DIGITAL.

14. Strasbourg street: RUE. French city, french word for street.

15. For this reason: HENCE. Sounds like a word you would hear in ye olde shoppe.

19. More than frown on: SNEER AT. Billy Idol.

20. Morrie Turner comic strip about ethnically diverse kids: WEE PALS.

21. D-Day carrier: LST. Landing Ship, Tank.

22. "__ Tonic": 1945 Bugs Bunny title: HARE. I see the pun you made there...

23. Green source, briefly: ATM. Green = money from an automated teller machine. And 2D. Greenspan concerned with green: ALAN. once again, green = money. The chairman of the Federal Reserve until 2006.

26. Give as a task: ASSIGN. From Latin ad signare/signum (to make a mark or a sign).

32. Southern stretch?: DRAWL. To draw out (lengthen) or protract.

34. Yours, in Tours: ATOI. French city, french word.

35. On Vine St., say: IN LA. Los Angeles. Hollywood and Vine is the center of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

38. Retailer offering video streaming: NETFLIX. I have an internet-ready blue-ray player. I may use it for downloading movies some day if I ever catch up on the backlog on my DVR...

40. Legendary work, often: EPIC.

41. Miller __: LITE. Or Park, or Time.

43. Emit, as a sigh: HEAVE. That's a heavy sigh.

45. Musical satirist Tom: LEHRER. You don't hear much about National Brotherhood Week any more.

47. "Indubitably!": YES. Yogi Bear said this all the time. Comic books and cartoons were a big source of vocabulary when I was young.

48. D-Day month: JUNE.

49. Pep: VIM.

51. To some degree: OF A SORT.

55. Bridge supports: PILINGS.

61. __ ease: ILL AT.

62. Braves, on scoreboards: ATL. Atlanta

63. 1998 skating gold medalist Lipinski: TARA. Won at the age of 15, remains the youngest ever to win gold.

Down:

1. Cleans (up) using Bounty: SOPS. The quicker picker-upper.

3. Batman's hideout: CAVE.

4. Get down to earth?: KNEEL. Literally.

5. Immortals: GREATS.

6. Patty or Selma, to Lisa Simpson: AUNT.

7. Combo's group of numbers: SET. Musical numbers. And 8D. Number in a combo, maybe: THREE.

9. Collect: REAP. As in harvest.

10. "My Way" lyricist: ANKA. Paul.

11. Eyjafjallajökull's country: Abbr.: ICEL. Iceland, with the unpronounceable volcano name.

12. More, some say: LESS. Less is more. Minimalism.

17. Shaker on the kids' show "Blue's Clues": MR SALT. A talking salt shaker, married to Mrs Pepper, with a child named Paprika.

18. Convicted Ponzi schemer Madoff: BERNIE.

20. Western driver: WAGONER.

23. Said further: ADDED.

24. Rubbish: TRIPE. Tripe is "entrails used as food". Considered worthless to some, the meaning spread to anything deemed unworthy of having, and even what others may have said.

25. Orlando cagers: MAGIC. Basketball.

27. Conspicuous: SALIENT. Something that jumps out at you. "Leaping," a heraldic term, from Latin salientem/salire "to leap".

28. All over: RIFE. Old English for "abundant".

29. Dental restoration: ONLAY. Both inlays and onlays are fillings, but an onlay replaces part of a cusp. A crown covers the entire surfaces.

30. Martini garnish: OLIVE. Or onion.

31. Many business letters: FAXES.

33. Oil lamp feature: WICK. Keep your lamp trimmed and burning.

37. Siren quality: ALLURE. Oh Brother Where Art Thou.

39. It might be cheap: THRILL. Old English þyrlian, from þyrel "hole", originally meant to pierce, penetrate. To give a shivering, exciting feeling was a metaphoric notion of being pierced with emotion.

46. How villains laugh: EVILLY.

48. Throws for a loop: JOLTS.

50. Waters gently: MISTS.

51. Asian sashes: OBIS.

52. Acoustic guitar genre: FOLK.

53. Hun king, in Scandinavian legend: ATLI. Attila. He appears under the name Etzel in the Nibelungenlied and under the name Atli in Icelandic sagas.

54. Dutch town: STAD. German stadt. The name for a place or a standing. Related words: steadfast, and once again our crosswordese friend STET (let it stand).

55. "__ lid on it!": PUT A.

56. Minimum-range tide: NEAP. A tide that occurs when the difference between high and low tide is least; the lowest level of high tide.

57. Lamb sandwich: GYRO. Modern Greek "gyros" (the word is singular) for a circle, the way the meat is cut from a rotating spit.

58. Usher's find: SEAT. From Latin ostiarius "door-keeper," from ostium "door, entrance," related to os "mouth." You can pick your friends, and your seat, but you can't pick your friend's seat.

60. Part of a legendary Christmas complaint: BAH. Humbug. Scrooge, from A Christmas Carol by Dickens.

Answer Grid.

Notes from Don:

"This is one of those puzzles where you are going along in conversation, you hear something that sounds interesting, and you go, “What was that that sounded so interesting?” You need to carry a notebook to catch these. I thought HIT THE ____ was an interesting idiom that should be explored. I was pleased to cram in as many theme words as I did, as usual giving myself fits trying to fill around them. One lucky insight that I had was to put HIT THE down the middle, divided by a black square. I don’t think that is something solvers see very often, and I thought it would be fun. I hope you all enjoyed it."

Al

Wednesday August 25, 2010 Michael J. Doran

Theme: VALLEY (49D. Geological depression, and what the first word of 20-, 37- and 56-Across is). Each theme answer begins with a four-letter synonym for VALLEY, that is also a proper name.

20A. Apple hater's purchase?: DELL COMPUTER

37A. 2004 Daytona 500 winner: DALE EARNHARDT JR. Nice grid-spanner right in the middle, 15 letters and only 5 vowels.

56A. "Wichita Lineman" singer: GLEN CAMPBELL.

melissa bee here.

Canyon & gorge are synonyms of VALLEY too. But they all contain more than 4-letters and it's impossible to find a phrase that start with those two words.

Quite a scrabbly puzzle, only one W away from a pangram. It also has 10 letter Us, more than our usual vowel allotment. Valley effect, maybe.

Across:

1. Urge : SPUR

5. It's not what it pretends to be : SHAM

9. Chef's topper : TOQUE

14. Vesuvius flow : LAVA. Holy hotwick lava bomb.

15. O'Hara home : TARA. Also this Tara.

16. Prevent : AVERT

17. Pins and needles holder : ETUI. Crosswordese.

18. Capital of Rhône department : LYON. French departments are administrative divisions. Rhône department is located in the central Eastern region of Rhône-Alpes, and named after the Rhône River.

19. Military lifesaver : MEDIC

23. Grind, as teeth : GNASH

24. Prefix with -naut : AERO. Seeing this prefix a lot lately.

25. Bygone French coin : ECU.

28. Aliens, for short : ET'S

29. Drive up the wall : IRK

31. Guerrero y Oaxaca : ESTADOS. Mexican states.

34. Run the show : EMCEE

36. City of NE Italy : UDINE. Pretty. Anyone been there?

42. Gaming pioneer : ATARI

43. Mends, as socks : DARNS

44. Divided differently, as city land : REZONED

47. 10 mi. on a clear day, e.g. : VIS

48. Eggs in labs : OVA

51. Principal tonality, as of a concerto : KEY

52. Ploy : RUSE

54. __ artery: forearm blood vessel : ULNAR

59. Bordeaux brother : FRERE. French for brother. Those French have a different word for everything! (Anyone remember who said that?)

62. Biblical physician : LUKE. And apostle.

63. Qualified : ABLE

64. Mystiques : AURAS

65. Life sentences? : OBIT. Great clue.

66. Nothing, in Normandy : RIEN. Again with the French.

67. Takes a look inside? : XRAYS

68. Homes, colloquially : PADS

69. Ocular malady : STYE

Down:

1. Heavy hammer : SLEDGE. Who doesn't remember this?

2. It may be pending : PATENT

3. Tonsil neighbors : UVULAS

4. Vagabonds might ride them : RAILS

5. Normandy town decimated in WWII : ST LO. Here.

6. Powerful punch : HAYMAKER. Hey/hay Windhover.

7. Soap-on-__ : A ROPE

8. Farm fertilizer : MANURE

9. Bring under control : TAME

10. No longer hung up on : OVER. So over it.

11. Logical abbr. : QED. From Wikipedia: An initialism of the Latin phrase quod erat demonstrandum, which means "that which was to be demonstrated".

12. Ocean State sch. : URI

13. Mail Boxes __ : ETC

21. Give one's two cents : CHIME IN

22. How-__: instruction books : TOS

25. Change text : EDIT

26. Because, e.g.: Abbr. : CONJ. Conjunction . ♪ ♫ ♩ ♬ Hookin' up words, and phrases and clauses ♪ ♫ ♩ ♬.

27. One at a keyboard, often : USER

30. JVC competitor : RCA

32. Uncovers, as evidence : TURNS UP

33. Inserts : ADDS

34. Dulles Airport terminal designer Saarinen : EERO

35. Stop : END

37. Nyctophobe's fear : DARK

38. Suit to __ : A TEE

39. Like a couch potato : LAZY. Or a teenager.

40. Give birth : HAVE A KID. Ouch.

41. Shapiro of NPR : ARI. White House correspondent.

45. Before, before : ERE

46. Longtime tire brand : DUNLOP

48. At all : ONE BIT

50. "What's My Line?" panelist Francis : ARLENE. No peeking.

53. Explore reefs, in a way : SCUBA

55. Construction pieces : L BARS. Hm. Well there's this, and then there's this. Different strokes.

56. Confederate color : GRAY. Confederate officer's uniform.

57. Take away : LESS

58. Beneficiaries of Bill Buckner's famous World Series error : METS. Here is the story. And here is the clip.

59. Phoned document : FAX

60. 1921 sci-fi play : RUR. Rossom's Universal Robots. Usually clued as 'Capek play.' In yesterday's puzzle also.

61. Nostalgic period : ERA

Answer grid.

melissa

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 Dave Mackey

Theme: "Play Ball!" - The ending words of the theme entries are activities used in baseball, softball, and cricket. Any others?

20A. Quilter's layer : COTTON BATTING. The layer of fabric that makes a quilt warm. Based on the notion of "beaten" fabric, it isn't woven from threads.

28A. Camper's activity : TENT PITCHING. A weak entry.

49A. Not out of contention : IN THE RUNNING

59A. "Tom Jones" author : HENRY FIELDING. (1707 - 1754) An English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess.

Argyle here.

Our constructor today has his own blogspot and did some NYT puzzles. Today's is a step up from yesterday's and, to me, not as smooth. No real problems.

Across:

1. Strikebreaker : SCAB

5. Start of a childhood learning song : ABCD

9. Music groups : BANDS

14. Movie director's unit : TAKE

15. Linguist Chomsky : NOAM. A professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

16. Each : EVERY

17. Song with a cadenza, perhaps : ARIA

18. Defunct Atlanta arena : OMNI. Completed in 1972, the arena was demolished in 1997.

19. Floored : WOWED

23. Comedian/actor Robert : KLEIN. This gentleman, is known for his wry wit and unique brand of humor.

24. Wagon wheel depression : RUT

25. Country with borders on three diff. oceans : USA. Did you forget the Arctic Ocean off Alaska's north shore?

33. Onetime Leno announcer Hall : EDD. A native of Boston, Hall grew up in Corning, NY, and attended Syracuse University. He now lives in Los Angeles.

36. Hockey score : GOAL

37. Capital west of Haiphong : HANOI. Haiphong is on the Vietnam coast.

38. Graceland middle name : ARON. Elvis Aron Presley.

40. Agile mountain animals : GOATS

43. Earth 42-Down : GEOL.. Earth Science = Geology.

44. Copy room powder : TONER

46. Ancient Andean : INCA. The best alliteration today.

48. Zoo swinger : APE

53. Mario Brothers letters : NES. Nintendo Entertainment System (abbreviated to NES or Nintendo). Mario Brothers is their biggest game.

54. Demand payment from : DUN. Word origin & history of dun. "to insist on payment of debt," 1620s, perhaps related to dunnen "to sound, resound, make a din," or shortened from dunkirk (c.1600) "privateer," a private vessel licensed to attack enemy ships during wartime, from Dunkirk , French port from which they sailed. Yet another, less likely, theory traces it to a Joe Dun , supposedly a London bailiff famous for catching defaulters.

55. Ancient Greek region : IONIA. On the Turkish coast. Map.

64. TV spot : PROMO

66. Shoppe adjective : OLDE

67. Actress/artist Sommer : ELKE. This German-born actress and now artist, lives in Los Angeles, CA and has no children.

68. Some woodwinds : OBOES

69. Pass unprofitably, as time : KILL

70. Tiger's 2004 bride : ELIN. Tiger's 2010 ex.

71. Petrol purchase : LITRE . British lingo.

72. French summers : ETEs. French lingo.

73. Huff and puff : PANT

Down:

1. Pile neatly : STACK

2. Holiday tune : CAROL. Hi, Carol.

3. "Go fly __!" : A KITE

4. "Amscray!" : "BEAT IT!" . Amscray is scram in pig Latin.

5. In a short time, old-style : ANON

6. Box office disaster : BOMB

7. Where Jesus turned water to wine : CANA. There are four villages in Galilee which are candidates for the biblical Cana.

8. Composer Shostakovich : DMITRI. He was a child prodigy as both a pianist and composer. Romance (from The Gadfly).

9. Cast a spell over : BEWITCH

10. Bell-ringing fragrance giant : AVON

11. World's second largest island : NEW GUINEA. Greenland is the largest island.

12. Rap's Dr. __ : DRE

13. Guitarist Barrett : SYD. He was a founding member of the band, Pink Floyd; he died in 2006.

21. 10 C-notes : ONE G. C-notes = $100 dollar bills, ten would make $1,000, one Grand.

22. Syllable of rebuke : TUT

26. Prying sort : SNOOP

27. Like a contortionist : AGILE

29. Eggy seasonal drink : NOG

30. Lao-tzu principle : TAO. The way.

31. Like the nose on your face? : PLAIN

32. Broom rider : HAG

33. Skip the bistro : EAT IN

34. Monotonous sound : DRONE

35. Plea made with one's hands up : "DON'T SHOOT!"

39. Bk.after Ezra : NEH. The Book of Nehemiah is sometimes called the Second Book of Ezra.

41. Former Opry network : TNN. The Nashville Network (TNN)

42. Chem. or phys. : SCI.

45. Rudolph tip-off : RED NOSE. A good guide on a foggy night.

47. Indigo dye source : ANIL. A leguminous West Indian shrub.

50. Capek play about automatons : R.U.R.. (Rossum's Universal Robots)

51. Break up a team? : UNYOKE. A team of horses or oxen. This week is fair week.

52. Smack a homer, in baseball lingo : GO DEEP. and 65. Squeeze bunt stat : RBI. Special bunt when there is a man on third.

56. Nabisco wafer brand : NILLA

57. Finish, as a comic strip : INK IN. Fill in the outlines.

58. Rep : AGENT

60. Part of EMT: Abbr. : EMER.. Emergency medical technicians. EMT

61. Move like a butterfly : FLIT

62. Not working : IDLE

63. Marine shockers : EELS

64. D.C. deal maker : POL

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, August 23, 2010 David W. Cromer

Theme: Body Parts, Coming Together - Two of the same part of the body, separated by "to".

18A. How rivals compete : HEAD TO HEAD

28A. How lovers dance : CHEEK TO CHEEK

49A. How close friends talk : HEART TO HEART

64A. How pistol duelers stand : BACK TO BACK

Argyle here.

One of the easiest Mondays yet. There are so many other body parts that could have been included: eye to eye, toe to toe, hand to hand, belly to belly, liver to liver. (That last one is for today's birthday boy, Tinbeni, and myself.)

Across:

1. Poet Khayyám : OMAR. The Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam.

5. Stroll : AMBLE

10. Retail mecca : MALL

14. Repetitious learning technique : ROTE

15. Eagle's weapon : TALON

16. Subject of a court bargain : PLEA

17. Rara __ : AVIS. A rare or unique person or thing. [Latin rāra avis : rāra, feminine of rārus, rare + avis, bird.]

20. Deadly : LETHAL

22. Icy North Atlantic hazard : BERG

23. Exploit : USE

24. Short race, for short : ONE K. Cute clue.

26. Upper crust groups : ELITES

33. Outer edge : RIM

34. Path between supermarket shelves : AISLE

35. Transportation station : DEPOT

39. "Carmen" highlight : ARIA

41. Car alarm acknowledgment : CHIRP. There are so many car beeps these days, I never look around any more when I hear one. I'll probably be run over some day.

43. Assistant : AIDE

44. What a lenient judge may show : MERCY

46. Año starter : ENERO. Spanish: year and January.

48. White or Red team : SOX

52. Arrive dressed up like : COME AS. When was your last costume party?

55. Exiled Roman poet : OVID. For unclear reasons, in AD 8 Emperor Augustus banished him to Tomis on the Black Sea; despite Ovid's many pleas, he was never allowed to return. He described his life in an autobiographical poem in Sorrows.

56. "Eureka!" : "A-HA!". The exclamation attributed to Archimedes, who is said to have cried out "Eureka! eureka!" (I have found it! I have found it!), upon suddenly discovering a method of finding out how much the gold of King Hiero's crown had been alloyed. Hence, an expression of triumph concerning a discovery.

57. Fraud : SHAM

60. Lots and lots : OODLES

67. Kappa preceder, alphabetically : IOTA. More Greek (seems to be oodles of Greek today).

68. Longtime Hydrox competitor : OREO

69. Show with varied acts : REVUE

70. Actor Morales : ESAI. Big role was "NYPD Blue" Lt. Tony Rodriguez (61 episodes, 2001-2004).

71. "Bill & __ Excellent Adventure" : TED'S. If you look close, there's a Greek dude in the phone booth, man.

72. "It's somebody __ problem" : ELSE'S

73. eBay command : SELL

Down:

1. Like some graduate tests : ORAL. Lois?

2. Find new digs : MOVE

3. Working hard : AT IT

4. Do a blacksmith's job : RESHOE. If you are a farrier, too.

5. Good at sports : ATHLETIC

6. West in old movies : MAE

7. Spill the beans : BLAB

8. Miner's bonanza : LODE

9. Course between salad and dessert : ENTRÉE

10. Dashboard abbr. : MPH

11. Indigenous Alaskan : ALEUT

12. Landlord's contract : LEASE

13. Packs in a hold : LADES

19. More than glanced at : OGLED

21. "Diana" singer Paul : ANKA. Song. Wikipedia says Paul is from Canada, I did not know that. Interesting article.

25. Okay to consume, as for Passover : KOSHER

27. Swedish furniture retailer : IKEA

28. Study feverishly : CRAM

29. Add to the staff : HIRE

30. Islamic ruler : EMIR

31. Black of country music : CLINT. Academy of Country Music's 1989 Single of the Year - "A Better Man".

32. Annexed __: attached as part of this document : HERETO

36. Leaning tower city : PISA

37. Olfactory offense : ODOR. Alliteration that includes the answer.

38. Manuscript passage : TEXT

40. Tylenol target : ACHE

42. Tries to get a rise out of : PROVOKES

45. Bakers get a rise out of it : YEAST. So do bakers provoke their bread?

47. West Virginia neighbor : OHIO

50. "Michael, Row the Boat __" : ASHORE. Hallelujah.

51. Whirlpools : EDDIES

52. Explorer Sebastian : CABOT

53. Chicago hub : O'HARE

54. Sprayed with tear gas : MACED

58. Cain's victim : ABEL

59. Dallas NBA team : MAVS

61. Be defeated : LOSE

62. Lat. list ender : ET AL.

63. Regatta flapper : SAIL

65. WBA stats : KOs. World Boxing Association.

66. Pool tool : CUE

Answer grid.

Here is a set of five magnificent Oregon Coast sand sculpture contest photos forwarded from our Faithful Lurker B. Please click on the photo to enlarge to a higher resolution.

Argyle

Sunday August 22, 2010 Pamela Amick Klawitter

Theme: An Earlier Flight - The bygone SST is hidden and spans across two words in each familiar phrase.

23A. Military overstock seller : ARMY SURPLUS STORE. We had one close to our home. My dad served in the Chinese army.

33A. 21-Across are taken on it : WITNESS STAND. And OATHS (21. Formal promises).

38A. Nickname at the Derby : BLUE GRASS STATE. Kentucky Derby.

65A. "No verdict yet" : THE JURY IS STILL OUT. Just an awesome entry.

92A. Applying to all : ACROSS THE BOARD. The only one with SS & T pattern. All the others are S & ST.

101A. Exerts influence : PULLS STRINGS. The only 2-word theme answer.

116A. 1952 Jane Russell film : THE LAS VEGAS STORY. Unknown film to me. Jane Russell is famous for her big boobs, right?

118D. Earlier flight hidden in the seven longest puzzle answers : SST

Very clever spin on our crossword staple SST. Nice long theme phrases. Great effort from Pamela Amick Klawitter, who seems to relish constructing Sunday puzzles.

A pangram. All 26 letters are used at least once. The special theme resulted in a total of 51 Ss, outnumbering any vowel (E/A, 48 each) count. Several clue echos also. Very John Lampkin like. I've highlighted them in green.

Today's clues (esp those with question marks) are just "outstanding", Dummy Dennis would say. Look at these "it" in Down section alone:

13D. It's elegant when turned : PHRASE. Idiom: a turn of phrase.

61D. You might have a hand in it : MITT

67D. It's over for Hans : UBER. "Over" in German.

70D. A choir may sing in it : UNISON

113D. It often precedes technicalities : MERE. Mere technicalities.

Across:

1. Ed of "Lou Grant" : ASNER. And EDIE (6. Lou Grant's ex). On "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" . Unknown to me.

10. Cuts the crop : REAPS

15. Even start? : EQUI. Prefix meaning "even", as in equilateral.

19. Dutch big wheel? : GOUDA. Say "Cheese".

20. Falana of "Golden Boy" : LOLA. No idea. I like her dress. Very figure hugging.

22. Arrivals at home, perhaps : RUNS. "Home" refers to the home plate in baseball. We also have NINTHS (44. Often critical innings).

26. "Sorry, can't" : NOPE

27. Stonewall Jackson et al. : REBS. Did not know who Stonewall Jackson was a Confederate commander during Civil War.

28. Sales chart metaphors : PIES

29. R&B singer __ Marie : TEENA. What's her most famous song?

30. Sean of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy : ASTIN

31. Jun. grads : SRS

32. Corp. moneymen : CFOS. Or the obscure TRS.

35. Yoo-__: beverage : HOO. What kind of beverage?

36. 50-Across wrong? : AIN'T. And ISN'T (50. 36-Across right?). I don't like cross-referenced clues when in fact nothing is given.

37. Deli array : MEAT

49. Turner on the screen : LANA

51. Pro foe : ANTI

53. New Balance competitor : AVIA. Latin for "fly".

54. All worked up : IN A LATHER. Solid phrase.

56. List of rounds : BAR TAB. And ALES (86. Draft choices). Of course I was thinking of sports draft.

58. Stock holder? : BARN. Farm stock. Windhover might nail this one.

59. Skins : PELTS

60. Chair designer Charles : EAMES. Can never remember his name, despite Hahtool's link(s).

62. Reason for a court replay : LET. Tennis court.

64. Born : NEE

71. "Ginger __": 1952 Newbery Medal-winning book : PYE. Nope. Not familiar with the book.

73. Big rig compartment : CAB

74. Pitch-related : TONAL

75. "A Paper Life" autobiographer : O'NEAL (Tatum). I suppose the paper refers to her movie "Paper Moon".

78. Spanish bread : EURO. "Bread" = Currency.

80. Places under siege : BESETS

83. San Bernardino suburb : LOMA LINDA. I peeked at the answer sheet.

87. A TV Maverick : BRET. Another unknown.

88. Notice : ESPY

89. Go off the deep end : SNAP

90. Play the siren : SEDUCE

97. Ray Stevens's "Ahab the __" : ARAB. Have never heard of the song.

99. Skin soother : ALOE

100. River to the Rhone : AIN. Too obscure for me.

106. Bribes, with "off" : PAYS

108. Pepper, e.g.: Abbr. : SGT. Beatle's Sgt Pepper. Could not jam in SPICE.

111. Novelist Nin : ANAIS

112. Engineer Nikola : TESLA. Eternal fame in Xword.

113. Ball role : MAME. Lucille Ball.

114. Restaurateur Toots : SHOR. His name escaped me also.

115. Devils' playground? : RINK. NHL's New Jersey Devils. Got me also.

119. Old Venetian elder : DOGE

120. Brings down the house? : RAZES. Nice play on the idiom "bring the house down".

121. Start of an Andy Capp toast : 'ERE'S. Here's. H is dropped in Cockney accent.

122. Backs up : SAVES

123. Tens neighbor : ONES. In Dennis' cash box.

124. Controversial explosion : A-TEST

125. Unschooled signers : X'ERS. Didn't come to me readily.

126. Lott of Mississippi : TRENT. Just mentioned his name yesterday on the STROM clue.

Down:

1. Ice cream thickeners : AGARS And EDY'S (4. Slow Churned ice cream brand).

2. More put out : SORER

3. Uses an icepack on : NUMBS

5. Dorm bosses, briefly : RAS. RA = Residential Adviser.

6. Ventura County town who name means "the river" : EL RIO. Makes sense.

7. Chowderheads : DOPES

8. Afflictions : ILLS

9. Mer filler : EAU

10. Nile home of an historic stone : ROSETTA. Hence Rosetta Stone.

11. Moth tail? : EATEN. Tail to the word "moth-eaten".

12. Satisfaction of a sort : ATONEMENT. Was thinking of vengeance, Sweeney Todd style.

14. Opposite of NNW : SSE

15. Arp contemporary : ERNST (Max)

16. Limit of a kind : QUOTA

17. Let down, as hair : UNPIN

18. "Children, Go Where __ Thee": spiritual : I SEND. No idea.

24. Raring to go : UP FOR IT. Had trouble parsing the answer.

25. Hitch : STINT. Two-year hitch/stint in the Army, e.g.

30. Italian wine city : ASTI

32. ___ railway : COG. Not familiar with the term.

33. Badger's st. : WIS. We had quite a few solvers from Wisconsin.

34. Florida resort island : SANIBEL. Have you been there?

35. A "4-H" H : HEALTH

36. Bad way to be led : ASTRAY. Led astray.

38. Radar signal : BLIP

39. Spot for a strike : LANE. Bowling lane, thanks, June!

40. The same as always : UNALTERED. The clue/answer does not click for me.

41. Reminder of an old flame? : ASH. I am just in awe of the clue, Pamela. Are you reading our blog?

42. Disdainful glance : SNEER

43. Road topper : TAR

45. Collar : NAB

46. Dish alternative : TV ANTENNA. Always have trouble spelling antenna.

47. Bring aboard : HIRE

48. Having no screws loose? : SANE. I'd have had all screws loose if I were Lois. What a brave gal! And so sweet.

52. Like a hard-to-fill order : TALL. Tall order.

55. "Hang on __" : A SEC

56. Córdoba kisses : BESOS. Spanish for "kisses'.

57. AAA part: Abbr. : ASSN

63. Shop item : TOOL

66. Goes on and on : JABBERS

68. "Unto the Sons" novelist : TALESE (Gay). More famous for his "Honor Thy Father".

69. Postgame recap? : I LOST. Great clue.

71. Pod fillers : PEAS

72. Time for carols : YULE. Bet it brought a smile to Carol.

76. Purim's month : ADAR

77. "Dragnet" gp. : LAPD

79. The Beavers of the Pac-10 : OSU (Oregon State University)

81. Boardwalk cooler : SEA BREEZE. Cool fill for Bill G.

82. More of the same, briefly : ETC. Etc, etc, etc.

84. NASCAR stat : MPH

85. Madagascan lemurs : AYEAYES. Stumped. Oh, dear, kind of scary looking.

91. Mama of pop : CASS

93. Didn't outrace anyone : RAN LAST

94. Gymnast Korbut et al. : OLGAS

95. "Mamma Mia" number : S.O.S.

96. Grafton's "__ for Burglar" : B IS

98. In addition : AT THAT

101. "SNL" announcer : PARDO (Don). Can you believe that I've never watched "SNL"?

102. Group for people in labor? : UNION. Labor Union.

103. "Tootsie" role winner : LANGE (Jessica)

104. eHarmony category : LIKES. Have never visited eHarmony. For eLove I suppose.

105. Archipelago units : ISLES

106. Sales rep's gadget : PAGER

107. Get a load of : AMASS. Read the clue as "Get a load off".

108. Sail, with "off" : SHOVE.

109. Bridge immortal : GOREN (Charles). No idea. He wrote "Winning Bridge Made Easy".

110. Risky rendezvous : TRYST

114. Bronze __ : STAR.

116. Part of a chorus line? : TRA. Tra la la.

117. Bug : VEX

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday August 21, 2010 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: None

Total word: 72 / Total block: 34

Average word length: 5.31

Ha ha, a typical Robert H. Wolfe themeless Saturday. If you read my interview with him, you'd know that three colloquial grid-spanners are the hallmark of his Saturday puzzles:

17A. "I'll do it" : LET ME HANDLE THIS. Just awesome. I bet Bob is constantly counting on the number of letters in colloquial phrases.

38A. Words of disbelief : YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS. Nice one also.

58A. Words after thanks : I APPRECIATE THAT. My favorite.

Remarkable grid. Besides the three spanners, Bob also gives us ten 9s. As the norm with Saturday puzzles, some of the clues are very unambiguous but correct. Remember, clues are just clues, they don't need to be exact. They are not dictionary definitions.

Normally I dread the names in puzzles, but today I am very pleased to see:

19A. Joan of "The Last Emperor" : CHEN. Very beautiful. Hugely popular when I grew up. She was born and grew up in Shanghai. Chen (Mandarin) = Chan (Cantonese), as in Jackie/Charlie Chan.

40A. Hall of Fame Vikings lineman Carl : ELLER. Drug/alcohol plagues him. Our local newspaper reports on his every mishap. Their obsession with Brett Favre drive me nuts.

Across:

1. "Banded" arid-area reptile : SAND SNAKE. Well, I bet it's a gimme for Gunghy and Husker Gary. I've never heard of this reptile before.

10. Hitting sound : SPLAT

15. Body fat compound : OLEIC ACID. We often see OLEIC clued as partial, clued as "__ acid".

16. Bait : TEASE

20. WWII soldier in Africa : DESERT RAT. Not a familiar term to me.

21. Application datum : SEX. Well, I am not as DF as Dennis. I wanted AGE.

23. At least one : ANY

24. Chem class abbr. : AT WT (Atomic Weight)

27. Gave (out) : METED

31. Half a laugh : HEH

34. Film with a lot of reports : SHOOT 'EM UP. The Western movies. I just learned a few months ago that "reports" can mean "gun shots".

36. Coast : SHORE

41. Acted : TOOK STEPS. Didn't jump to me quickly.

42. Former British Poet Laureate Hughes : TED. Sylvia Plath's husband. Cold and aloof.

43. Fogg's creator : VERNE (Jules). No idea. Fogg is a character in his "Around the World in Eighty Day".

44. Computer unit : BYTE

45. Telepathy term : PSI. Stumped. Dictionary defines it as "any purported psychic phenomenon, as psychokinesis, telepathy, clairvoyance, or the like".

47. Cone lead-in : SNO. Sno cone.

49. Healthful desserts : FRUIT CUPS. With sprinkled toasted coconut flakes, yummy!

55. "Let's call __ evening" : IT AN

61. Early MTV staple : VIDEO

62. Fashionable partygoer? : LATE COMER. Nice clue.

63. Poet's superlative : ENORM. Enormous.

64. 1986 Blake Edwards comedy flop (aptly named, as it turned out) : A FINE MESS. No idea, though the poster looks familiar. I must have linked it before.

Down:

1. Longest note? : SOL. Oh, I get it. It's longest because all the other musical notes only have 2 letters: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti.

2. Smart one? : ALEC. Smart alec.

3. 2010 FIFA World Cup finalist : NETH (Netherlands). And UCLA (52. 2010 College World Series runner-up). Too obscure clues for me, since I don't follow either.

4. See 49-Down : DIME STORE. And FIVE (49. With "and" and 59-Down, 4-Down) and TEN ( 59. See 49-Down). Five - and - Ten = Dime Store. I normally like cross-references, but got headache over this one.

5. View : SCENE

6. "Forget it" : NAH

7. USMA part: Abbr. : ACAD. USMA = United States Military Academy.

8. Biblical grazers : KINE. Cows. Maybe Windhover knows. He has profound knowledge on Bible.

9. Actor Byrnes and baseball Hall of Famer Roush : EDDS

10. Hard : STERN

11. Narrow : PETTY. Can you give an example on how they equate?

12. Actor who was born a Leo, as it happens : LAHR (Bert). The Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz". Interesting trivia.

13. Large land mass : ASIA

14. Check : TEST

18. Chair, say : LEAD. Verb, to chair a committee. I was thinking of furniture.

22. Cyclops and Beast, e.g. : X-MEN. Blind spots for me. Cyclops is just ugly.

24. So far : AS YET

25. Oar fulcrum : THOLE. Learned from doing Xword.

26. If only : WOULD

28. Hardly be stoical : EMOTE. "Be hardly stoical" is better, isn't it?

29. Oxford employee : TUTOR. Dictionary says tutor (esp in Oxford and Cambridge), means "a university officer, usually a fellow, responsible for teaching and supervising a number of undergraduates". Well, I hope Vidwan nailed it. He has British style education. I was baffled.

30. Printing pioneer : EPSON. Oh, really?

31. Rot : HOOEY

32. Blow : ERUPT

33. "Demian" author : HESSE (Hermann). I bet Kazie knows the book.

35. Dutch painter Gerard __ Borch : TER. No idea. Is "ter" like "van"/"de"?

36. H.S. VIPs : SRS. And SAT I (54. H.S. reasoning exam, formerly). Unknown to me also. Wish I had come to the US earlier. I presume Math and writing are SAT II and SAT III?

37. Crash and burn : HIT BOTTOM. Great clue/answer.

39. Gets by, with "out" : EKES. Ennui!

43. Annual resolution target : VICE. Oh, New Year resolutions.

45. Pepper picker : PIPER. Peter Piper, the pickled pepper picker.

46. Lindsey's predecessor in the Senate : STROM (Thurmond). I remember the Trent Lott incident during Thurmond's 100th birthday party.

48. Caroline, to Bobby : NIECE. Caroline/Bob Kennedy.

50. Noah's concern : RAIN

51. Style with pins : UPDO

53. "La Vie en Rose" singer : PIAF (Edith)

56. "Alas!" : AH ME

57. Nairn negatives : NAES. Nairn is a county in N. Scotland.

60. Some corp. officers : TRS. Boomer is the treasurer for our Townhouse Association. But he's not familiar with the abbr.

Answer grid.

Here is a set of five cute animal pictures forwarded to me from a faithful lurker code-named "B".

C.C.

Friday August 20, 2010 Donna S. Levin

Theme: House Pun - The first word of each common phrase is replaced by a sound-alike type of house. The resulting phrase is then humorously clued.

17A. Faithful caretaker of a religious residence? : MANSE BEST FRIEND. The base phrase is Man's Best Friend. Manse is parson's residence.

26A. Stately home for debate team practice? : MANOR OF SPEECH. Manner of Speech. I'm more familiar with "manner of speaking".

45A. Former European princess's elaborate dwelling? : ESTATE OF GRACE. State of Grace. Princess Grace. The only theme entries with an extra syllable added.

58A. French castle built with misgivings? : CHATEAU OF A DOUBT. Shadow of a Doubt. Sound change is quite pronounced in this one, with different stress. But a great clue.

This puzzle is very close in theme style and grid design to Donna's last "Hat Pun": four theme entries (the first and last are grid-spanners in both puzzles) punning on the first word of each familiar phrase. The clues are more consistent in this one. Consistency is important in cluing this punny type. You either adhere to the old meaning or the transformed meaning. Can't do both. The hat, no hat, no hat, hat in the "Hat Pun" theme clues bothered me.

Donna has gradually filled in the Friday LAT pun void left by Dan Naddor and she is now our Friday Ms. Pun.

I am very fond of the two Down 10s which crossed three theme answers each:

11D. Operating room number? : ANESTHESIA. Number = Stuff that numb you.

28D. Home of the flightless kakapo : NEW ZEALAND. Kakapo looks like an owl. Why are they flightless?

The clue for ANTONYM (20A. Choose to reject, say? ) is just brilliant. The word "choose" is an antonym of "reject".

Across:

1. Dirty : LEWD. "Indecent" Dirty.

5. Fictional Fort Baxter noncom : BILKO. Sergeant Bilko.

10. Bar assistant? : PARA. Paralegal. Attorney's assistant.

14. Like the northern Antilles Islands vis-à-vis the southern ones : ALEE. I don't get this, Spitzboov.

15. Enjoyed home cooking : ATE IN

16. City named for a Tennyson heroine : ENID. In Oklahoma. Named for the character Enid in "Idylls of the King". Unknown trivia to me.

21. Draw : TIE

22. Vancouver-to-Seattle dir. : SSE. Always need crossing help for dir.

23. Defunct Frontier Airlines competitor : TED. Belonged to United.

24. Not quite NC-17 : R-RATED. Rated G, Rated PG, Rated PG -13, Rated R, then Rated NC-17. Got me.

32. Mars, to the Greeks : ARES. The ending S in Greek always suggests of a male. Ares, Zeus, etc.

33. Aglet's locale : LACE. Aglet is the metal tag at the end of a shoe lace. Like the red cirled part.

34. Per person : A HEAD. A new clue spin on common one word AHEAD.

37. Stitch : SEW

38. Spilled, with "out" : BLURTED

40. Dept. in a "Law & Order" spin-off : SVU. I only like the original "Law & Order".

41. Vocaphone : KAZOO. What is "Vocaphone"?

43. Feudal peasant : SERF

44. Like a pinto : PIED. Mottled "pinto" horse, with multicolored patches.

48. Pokes fun at, in a way : ROASTS

50. Anger : IRE

51. It's used at Gallaudet U. : ASL (American Sign Language). I've never heard of Gallaudet University, "a federally chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing", based in D.C, according to Wikipedia.

52. Umpire's call : LET. The referee in Tennis is called umpire also?

54. Winter spikes : ICICLES

61. Popular bar game : KENO. Originated in China.

62. Hard to move : STOIC. To move emotionally.

63. The duck in "Peter and the Wolf" : OBOE. I am always confused by those characters.

64. "Soldier of Love" singer, 2009 : SADE. Gimme for me, but then I love Sade.

65. Delish : YUMMY

66. White underling : KENT (Clark). Perry White's underling in the "Superman".

Down:

1. Eastern priest : LAMA. Only in Tibet.

2. Pizazz : ELAN

3. Hit the road : WENT

4. FireDome and Fireflite : DESOTOS. Cars. Waiting for Argyle for the links. He knows everything about cars.

5. Short nightie : BABY DOLL. Lovely color.

6. Canoodling couple, maybe : ITEM

7. Liszt's "__ Preludes" : LES. I guessed.

8. "Santa Baby" singer : KITT (Eartha). Hmm, happy fill for Lois and her "Santa Baby"!

9. Lit : ON FIRE

10. Louvre Pyramid architect : PEI (I.M.)

12. Washer cycle : RINSE

13. Put two and two together : ADDED. Somehow I was thinking of the lumber term 2X2.

18. U.S. dept. with a sun on its seal : ENER. See this seal. There's indeed a sun.

19. Go over again : REREAD

25. Bavarian beef? : ACH. Alas, not real beef for the meat lovers. Alliteration.

26. Conceal : MASK

27. Field : AREA

29. Legendary soul seller : FAUST. He sold his soul to the devil.

30. Cliffside litter : SCREE. Like this, the rocky debris.

31. Chemical prefix? : PETRO. Petrochemical. Why question mark?

35. "__ plaisir!" : AVEC. Literally "with pleasure".

36. Buddy : DUDE

38. Hold in, with "up" : BOTTLE

39. Productiveness : EFFICACY. Great entry.

42. CIA's ancestor : OSS. Ennui!

44. Parboil : PRECOOK

46. Equally simple : AS EASY

47. Power network : GRID. Electric power.

48. Sets up the balls : RACKS. Pool. Lois knows how to "set up the balls".

49. Actor Milo : O'SHEA

53. 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner : TUTU. 1984? That's long time ago.

54. "Correct me __ wrong ..." : IF I'M

55. Auto mechanic's job : LUBE

56. Black, poetically : EBON

57. Re-edit, in a way : STET. "Let it stand", Let the canceled material remain.

59. Ring site : TOE. Quite pretty.

60. Half a tuba sound : OOM. Oom-pah.

Answer grid.

Our Friday blog team photo continues. Here is a recent photo of Al, a database administrator based in Green Bay, WI. Al loves words and etymologies, as you've probably learned from his always knowledgeable comments and Thursday puzzle write-ups. Al is also very well versed in nutrition due to his personal experiences and background in chemistry. He also loves guitar and takes lessons every week.

C.C.