Wednesday October 7, 2009 Lee Glickstein

Theme title: A-FRAMES (39A. Houses with sharply angled roofs, and what this puzzle's four longest answers literally have in common) - Letter A bookends/frames each theme answer. (Update: Martin noticed all the theme answers end in place names.)

17A. 49th state's largest city: ANCHORAGE, ALASKA. The Iditarod starts at ANCHORAGE and ends in Nome.

27A. E.M. Forster classic set in fictional Chandrapore: A PASSAGE TO INDIA. Have heard of the book/movie. Not the author. Chandrapore is a fictional Indian city.

47A. Classic Italian "farewell" song: ARRIVEDERCI ROMA. Ah, I've linked this song or some other version a few times when ROMA appeared as a fill. Arrivederci (ahr-ree-ve-DER-chee) = Au revoir.

63A. Two-part drama that won two Best Play Tonys and a Best Miniseries Emmy: ANGELS IN AMERICA. Was unaware of the specific awards it garnered.

A-FRAME is a house shaped like letter A, or inverted V. I learned this term last time when Argyle linked an A-FRAME coop picture. He said it helps protect those chickens in the nighttime. Very clever unifying answer.

Smooth sailing. Was familiar with all the four 15-letter theme answers. Rare for me.

Across:

8. Check signers: PAYERS. You don't find a checkbook in a common Chinese household. We jumped from cash transactions directly to debit/credit card.

14. 1950 Edmond O'Brien suspense classic: DOA. Got the answer from crossings. Looks scary.

15. Sliding __: DOOR. Kind of related to the A-FRAME theme.

16. Hide out: LIE LOW. That's exactly what Kanye West has been doing, lying low, after the Taylor Swift incident.

21. Sly: FOXY

25. "Was __ hard on him?"I TOO

36. Washroom, briefly: LAV (Lavatory). WC in China.

42. Point to pick: NIT. Wait for Jazzbumpa to comment.

43. Sam of "The Piano": NEILL. Wanted O'NEIL. Sam NEILL is a Kiwi.

45. Dapper guy?: DAN. John Gotti's nickname is "The Dapper Don".

46. __ about: approximately: ON OR

53. Loud crowd noise: ROAR. Did you hear the roar at the Metrodom? What an unbelievable game! Twins seem to suffer an Inferiority Complex when facing the Yankees though. In Lemonade's words, they are "choke artists destined to fade away into Yankee oblivion".

56. Community service org.: YMCA. Founded in 1844.

59. Popeye's creator: SEGAR (E. C.). No idea. Obtained his name from crosses again. Had S?GAR, then I thought of SUGAR first.

66. Freezing period: ICE AGE

68. Acne spot: ZIT

69. Clinton press secretary Myers: DEE DEE. The first woman to serve as White House Press Secretary.

Down:

3. Diplomat's forte: TACT. Well, obviously John Bolton does not have this attribute.

4. Has a crush on: ADORES

5. NYC's Bronx, e.g.: BOR (Borough)

7. Thus, to a logician: ERGO. Latin for "therefore", as in "Cogito, ERGO sum" (I think, therefore I am).

8. __ win: go all out: PLAY TO

9. Afflict: AIL. What had been ailing the Tigers? Unprecedented collapse! My husband really likes Miguel Cabrera.

10. Beginning of time, figuratively: YEAR ONE. "Figuratively" confused me a bit.

11. Film lioness: ELSA. From"Born Free".

12. Korean soldiers: ROKS. The soldiers in the ROK (Republic of Korea/South Korea)

13. Trade: SWAP. And PLIER (28D. One with a trade). Nice "trade" clue echo.

18. "Steppenwolf" writer Hermann: HESSE. Nobel Literature winner (1946).

19. Way off the turnpike: EXIT

27. Health Net rival: AETNA. Not familiar with Health Net. We have UnitedHealthcare here.

29. Moving about: ASTIR

30. Needle-toothed fish: GAR

31. Give the slip: EVADE. Just learned the idiom "Give the slip" a few months ago.

32. "Hawaii Five-O" nickname: DANNO. "Book 'em, DANNO!"

33. Figure of speech: IDIOM. They are not interchangeable to me. TROPE, yes.

34. Stars, in Latin: ASTRA. Have not seen the French star étoile for a while.

39. Thomas __ Edison: ALVA. An A-FRAME word too.

40. Scuff or scratch: MAR. Alliteration.

44. Interpret via mouth movements: LIPREAD. "Read my lip: no new taxes", coined by Peggy Noonan.

46. Neatness: ORDER

48. Paris palace: ELYSEE. ELYSEE Palace is the French "White House".

50. Maps within maps: INSETS

53. Vice squad action: RAID

55. "The African Queen" co-screenwriter: AGEE (James). Co-written with John Houston.

57. "The Suze Orman Show" channel: CNBC. Suze Orman looks very intimidating.

58. 50-and-over org.: AARP

60. City near the Sphinx: GIZA. Near the Great Pyramids too. On the Nile.

61. Word before rain or rock: ACID

65. Goat's cry: MAA. Ah, missed an opportunity to weave with CALF (24D: Young cow). CALF maa too.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday October 6, 2009 Mike Peluso

Theme: LATIN Trio (31A: Classic language, and with 61-Across, hint to the puzzle theme found at the starts of 20-, 37- and 57-Across) - theme answers start with the first conjugation of Latin verb LOVE (61A: Cherish), in orderly fashion.

20A. 2005 Margaret Peterson Haddix children's thriller: AMONG THE ENEMY. Amo, I love. The book is about a time in which drastic measures have been taken to quell overpopulation.

37A. Accumulate wealth: AMASS A FORTUNE. Amas, You love.

57A. Non-remunerative athletics: AMATEUR SPORTS. Amat, He loves.

Plus,

Amamus: We love.

Amatis: You (plural) love.

Amant: They love.

This is Al, guest-blogging today.

For a TUE (64D: Election Day: Abbr.), this was a pretty good puzzle. It didn't give me a lot of GRIEF (9D: Reaction to personal loss).

I think I may have overdone it with the links.

Across:

1. Washing machine sequence: CYCLE. Here is a laundry CYCLE.

6. Pirate's booty: SWAG. Slang for loot. A treasure chest.

10. Twilight time: DUSK

14. Start of an old Army slogan: BE ALL. Be All You Can Be.

15. Rock group's trip: TOUR. Here is a magical tour.

16. In the past: ONCE. Anyone put ERST here first?

17. Jack of rhyme: SPRAT. He could eat no fat. Lolcat.

19. Persia, now: IRAN. We just had FARSI yesterday.

23. 1958 #1 hit sung in Italian: VOLARE. Italian for "to fly". Also called "Nel blu dipinto di blu" ("In the Blue Painted Blue"). This is the song I remember.

25. In error: OFF. The clue was kind of close to the answer ERRATA (50D: List of mistakes).

27A: Lyricist Gershwin: IRA. Also a Roth account.

33. Property measure: ACRE. One furlong (660 feet) by one chain (66 feet), 43,560 square feet, possibly the approximate amount of land one ox could plow in one day.

35. Moray, e.g.: EEL. To fit in with today's theme, that's amore.

44: Schoolbook: TEXT. Another theme video.

46. "Beak" for "nose," e.g.: SLANG

49. 100 bucks: C-NOTE. C for century. If I had 50 female pigs and 50 male deer, would I have a hundred sows and bucks?

51. "__ the ramparts"...": O'ER. The melody of our National Anthem was "borrowed from an old English drink song..."

52: Trip segment: LEG. I would definitely be tripped by these. Actually that photo is of a group called Bond, a quartet of classically trained musicians. Nice "trip" clue echo with TOUR earlier.

53. Thurman of "Kill Bill": UMA. Played Beatrix opposite David Carradine.

62. Aussie greeting: G'DAY. G'Day mate.

66. Till bills: ONES. A "Michigan bankroll".

67. Fish organ: GILL. Singer Vince too. Baseball great Hodges is GIL.

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

69. Computer adventure game: MYST. Released in 1993.

Down:

2. Slangy assent: YEP. Yup, too.

3. Parking lot siren: CAR ALARM. Quite annoying...

4: Andean beast: LLAMA. The one-l lama, He's a priest. /The two-l llama, He's a beast. /And I will bet A silk pajama /There isn't any Three-l lllama.- Ogden Nash.

5. Matador's foe: EL TORO. "The bull" in Spanish.

6. Men-only party: STAG

7. Refuses to: WON'T

8: Write: AUTHOR. LEMONY (47D: Tart, as a citrus drink) Snicket, author of "A Series of Unfortunate Events".

10. "__ What Comes Natur'lly": DOIN'. Can they actually print this clue in a family publication?

11. Pre-riot state: UNREST. It's people like you what cause unrest.

12. Garlicky shrimp dish: SCAMPI

13. Nairobi native: KENYAN. So many marathon winners.

22. Key above D: E-FLAT. D-Sharp as well, but that won't fit.

24. SeaWorld attraction: ORCA. The sign said Free Willy, but it still cost $7 to get in...

29. Teachers' org.: NEA. National Education Association.

30. Fairylike: ELFIN. ELFIN.

32. Lie alongside: ABUT

36. Capri's Blue __: GROTTO. Rooted in Italian word grotta. Too many to pick from.

38. Transition to the next subject: SEGUE

39. Ear: Prefix: OTO. Could have been worse, they might have wanted us to spell otolaryngology. AURI is "Ear: Prefix" too.

40. Las Vegas Strip feature: NEON SIGN

41. Marked, as a ballot: EXED. Or XED.

46. Sinuous ski race: SLALOM. Rooted in Norwegian slalåm. slad, sloping + låm, path.

48. Mescal sources: AGAVES

49. Aerobic exercise, in gym-speak: CARDIO. Cardiovascular.

54. Seriously humid: MUGGY

56. Old lab burners: ETNAS. Named for the volcano ETNA, Greek for "I burn".

58. Final grade factor: TEST

59. Polio vaccine developer: SALK. Also Sabin, who developed the oral vaccine. People vaccinated with injected Salk vaccine could still pass on the disease.

60. War journalist Ernie: PYLE. Pulitzer winner (1944). Killed in the war in 1945. He was awarded a Purple Heart. Very few civilians got Purple Heart.

65. Mo for fools: APR. Also National Humor Month.

Answer grid.

Al

Monday, October 5, 2009 Billie Truitt

Theme: S and S

19A: What little girls are made of, so it's said: SUGAR AND SPICE

33A: Out of harm's way: SAFE AND SOUND

40A: Light lunch: SOUP AND SALAD

55A: Pleasantly concise: SHORT AND SWEET

Argyle blogging.

This is one of the easiest ones yet. If you would like to add your own S and S, remember it should be 12 or 13 letters to fit the puzzle, e.g., Slip and Slide, but not Stop and Shop.

Across:

9A: Roe source: SHAD. Any of several unrelated fishes.

13A: Most eligible for the draft: ONE A

14A: Like a snowy landscape: WHITE.

15A: "Royal" nuisance: PAIN. I've heard this mostly as a qualifier: not just a pain in the a**, but a "Royal" pain in the a**.

16A: Put in pigeonholes: SORT.

17A: Duncan __: cake mix brand: HINES.

18A: Reformer for whom a Bible book is named: EZRA. Do you all know this fact?

22A: "That makes sense": I GET IT.

23A: The Blue Jays, on scoreboards: TOR. (Toronto). AL League, East Division. They've won 2 World Series, the same as the Twins.

24A: Place for a napkin: LAP.

27A: Prof's degree: PHD.

28A: Spat: TIFF.

31A: C.S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of __": NARNIA. .

38A: Prior to, poetically: ERE. Root word for ERST (67A: Previously, old-style)

39A: Courtroom figs.: ATTS. (Attorneys)

45A: "Queen of Soul" Franklin: ARETHA. Ah, the famous inauguration hat!

46A: Supermarket checkout unit: ITEM.

50A: Hesitant sounds: UMS. The "Mantra sounds" is OMS.

51A: Mexican Mrs.: SRA. (Señora)

53A: "Beats me": NO IDEA.

59A: Fuzzy fruit: KIWI. Full of vitamin C.

61A: "Shucks!": AW GEE.

62A: Castaway's spot: ISLE.

64A: Spud: TATER. (Potato)

65A: Use a swizzle stick: STIR.

66A: Modernists: NEOS. NEO is usually found in combination with other words, not standing alone as a noun.

Down:

1D: Grapevine news: GOSSIP.

2D: Sufficient: ENOUGH.

3D: Combined two companies into one: MERGED.

4D: Occupied, as a desk: SAT AT.

5D: Goatee's location: CHIN.

6D: __ legs: rear extremities: HIND.

7D: '50s nuclear experiment: A-TEST. (Atomic Bomb)

8D: Answer: RESPOND. Verb.

9D: Designer's detail, briefly: SPEC. SPEC could be shortened speculative or speculation but in this case, SPEC is the shortened form for specification.

10D: Coffee flavoring: HAZELNUT. Do you have a favorite coffee flavoring?

14D: "Just suppose ...": WHAT IF.

20D: Beatles meter maid: RITA.

25D: "__ That a Shame": Domino hit: AIN'T.

29D: Supply meals for: FEED.

30D: Iran's official language: FARSI. Now how did this slip into an easy-peasy Monday?

33D: Labor Day mo.: SEPT.

35D: Jacob's twin: ESAU.

36D: College housing: DORM. (dormitory)

37D: Phone caller's "Bet you don't recognize my voice!": GUESS WHO.

41D: Facetious "Of course": AH SO. Charlie Chan.

42D: Tell a story: NARRATE.

43D: Mortgage bank, e.g.: LENDER.

44D: Andy's old radio partner: AMOS.

47D: "__ Fideles": Christmas carol: ADESTE. "O Come All Ye Faithful".

52D: Engaged in battle: AT WAR.

54D: Start of a request to a genie: I WISH.

56D: Goes in haste: HIES.

57D: FBI employees: AGTS. (Agents)

58D: Depilatory product: NEET. Brand name. Nicely positioned under NEAT (34D: Tidy).

59D: Wichita's state: Abbr.: KAN. (Kansas or KS)

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a great picture of what Clear Ayes dubbed as "California Coven + One" (Carol is from Oregon). They gathered at Milpitas, CA yesterday. Left to right: Chickie, Carol, Moon, JD, with Wolfmom (WM) and Clear Ayes seated.

Argyle

Sunday October 4, 2009 Robert H Wolfe

Theme: Surprise Endings - The ending of each made-up film is an anagram of the last word of a well-known movie.

24A. Film about a soft-hearted creature?: TENDER IS THE THING. Thing/Night anagram. "Tender is the Night" is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

32A. Film about a computer supervisor?: LORD OF THE FILES. Files/Flies anagram. I've never heard of the novel "Lord of the Flies". It's written by British novelist William Golding, Nobel Literature winner 1983.

51A. Film about Los Angeles losing its NFL team?: A FAREWELL TO RAMS. Rams/Arms anagram. "A Farewell to Arms" is a novel by Hemingway. The Rams moved from LA to St. Louis in 1995. I faintly remember this trivia.

69A. Film about Broadway beginners?: WEST SIDE TYROS. Tyros/Story anagram. The musical "West Side Story". Tyro means "beginner".

87A. Film about Santa enjoying his holiday cigar?: A CHRISTMAS CLARO. Claro/Carol anagram. "A Christmas Carol" is a novel by Dickens. Claro is a mild cigar.

105. Film about a home run derby?: DAY OF THE CLOUTS. Clouts/Locust anagram. "The Day of the Locust" is a novel by Nathanael West. Another unknown to me. Shouldn't there be a "The" in the theme answer then? Clout is a powerful hit/home run in baseball.

116. Film about gardening options?: PLACES IN THE EARTH. Earth/Heart anagram. Not familiar the movie "Places in the Heart" either. Looks like a strong cast.

Very "Surprising Endings" indeed.

Did you grok the theme immediately? I did not until I got A CHRISTMAS CLAROL. Bollixed quite a few fill, but was able to solve the puzzle with mild cheating.

Always a great feeling to finish a Robert H. Wolfe puzzle. I tend to have difficulty getting into his wavelength.

Across:

1. Make __: match the scorecard, in golf: A PAR. And TEE (9D. Elevator on the links?). Links = golf course.

5. Little hooters: OWLETS

11. Two pages: LEAF. Oh my, I thought LEAF is only one page.

15. Second Greek letter: BETA. Alpha, beta and gamma.

19. Dieter's word: LITE. And CALORIE (43A. Heat measure). I connect CALORIE with food consumption rather than the heat it food produces.

21. Being, in old Rome: ESSE

22. Indiana senator Bayh: EVAN. Gimme. Senator Bayh (pronounced like by) is a Democrat.

23. Gangsters' guns: GATS. Or RODS. "Gangsters' girls" is MOLLS.

27. Studio sign: ON AIR

29. Chem., for one: SCI. Hated chemistry while in school. Had a very menacing teacher.

30. Chicago-to-Louisville dir.: SSE

31. Name on an armored truck: BRINKS. Wow, I've never paid attention to the name on those armoured truck.

36. Small surgical knife: LANCET. New to me. Rooted in Lance. SCALPEL is "Small surgical knife" too.

37. Landlocked Afr. land: ETH (Ethiopia). Two other African landlocked countries are Lesotho and Swaziland.

49. Certain Prot.: EPIS (Episcopal). Saw this abbreviation somewhere before.

58. Continue after a setback, as one's life: GET ON WITH

61. Jack-in-the-pulpit family: ARUM. Nailed it today.

62. Clean a spill: MOP UP

63. Poker action: RAISE

64. Scary film staple: MONSTER

67. Flat-topped rise: MESA. Also a city in Arizona.

68. Picture-taking word ending: CAM. As in webcam/skycam.

74. Some NFL linemen: RTS (Right Tackles)

75. Publisher Chandler: OTIS. No idea. Wikipedia says this guy was the publisher of LA Times between 1960 and 1980.

77. Chews out: BERATES

78. __ Major: Great Dog constellation: CANIS. Latin for "dog".

80. 1/60 of a dram: MINIM. New word to me. Related to minimum I suppose.

82. Kennel home: CAGE

83. Pretended to have written earlier, as a letter: BACKDATES

91. Fishing spot: PIER

92. Glaswegian gal: LASS. Alliteration.

93. Drip from a bad pipe: LEAK OUT. Verb phrase.

96. Tallahassee sch.: FSU (Florida State University). The Seminoles.

97. Listless: MOPEY

100. Salt Lake City Olympics year: MMII (2002)

102. Command to Spot: SIT. Could be SIC.

104. Artist friend of Max Ernst: MAN RAY. Not a familiar name to me. He was a surrealist photographer. Full name in clue = Full name in answer.

112. Maintain: ALLEGE

113. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT

114. Harry Potter's pal: RON. Easy guess. Have never read any Harry Potter series. You've probably guessed from Jazzbumpa's IRON/I RON wordplay that his real name is Ron.

115. Wreck completely: TOTAL

121. Harley or Honda: BIKE

122. Filmmaker Riefenstahl: LENI. Most famous for her "Triumph of the Will" for Hitler. I remember her name by associating her with Lenin.

123. Forest feature: TREE

125. Away from the wind: ALEE

126. LAX listings: ETDS. ETD = Estimated Time of Departure.

127. Things in locks: OARS. Wanted KEYS. Good clue.

128. Ad with a credit card bill, e.g.: INSERT

129. Ding, but not dong: DENT. Good clue too.

Down:

1. Star in Perseus: ALGOL (AL-gol). Unknown to me. Also called the Demon Star. Al is Arabic for "the". Gol is from Ghoul, evil demon. Related to Gorgon Medusa, who was killed by Perseus (PUR-see-uhs).

2. Grand, perhaps: PIANO. Ah, we just had "Upright, for one" the other day.

3. Rose oil: ATTAR

6. Take away forcibly: WREST

7. Something to do with a business associate?: LUNCH. Oh, I misinterpreted the clue, thinking of something "of a business associate".

8. Comic Izzard: EDDIE. No idea. He is a British comic, born in ADEN (38A: Port in Yemen).

10. Pol. letters until 1991: SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic)

11. Abate: LESSEN

12. Politico Kefauver: ESTES. Adlai Stevenson's 1956 running mate.

13. Light gray: ASH

14. Most frail: FEEBLEST

15. Losing: BEHIND. Ha ha, Tigers lost again! And Twins won. Poor Jazzbumpa.

16. Demonstrate: EVINCE. Know this word. Have never used it though.

17. Failed suddenly, in slang: TANKED

18. Emotional strife: ANGST. Too much ANGST in rap.

26. Window over a door: TRANSOM. Just learned the phrase "over the transom" the other day.

28. Campus recruiters, briefly: ROTC

33. Govt. loan insurer: FHA (Federal Housing Administration). I drew a blank.

34. Pleasant forecast: FAIR

35. Nice notion?: IDEE. Nice is the city in SE France.

41. Like music composed for a libretto: OPERATIC

42. Another name for biotin: VITAMIN H. Big stumper. Did not know the meaning of biotin. Have never heard of Vitamin H either. It's a water-soluble B-complex vitamin.

44. Chou En-__: LAI. China's first premier. LAI is literally "come" in Chinese.

45. Frequently, in verse: OFT

46. Cheering cry: RAH. Not OLE.

47. High-pitched: FLUTY. I checked, it's a real word.

48. Dramatist Rice: ELMER. No idea. Wikipedia says he received Pulitzer for Drama for his 1929 play "Street Scene".

50. "__ lied": SO I. Wrote down YOU, influenced by Congressman Joe Wilson.

52. Diminishes: WANES. Mine was FADES.

53. Formerly, formerly: ERST.

55. Pre-meal drink: APERITIF. Not for me.

56. Attractions not to be missed: MUST-SEES

57. Baden-Baden et al.: SPAS. Baden-Baden is a German spa town. Baden is German for "bathe". Totally unknown to me. Was it a gimme for you, Kazie?

59. Sydney's state: Abbr.: NSW (New South Wales). Definitely a gimme for Kazie.

60. Hall of Fame NFL coach Ewbank: WEEB. Nope. Strange name.

64. Tiny parasites: MITES. GNATS have 5 letters too.

66. Music with many subgenres: ROCK. Emo is a kind of ROCK.

68. Long time out: COMA. And NAP (79D. Short time out). Nice echo.

70. Religious factions: SECTS. Like Shia, Sunni.

71. Ore cars: TRAMS

72. Long tale: SAGA. Epic too.

73. Low: SAD

76. Round Table title: SIR. Don't let it be forgot/That once there was a spot/For one brief shining moment that was known/As Camelot.

81. Used-car datum: MILEAGE

83. Call to Bo-Peep: BAA. Nursery rhyme. "Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep..."

84. First rescue boat: ARK. Noah's ARK is the first ever rescue boat.

86. Actress Joanne: DRU. She's in "All the King's Men".

88. Accept, as a marriage proposal: SAY YES TO

89. Ad writer's award: CLIO. Muse of history.

90. Explorer Ericson: LEIF. The first European to land in North America. Same pronunciation as LIEF (willingly).

94. Trojans' sch.: USC (University of Southern California)

95. Incline: TILT

97. Croquet striker: MALLET. Mostly wooden-headed.

98. Off the boat: ON LAND

99. Summary: PRECIS (prey-SEE). Rooted in precise. APERCU is "Summary" too.

100. Dull finishes: MATTES

101. Tale involving Greek gods, e.g.: MYTH

103. "That's a shame": TOO BAD

105. Eatery traditionally modeled after a rail car: DINER

109. Of service: UTILE

110. Like a movie seat with a coat on it: TAKEN

111. Winter fall: SLEET

117. S&L offering: IRA (Individual Retirement Account)

119. Suffix with Caesar: EAN. Caesarean. C-Section.

120. He followed FDR: HST. "The buck stops here".

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday October 3, 2009 Bruce Venzke and Stella Daily

Theme: None

Total blocks: 32

Total words: 68

I am so curious about the original clues for this puzzle. They can't be so straightforward that even I could finish without much trouble.

There are seven grid-spanning fill in the Across. The stacking did not intimidate me at all. Several just popped up to me immediately with only a few letters penned in:

14A. "This can't be true!": YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS

17A. 25-Across's WWII command: EUROPEAN THEATER. And DDE (5A. WWII general who became pres.). We often see the abbreviated ETO clued as "DDE/IKE arena", nice to see its full name

31A. Scorned notion: HARE-BRAINED IDEA. Like the Cash-for-Clunkers, no?

37A. Oil and vinegar concoction: ITALIAN DRESSING. My first thought is vinaigrette.

38A. "Back off!": DON'T GET TOO CLOSE

55A. Title guy asked to "play a song for me," in a Byrds hit: MR. TAMBOURINE MAN. I only know Bob Dylan's version.

57. Cause of many traveling delays: AIR PORT SECURITY. And VAN (46A. Terminal-to-hotel transport).

Across:

5. __ Rouge: KHMER (kuh-MAIR). The Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, just like the Han people in China (We have 56 ethnic groups in China). I am a Han. Rouge (red) is due to its communist party status.

10. Sch. support groups: PTAS (Parent Teacher Associations). No such support groups in our school.

18. Algae on the beach: SEAWEED. Nori (sushi wrapper) and kelp (dashi soup base) are probably the most popular edible seaweeds.

19. Semaphore user's output: SIGNALS. Sema is Greek for "sign". Phore is a suffix for "bearer/carrier". New word to me.

20. "__ Blu Dipinto Di Blu": 1958 hit: NEL. Italian for "in". The song title is literally "In the Blue Painted Blue" or "Volare", Italian for "To Fly". I can never remember it.

22. Nursery bed: CRIB. And COTS (50D. No-frills beds).

28. Devilish tot: IMP

39. SASE, e.g.: ENC. SASE = Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope. You've got to attach a SASE if you want an autographed card from those baseball players.

41. Not much: A TAD

48. Kind of fingerprint or code: GENETIC. Genetic fingerprint = DNA testing.

51. "Is it worth the risk?": DO I DARE. Nope, I don't dare, to eat a peach.

59. Davis of "Do the Right Thing": OSSIE. Always want GEENA.

60. Words before ghost or doctor: SEE A

Down:

1. Tars' affirmatives: AYES. Tar/salt/gob, all slang for sailor.

2. Licentious sort: ROUE. Roué is pronounced as roo-EY. Did you guys want RAKE again?

3. Certain something: AURA. I like the clue.

4. High martial arts rank: BROWN BELT. Only know black belt.

5. Get ready to pray: KNEEL

6. 1950s tennis great Lew: HOAD. Nailed him this time. He's a two-time Wimbledon champion (1956-57).

7. Part of a range: Abbr: MTN

8. Inexact nos.: ESTS (Estimates)

10. Beethoven's instrument: PIANO. See, you don't see Rich Norris repeats any clue. It's "Upright, for one" yesterday.

11. Nincompoop: TOTAL IDIOT

12. "The Mammoth Hunters" author: AUEL (Jean). Also the author of "The Clan of the Cave Bear".

13. Lith. et al., once: SSRS (Soviet Socialist Republics)

15. French for "sword": EPEE. Oh, good to know.

16. __ Park: Queens area near Forest Hills: REGO. No idea. What's the name origin of this park?

22. Scold: CHIDE

23. Boca __: RATON. A city in Palm Beach, Florida.

24. Ollie North's '80s "affair": IRAN-CONTRA. Is Ollie a nickname for Oliver?

25. "Divine Comedy" writer: DANTE. A Hell of a writer.

26. Inflicted upon: DID TO

27. Collapsed company chronicled in the 2005 documentary subtitled "The Smartest Guys in the Room": ENRON. Watched it immediately after its release. Not impressed.

29. Club for smart guys and girls: MENSA. Spanish for "stupid"(feminine adjective).

30. Alerted, as a doctor: PAGED

32. Important: BIG. As in big potato, slang for an important person.

34. Want-ad abbr.: EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity). EOE = Equal-Opportunity Employer.

35. U.S. Army medal: DSC (Distinguished Service Cross). Can't be DSM (Distinguished Service Medal) because medal is in the clue.

36. Martha's Vineyard natives, e.g.: ISLANDERS. Did not come to me readily.

43. Gets as a return: REAPS. You reap what you sow.

44. Prefix with sphere: ATMO. Atmosphere.

45. Book, to Bolívar: LIBRO. Spanish for "book". New to me. Bolívar is chosen for alliterative purpose.

46. Express, as an opinion: VOICE. Can't be OPINE because of "opinion".

47. Japanese aborigine: AINU (AHY-noo). The native language for "person".

48. Exam for a Wharton Sch. hopeful: GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test). A test for MBA hopefuls. I think GRE can be a substitute.

49. Port on its own lake: ERIE

51. Eins plus zwei: DREI. 1+2=3, in German.

52. Gallic girlfriend: AMIE. Cher ami (male), Chère amie (female).

53. Interest percentage: RATE

54. Pop musician from County Donegal: ENYA. Well, who else could it be, with the "County" tip off? One name singer can only be SEAL, SADE and CHER. Did I miss anyone?

56. __ Constitution: USS. The oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat in the world.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday October 2, 2009 Jack McInturff

Theme: Let Me C - Letter C is inserted in front of a R-starting 4-letter word of a familiar phrase/word.

20A. Grouch in the army?: MILITARY (C)RANK. Military Rank. A grouchy person is a crank.

27A. Small-time hood's pottery?: PUNK (C)ROCK. Punk Rock. Punk=hood. Ruffian.

36A. Accident in a qualifying race?: HEAT (C)RASH. Heat Rash. Heat = preliminary or qualifying race.

47A. Family insignia for designer Edith?: HEAD (C)REST. Headrest. Edith Head was a costume designer with 8 Oscar awards. Did anyone put PIAF first?

54A. Jalopy used as a trade-in?: EXCHANGE (C)RATE. Exchange Rate. Both jalopy and crate refer to beat-up cars. New to me.

Too bad the base word headrest is single word. All the other theme answers have two-word base phrases.

Simple yet clever theme. Neat to have CYCLE (30D. Repeating series) connecting three of the theme answers. Neater to have a letter C placed in the very middle of the grid.

Quite a few unfamiliar names, but mostly obtainable from crosses.

Across:

1. List of options: MENU. Easy start.

14. Informed about: UP ON. Sometimes the answer is IN ON.

15. Rod Stewart's ex: ALANA. Also George Hamilton's ex.

16. Parade honoree: HERO

17. Sugar and spice product?: GIRL. Nursery rhyme: "... What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and all things nice". Boys from "snakes and snails and puppy dog tails."

18. Turbine part: ROTOR

19. __-Z: classic Camaro: IROC. I just remember it as I ROCK.

23. Upright, for one: PIANO. Or "Grand, for one". I like how it intersects PPP (23D. Very quietly). PPP stands for pianississimo. Piano can mean soft too, abbreviated as P.

26. Tell stories: LIE. Nice clue.

31. Hardwood tree: ALDER. Rot/water resistant. Birch family.

33. Downing St. VIPs: PMS (Prime Ministers). The "British legislators" are MPS (Members of Parliament).

34. Small island: CAY. Same as key.

39. Ford failures: EDSELS

42. "Bad" cholesterol, briefly: LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein). The "good" cholesterol is HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein). And OAT (29D. Cholesterol-reducing grain).

43. "The Gold Bug" author: POE. Easy guess. I was not aware of this short story.

46. Hedren of "The Birds": TIPPI. Melanie Griffith's mother.

51. '70s-'80s Pakistani leader: ZIA. Learned his name from doing Xword. Khan and ZIA.

53. Analyze grammatically: PARSE

64. River near Kassel, Germany: EDER. The red line? I only saw ELBE.

65. Like Chicago, so they say: WINDY. Chicago is nicknamed the "Windy City".

66. Where the Jazz play: UTAH. Utah Jazz.

67. Belgrade native: SERB

68. Pair in the middle of dressing?: ESSES. There are a pair of letter S in the very middle of the word "dressing".

Down:

3. Old Viking descendants of northern France: NORMANS. Derived from Norsemen.

4. Separate, as chain parts: UNLINK

5. Indian cover-up: SARI. I liked the clue. "Malaysian cover-up" is SARONG.

6. Congeal, as blood: CLOT

7. Pro __: RATA. In proportion.

8. Arctic jacket: ANORAK (AN-uh-rak). The Eskimo parka. The boy in the middle has a boy Dennis look.

9. Martin and Magdalene: MARYS. Don't know Mary Martin.

11. Harbingers: HERALDS

12. Many O. Henry endings: IRONIES. I like how it's placed side by side with MOCKERY (13D. Farce).

21. Express's opp.: LOC. Local?

24. Periodic table suffix: IUM. Elemental ending, as in titanium.

28. Old ColorTrak TVs: RCAS

35. Like worn tires: BALD. No tread.

36. With it: HEP

37. "My Fair Lady" flower seller: ELIZA. Eliza Doolittle.

38. Old vitamin bottle abbr.: RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance). What's the abbreviation on the "New vitamin bottle" then?

39. Refinery gases: ETHENES. Thought it's spelled ETHANES.

40. Carbon __: DIOXIDE. The greenhouse gas.

41. Phantom: SPECTER

43. Italian jewelry designer Elsa: PERETTI. No idea. Got her name from Across fill.

44. CIA predecessor: OSS (Office of Strategic Services)

45. When the French fry?: ETE. Ha ha, identical clue in Jack McInturff's March 25 puzzle.

47. Traditional Scottish dish: HAGGIES. Ewwww.

48. Yr.-end auditor: CPA. Kind of tired to see CPA every day. Probably not for KQ.

49. Inform on, slangily: RAT OUT

52. Really impressed: IN AWE

55. Chef's secret ingredient, perhaps: HERB. I only like chives.

56. Fish-eating birds: ERNS. OK, here is the correct ERN (Thanks again, Roger). Looks ferocious, doesn't it? TERN, on the other hand, looks rather dumb.

58. Actor Fernando et al.: REYS. Obtained his name from crossings. Spanish actor.

63. Short at the poker table: SHY

Answer grid.

Dot/Frank, read this interesting article on daily crossword & long marriage connections. 70 years, amazing!

C.C.

Thursday October 1, 2009 Jonathan Seff

Theme: Homophones

17A: Doe: ANONYMOUS PERSON. John/Jane Doe. "A DEER, A FEMALE DEER" won't fit. It has 16 letters.

27A: Do: KEY NOTE IN A SCALE. Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti.

49A: Dough: BREAD BAKING NEED. Chinese don't bake. We steam our buns. Milk is not an ingredient in our dough either. Only flour, water and yeast.

65A: D'oh: HOMER SIMPSON CRY. Yep, D'oh is Homer's catch phrase.

Words are homophones if they have the same pronunciation but different spelling/meaning.

Words are homonyms if they have the same spelling and pronunciation but different meaning, such as left (past tense of leave) and left (opposite of right).

Also a bit of animal sub-theme:

71A: Animal: BEAST

72A. She-bears, in Seville: OSAS. He-bears is OSOS.

50D. White 66-Down, e.g.: ALBINO. And RAT (66D: Pied Piper follower).

51D. Cat, in Cancún: GATO. Netflix is headquartered in Los GATOS (the cats), CA.

Nice puzzle. Nice grid-spanning theme answers. The concept is quite original.

Across:

1. Gillette's __ II razor: TRAC. Not ATRA today.

5. Young reporters: CUBS. Cub reporter.

9. Half-and-half half: CREAM. The other half is MILK. Delicious clue.

14. __ sapiens: HOMO. Our genus.

15. European capital: OSLO. Four-letter capital. What else could it be?

16. Speed: HASTE. It makes waste.

20. Get loose for the game: WARM UP

21. French monarch: ROI. Louis XIV is the Le ROI Soleil (the Sun King).

25. Maker of ergonomic kitchenware: OXO. The cushioned rubber grips are definitely ergonomic.

35. Suffix with ranch: ERO. Ranchero (rancher). Spanish for ranch is "rancho".

36. Coastal bird: ERN. Or ERNE, the sea eagle. TERN is "Coastal bird" too, with a forked tail.

37. Curb, as spending: REIN IN. Tell the Congress.

38. Dentist's directive: BRUSH. FLOSS is five letter too.

43. Nearly boil: SCALD. My goodness. I had the wrong idea of SCALD then. I thought it more than boils.

44. Relating to the body's main blood line: AORTIC. From Kazie yesterday: The phrase "there oughta be A LAW" reminded me of the tongue-in-cheek Oz reference to people always saying "they oughta...", which is then shortened to "aorta" to refer to such people: "the great aorta".

46. Laddie's negative: NAES. Scottish for "no".

48. Indians, on scoreboards: CLE. Cleveland Indians. And another baseball term RBI (59A. Hitter's stat). Twins have to win tomorrow, otherwise, they are done.

53. Sushi fish: EEL. Hmmm, unagi.

54. Final Four initials: NCAA

55. __ acetate: banana oil: AMYL (AM-il). Rooted in Latin amylum, "starch". Unknown to me.

61. Duke Ellington's "Take the __": A TRAIN. Have never been to NY. Don't know where A TRAIN runs.

68. Big name in kitchen foil: ALCOA. They make the Reynolds Wrap. Dow 30 component.

69. Sculptor's subject: NUDE. Wanted BODY.

73. Promgoer's concern, maybe: ACNE

Down:

2. Gossipy Barrett: RONA. She is still alive.

3. Passionate deity: AMOR. Love god.

4. Hustler: CON MAN. Paul Newman's "The Hustler" is probably the best film on pool.

5. Vie: COMPETE

6. Military morale-boosting gp.: USO (United Service Organizations)

8. "Already?": SO SOON

9. "Evita" narrator: CHE. Learned from doing Xword. Have never seen "Evita".

11. Canadian gas sign: ESSO. Yep, they still call ESSO in Canana.

13. Clothing store section: MEN'S

18. Bygone Serbian auto: YUGO. No idea. Does YUGO stand for Yugoslavia?

19. "Finding Nemo" studio: PIXAR. It belongs to Disney now.

24. Laura of "Jurassic Park": DERN

26. Plural ending for neur-: OSES. Neuroses. Plural of neurosis. The clue doesn't sound natural to me.

27. Meal on a skewer: KEBAB. Shish KEBAB. KEBAB = roasted meat. Shish = spit. Turkish origin.

28. 1 + 1 = 3, for example: ERROR

29. "__ a Good Man, Charlie Brown": YOU'RE. Have never heard of this Broadway musical.

30. How contracts are usually signed: IN INK

31. Pres., vis-à--vis the armed forces: CIC (Commander in Chief)

32. Has __ up one's sleeve: AN ACE

33. City in which de Gaulle was born: LILLE. The French textile city. Eat worms if you missed this one. I mentioned LILLE & de Gaulle connection before. Close to the Belgium border.

34. Rear-__: hit from behind: ENDED

39. Grand Central, e.g.: Abbr.: STA (Station)

40. Sweep under the rug: HIDE

45. "Good buddies": CB'ER. "Good buddy" on the road.

47. Sheathes: ENCASES

52. Land chronicled by C.S. Lewis: NARNIA. "The Chronicles of NARNIA".

55. One giving Starbuck orders?: AHAB. From "Moby-Dick". Starbuck is AHAB's first mate. I fell into the constructor's trap and misread the clue as "Starbucks orders". The Starbucks Coffee is named in part after Starbuck.

56. Double agent: MOLE

57. Pantomimed disco song title: YMCA

58. Many August babies: LEOS

60. Don of talk radio: IMUS. Did not know that "nappy" has a racism connotation until the Don IMUS incident.

62. Outlet letters: AC/DC. Oh, power outlet.

63. Golfer's choice: IRON. Or driver/putter, etc.

64. AMEX rival: NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). I tried VISA first, thinking of credit card.

67. BlackBerry or Sidekick, briefly: PDA. Not familiar with Sidekick, the gadget from T-Mobile.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday September 30, 2009 Chuck Deodene

Theme: MUSTACHE (64A: Each answer to a starred clue is a type of this)

17A. *Evil Asian doctor in Sax Rohmer novels: FU MANCHU. It extends downward past the lips, as sported by Baseball Hall of Famer Goose Gossage.

11D. *Scooter feature: HANDLEBAR. It has long, curved and upward pointing ends, resembling the handlebars of a bicycle, as sported by President Taft.

22D. *Tusked mammal: WALRUS. It's thick and bushy, hanging down over the lips, often entirely covering the mouth, as sported by Nietzsche. PGA's Craig Stadler is nicknamed "The Walrus" because of his mustache.

35D. *Trotter's footwear item: HORSESHOE. It's U-shaped, with vertical extensions from the corners of the lips down to the jawline, as sported by Hulk Hogan.

36D. *Eyebrow cosmetic applicator: PENCIL. It's narrow, straight and thin like a pencil, as sported by Brad Pitt.

What do you call Dennis's style? I was not familiar with the last term PENCIL MUSTACHE.

Adorable puzzle. I loved how the constructor placed MUSTACHE in the grid and clued all the theme answers in a non-MUSTACHE way. Think how boring it would be if he clued them simply as "Mustache type".

Across:

1. Used a spade: DUG. Nice echo with its symmetrical partner SOD (71A: Lay down the lawn).

8. Accident: MISHAP

14. Fertility lab eggs: OVA. Plural of ovum, Latin for "eggs".

16. Francia neighbor: ESPANA. Spanish for Spain/France.

21. "There oughta be __": A LAW

24. Second largest planet: SATURN. The ringed planet. Also the Roman god of Agriculture. See AGRI (58D: Prefix with culture).

26. Scalawag: RASCAL. Scalawag is a new word to me.

29. Category: ILK. I am used to "Sort" clue.

30. Polish Nobelist Walesa: LECH. Nobel Peace, to be exact (1983).

36. "We'll always have __": Rick, to Ilsa, in "Casablanca": PARIS. Love this line.

39. Satisfied laugh: CHORTLE. Portmanteau word. Chuckle + Snort.

41. Transfers to a central computer: UPLOAD. Crossing another computer term CODE (31. Programmer's output).

43. Whisperer's target: EAR

46. Wetlands bird: EGRET. The white-feathered bird.

49. Sheet on the road, perhaps: ICE

51. Like steamy prose: EROTIC. Most of Anaïs Nin's work are EROTIC.

53. Ogden native: UTAHAN. Have faintly heard of Ogden, the city to the north of Salt Lake City.

57. Alexander of "Seinfeld": JASON. He is the annoying George.

59. Truth stretcher: LIAR. George stretches truth often.

61. Daffy: LOCO. Fred clued it as "Nuts or crackers?" last time.

62. Thunderstruck: AGHAST. Did not come to me readily.

66. Wall Street worker: BROKER

67. Yemen coastal city: ADEN. It's the capital city of Yemen before 1990.

68. "__-Tiki": KON. I forgot. Norwegian balsa raft.

69. Tijuana snooze: SIESTA

70. Lean to one side, at sea: LIST. Thought of TILT first.

Down:

1. Tips in a gentlemanly manner: DOFF. Oh, tip the hat. Good clue.

2. Soft palate dangler: UVULA. Tonsil neighbor.

3. Full range: GAMUT. No A TO Z today.

4. Main element in pewter: TIN. Thought it's lead.

5. Mysterious: ARCANE. I always associate ARCANE with "obscure" rather than "Mysterious".

6. Wonka's creator: DAHL (Roald). Someone mentioned last time that DAHL is a common Norwegian surname, meaning "valley". Roald DAHL was of Norwegian root.

7. Sea-life displays: AQUARIA. Plural of aquarium.

8. Queens ballplayer: MET. Shea is gone. Mets now play in Citifield. They've won 2 World Series, the same as the Twins. Go Twins! Tame the Tigers!

18. Maligning sort: ABUSER

27. Hop along happily: SKIP

34. Indian spiced tea: CHAI. Rooted in Chinese word for tea CHA.

37. Hard rain?: SLEET

40. Café lightener: LAIT. French for milk. Café au LAIT et croissant. Yum!

42. Dakota Native American: OGLALA. Literally "to scatter one's own" in Lakota language. Crazy Horse was an OGLALA.

45. Point in math class?: DECIMAL. Before the fraction.

50. Foiled villain's shout: CURSES. How come the clue is singular? Also, Jerome/Fred, should I say most of the fills or fill in this puzzle are solid? Singular or plural?

54. Pawns: HOCKS. Just learned this meaning a few months ago.

56. Incessantly: NO END. I like how END ends the grid.

57. Setup punches: JABS. Got the answer from Across fill. Boxing term?

60. Bavaria-based automaker: AUDI. Easy guess. Was unaware that AUDI is based in Bavaria, largest state of Germany. Its capital city is Munich.

65. "The Closer" TV station: TNT. Did not like the clue, as the T stands for TV. "The Closer" channel is better.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday September 29, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: DIETARY DUOS - Food pairings you might consume in the course of a day.

16A: Breakfast pair: COFFEE AND DONUTS

24A: Lunch pair: SOUP AND SANDWICH

41A: Dinner pair: MEAT AND POTATOES

54A: Evening ball game snack pair: BEER AND PRETZELS

Argyle again. Today's Dan Naddor Index (total non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 12, lower than last week's. Similar stacks of 6's on the left and right edges of the grid.

Besides the above theme entries, we also have:

9A: Saran, for one: WRAP. Or a type of sandwich you might have with your SOUP.

13A: Layered cookie: OREO. Good anytime (with milk).

40A: Pilot light site: STOVE. Cooking!

46A: Fancy burger beef: ANGUS. Strictly a beef breed (Their meat would go well with those potatoes).

30D: Want badly, as chocolate: CRAVE. Have some dark one. It's healthy.

52D: Diner orders, for short: BLTS. Crossing the last theme answer.

Very tasty Tuesday treat Dan has served up for us. All the four grid spanning theme answers are delicious!

Across:

1A: Leaders in the dugout: Abbr.: MGRS. Managers. It's about this time of year when heads start to roll in the dugouts.

5A: Univ. hot shot: BMOC. Big Man On Campus

14A: Dainty embroidered mat: DOILY.

15A: McKellen and Fleming: IANS. Sir Ian McKellen, English actor and Ian Fleming, English author.

19A: Apt to shy, as a horse: SKITTISH. Don't spook the horse. Shy – verb (used without object) (esp. of a horse) to start back or aside, as in fear.

20A: Like a dark room: UNLIT.

21A: HBO competitor: SHO. Trademarks. Home Box Office and SHOwtime: cable channels

22A: Japanese sleuth Mr. __: MOTO. Mr. MOTO is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand

32A: Don, as apparel: PUT ON.

33A: Keep one's __ the ground: EAR TO. Try to keep informed about something, especially if there are rumours or uncertainties. The expression "keep your Ear To the ground" comes from the way American Indians did this action to feel for the vibrations of herds of animals on the run so they would hear the vibration of hooves(at least, in the movies).

34A: Miracle-__: garden product: GRO. Plant food. Not for use on zucchinis.

35A: Bickering: AT IT. Again.

36A: When Juliet drinks the potion: ACT IV. Clever & tricky clue.

37A: Former Fed chairman Greenspan: ALAN.

38A: Incite to attack, with "on": SIC. You would SIC a dog on something with the command, "SIC 'em".

39A: Rocket engineer Wernher von __: BRAUN.

49A: Just in case: IF NEED BE.

59A: Feedbag fill: OATS. More food.

60A: "Benevolent" fraternal order: ELKS. The Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.

61A: Orchestral reed: OBOE.

62A: Estimate phrase: OR SO.

Down:

1D: Comfy soft shoes: MOCS. What Santa wants.

2D: Understand, in slang: GROK. Origin: coined by Robert A. Heinlein in the science-fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land (1961).

3D: Mortgage payment-lowering strategy, briefly: REFI. Shortening of refinance.

4D: Sentimental place in the heart: SOFT SPOT.

5D: Fluffy stoles: BOAS.

6D: Ho Chi __: MINH.

8D: Dancer Charisse: CYD. How 'bout them gams? Her nickname "Sid" was taken from a sibling trying to say "Sis". (It was later spelled "Cyd" at MGM to give her an air of mystery.) From Wikipedia.

9D: Separate grain from chaff: WINNOW. WH, you explain it.

10D: __ Julia, who played Gomez Addams: RAUL. Take a call on the Addams Family.

14D: Football's "Prime Time" Sanders: DEION. His Rookie Card doesn't look like he was ready for "Prime Time".

17D: Wharton's "__ Frome": ETHAN. Ethan Frome is a novel set in turn-of-the-century New England in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. It was published in 1911 by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton.

22D: Former quarterback Dan: MARINO. American Hall of Famer played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League. 1983–1999

23D: Being aired, as a sitcom: ON TV.

24D: Muscle cramp, e.g.: SPASM.

25D: Noticeable navel: OUTIE. Hmm, another quarterback.

26D: City near Syracuse: UTICA.

28D: Stopped slouching: SAT UP.

29D: Domed Arctic home: IGLOO.

36D: River of Florence: ARNO. Ah, the flower of Florence.

37D: Where to see wild animals in cages: AT THE ZOO. Simon and Garfunkel

39D: Modeler's wood: BALSA. Light weight and easy to carve.

40D: "America's Funniest Home Videos" host Bob: SAGET. FYI: Former "America's Funniest Home Videos" host Bob Saget is returning to the show as a guest co-host for an episode to film in October.

42D: Zodiac bull: TAURUS. Also, the Ford Taurus, an automobile manufactured by Ford introduced in the 1986.

43D: Adjusted the pitch of, as a piano: TUNED.

47D: Armstrong in space: NEIL. The first human to set foot on the Moon back in July 1969.

48D: Nerd: GEEK.

49D: __ facto: IPSO. By the fact itself.

50D: Gratis: FREE.

51D: Start of many a letter: DEAR.

53D: Old U.S. gas: ESSO.

55D: Prefix with natal: NEO.

56D: Brylcreem bit: DAB. In this ad, catch the phrase "disturbingly healthy".

Answer grid.

Argyle