Friday December 4, 2009 Jack McInturff

Theme: Back End - CK is inserted to the second word of a common phrase, changing the long vowel sound into short vowel.

17A. Takedown by Tinker Bell?: FAIRY TA(CK)LE. Fairy Tale. Tinker Bell is a fairy.

24A. Reaction to an amusing porcelain?: CERAMIC TI(CK)LE. Ceramic Tile.

38A. Symptom of poor lighting?: FREQUENT FLI(CK)ER. Frequent Flier. My favorite theme entry.

49A. Supermarket group taking a coffee break, perhaps?: THREE CHE(CK)ERS. Three Cheers. I did not know that cashiers are also called checkers.

59A. Store-brand dill?: STOCK PI(CK)LE. Stockpile.

We also have two more non-theme CK combination entries: ACK (8D. Comics cry of disgust) and FREE KICKS (11D. Consequences of some soccer fouls).

Very chopping solving today. Never really got into Jack's wavelength. Quite a few three-letter abbreviation answers in this grid, and some were quite tough to get: XLI, CIS, CLK for example.

Favorite clue today is EX-CON (50D. Former pen pal?). I immediately realized that pen refers to "prison", but the answer just refused to reveal itself readily.

Across:

1. Afternoon break: SIESTA

7. City on the Cauca River: CALI. Already had the last letter I in place, so CALI came to me immediately.

11. Monastic title: FRA. Italian short for "brother".

14. Many a marigold: ANNUAL. Don't like marigold.

15. Juice letters?: AC/DC. Juice is slang for " electricity or electric power". New to me.

16. VCR button: REW (Rewind)

19. "Little" 1960s singer: EVA. Named after the little girl Eva in "Uncle Tom's Cabin".

20. Former Spanish queen: ENA. Grandmother of the current Spanish king.

21. "The A-Team" actor: MR. T

29. Sought a seat: RAN. Ran office. I plopped down SAT first.

30. Limoges-born impressionist: RENOIR. Already had NO filled in, plus the "impressionist" clue, the name emerged rather quickly.

31. Parsley piece: SPRIG

34. Mideast carrier: EL AL. Literally "skyward".

36. USSR successor: CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). Got me.

42. NASDAQ listings: COS (Companies)

44. Western prop: LASSO

45. Out in the open: PUBLIC. Dennis's Tiger to Cheetah name change comment yesterday made me laugh. Poor Tiger, a rare triple bogey!

48. Title for Roger Moore: SIR

53. Jersey groups: HERDS. D'oh, Jersey cow. I was in New Jersey sports direction.

54. Super Bowl played in MMVII: XLI (41). Big trouble for me. Not a football fan, completely clueless about the exact Roman numeral for the 2007 Super Bowl. Colts beat the Bears.

58. Sporty truck, for short: UTE

64. MC's aid: MIC

65. First name in architecture: EERO (Saarinen). Designer of the Gateway Arch.

66. Block: IMPEDE

67. Pie chart fig.: PCT (Percent)

68. Inert gas: NEON

69. Like some foot bones: TARSAL. Nice crossing with HEEL (57D. Achilles' weakness).

Down:

1. Place for gems: SAFE. Of course.

2. Words with uproar or instant: IN AN

3. Massive old computer: ENIAC. Debuted in 1946.

4. Baja California __: Mexican state: SUR

5. Scotland's longest river: TAY. New trivia to me. England's longest river is Severn, not Thames.

6. "Gosford Park" director: ALTMAN (Robert). Lots of coverage about this guy when he filmed "A Prairie Home Companion" here in MN.

7. Saguaros, e.g.: CACTI. Have never seen saguaros in person.

9. Cholesterol initials: LDL. "Bad" cholesterol.

10. Strands at the ski resort, perhaps: ICES IN

12. Big-time parties: REVELRIES. Couldn't believe people would crash a White House party.

13. With it: AWARE. Oh, I thought "With it" is a slang for "sane", since "Lose it" means "become insane".

18. Shirt part: ARM

23. 31-Down, e.g.: NCO. And SFC (31D. Army E-7: Abbr.). SFC = Sergeant First Class. Not a familiar abbr. to me at all.

25. La Salle of "ER": ERIQ. Nice u-less Q word. Just like my Mandarin name.

26. Pizza Quick sauce maker: RAGU

27. Scrapbooking, e.g.: CRAFT. KQ loves scrapbooking.

28. Recount: TELL. Recount a story. I was recounting the vote.

32. Like some visions: PROPHETIC. Great clue.

33. Bring back into practice: RESURRECT

34. Cain's eldest son: ENOCH. Don't confuse it with "Seth's son" ENOS.

35. Kojak and Crocker: Abbr.: LTS ( lieutenants). Who is Crocker?

37. Sign of a big hit: SRO (Standing Room Only)

39. Majestic: EPIC

40. Nastase of tennis: ILIE. I just remember him as I LIE.

41. "It Must Be Him" singer Vikki: CARR. Here is a clip.

46. Breakfast companion?: BED. Bed and Breakfast.

47. Ease: LESSEN

48. "Never mind": SKIP IT

49. Haunted house sound: THUMP. Did it come to you quickly?

51. Court recordkeeper: Abbr.: CLK (Clerk). Had trouble with the abbreviation. STENO would be a correct answer too.

52. "Land __!": SAKES. Just learned this exclamation a few weeks ago.

56. "The West Wing" Emmy winner: ALDA (Alan)

60. Place to start a hole: TEE. Tee box. Golf.

61. Pizarro's quest: ORO. Spanish for "gold". Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador. Founder of Lima, Peru.

62. The Monkees' "__ Believer": I'M A

63. "Kiss of life," briefly: CPR. I like this new clue.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday December 3, 2009 Barry Silk

Theme: PLUG (63A. Ad, or word that can follow the end of 17-, 26-, 43- or 55-Across)

17A. "Imagination at work" company: GENERAL ELECTRIC. Electric Plug. Rare gimme theme entry for me. Still waiting for my GE stock to bounce back.

26A. Fried-dough carnival treat: ELEPHANT EAR. Earplug. Have never tasted Elephant Ear. I wanted CORN FRITTER, which has the same number of letters and ends in R too.

43A. The Doors #1 hit covered by José Feliciano: LIGHT MY FIRE. Fireplug. Here is the clip. I've never heard of José Feliciano. His constant nodding made me dizzy.

55A. "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" author: DAME MURIEL SPARK. Spark Plug. Both the book and the author (Scottish) were strangers to me.

I liked how PLUG ends the grid, good visual image.

Lots of D'oh clues in this puzzle. My favorites are DELI (6D. Sub station?) and RHYMES (38D. Stop and shop e.g.). Both reminded me of the "License to drill?" clue Barry had for DDS (Doctor of Dental Science) in his 2008 Phillies Championship Tribute puzzle. Very clever.

I struggled at the last theme answer. Tough crossing between TORI (59A. Doughnut shapes) and RTE (56D. Way to go: Abbr.) for me. Had a breeze freeze on both. "Way to go," Barry, you got me. I did recognize the torus shape when I googled. Had no idea that its plural form is tori.

Across:

1. Cheese town in the province of Noord-Holland: EDAM. Four-letter Dutch cheese town has to be Edam.

5. Cooper's tool: ADZE. Or adz.

9. Like some potatoes: RICED. How do you like your potatoes prepared? I like oven-baked potato wedges.

14. Snare __: DRUM

15. Powerful 19th century Virginia family: LEES. Of them, R.E Lee appears in our Xword very often.

16. Positive terminal, at times: ANODE. It could be negative terminal at times?

21. Sale condition: AS IS

22. Deceived: LIED TO. What Tiger probably did.

23. Stranded motorist's aid: JACK

25. Cambodian money: RIEL. Pronounced the same as "reel".

30. General on a Chinese menu: TSO. General Tso's Chicken.

33. Fiesta Bowl site: TEMPE. No idea. Arizona State (Sun Devils) is located there as well.

34. Work units: ERGS

35. Group including flower children's children, briefly: GEN X. Stumped me. Flower children refer to those hippies in the 1960's. I was picturing Lyndon Johnson's Daisy Flower Girl ad.

36. Pants fabric: TWILL

38. Actress Blakley: RONEE. No idea. Looks like she's a singer as well.

39. Je t'__: Parisian's "I love you": AIME. And MME (4D. Marseille Mrs.)

41. Drambuie ingredient: HONEY. I've never heard of Drambuie, a honey and herb flavored Scotch whisky.

42. Govt. ID issuer: SSA (Social Security Administration). They issue SSN.

46. Grant and Vanderbilt: AMYS

47. Spotted cat: OCELOT. Hi, buddy, what are you looking at?

50. Exceptional: RARE. Rara in Latin, as in Rara Avis, like Sade or our Kazie.

52. Subway alternative: BUS

58. Cream of the crop: ELITE

60. Merrie __ England: OLDE. And ETON (62A. School founded in 1440). I actually know this trivia.

61. Begat: SIRED

Down:

2. Stowe novel: DRED. Does this book have anything to do with Dred Scott the slave?

3. Quaker Oats trademark: AUNT JEMIMA. Awesome entry.

5. Mount McKinley's state: ALASKA

7. Puzzle center?: ZEES. Two letter Z's in the center of the word puzzle.

8. Subj. taught bilingually: ESL (English as a Second Language)

10. Spy's briefing contents, briefly: INTEL. Intelligence I suppose.

11. Firewood order: CORD. It's been a very mild winter here in Minnesota.

12. Correct, perhaps: EDIT

13. Empire State Building style: DECO

18. "Silent Spring" author Carson: RACHEL. Have heard of the book, not the author.

19. Inventor Howe: ELIAS. Sewing machine inventor.

24. Winesap, e.g.: APPLE. Nope, first encounter with winesap apples.

25. Contrition: REGRET

26. Singer James et al.: ETTAS

27. Explorer aided by Sacagawea: LEWIS. Or Clark.

28. Dogma-rejecting spiritual genre: NEW AGE. All I know about New Age is that Enya and Yanni are New Age musicians.

30. Court bouncer: TENNIS BALL. Oh, tennis court.

31. Show contempt: SNEER

32. Kind of daisy: OX-EYE. Hope this is the kind Jeannie likes.

40. Artistic merit: VIRTU (ver-TOO). Italian for virtue. New to me.

43. Came menacingly into view: LOOMED

44. Large game fish: MARLIN. Barry probably clued it as baseball related (Florida Marlins) originally. He's an avid baseball fan.

45. 1950s-'60s Yankee Boyer: CLETE. No idea. Clete Boyer played third base for the Yankees.

48. City SW of Bogotá: CALI. Maybe Chickie could tell us a bit about Cali, she lived there for two years.

49. Mideast bigwig: EMIR. Those emirs need to clean up the Dubai mess.

50. Scream: RIOT. Did not know riot can mean "scream". I wanted RANT.

51. Opening for dynamic: AERO. Aerodynamic.

53. Pakistani tongue: URDU. I just learned that Urdu is essentially identical to Hindi in its spoken form but in its literary form heavily influenced by Persian and Arabic and written in an Arabic alphabet.

54. Surfboard fin: SKEG. New word to me. Looks like each surfboard has two skegs.

57. How the weasel goes?: POP. Pop! Goes the Weasel. Excellent clue too.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday December 2, 2009 Ed Sessa

Theme: RAIN CATS AND DOGS (65A. Come down in buckets; also, when applied in sequence to the answers to starred clues, this puzzle's theme)

17A. *Nightly news show segment: WEATHER FORECAST. Rain.

27A. *Big Apple show: BROADWAY MUSICAL. "Cats", one of our Buckeye's favorite musicals. Clear Aye's too, I think.

49. *1955 Disney animated film featuring Darling Dear: LADY AND THE TRAMP. Both are dogs.

Very innovative theme, isn't it? I've never seen such type before. And all of the theme answers have grid-spanning 15 letters and intersect every Down entry.

Only letter X is missing, otherwise it would be a pangram. Quite a few nice clues in the grid. My favorites are I DO (23A. Veiled consent?) and YALE (60D. It's a lock). The latter is similar to "It's a wrap" for SAREE/SHAWL.

Across:

1. Square after Connecticut Avenue: JAIL. Monopoly property. Scrabbly start.

10. Wax remover: Q-TIP. Oh, earwax.

15. Israeli seaport: HAIFA. The only 5-letter Israeli port that I know.

16. Choice in a booth: VOTE. Have never voted in the US. Not a citizen. China does not allow dual citizenship.

20. Match starter: SERVE. And LOVE (62D. Tennis score). Both tennis terms.

36. Houston Aeros' org.: AHL (American Hockey League). Just realized that Houston Aeros is the affiliate of our Minnesota Wild. Sadly an unknown fact for me.

37. Brass or pewter: ALLOY. Wanted METAL.

38. Overplay a part: EMOTE

39. Breakfast corner: NOOK. What did you have for breakfast today? I've been loving mochi rice balls (with honey walnuts & chopped dates inside) lately.

41. Long Island __: SOUND. The answer revealed itself. I only knew Long Island Iced Tea.

43. Poker Flat chronicler Harte: BRET. Learned the name from doing Xword. Not familiar with his book "The Outcasts of Poker Flat".

44. To the point, in law: AD REM. AD = To. REM is accusative of RES (matter/thing). I can never remember this Latin phrase.

46. Author Nin: ANAIS. The famous diarist.

48. Evian, par exemple: EAU. French for "water".

53. Show about Capote: TRU

54. Candy in 12-piece dispensers: PEZ. Look at her pez collection. Some of the vintage no feet ones are worth hundreds of dollars.

57. Pisa place: ITALY

61. Two-time opponent of Ike: ADLAI (Stevenson)

68. Witty Bombeck: ERMA. Often confuse her with IRMA, The "Joy of Cooking" author Rombauer.

73. Doctor's advice: REST. Wrote down TEST first.

Down:

1. __ of Life: JAWS. Have never heard of this tool. Tiger's wife just used an iron. His sterling brand is now seriously endangered.

2. Not windward: ALEE. It's clued as "Dodging the draft?" in one of Paul's Clever Clue of the Month candidate list. Brilliant.

3. Construction beam: I-BAR

4. Baltic country: LATVIA. Capital is Riga.

5. One who'll be comin' round the mountain, in song: SHE. Easy guess. Was unaware of this folk song.

6. Bellyache: CARP

8. Get an __ effort: A FOR

9. Henner of "Taxi": MARILU. Got her name from Across fill.

10. Home shopping channel: QVC

11. Small hopper: TOAD. Brought to mind Arliss's horny toad in "Old Yeller".

13. Folk icon Seeger: PETE. Peter, Paul and Mary covered several of his songs.

18. Ibsen's "__ Gabler": HEDDA. Nope. See the book cover. Is it very famous?

19. Beethoven's "Für __": ELISE

24. Mice catchers: OWLS. Wanted CATS.

27. Clichéd: BANAL

28. Neighbor of Mary: RHODA. Another stumper. I had no idea that Mary here refers to Mary Tyler Moore.

29. Prayer starter: O LORD

30. Tons: A LOAD

31. Hall of Famer Robin of the Milwaukee Brewers: YOUNT. Gimme. Hall-of-Famer. Unfortunately his baseball cards are not worth much.

32. Mimicking bird: MYNAH

33. Chick of jazz: COREA. The favorite jazz musicians of Katherine, one of the earliest posters on this blog. She is now happily married to a drummer and does not do puzzles any more.

35. Ease off: LET UP

40. Piano's 88: KEYS

42. Reduction plan: DIET. Reduction of weight. "Losing plan" would be a great clue too.

45. Frenzied: MANIC

47. Valuable violin, for short: STRAD. Sometimes it's Amati.

50. Write, as music: NOTATE

51. Steering device: RUDDER

54. Co. VIP: PRES (President). We see EXEC more often.

56. Coors malt beverage: ZIMA. ZIMA means "winter" in Russian.

58. Razor brand: ATRA

59. Exam for an aspiring D.A.: LSAT

63. Important periods: AGES. Of course, I fell into the ERAS trap.

66. Afternoon break: NAP. Not TEA.

67. One of the Bobbsey twins: NAN. Bert's twin sister. Learned from doing Xword of course.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Crossword Rules

Below are two few fantastic links regarding crossword construction rules:

1) Barelybad.com

2) Patrick Merrell

C.C.

Tuesday Dec 1, 2009 Dave Hanson

Theme: "Ewww!" - Huge ICK Factor today; double ICK, in fact. Each theme entry has two ICKs embedded in them. C.C. informed me that the 18 C's in the grid is a new record. The previous NYT record is 16. That's a lot of C's, and 9 K's but no B, J, V, X or Z.

20A. Dickens hero with "papers," as he is formally known: MR. PICKWICK. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, commonly known as The Pickwick Papers (I didn't know that), is the first novel by Charles Dickens.

51A. Unflattering Nixon sobriquet: TRICKY DICK. Sobriquet, meaning nickname, comes from French, from Old French soubriquet, chuck under the chin. The constructor probably wouldn't use nickname due to the ICK in it.

10D. Surprise football plays: QUICK KICKS. Not the same as an onsides kick, the QUICK KICK relies on a formation that doesn't look like a kick is coming. Clip

29D. Girls-night-out film: CHICK FLICK. Are these new vampire movies considered "CHICK FLICKS"?

Anyway, Argyle here. A few clunkers, like 18A. Like many Keats poems: ODIC and 62A. Hitting serves past: ACING but for the most part, a solid Tuesday puzzle.

Across:

1. Attacks: HAS AT.

6. Mandolin ridge: FRET.

14. BP merger partner: AMOCO. Announced in 1998.

15. Not often seen, to Caesar: RARA. "Rāra avis" literally means "rare bird".

16. Spreadsheet reversal command: UNDO.

24. More certain than not: LIKELY.

26. Chewing gum substances: CHICLES. The latex produced by certain tropical American trees. Chiclets

31. Nut in a mixed nuts can: CASHEW. Sign on the can, "Caution: May Contain Nuts."

32. Airport building: TERMINAL. or maybe 58. Prefix with -drome: AERO.

36. Indian spiced tea: CHAI.

37. Manet's "The Luncheon on the Grass," e.g.: OIL. The medium used for the painting.

38. "Elder" or "Younger" Roman statesman: CATO.

39. Mind readers: PSYCHICS.

42. More sluggish: POKIER.

44. County on the Strait of Dover: KENT. and 46. Dover landmarks: CLIFFS. The White Cliffs Of Dover - Vera Lynn.

45. Mussed up, as hair: TOUSLED.

50. Megastar: IDOL.

57. Singer Tennille: TONI. The duo of The Captain & Tennille.

60. Milton's "Paradise Lost," for one: EPIC.

61. Overflow (with): TEEM.

63. Potato holder: SACK.

64. Old Norse poetic work: EDDA. Haven't seen this word in awhile but at one time, you'd see it once a week.

Down:

1. Hurt: HARM. And 2. Latin love: AMOR. You Always Hurt The One You Love by The Mills Brothers.

3. Chowder or bisque: SOUP.

4. In "Macbeth," it opens with thunder and lightning: ACT I.

5. How many models are built: TO SCALE.

6. Displeased looks: FROWNS.

7. Paul Harvey's medium: RADIO. "Good Day".

9. One bringing down the ball carrier: TACKLER.

11. Title for Remus: UNCLE.

12. Epitome: IDEAL.

13. Hot alcoholic drink: TODDY.

26. Initials on an old ruble: CCCP. The Cyrillic name for the USSR is initialized CCCP. "But wait, for a limited time offer, you'll receive this collector's coin!"

27. Derisive laughs: HAHS. What I do when I hear those "Fantastic Offers".

28. "My word": "I SAY".

30. Tierra __ Fuego: DEL. When you "go south", you can't go much further than here but you could drive there in your Fiat Tierra del Fuego

32. "__ the season ...": 'TIS. Almost!

35. Lady's man: LORD. This was a "gotcha" for me.

40. Playboy Mansion resident, familiarly: HEF. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, the type of lady's man I was thinking of>

41. Like colleges with the lowest tuition, for residents: IN-STATE.

42. 1840s president: POLK.

43. Annual period beyond the current fiscal one: OUTYEAR.

45. Washington city: TACOMA.

47. Parkinsonism treatment: L-DOPA.

48. Greek architectural style: IONIC.

52. Clarinetist's need: REED. Wood wind, not a brass wind.

53. 1920s-'40s art style: DECO.

56. Frat party containers: KEGS.

I'll be gone all day on a repo job (down past Dennis in Delmar, MD) so play nice. I have to drive the repo back so I'm hoping it's not ICKY!

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, November 30, 2009 Pancho Harrison

Theme: "Going Down the Road" - Just three of the Fifty Ways to Leave you Lover.

20A: Shed some pounds: TAKE OFF WEIGHT.

38A: Divide earnings equally: SPLIT THE PROFITS.

57A: Talk to the answering machine: LEAVE A MESSAGE.

Argyle said: Nice little Monday starter. I have no problem with the first answer being two words and the others just one, but then, I'm not a purist other than wanting the words to show up in a dictionary somewhere.

Across:

1A: Vikings quarterback Brett: FAVRE. He had a great game this weekend but some credit must go to the 25A: Some NFL blockers: RTS. and the rest of the line. Can't call him a 55D: Golden __: senior citizens: AGER. quite yet

6A: Recipe amt.: TBSP.

10A: 1960s-'70s NBA center Thurmond: NATE. One of the greatest rebounders and shot blockers in basketball history, Nate owns a well-known restaurant, Big Nate's Barbeque in San Francisco.

14A: Former Apple laptop: I-BOOK.

15A: Eurasian boundary river: URAL. Or mountain range, as we just had.

16A: Expel: OUST.

17A: Marsh grass: SEDGE. Remember SEDGY?

18A: Italia's capital: ROMA. In the Italian language.

19A: "I'll be there in __": A SEC.

23A: City square memorial: STATUE.

28A: Begins: STARTS. and 22D: Beginning, informally: GET-GO.

31A: Woodsy route: TRAIL. where you don't want to meet 33A: Bear: Sp.: OSO.

36A: Logger's tool: SAW. Like my Stihl MS 361

37A: Either of two Modesto-based vintner brothers: GALLO. Ernest & Julio Gallo, here in their younger days.

43A: Fella: KIDDO.

44A: Charlotte of "The Facts of Life": RAE. She is still working! The 82-year-old recently played one of the big screen's most, ahem, mature "cougars" when she had a romp with Adam Sandler's titular hairdresser in 'You Don't Mess With the Zohan.'

46A: Ancient Indo-European: ARYAN.

47A: "Blue" evergreen: SPRUCE.

51A: Topeka is its cap.: KAN.

53A: Mariner: SEAMAN.

63A: Move, to a Realtor: RELO.

64A: Scatter, as seed: STREW.

66A: Former Lacoste partner: IZOD. Former partners, huh. Who gets custody of the croc?

68A: Ashram advisor: GURU.

69A: Caustic fluids: LYES.

70A: __-craftsy: ARTSY.

Down:

1D: Dukes in boxing gloves: FISTS. "Com'on, put up your dukes"

2D: Pound __: cover one's route, cop-style: A BEAT.

3D: Screwdriver liquor: VODKA. Which can lead to 26D: Leans to one side: TILTS. and 27D: Wade through the shallows: SLOSH. Not the wading part, the slosh part.

4D: Classic thesaurus: ROGET'S.

5D: Barely make, as a living: EKE OUT.

6D: Gang land: TURF.

9D: Checkered pattern: PLAID.

10D: Biblical helmsman: NOAH.

11D: Koala's home: AUSTRALIA. The koala was featured in "I hate Qantas!" commercials

12D: Prufrock creator's monogram: TSE. T.S. Eliot, wrote the poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock".

21D: Famine's opposite: FEAST.

30D: Insignificant one: TWERP.

33D: Schindler of "Schindler's List": OSKAR.

34D: Former veep Agnew: SPIRO.

35D: Classic boy-and-dog Disney film: OLD YELLER. I won't say much about it, in case C.C. hasn't seen it.

39D: Actress Lupino: IDA.

47D: Dwarf who needs tissues: SNEEZY.

48D: Big name in small planes: CESSNA.

49D: Day to put all your eggs in one basket: EASTER.

52D: Pop singer Lavigne: AVRIL.

54D: French Revolution journalist: MARAT. Jean-Paul Marat (1743 – 1793) was a Swiss-born physician, political theorist and scientist better known as a radical journalist and politician from the French Revolution. He was murdered in his bathtub.

56D: Full of the latest happenings: NEWSY.

60D: Stylish '60s Brits: MODS. The Mods were in conflict with the Rockers. In a nut shell, the Mods(modernists) wore chic clothes and rode motor scooters, while the Rockers were in denim and leather and rode motorcycles.

62D: "The Simpsons" Squishee seller: APU.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday November 29, 2009 Peter Wentz

Theme: Right on Cue - QU is added to the starts of the first words of familiar phrases.

23A. Charmin' way of actin' up?: (QU)AINT MISBEHAVIN'. Was not familiar with the base phrase Ain't Misbehavin'

32A. Annul the middle of the week?: (QU)ASH WEDNESDAY. This tipped me off the theme.

49A. Calculation for an express delivery?: (QU)ICK FACTOR. Ick Factor is a measurement of the repulsiveness of something gross.

66A. Ends it, to one's subsequent regret?: (QU)ITS A GOOD THING. It's a Good Thing.

85A. Sick feeling on campus?: (QU)AD NAUSEAM. Ad Nauseam.

99A. Wasn't quite ready to accuse?: (QU)ASI SUSPECTED. As I Suspected. I have difficulty understanding the new phrase. Confused by the grammar structure.

112A. Muslim household's holy book?: (QU)RAN IN THE FAMILY. Feels like the base phrase should be "run in the family', no?

The only non-theme QU today is QUE (28A. Juan's "what"). Total 8 Q's in the puzzle. Plus 3 Z's, 3 J's, 3 X'es and 7 K's . Quite a scrabbly pangram (all 26 letters are used at least once). In fact, it's a triple pangram.

In his last themeless Saturday, this constructor Peter Wentz used four J's & eight K's, quite unusual for a 15*15. Maybe scrabbliness is his style.

Again, I grokked the theme very early on and it sure helped my solving. Many times understanding the theme early has no impact on my solving, esp pun themes. Today I was able to fill in every QU in the Across theme answers and then cracked the intersecting Down entries, which are mostly solid words/phrases and easily obtainable.

Across:

1. Scale notes: FAS

4. Copy room malfunction: JAM-UP. Printer malfunction too.

9. Parchment?: THIRST. Too cute a clue for me.

15. Island band The __ Men: BAHA. Here is their annoying "Who Let the Dogs Out".

19. Like single-digit temps: ABOVE ZERO. Nice multi-word entry.

21. California's motto: EUREKA. Know this because of our CA gang.

22. "Son of Frankenstein" role: YGOR. Or IGOR.

25. Daring exploit: GEST

26. Stats for Tyson: TKOS (Technical Knockouts)

27. Juan or Gabriel lead-in: SAN. San Juan & San Gabriel.

29. Bridget with a diary: JONES. From movie "Bridget Jones's Diary".

30. Arles article: LES. As in "Les Misérables".

35. Sailor's destination in a Yeats poem: BYZANTIUM. Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium". I wrote down BYZANTINE.

40. Workplace stds. enforcer: OSHA

41. Fluffy accessory: BOA

42. Prefix with directional: UNI. Unidirectional. Penned in ERN, it's actually "Directional suffix".

43. Takes away: DETRACTS

46. Z4 automaker: BMW. Car make/model is definitely my weak point.

54. Winning game line: OOO. Tick-tack-toe.

55. Narrow furrow: STRIA. The answer emerged itself.

56. "__ All That": 1999 comedy: SHE'S

57. Big name in water filters: BRITA. No idea. No filter in our kitchen.

59. Sport with mallets: POLO

62. Provide power to: ENABLE

64. Hidden: CLOAKED

69. To an extreme degree: AWFULLY. Did you know immediately that the clue is asking for an adverb?

72. Within arm's length of: NEXT TO

73. Twosomes: DYADS. Dy(0) is a prefix for "two".

76. Gustave who illustrated classics: DORE. Stranger to me. Gustave Doré (French) illustrated Cervantes's "Don Quixote". Poe's "The Raven", Milton's "Paradise Lost", etc.

77. Works up a sweater: KNITS

79. Multi-vol. references: OEDS (Oxford English Dictionaries)

81. Early aft. hour: ONE PM

83. Java: JOE. Coffee.

84. Slightly: A TAD

87. Charleston, WV-to-Charlotte dir.: SSE

88. Edited version seen in theaters: FINAL CUT

91. Year in Nero's reign: LIX. Roman numeral 59. Very frustrating clue. Nero ruled from 54 to 68 A.D.

92. Corned beef holder: RYE. Reuben sandwich.

93. Military band wind: FIFE

95. "That's it!": AHA

96. Old bath water quality: TEPIDNESS. Odd use of "old".

104. Mazatlán Mrs.: SRA (Señora). Then we also have MMES (82D. Fr. titles). Madames.

105. Chill out, slangily: UNLAX. New slang to me. RELAX wouldn't fit.

106. Roman sun god: SOL

107. Ones bound by blood: KIN. I often forget that the plural form of KIN is still KIN.

108. Chant at a Lakers game: KOBE. Kobe Bryant. Stumper for me.

111. Without a specific goal: IDLY

118. Mess up: RUIN

119. Celtic language spoken in France: BRETON

120. 2008 Harlan Coben thriller: HOLD TIGHT. No idea. See the book cover.

121. Lotto-like game: KENO

122. Leapt: SPRANG. A bunch of consonants.

123. Premium movie channel that dropped its "!" in 2005: STARZ. Unknown to me also. I don't think we have this channel.

124. Took care of: DID

Down:

1. Helpful URL link: FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Nailed it.

3. Overcharge, in slang: SOAK. Learned this slang a few months ago.

4. Long-time CBS news anchor Jim: JENSEN. He died before I came to the US, so no, I don't know him.

5. HIV-treating drug: AZT. The first drug approved for the treatment of AIDS. Have never heard of it.

6. Part of RAM: Abbr.: MEM (Memory). RAM = Random Access Memory. Desperate clue/answer.

7. Sch. whose mascot is Rhody the Ram: URI (University of Rhode Island). I failed again.

8. Play __: feign sleep: POSSUM

9. Even more itsy-bitsy: TEENSIER

10. "How's that again?": HUH

11. Controversial conflict since 2003: IRAQ WAR. Great fill.

12. Variety show: REVUE

13. Hit the slopes: SKIED. Hit is past tense here.

15. Words of emphasis: BY GOSH

16. Planning aid: AGENDA BOOK. I just call it personal organizer.

17. Old Testament prophet: HOSEA. Minor prophets.

18. Highfalutin: ARTSY

20. Instrument featured in Berlioz's "Harold in Italy": VIOLA. Easy guess.

29. Civil rights activist Jackson: JESSE. Reverend Jesse Jackson. I bet he wishes he could grab the spotlight and offer Tiger Woods some help.

31. Double __ Oreo: STUF. First time I saw this entry in a Xword.

32. Baked brunch dishes: QUICHES. Yummy.

33. 116-Down's last VP: HST. And FDR (116D. See 33-Down).

34. Like an expired license: NOT VALID

35. Backyard parties, briefly: BBQS

36. Kids: YOUTH

37. Old name of Congo: ZAIRE (1971-97)

38. Sworn __: given the oath of office for: IN AS. Doubt I'd get the AS part without the crossing help.

43. Amounts to take: DOSAGES

44. Actress Meyers: ARI. So happy I finally remember her name.

45. One may be backhand: CATCH

47. Whacked arcade critter: MOLE. Was ignorant of the Whac-A-Mole game at all.

48. Fuel for the fire: WOOD

50. __ du Soleil: CIRQUE

52. One with an option to buy, perhaps: TENANT. Nice clue too.

57. Eclipse, as the sun: BLOT OUT

58. Herbal quaff: RED TEA. Chinese call black tea as RED TEA.

59. Some polytheists: PAGANS

61. Formal neckwear, perhaps: SILK TIES

63. Fight in a ring: BOX. Verb.

67. "The Seduction of Joe __": Alda film" : TYNAN. Have faintly heard of this film. Someone must have mentioned it at the Comments section before.

68. Barely walked: TODDLED

69. Fast and furious, e.g.: Abbr.: ADJS. Excellent clue. Both fast and furious are adjectives.

70. Makes a play for: WOOS. "Make a play for" is a new idiom to me.

71. 1989 Tom Petty hit: FREE FALLIN'. Here is a clip. It's not stored in my memory.

74. Big name in snowblowers: DEERE. Toro too.

75. Neuters: SPAYS. Ouch.

78. Rhoda's mom: IDA. Again, got her name from crosses.

80. Sassy one: SNIP. Unaware of this definition of snip.

84. Attach: AFFIX. Wrote down ADD TO first.

85. Duck chorus: QUACKING. Lovely.

86. What the Earth turns on: AXIS

89. City near Buenos Aires: LA PLATA. No idea. See the map. Literally "The Silver".

90. Backer of Fidel: CHE (Guevara). They were comrades.

94. Answer to one's own rhetorical question, perhaps: I SAY NO. Nice answer.

96. Dimes, to dollars: TENTHS. Did not come to me easily.

97. '90s TV toon therapist: DR KATZ. Looks like a fun cartoon. I've never heard of it though. No idea. Katze is German for "cat". Don't know what Katz means.

98. Vocalist Judd: NAOMI. So is Wynonna.

99. Peculiarity: QUIRK

100. Excessive: UNDUE. As undue/excessive force.

101. Take by force: USURP

103. Its symbol is Sn: TIN. Oh, good to learn.

109. Mavs' city: BIG D. Dallas Mavericks the NBA team.

110. Like the pre-coll. supplies market: ELHI. EL(ementary) + HI(gh School).

112. The NFL's Mannings, e.g.: QBS. Eli Manning & Peyton Manning are both quarterbacks.

113. Parisian turndown: NON

114. Spicy: HOT

115. Portuguese "she": ELA. It's always clued as "Guido's high note" in our old puzzle.

117. P. & L. column heading: YTD (Year to Date). P. &L. = Profit & Loss. I was at sea.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday November 28, 2009 Alan Olschwang

Theme: None

Total blocks: 31

Total words: 72

This grid is so atypical of Alan Olschwang. I don't remember his puzzles being so scrabbly: 4 Z's, 2 J's, 1 X, 1 Q and 2 V's. Only 1 letter F away from a pangram (all 26 letters are used at least once in the grid). I guess I was used to his old TMS Daily Thursday quote style.

Tough puzzle for me. Quite a few unknowns. Some struck me as a bit obscure. Take CET (10D. Belgium winter hrs.) for example. I've been to Brussels several times. Don't recall seeing CET (Central European Time) at all. GMT +1 yes, same as Paris.

Favorite fill today is ZAHARIAS (39D. Golfer Babe who was a six-time AP Female Athlete of the Year). A rare long gimme for me (golf trivia is my strong suit). Babe was the founding member of LPGA and won over 80 tournaments in her career. Definitely the best female althelete of all time, with her track & field and other sports success.

Across:

1. King overthrown by William of Orange: JAMES II. Tough start. William of Orange sounds like a Dutch king. The Dutch House of Orange.

8. Breaks out: ESCAPES

15. Conversion gadget: ADAPTOR. Adapter too.

16. Was humbled: ATE DIRT

17. Dennis the Menace's neighbors, with "the": WILSONS. I thought Dennis the Menace is a rather cute name. Surprised that Dennis hated it.

18. "Told you!": SO THERE!

19. Zen enlightenment: SATORI. Literally "awakening". Japanese Kanji character satori is the same as Chinese.

20. Certain theater, for short: REP. Stumper. REP is repertory.

21. Berkshire school: ETON. Easy guess. I did not really know the exact location of Eton.

22. Carmen, for one: MEZZO-SOPRANO. Completely out of my knowledge zone. A gimme for our Sallie, hopefully. She loves opera.

25. Bad start?: MAL. Like malfunction.

28. "__ for Evidence": Grafton novel: E IS

29. Fork in the road: VEE. Struggled with the answer also.

30. Caribbean cruise stop: ARUBA. Dutch territory.

33. Inexpensive kids' toy: PAPER DOLL. Somehow I don't connect paper doll with "toy".

38. Maker of many jets: JACUZZI. Oh, jet stream. I was thinking of jet plane. Very scrabbly answer.

40. Asmara is its capital: ERITREA. A province of Ethiopia until 1993. Last time we had ASMARA clued as "Eritrea capital".

41. One in a box: SPECTATOR. Box seat. I was picturing a present.

43. Nutritious beans: SOYAS. Soybeans.

44. "I'm so clever" sound: HEH

45. Big affairs: DOS. Big galas.

47. Classic Jag: XKE. What does XKE stand for?

48. Spinach is high in it: BETA CAROTENE. Well, I associate carrots/sweet potatoes with beta carotene, not spinach, which is high in iron.

54. U.S. dept. with a windmill on its seal: ENER (Energy)

55. Robot play: R. U. R. (Rossum's Universal Robots). The Capek play which debuted the word "robot".

56. Company with a kangaroo on its logo: QANTAS. A Q word without the U. Kazie just mentioned last time that Qantas is an acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services".

60. Daydream: REVERIE

62. Decay, as pipes: RUST OUT

63. "Sleepless in Seattle" studio: TRISTAR. Unknown fact to me.

64. One who aches: YEARNER. Argyle is still bothered by last time's RE-ADDS.

65. Party leader: HOSTESS. Was thinking of political party.

66. Brisk, to Brahms: ALLEGRO. Brisk tempo.

Down:

1. 1975 thriller shot largely on Martha's Vineyard: JAWS. Have never seen the movie.

2. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA. Don't confuse it with the "Verdi slave girl" AIDA.

3. Brewer's supply: MALT

4. Derby town: EPSOM. English derby.

5. Supply: STORE

6. Create charged particles in: IONIZE

7. Org. that gets a lot of returns: IRS. Tax returns. I outsmarted myself by thinking of tennis returns.

8. Uncomplicates: EASES

9. Short stay: STOPOVER

11. Didn't deviate from, as plans: ADHERED TO

12. Michelangelo masterpiece: PIETA. See the sculpture, which depicts Virgin Mary mourning Jesus after the Crucifixion. It's housed in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.

13. Former Tennessee Titans tight end Kinney: ERRON. Nope. Total stranger to me.

14. Court figure: STENO. Judge's court. I was in the sports direction again.

20. Santa __: Sonoma County seat: ROSA. No idea. What is it famous for?

23. "Shh!": ZIP IT. QUIET would not fit.

24. Sprites of Persian mythology: PERIS (PEE-ees). A word I keep learning and keep forgetting.

25. Some mil. brass: MAJS (Majors)

26. Give __: care: A RAP

27. Fortune founder: LUCE (Henry). Founder of Time/Life as well.

31. Romania's capital: BUCHAREST. Alas, I only know the Chinese word for this capital.

32. Ancient Valley of Mexico native: AZTEC

34. Dallas Mavericks owner before Cuban: PEROT. H. Ross Perot, Jr. Son of Ross Perot. Again, I was oblivious to this fact.

35. Antelope that often has nearly upright horns: ORYX. See this picture. Nearly upright horns indeed. It's not listed in JD's Safari antelope list.

36. Pipe problem: LEAK

37. Cut with light: LASE

42. It may be fishy: ODOR. Nailed it.

46. Film follow-up: SEQUEL

48. Distance maintained between vessels: BERTH. Origin for "Give a wide berth" I presume.

49. Hot time in Chile: ENERO. Spanish for January. It's summer time in Chile. Great clue.

50. "The Hustler" author Walter: TEVIS. See the book cover. Unknown author to me. Loved the movie.

51. Who's sorry now?: RUERS. Shouldn't the clue be "Who are sorry now?"

52. Vocally twangy: NASAL

53. Between: Fr.: ENTRE. I don't like the abbreviated Fr.

57. Half a patio pair: TONG. For your grill.

58. "Violin Playing as I Teach It" author Leopold: AUER. Same pronunciation as "hour". Meaning "from the meadow" in German. I can never commit his name into my increasingly deteriorating memory.

59. Houston pro, locally: STRO. Houston Astros.

61. 66, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE. Route 66.

62. Knotted pile carpet: RYA (REE-uh). The Scandinavian rug. Why knotted?

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday November 27, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: Medieval Times - Part of a common phrase is punnily substituted by a word of Medieval relevance.

17A. Medieval commuter between Dover and Calais?: CHANNEL SERF. Channel Surf. Medieval commuter = Serf.

22A. Medieval castle owner's view?: BARON LANDSCAPE. Barren Landscape. Medieval castle owner = Baron.

34A. Manages medieval real estate holdings?: MINDS ONE'S MANORS. Minds One's Manners. Medieval real estate = Manors.

46A. Medieval lord's efforts?: FEUDAL ATTEMPTS. Futile Attempts. Medieval lord's = Feudal.

53. Weapons for medieval warriors?: KNIGHT CLUBS. Night Clubs. Medieval warrior = Knight.

Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 10. Low due to the heavy themage (65 theme squares).

How is your solving experience today? I felt awfully inadequate. Peeked at my cheat sheet very early on. Puns are often difficult for me to grasp.

Lots of tricky clues today. I fell into every possible trap.

Across:

1. Like litigants: SUING. Adjective. "Litigants" would be SUERS.

6. Campaign unpleasantry: SMEAR

11. Onetime lottery org.: SSS. Military draft.

14. Block house: IGLOO. Ice block.

15. Jack of "The Great Dictator": OAKIE. Gosh, I can never remember his name.

16. Make a scene?: ACT. Nailed it.

19. Revolutionary leader: MAO (Ze-Dong). Culture Revolution (1966-1976) that prosecuted Chinese intellectuals. I penned in CHE (Guevara) first.

20. 1994 co-Nobelist with Rabin and Arafat: PERES (Shimon). Gimme.

21. Honeybunch: DOLL

27. Hogwash: BALONEY

28. Geezer: COOT. So is codger.

29. Hope contributed to it for 50 yrs.: USO. Bob Hope was famous for his work with USO. Great golfer too.

30. Settled, as plans: FIRMED UP

39. 1950s Edward R. Murrow news show: SEE IT NOW. I only remember the show ends with NOW. It's been some time since I watched "Good Night, and Good Luck"

40. "Thugz Mansion" rapper: NAS. Just learned that his given name is Nasir.

41. Mover or shaker: DOER. Nice clue.

42. Threaten to attack: ASSAULT. "Threaten"? I thought assault means "attack" itself.

50. Easter bloom: LILY

51. Barbershop device: STROP

52. 007, for one: Abbr.: AGT. The "Abbr." hint should prevent you from considering SPY.

59. Flop preceder: KER. Put down EAR.

60. Heart line: AORTA

61. Country known for its distance runners: KENYA. I wonder where their speed and endurance come from.

62. Big period: ERA

63. Bikini blast: N-TEST

Down:

1. [error left as is]: SIC. The bracket indicates the mistake is quoted verbatim.

2. You might close your eyes when you say it: UGH. Oh, I never close my eyes when I say "Ugh".

3. Dockworkers' org.: ILA (International Longshoremen's Association)

4. Amateur: NON-PRO

5. Been happening: GONE ON

6. One way to be responsible: SOLELY. Solely responsible. Excellent clue.

7. Tuscan marble city: MASSA (MAHS-sah). Nope. Here is a DF marble fountain in Massa.

9. Inflation cause?: AIR. Nailed it also.

10. Whistle blower: REF. Simple & tricky clue.

11. Island group near Fiji: SAMOA. OK, Samoa is in the northeast of Fiji. Stumped me.

12. Sell at an inflated price: SCALP. It's legal in Minnesota.

13. It's a wrap: STOLE. Last time SAREE was clued this way.

18. Seaside flier: ERNE

21. 747 competitor: DC-TEN. No idea. What does DC stand for, Dennis?

22. Count in jazz: BASIE. Count Basie.

23. Single-handedly: ALONE

24. CBS military drama: NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service). Are you a fan?

26. "Brave New World" drug: SOMA. Unknown to me.

27. Saddens, with "out": BUMS

30. "A __ Good Men": FEW. "You can't handle the truth!".

31. Coffee mate?: DONUT. Mine was CREAM, despite the question mark warning.

32. Continent-dividing range: URALS.

33. Hissed "Over here!": PSST

35. Bad Boy Records founder, as he's now known: DIDDY. A rare gimme for me. P. Diddy, J-Lo's ex-flame.

36. Greek portico: STOA

37. First-year law student: ONE-L. L stands for "law". Also the book title of Scott Turow's biography. Very intense.

42. Besides: AT THAT. Thought of Melissa Bee. Her blog name is "Bee Sides".

43. Rockefeller Center muralist: SERT (José María). Spanish muralist. I forgot again.

44. Preschoolers' protection: SMOCKS. Oh, I don't associate smocks with preschoolers.

45. Task-oriented program: APPLET. Often abbreviated as APP.

46. Cereal bit: FLAKE

47. Peak near the Jungfrau: EIGER. Swiss Alpine peak. Jungfrau is German for "young woman'/"virgin". Jung = young.

48. Prefix with conservative: ULTRA

49. Some USAF NCOs: T. SGTS (Technical Sergeants). New to me also.

53. The Sunflower St.: KAN. Did not know sunflower is Kansas' state flower.

54. "As if!": NOT

55. Pique condition?: IRE. "Piqued" would have lost the wordplay on "peak condition".

56. Nice one?: UNE. French for "one". Nice refers to French city Nice.

58. Gullible one: SAP

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday November 26, 2009 Lila Cherry

Theme: Happy Turkey Day - A Thanksgiving Puzzle.

17A. Turkey: BIRD THAT GOBBLES. Or bird on your table today.

27A. Turkey: FRANK WAY TO TALK. Talk turkey.

48A. Turkey: THEATRICAL FLOP. Feared by some angels (financial backers).

63A. Turkey?: FRIDAY'S SANDWICH. A bit strained, no? Maybe that's the reason for the question mark.

Then we also have an exotic "Turkish currency" clue for LIRA (3D), which is often clued as old Italian bread/currency. Alas, no "three strikes in a row", the turkey my husband likes the most, too many letters (18).

Today's puzzle is by our editor Rich Norris. Lila Cherry is his alias name, anagram of "Really Rich". Thanks for the daily entertainment, Rich. And Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Happy Feasting!

Across:

1. First name in folk: ARLO (Guthrie). He's in Woodstock, drunk and high.

5. Kick (out): DRUM. Did not come to me readily. Simple answer often stumps me.

9. Loathe: ABHOR

14. Judge's determination: BAIL. Can you clue NO BAIL the same way?

15. Moira's "Chaplin" role: OONA. Easy guess.

16. TV exec Arledge: ROONE. The ex-Chairman of ABC News.

20. Santa Anna siege site: ALAMO

21. Cooked: DONE. My special Jeannie's stuffing is done. Delicious! I added a small can of water chestnuts.

22. Closed sac: CYST. Fluid-filled.

23. Neo, for one: Abbr.: ANAG. Neo is an ANAG (anagram) of one. Got me.

25. M.I.T. grad, often: ENGR

33. NASA transport: LEM (Lunar Excursion Module).

35. Shaq of the NBA: O'NEAL. Now with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

37. Sacred bird of old Egypt: IBIS. Sacred indeed. Not fond of the bird/BIRD (17A) duplication though.

39. Savvy: SENSE. Like business/political savvy.

42. "La Gioconda" tenor role: ENZO. Uh-uh, nope. I bet "Auto designer Ferrari" knows. The name Enzo means "Ruler of the Home" in Italian.

43. Aggressive: PUSHY

45. Central church area: NAVE

52. Lake surrounding Canada's southernmost point: ERIE. Nice trivia.

53. Dodge Aries, e.g.: K-CAR. What does K stand for?

54. Many of its members are boomers: AARP

59. Like seven Nolan Ryan games: NO-HIT. A major league record. No perfect game from Nolan Ryan though. That's his rookie card.

66. Fast traveler, at times: RUMOR. Great clue.

67. Caesar's "Behold!": ECCE. Latin. The Italian for "Behold!" is ECCO.

68. China's __ Enlai: ZHOU. Or CHOW in Cantonese. China's first premier. Yesterday's Mao Ze-Dong is Mandarin Chinese. Mao Tse-Tung is Cantonese spelling.

69. Last in a series: OMEGA. The last of Greek alphabet (24 letters).

70. Take off: SHED

71. Shakespearean "over there": YOND. Why do we add "er" later on then?

Down:

2. Travel option: RAIL. Can never read on a train/car. It makes me sick.

4. Pop: OLD MAN

5. "Stupid me!": D'OH. Carol's V-8 moment.

6. It can't be played at home: ROAD GAME

8. Sticker?: MAGNET. It sticks to your fridge.

9. Wall St. figure who capitalizes on price imbalances: ARB (Arbitrager). Like those hedge fund guys.

10. "Hogan's Heroes" star: BOB CRANE. Penned in ALAN ALDA, confusing "Hogan's Heroes " with "M*A*S*H".

11. Devout: HOLY

12. Tip jar fillers, mostly: ONES

13. Take five: REST

18. Toy truck maker: TONKA. Originated in Minnesota.

19. Napa prefix: OENO. Prefix for wine. Napa is wine region. My favorite clue today.

24. Belt maker's tools: AWLS

26. '60s song car with "three deuces and a four-speed and a 389": GTO

27. Toss: FLIP

28. Disprove: REBUT

29. "Witness" sect: AMISH. The little Amish boy is the sole witness to the murder in the movie.

30. Greek New Age keyboardist: YANNI. University of Minnesota alumnus.

31. Three-time U.S. Open winner: LENDL (Ivan). So is Tiger Woods, but in golf.

32. Musical buzzer: KAZOO

36. Air show stunt: LOOP

38. What Bo Peep could have used?: SHEEP DOG. Nursery rhyme: Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep ...

40. Awkward-looking picnic contest: SACK RACE. Several nice two-worders in the Down fill today.

41. Rescue op: EVAC (Evacuation). Solid abbreviation in my book. Pinkerton provided EVAC services for expatriates in China.

44. "Babi __": Yevtushenko poem: YAR. Babi Yar is the name of a ravine (outside Kiev) where Nazis murdered lots of Jewish people. I am not familiar with the poem.

46. African antelope: ELAND. J.D. must have seen this spiral-horned antelope during her Safari.

50. NutRageous bar maker: REESE'S. Have never tried NutRageious. Is it similar to Snickers?

51. Slovenly: FROWZY. New word to me.

54. Hendrix hairdo: AFRO. Buckeye just mentioned that tomorrow is Jimi Hendrix's birthday.

55. __ lily: calla: ARUM. I am used to the "Calla lily family" clue.

56. Coleridge work: RIME. No idea. Does it refer to his "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"?

58. Author Sholem: ASCH. The Yiddish writer.

60. Sunshine cracker: HI-HO. Have never seen this brand. Wikipedia said it's discontinued.

61. Screen image: ICON

62. Sound of an ungraceful landing: THUD

64. Altar in the sky: ARA. Latin for "altar".

65. Actor Beatty: NED. He's in "Deliverance". Quite a disturbing movie.

Answer grid.

What's your family traditional Thanksgiving meal like? We always have wild rice and mashed rutabaga.

C.C.