Wednesday January 6, 2010 Gareth Bain

Theme: Classic Music Contracts, A-List - Classic Rock hit songs that follow a pronoun and verb contraction & A & noun pattern in the titles.

17A: 1966 Monkey's hit: I'M A BELIEVER. Written by the Lovely Wife's favorite, Neil Diamond.

65A: 1968 Impressions hit: WE'RE A WINNER. Must not have impressed me. No recollection of it.

11D: 1971 Tom Jones hit: SHE'S A LADY. Or at least a woman. What's new, Pussycat?

36D: 1962 hit attributed to the Crystals but sung by the Blossoms: HE'S A REBEL. Here are the Crystals.

And, at no extra charge, 50A Original iPod, as it's now known: CLASSIC. Not really part of the theme, but I co-opted it, so there.

But wait, there's more -

31A Put on the HiFi: PLAY. Spin them platters!

Hi Gang, it's JazzBumpa, your HOT LIPS trombonIST. Nice retro theme for the CLASSIC rock lover in you. The puzzle is one letter J away from a pangram.

Across:

1A Distinguishing feature: CACHET. News to me. Merriam-Webster tells us:1 a : a seal used especially as a mark of official approval b : an indication of approval carrying great prestige. 2 a : a characteristic feature or quality conferring prestige. Well, OK, then.

7A "Is this _____ time to talk of Pensions and Grenadiers?": - Sterne: A FIT. Beats me. Can't track it down. Anybody have a clue?

11A Wailing instrument: Must be SAX. Harpoon won't fit.

14A Hit the big time: ARRIVE. You know you've arrived when you ___________. (Fill in the blank.)

15A Quote as a source: CITE. Like Sterne in 7A.

16A Dress bottom: HEM. Per Wikipedia, "To hem a piece of cloth (in sewing), a garment worker folds up a cut edge, folds it up again, and then sews it down. The process of hemming thus completely encloses the cut edge in cloth, so that it cannot ravel. A hem is also the edge of cloth treated in this manner." That's getting to the bottom of it!

19A Bard's "prior to": ERE. "Able was I ere I saw Elba" Your palindrome for the day.

20A Bright Star: NOVA. Also, an old Chevy. Also Spanish for "No go." Great name for a car.

21A Basic French verb: ETRE. Crossword staple, usually travels with RAISON D'.

22A "Beware the Jabberwock _________" MY SON. Excellent advice from my mom. "The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!" The Jabberwock, I mean. Not mom. She's a sweetie. Anyway, it was Lewis Carrol, not mom.

24A Warehouse stamp letters: REC'D. Received. Got it?

26A "Washboard" muscles. ABS. Abdominals. Six pack. Very gutsy. We watched "The biggest loser" tonight. Yikes!

27A Briney expanse: SEA. I couldn't force-fit PICKLE BARREL into 3 spaces.

28A "M*A*S*H" nickname: Major Margaret J. "HOT LIPS" Houlihan. Played by Loretta Swit.

34A Wildly eccentric, briefly: SCHIZO. Schizophrenic. Doesn't fit the clue very well. Nor does it refer to multiple personality disorders. My alter ego is a SCHIZO, but we get along OK.

37A Sniffling and sneezing cause: COLD. "Viral upper respiratory tract infection (VURI), acute viral nasopharyngitis, acute viral rhinopharyngitis, acute coryza." Not a low temperature, as we all seem to be experiencing. Anyway, I wanted DUST.

39 ________ Carte: A LA. A la Carte, meaning "according to the menu", or "on the wagon," or something like that. May or may not involve an extra charge. It's all very confusing.

40A Roll call response: PRESENT. My alter ego always responds, "ABSENT." He's incorrigible.

42A How some suits are made: TO ORDER. Mine are off the rack at Penny's.

44A Toys: "R" US. Couldn't fit "IN THE ATTIC", nor type a backward R. My alter ego says he knows how, but he went to bed.

45A Wild outbreak: RIOT. Very crosswordese. Wanted HORSES, or PANDEMIC.

47A Victimized, with "on": PREYED. Literally, caught and ate. Figuratively, used and abused. There are other options.

48A Wine bottle datum: YEAR. Some are very good. Also known as vintage.

52A Narrow inlet: RIA. Learned from doing crosswords. A wide inlet is RIA GRANDE.

54A Chick _____: light women's fiction: LIT. How politically incorrect is that. These books not read on "The Biggest Loser."

55A Nordic Runners: SKIS. Cute clue. The blades of skis are RUNNERS, I suppose.

58A Knight's Job: QUEST. A search or pursuit for something valuable. Like a shrubbery. And 2D Knight suit: ARMOR. Not Jammies.

60A Ice sheet: FLOE. A floating sheet of ice. Very COLD.

62A Burned, in a way: ON CD. You can do it yourself.

64A City area, briefely: URB. Short for an urban area, aka city.

68A Get older: AGE. Father time wins in the end.

69A Yemen city on its own Gulf. ADEN. Lots of trouble in Yemen, these days.

70A Early ascetic: ESSENE. I think I read somewhere that John the Baptist was an ESSENE, not a Southern Baptist.

71A State that's only 9 mi. wide at its narrowest point: DEL. Note Abbrv in cl.et. ans. MD gets pretty narrow, too.

72A Had second thoughts about: RUED. I thought this was more along the lines of deep regret.

73A Put away for later: STORED. These guys do it, and they're very protective.

Down:

1D Abel's slayer: CAIN. Original sibling rivalry. Why can't we all just get along?

3D Have a jones for: CRAVE. From the diction of addiction.

4D Japanese grills: HIBACHIS. A simple charcoal grill.

5D Noted victim of temptation: EVE. Clever clue. Mom of the original siblings, and early fig leaf HEMMER.

6D Prefix with vision: TELE. Television. Yeah. Whatever.

7D Biting: ACERBIC. As, wit. Same root as acid, I'll bet.

8D Fin: Am I done? No. It's a FIVE SPOT. A five dollar bill. Old slang. Anybody know where it came from?

9D Meteor ending: ITE. With or without, what's the difference?

10D Contract details: TERMS. Be sure to read the fine print.

12D Related to flying: AERO. That's plain.

13D Marvel Comics superheroes: X-MEN. Should be X-persons.

18D Emphatic type: Abbr.: ITAL. Italic. As you can see.

23D "Sho 'nuff": YEP. I agree. Though one could quibble about where to place the apo'strophe's.

25D Earth moving machine, and hopefully not the one driving it: DOZER. I love this clue. Short for bull dozer, hopefully not somebody taking a nap.

29D G and T part: TONIC. Gin and tonic. I needed a lot of perp help. My gin mixes with vermouth and drowns olives.

30D Spills, as from a bucket: SLOPS. Traditional method for hog feeding. Perhaps Windhover can elaborate.

32D Sheltered, in a way: ALEE. Away from the wind.

33D Place for a sale: YARD. Or garage. Or Target.

34D Nimble: SPRY. Agile, graceful. Somehow, "Jack be spry" just doesn't work.

35D Rockers Motley: CRUE. Ugly noise, IMHO.

38D Day of films: DORIS. Doris Day, clean cut sex goddess, before sex was invented. Clue got me - needed perp help.

41D Like 1-800 numbers. TOLL-FREE. That's why we like 1-800 numbers.

43D "I guess": RECKON SO. YEP.

46D Last bit: TAIL END. Sounds like a military expression, like tail gunner. Maybe Dennis can fill us in.

49 Grafton's "______ for Ricochet" R IS. Forward R this time. From Sue Grafton's alphabet mystery series. I got bored somewhere around F.

51D One often bordered an agora: STOA. Another crossword stalwart. I believe an agora was an outdoor market. A STOA is a collonade. In those days, "I'm goin' to the Stoa." was rather ambiguous.

53D Clashing, big time. AT WAR. That's about as big as it gets.

56D _________ Tube: INNER. An inflatable rubber bladder inside a tire.

57D Part of an act: SCENE. Acts of plays are divided into scenes. Or one can make a scene. Making many scenes is a bad act.

58D Campus area: QUAD. Short for quadrangle, a four-sided area surrounded by buildings.

59D Yearning: URGE. Should I give in . . .?

61D Ram's dams: EWES. I would feel sheepish if I didn't get this one.

63D Scott in an 1857 case: DRED. A much RUED decision.

66D Campus URL ending. EDU. ITE was already taken by the meteor.

67D Performer's suffix: IST. As in SAXophonist. Are there other examples?

That's all folks. Cheers!

Answer grid.

JzB

Tuesday January 5, 2010 Donna S. Levin

Theme: Illuminators - Familiar phrases whose first word can brighten up our paths.

17A: Instant of realization: LIGHT BULB MOMENT

33A: Lyrical lament of lost love: TORCH SONG

38A: Idaho ski resort: SUN VALLEY

53A: Elton John tribute to Marilyn Monroe: CANDLE IN THE WIND

Argyle here. There are some Wednesday words in here but for the most part, it's a Tuesday puzzle. I might be a little short because of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl but, boy, what a game. So I miss a little sleep. Meh.

My all-time favorite torch song - "What's New? by Linda Ronstadt.

Oh, Happy 60th Birthday to legendary crossword maker Merl Reagle!

Across:

1A: Hip-hop headgear: DO-RAG. It is also biker headgear. Pic.

6A: Aral, for one: SEA.

9A: Yeast cake highlighted in a "Seinfeld" episode: BABKA. A short clip.

14A: Treat badly: ABUSE.

15A: European peak: ALP.

16A: Ancient theater: ODEON. We have had this before. I relate it to Nickelodeon>

20A: Slow start?: ESS. The letter 'S' is the start of the word "Slow".

22A: Dogs from Japan: AKITAS. A noble looking breed. Anyone ever had one?

23A: The Big One: Abbr.: WWII. World War Two. It came after the War to End All Wars.

24A: Move like moths: FLIT.

25A: Like many Quechua speakers: ANDEAN. Quechua is a Native American language family spoken primarily in the Andes of South America.

28A: Clark's crush: LOIS. Superman. She could melt his 61A: Superman's makeup?: STEEL.

29A: Texas __: oil: TEA. "Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea." from the Beverly Hillbillies Theme Song.

32A: Word with trap or prize: BOOBY. 40A: Cantaloupe, e.g.: MELON.

35A: Throw __: fly off the handle: A FIT.

36A: Social division: CASTE.

37A: Telegram: WIRE.

41A: Official lang. of Malawi: ENG.. Clever. A landlocked country in southeast Africa (yet they have a navy).

42A: Peculiar mannerisms: TICS.

43A: Beaver or hamster: RODENT.

45A: Tiny parasite: MITE.

46A: Lay a wet one on: SMOOCH.

49A: Ed of "The People's Court": KOCH. TV. Former New York City mayor Ed Koch presided over the court from 1997 to 1999. The first judge was Joseph Wapner and the current one is Marilyn Milian.

50A: Xbox 360 competitor: Wii. (video game systems)

56A: Holy Roman emperor crowned in CMLXII: OTTO I. That's 962 CE, if you care. And if you do, you might like this site.

57A: Caviar, e.g.: ROE. Fish eggs.

58A: Prepare beans, Mexican-style: REFRY.

59A: Thrash: WHOMP.

60A: Cobbler's tool: AWL. Used for making holes in leather.

Down:

1D: Racing legend Earnhardt: DALE. aka "The Intimidator". Died in a crash at the Daytona 500, February 18, 2001. His son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., still races but has never reached his father's status. Pic.

2D: Geisha wardrobe items: OBIS.

3D: Toupees: RUGS. Locks bought from a store.

4D: Volcanic residue: ASH.

5D: Escape: GETAWAY.

6D: King Abdullah subject: SAUDI.

8D: SFPD broadcast: A.P.B.. (San Francisco Police Department - All Points Bulletin)

9D: Devoted to reading: BOOKISH.

10D: Own up to: ADMIT.

11D: Borscht need: BEET. Soup made with beets, and/or other vegetables and served hot or chilled, often with sour cream. Quite a few food references in the grid.

12D: Hawaiian coffee-growing district: KONA. On the west side of the "Big Island".

13D: Aardvark's dinner: ANTS.

18D: St. Petersburg pancake: BLIN. Another recent word, plural is blini.

19D: Evil intent: MALICE.

23D: Former Internet-on-the-tube co.: WEB TV. The product and service was founded in 1995 by WebTV Networks and was purchased by Microsoft Corporation(in April, 1997, 20 months after WebTV's founding) and absorbed into MSN (the Microsoft Network).

24D: Two score: FORTY. (score = 20)

25D: Humiliate: ABASE.

26D: Like a wet blanket, so to speak: NO FUN. Like some of our ANONs.

27D: "Nothing __!": DOING.

29D: Fabric with a repeated scenic pattern: TOILE.

30D: 2000s symbol of corporate misconduct: ENRON.

31D: Ten percenter: AGENT.

34D: Garbo, by birth: SWEDE.

36D: Trite expression: CLICHÉ.

39D: In one sitting: AT A CLIP.

43D: Loaded: RICH. Hi, Rich (Norris)!

44D: City of sin in Genesis: SODOM.

46D: Flat-bottomed boat: SCOW.

49D: Be sure of: KNOW.

51D: Memo phrase: IN RE.

52D: Pastoral poem: IDYL.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday January 4, 2010 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "There Oughta be a __"

17A: *Sound and practical judgment: COMMON SENSE.

36A: *Cops' sickout: BLUE FLU.

58A: *Karate and aikido: MARTIAL ARTS.

11D: *Iced tea garnish: LEMON PEEL.

31D: *Analytical write-up: CASE STUDY.

And tying them all together: 59D: A kind of it begins the answers to starred clues: LAW. Quite a heavy theme for a Monday. The puzzle theme concept is quite similar to Jack McInturff's "Rule" puzzle we had last March.

Argyle here. "COMMON SENSE" is on Jazzbumpa's required reading list. COMMON LAW is the system of laws originated and developed in England and based on court decisions, on the doctrines implicit in those decisions, and on customs and usages rather than on codified written laws.

"BLUE FLU", so called from the officers' blue uniforms. Called the Taylor Law in NY, many police departments are prohibited from going on strike, so they call in sick en masse. BLUE LAWS are statutes regulating work, commerce, and amusements on Sundays. According to Snopes article they were not related to the color blue.

"MARTIAL ARTS" encompass fighting without the use of weapons. MARTIAL LAW is enforced by a military force(and they will use weapons.)

"LEMON PEEL" A bit inaccuracy there; all the pictures of iced tea show a lemon slice. If you want a peel, get a mixed drink. LEMON LAWS force a dealer to take back a car if it proves to be defective.

"CASE STUDY" Pretty much what the clue said. CASE LAW is law established by judicial decisions. Often CASE LAW citings are interpretations of a law not covered by statue.

Phew! Time for a musical interlude. 1A: Bluegrass instrument: BANJO "Fireball Mail"

Across:

6A: Tearoom biscuit: SCONE.

14A: WWII threat: U-BOAT.

16A: Outback sprinter: EMU. Average cruising speed is around 45 kph.

19A: Trio in a nursery rhyme tub: MEN. And who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker.

21A: Honshu metropolis: OSAKA. Osaka is on the island of Honshu. (Japan)

22A: Half-baked twice?: DONE. but baking 46D: It might be half-baked: IDEA. twice won't make it better.

23A: 1970s Mary Tyler Moore costar: ED ASNER. Full name in both clue and answer.

25A: E-mails: SENDS.

26A: Pigeon patter: COOS. and 61A: Clay pigeon sport: SKEET.

27A: Ready in the keg: ON TAP.

32A: Food preparers' headgear: HAIR NETS. Plural prepairers.

35A: Letters before a 15-Across: AKA. (Also Known As).

40A: Quit worrying: REST EASY.

42A: Barely passing grade: D-PLUS.

45A: Place to fish from: PIER.

47A: Fiery felony: ARSON. This is an easy Monday clue.

49A: Like some lettuce: RED LEAF.

53A: Present, as one's case: STATE. A law tie-in?

55A: Pirates roam them: SEAS. They were lawless.

60A: One on foot, in signs: PED.

65A: Garden intruders: WEEDS.

Down:

1D: Tampa NFLers: BUCS Football.

2D: Dry as __: A BONE.

4D: Crowd to capacity: JAMPACK.

5D: Nebraska native: OTO. Also, Otoe.

8D: Sound like a pig: OINK.

12D: Modify: AMEND.

13D: Mojave hills: DUNES. Mojave desert.

18D: Verboten act: NO-NO.

22D: University VIP: DEAN.

24D: Protein-rich legume: SOY BEAN.

25D: German dessert: STRUDEL.

29D: It’s two more than an eagle: PAR. Golf.

30D: 1950s White House nickname: IKE. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, our 34th President.

32D: "You, over there!": "HEY!".

33D: Capote, familiarly: TRU.

38D: Purpose: USE.

41D: Homer chronicled its destruction: TROY.

43D: Event for special customers: PRESALE.

48D: More boorish: RUDER.

49D: Lenders' charges: RATES.

50D: Lofty lair: AERIE.

54D: Peach or beech: TREE. Good rhyme.

58D: Flavor-enhancing additive: MSG. Monosodium glutamate.

Answer grid,

Argyle

Sunday January 3, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: 51 Pickup - Roman numeral LI (51) is inserted into familiar phrases.

22A. Space cadet's selection?: OB(LI)VIOUS CHOICE. Obvious Choice.

30A. "Let's go, Mr. North": COME ON O(LI)VER. Come on Over. Olive North.

52A. Fish-eating bird's dessert?: PE(LI)CAN PIE. Pecan Pie.

61A. Powell's portrait painter?: CO(LI)N ARTIST. Con Artist. Colin Powell.

76A. Badly neglected vehicle?: SQUA(LI)D CAR. Squad Car.

95A. Scores kept by Cinderella's godmother?: FAIRY TAL(LI)ES. Fairy Tales.

109A. Ultimate caterer?: THE LAST SUPP(LI)ER. The Last Supper.

3D. Seasoning for kielbasa?:PO(LI)SH SPICE. Posh Spice (of the Spice Girls).

14D. Sarah's campaign strategist?: PA(LI)N HANDLER. Panhandler.

57D. Lassie's luggage carrier?: COL(LI)E PORTER. Cole Porter.

66D. Analgesic for a post-snorkeling headache?: CORAL RE(LI)EF. Coral Reef.

And CII (54D. MXX ÷ X). 1020÷ 10= 102. It doubles the theme number 51 and connects two of the theme answers. Neat!

Quintessential Dan Naddor puzzle: very heavy themage, clever, entertaining & bold wordplay. I counted a total of 129 theme squares among the 11 entries. We don't often see Down theme answers overlapping each other.

An unusual number of people names in the grid though. Fortunately most of them are recognizable. I did have to peek at the cheat sheet for a few obscure ones.

I suspect Dan got the theme inspiration during his 51 birthday celebration. Alas, I can not just send him an email now and ask. But I was comforted by the fact that he celebrated his last birthday with us on Oct 16, 2009, and he knew he was adored and respected.

Across:

1. Flavorful: SAPID. Boy, the third appearance in the past 8 days. Still sounds "insipid"/"vapid" to me. Do read this funny "How I Met My Wife" Bill G brought to us a while ago (sorry for the wrong credit yesterday, Bill.)

6. Tennyson poem that begins "He clasps the crag with crooked hands": THE EAGLE. Got the answer from crosses.

14. Scorecard numbers: PARS. Another golf term is CART (61D. Golf rental). Dan loves golf.

18. Leachman who is the oldest "Dancing With the Stars" contestant to date: CLORIS. Nope. Have never heard of this lady.

20. Is guaranteed to work: CAN'T FAIL

21. Ike's mate: MAMIE. And BESS (70D. 21-Across predecessor). Bess Truman.

24. Fly on the wind: GLIDE

25. Buddy: PAISANO. Paysan is French for "peasant".

26. Madre's boy: NINO.

27. Coleridge storyteller: MARINER. Albatross the wearisome burden (also the golf score) is derived from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".

29. USNA grad: ENS (Ensign)

34. Bridge site: NOSE. Of course I was picturing a real bridge, not the ridge of my nose.

35. "So that's it!": OHO. Crossing OOH (36D. "I'm amazed!").

37. Sporty Pontiac: GTO

38. Start of Caesar's boast: VENI. "Veni, vidi, vici"

39. Crack reaction: HA HA

40. Novelist Susan: SONTAG. Long time lover of Annie Leibovitz.

44. Inclined: LEANT. Oh, I thought it's leaned.

46. Burrowing rodents of Central and South America: PACAS. No idea. Dictionary says this rodent is almost tailless and valued as food.

47. Vatican Palace painter: RAPHAEL. The Italian Renaissance painter.

49. Had in mind: MEANT

50. "Meet the Fockers" actor: DE NIRO (Robert). Fun movie.

51. Judo sash: OBI

55. Blush: REDDEN

56. Muhammad's birthplace: MECCA. Hence the annual Hajj to Mecca.

58. Swoon: FAINT

59. Gloom: PALL

60. Promise, for one: OLEO. The Promise brand margarine.

65. Creamy shade: ECRU

69. Angle iron: L-BAR. In the form of an L (90 degree bend)

71. Like tortoiseshell: HORNY. Man, Dennis/Carol would have fun kidding with Dan about his clue.

72. Like Niagara Falls: AROAR. I like the two consecutive "Like ...".

73. Large envelope: MAILER

80. Needle: RIB

81. Sign up: ENLIST

82. Lion-colored: TAWNY

83. Water polo teams, e.g.: HEPTADS. Heptad is a group of seven.

85. Chicago suburb: NILES. Unknown to me.

86. Merited: RATED

87. Back fin: DORSAL. Learned from doing Xword.

89. Isinglass: MICA

90. Org. concerned with PCBs: EPA

92. Piece of work: ERG. Normally clued as "Unit of work".

94. Casa pet, perhaps: GATO. Spanish for "cat". Los Gatos (CA) means "The Cats".

101. Pitching stat: ERA

103. Going on and on: ETERNAL

105. "Charity thou __ lie": Stephen Crane: ART A. Was ignorant of the poem.

106. Ralph Nader in the 2000 election, according to Gore supporters: SPOILER. Indeed.

108. Bit of gaucho gear: RIATA. Or reata.

113. Atlas feature: INSET

114. Abscissa's counterpart: ORDINATE. Had to look up in my dictionary for the meaning of "abscissa".

115. Jungle queen: SHEENA. From "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle".

116. Hungarian castle city: EGER. I wonder if it's a gimme for our Hungarian trombonist Jazzbumpa. I only know Eger the river.

117. Grading period: SEMESTER

118. Hotel amenities: SAFES

Down:

1. Range: SCOPE

2. Wrestler Lou: ALBANO. Nope. Was he very famous?

4. The cornea covers it: IRIS

5. Former NBA center Vlade: DIVAC. A Serbian. I peeked at the answer sheet again.

6. Horned Frogs' sch.: TCU (Texas Christian University). In Ft. Worth.

7. Lacks: HAS NOT

8. Valley Girl's home, perhaps: ENCINO. Spanish for "evergreen". It’s in San Fernando Valley. District of LA. Stumper for me.

9. Culture: Pref.: ETHNO

10. "__ Such As I": Elvis hit: A FOOL

11. Merry, in Metz: GAI. French for "gay".

12. Contractor's ID: LIC (License)

13. Natural environment: ELEMENT

15. Body builder?: AMINO ACID. Builder of protein. Great clue.

16. Carpooling: RIDESHARE. Did the answer come to you immediately?

17. Allow oneself to be persuaded: SEE REASON. New idiom to me.

19. Chinese: Pref.: SINO. As in Sino-American relations.

21. Dugout ldr.: MGR (manager). "Ldr" is such a weird abbreviation for "leader", isn't it?

23. Pah lead-in: OOM. Oom leads the word "Oompah".

28. Bush spokesman Fleischer: ARI. Too smooth a tongue.

31. Easter roller: EGG

32. Russian prince known as "Moneybag": IVAN I. Easy guess. 14th-century Russian prince.

33. Sale, to Seurat: VENTE. French for "sale". Does Seurat here refer to pointillist Georges Seurat or is Seurat is a popular French surname, Kazie?

41. Western wine region: NAPA

42. Simple top: TEE

43. Totally behind: ALL FOR

44. Helped out: LENT A HAND. Nailed it. This fill connects three theme answers.

45. "The Raven" monogram: EAP (Edgar Allan Poe)

46. Spa treatment: PEEL

47. Dallas quarterback Tony: ROMO. Now who's he dating?

48. Brother of Cain: ABEL. Or SETH (the youngest).

49. Jazz flutist Herbie: MANN

50. "Shoot!": DRAT

53. Adverb ending: IAL. The ending of the word adverbial. Not the real adverb LY ending.

59. Movie with a memorable shower scene: PSYCHO. Wish I had not seen it.

63. Penta- minus two: TRI. Shouldn't be "Penta - minus bi-" since they are all prefixes?

64. Corn Belt st.: IND (Indiana)

67. Bust: RAID

68. Cities, informally: URBS

72. Dadaist collection: ARPS. Jean Arp. The Dadaist pioneer.

73. Where the wild things are: MENAGERIE. Awesome entry.

74. Bringing to life: ANIMATING

75. Uptight: ILL AT EASE

76. Keanan of "Step by Step": STACI. No idea. Quite heavy foundation on her forehead, no?

77. Persian Gulf nation: QATAR. Where Al Jazeera is based.

78. German director Boll known for film adaptations of video games: UWE. Man, this guy has a weird name. How do you pronounce UWE?

86. Theater districts: RIALTOS. Another new word to me. This solely refers to those districts around Broadway, right?

87. Indian lentil dish: DAL. Not to my taste. Indian dish is a bit too strong for me.

89. Juilliard deg.: MFA

90. Really bugs: EATS AT

91. Nebraska river: PLATTE. Missouri tributary.

93. "The Quiet American" author: GREENE (Graham)

96. Either Bush, once: YALIE. Both members of Skull and Bones too.

97. __ fat: TRANS

98. Ames sch.: ISU (Iowa State University)

99. "House" actor Omar: EPPS

100. Next year's juniors: SOPHS. Need "briefly" in the clue for abbreviation hint.

102. Tapestry behind which Polonius hid: ARRAS. In "Hamlet''.

104. Rebellious Turner: NAT

107. Intestinal parts: ILEA. Plural of ileum.

110. Realm until 1806: Abbr.: HRE (800 A.D. -1806 A.D.)

111. Teacher's deg.: ED. M (Master of Education)

Updates: In his Facebook, Dan Naddor said: "Don't send me flowers, don't send-in-the-clowns...make my life count. Please donate to Hoag Cancer Center -without them I would have been gone a long time ago." If you are attending the service on Jan 7th, Dan requested "no coats, no ties, no mourning attire, flip flops preferred".

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday January 2, 2010 Bob Peoples

Theme: None

Total blocks: 31

Total words: 66

Rather low in terms of word count. Lots of great multiple-word entries in this grid. I counted 13, among which eight have 10 or 11 letters. I also liked some of the long one-word entries, not the three ING-ending fill though.

Somehow I was very bothered by the "it" in the clue for VENUE (28A. Where it's at). Grammatically it's confusing. I do love the pronoun "they" for ETS (6D. They travel a great distance to get here).

Choppy solving. The lower right corner crumbled rather easily for me. Lower left was steely. The Down clues/fill today sure felt more accessible than the Across, didn't they?

Across:

1. Hedged reply: I BELIEVE SO. Great answer.

11. Gawain and Kay, e.g.: SIRS. Both knights at King Arthur's Round Table. Sir Gawain is Arthur's nephew. Kay is Arthur's foster brother.

15. Hustlers: CON ARTISTS

16. Slicing, dicing, etc.: PREP. I rather like the clue.

17. How preordained events are written?: IN THE STARS. Is this a idiom? I've never heard of it before.

18. Start to till?: ROTO. The start of the word rototill. I only know rototiller.

19. Fr. company: CIE. And another simpler French word MERES (45A. Metz mothers). Kazie explained to us CIE before.

20. Frazier rival: ALI. Joe Frazier.

21. Altercation: RUN-IN

22. Impart: LEND

24. Warning: OMEN

25. Zipping through: ACING. And ESTEEMING (26A. Looking up to). And IRONING (12D: Household drudgery). Any repining about the three ING's?

29. Saturate with: STEEP IN

30. Gulped with gusto: SWIGGED. Alliteration.

32. Cherished: PET. As project.

33. __-ha: stink: HOO. I was unaware that "stink" can mean "fuss/commotion".

34. Gathering with much rapping: GABFEST. Stumper.

38. __ Observatory, site of the larger Hale Telescope: PALOMAR. In San Diego County. Spanish for "pigeon house". Lots of pigeons can be seen during spring/autumn months atop Palomar Mountain, according to Wikipedia & JD.

42. Asteroids game company: ATARI

43. Alarming: WORRISOME

46. "Carmina Burana" composer: ORFF (Carl). German composer. Maybe Jazzbumpa/Crockett can tell us more about this guy. Complete stranger to me.

47. Part of Q.E.D.: ERAT

48. I.Q. test pioneer: BINET (Alfred). The inventor of the first widely accepted test for measuring intelligence. His name escaped me.

49. "__ Mir Bist Du Schoen": Andrews Sisters hit: BEI. Yiddish for "To Me You're Beautiful".

50. Taxonomic suffix: OTE. As in Capriot/Cypriot. I obtained the answer from crosses.

51. All-encompassing phrase: A TO Z. With the second T in place, I wrote down ET AL.

52. Locks out of a store?: HAIRPIECES. Locks = hair. Tricky clue.

56. Herbert sci-fi classic: DUNE. Nope. Have never hear of the book, nor the author.

57. Antique diamond shape: OLD MINE CUT. Educate me on what exactly is a old mine cut.

58. Phone abbr.: OPER

59. Sliders at home, perhaps: GLASS DOORS. The DOORS part emerged to me early on, so I was not misled into the miniature burgers or baseball sliders direction.

Down:

1. Cold fish, so to speak: ICICLES. Cold fish (aloof/reserved person) is a new expression to me.

2. Skinny to the max: BONIEST

3. Political agreement: ENTENTE

7. Daily supplement: VITAMIN

8. Big Sur retreat: ESALEN. The Esalen Institute is named after the Native American tribe Esalen. Another unknown to me.

9. Philharmonic section: STRINGS

10. WWII hush-hush gp.: OSS (Office of Strategic Services). CIA precursor.

11. Flying boat built by Hughes Aircraft: SPRUCE GOOSE. The one Dick (in black) and Carol (in red) visited last year.

13. Following: RETINUE. VIP's following.

14. Cleaned (off), as a counter: SPONGED

21. Ristorante fare: RAVIOLI. Does it always have cheese inside?

23. Long-term storage solution: DEEP FREEZER

24. Forgets about: OMITS

27. Modern pentathlon competitor, at times: EPEEIST (ey-PEY-ist). I had no idea that modern pentathlon include epee fencing.

31. Landing site: WHARF

34. Long legging attached to a saddle: GAMBADO. No idea. Rider's legging. Maybe "The Talented Mr. Argyle" can find us a picture link. Gamba is Italian for "leg", kind of like our "gam" I suppose.

35. Had the time of one's life: ATE IT UP

36. Without exception: BAR NONE

37. Blue pool target: TWO BALL. Billiard. It's blue.

38. Image adjusters: PR FIRMS. Nice clue.

39. Casablanca locale: MOROCCO

40. Pro's opposite: AMATEUR

44. Golden Crinkles maker: ORE-IDA. Portmanteau of Ore(gon) + Ida(ho).

52. Monopolize: HOG

53. Magnum et al.: Abbr.: PIS (Private Investigators).

54. Unaffiliated: Abbr.: IND (Independent)

55. Want-ad abbr.: EEO. Penned in EOE first. Three consecutive abbrs. Not SAPID at all.

Should you have time, read this SAPID defintion Annette linked yesterday. Do click on "How I Met My Wife", a big hit last time when Jazzbumpa brought to the blog.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday January 1, 2010 Andy E. Sawyer

Theme: Happy New Year! - The first words of three familiar phrases are Scottish-ized and together they form the song title "Auld Lang Syne".

20A. Steamy Western attraction, today?: AULD (Old) FAITHFUL. Old Faithful Geyser is in Yellowstone National Park. Why is "Western" capitalized in the clue?

36A. Airport convenience, today?: LANG (Long) TERM PARKING

52A. "I wouldn't have said this, but ...," today?: SYNE (Since) YOU ASKED. "Syne" is Scottish for "since".

Quite simple a theme concept, which resulted in sparse numbers of theme answers I suppose. But also plenty of long & lively non-theme fill.

I am very fond of the "it" clues in the grid:

2D. It sucks: VACUUM

33D. The one who started it: AGGRESSOR

45D. It turns litmus paper blue: ALKALI

How is your solving experience today? I felt it's an easier Friday than our recent offerings. Still had to cheat though.

Across:

1. "Variations on 'America'" composer: IVES (Charles). Wikipedia says he is widely regarded as one of the first American composers of international significance. I was stumped.

5. Hurry: RACE

9. Lit: AFIRE

14. Cantata composer: BACH. "Fugue composer" too.

15. Birds that lay green eggs: EMUS. Yep, their eggs are dark green. Edible, right, Kazie?

16. Activist with Raiders: NADER (Ralph). Dader's Raiders.

17. Behold, to Brutus: ECCE. "ECCE homo" (Behold the Man).

18. Hot flower: MOLTEN LAVA. Need to parse "flow-er" here as things that flow.

22. Oaty cereal: MUESLI. Not to my taste.

23. Chose not to discuss now: TABLED

27. '70s Citroën models: SMS. Have never heard of Citroën SM. What does SM stand for?

28. JFK, LBJ, etc.: INITS. Can't mislead me into Democrats/Presidents abbr. any more.

32. Muhammad's daughter: LAILA

33. San __ Fault: ANDREAS. Just learned that the San Francisco 1906 earthquake ruptured along the San Andreas Fault.

35. Scratch: CLAW. Oh, scratch from cat.

40. Designing first name: OLEG (Cassini). Designer for Jackie Kennedy.

41. Complains: REPINES. New word to me. Same root as opine, I presume.

42. '60s attorney general Ramsey __: CLARK. Under LBJ. I remember the brouhaha surrounding his defense of Saddam.

44. Lightheaded: GIDDY

45. 1977 Grammy-winning Steely Dan album: AJA. Pronounced like "Asia". Jeannie's favorite album.

48. Out: ASLEEP. Got me. Great clue.

50. "CSI" set: DNA LAB

56. Probably not a teacher's pet: CLASS CLOWN. Thought of Dennis.

59. Prego alternative: RAGU

60. Asian capital: HANOI. Vietnam's capital.

62. Lighting svc.: ELEC. Have never seen "service" abbreviated as svc before.

63. Embellish: ADORN

64. Get smart with: SASS

65. Gossip: DIRT

Down:

1. Steel girders: I-BEAMS

3. Bk. after Proverbs: ECCLES. And ESTH (8D. Bible bk. named for an orphaned maiden). Bible books are my weak points, that's for sure.

4. Gets rid of: SHEDS

5. What's left: REMAINDER. Wrote down REMAINING.

6. Pierre's possessive: A MOI. French for "mine". Alliteration.

7. Religious offshoot: CULT. Wanted SECT.

9. Like many awards: ANNUAL

10. Alternative plans: FALLBACKS

11. Wash. neighbor: IDA. In my mind, Idaho is full of potato fields.

12. Gun in a garage: REV. Gun/Rev your engine. I was picturing the real gun.

13. Important time: ERA

19. Terrestrial newt: EFT. Young newt.

21. City where General Motors was founded: FLINT (Michigan)

24. "Hi-__ Hi-Lo": LILI. The song was featured in Leslie Caron's "Lili". Have never heard of it before.

25. Vivacity: ELAN

26. Deputy __: cartoon canine: DAWG. Easy guess.

29. Discount store abbr.: IRREG

30. Allegro et al.: TEMPI

31. Pleasing to the palate: SAPID. This word sure does not look tasty.

34. Areas for buggies: SAND DUNES. Obtained the answer from crosses.

36. Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida __": LOCA. Great song.

37. "__ fair in ...": ALL'S. All's fair in love and war.

38. C&W singer McCoy: NEAL. Here is his "Wink". Alien to me.

39. Former U.S. soccer team captain Claudio: REYNA. Nope, sorry. Don't follow soccer.

43. Adds to the database: KEYS IN

46. Predatory seabird: JAEGER. How do you pronounce this bird: YEY-ger or JEY-ger?

47. Kidnap: ABDUCT

49. __ Park: Pirates' stadium: PNC. Named after PNC Bank.

51. Comparable to a beet: AS RED. As red as a beet.

53. Skull and Bones members: ELIS. George W Bush was a member, so was his father.

54. Star Wars character who uses strange syntax: YODA. "Do or do not. There is no try".

55. Night fliers: OWLS

56. Chinese tea: CHA. Yes, literally "tea".

57. Boy: LAD

58. Spanish year: ANO. ¡Felíz año nuevo!

In his letter to constructors yesterday about Dan Naddor's passing, Rich Norris said: "... Dan was one of my favorites, a fun and imaginative guy to work with. I will miss him. His unique style, creativity, energy and willingness to learn were assets that catapulted him to the top echelon of the puzzle constructors since his 2006 debut. In the three-plus years that followed, the LA times published more than 100 of his puzzles. His legacy will live on through much of 2010: there are quite a few more of his puzzles to be edited and published over the coming months ..." A tough loss for Rich too.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday, December 31, 2009 Bill Thompson

Theme: CATCH (65A. Verb associated with the beginnings of 18-, 26-, 43- and 57-Across)

18A. Impossible to get close to: COLD AS ICE. Catch a Cold.

26A. Surrender: WAVE A WHITE FLAG. Catch a Wave.

43A. "Jerry Maguire" catchphrase: SHOW ME THE MONEY. Catch a Show.

57A. Right-click result, often: POP-UP MENU. Catch a Pop-up (fly ball).

I like how CATCH is gridded at the very end, providing the ultimate "Aha" moment. And of course, at my solving level, I'd prefer the unifying clue to be "Seize, or verb associated with the beginnings of 18-, 26-, 43- and 57-Across).

Was surprised to see VETCH (28D. Climbing legume). I faintly remember Lemonade mentioned that this plant often appeared in his parents' old old NYT puzzles. No relationship to kvetch.

A bit of slog for me. I was not engaged and did not give the puzzle its deserved attention. Still in shock and saddened by the news of Dan Naddor. His family told me that Dan passed away on the eve of Dec 28, 2009, from the complications of the cancer treatment (radiation to head/neck). He was considered cancer-free.

Dan began constructing crosswords 5 years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer at the back of his throat at the age of 48. He quickly became probably the most prolific LAT constructor in the last few years. He told me constructing crossword distracted his brain so he would not focus on how lousy he felt physically. He family believed that this prolonged his life and gave him something to strive for & enjoy. Dan enjoyed reading our comments and "entertaining my friends each week in puzzle-land".

His family have started a Facebook page under Dan Naddor and said the crossword people are welcome to visit and post. They also mentioned that he had several puzzles on queue in LA Times and NY Times, so we will see his byline in 2010. Dan, you will be deeply missed!

Across:

1. Sluglike "Star Wars" crime lord: JABBA. Jabba the Hutt. Scrabbly corner.

6. Sound from someone who's down: SOB

9. Legal orders: WRITS

14. To go, in Grenoble: ALLER. French for "go". Grenoble is a city in SE France.

15. Supermarket chain founded in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: IGA (Independent Grocers Alliance). Obtained the answer with the crosses.

16. Wore: HAD ON

17. Scrabble 10-pointer: Z TILE

20. Lifetime-guaranteed lighters: ZIPPOS. Did quite a bit of Intellectual Property investigation for Zippo in China.

22. Soft drink choice: DIET COKE

23. Out of balance: A-LOP. Yep, it exists in some dictionary Argyle checked last time.

25. __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone: LIA. Lia Fáil is pronounced like "Lee-a Fall". Had a ton of DF fun in the old TMS Daily puzzle.

33. Having a lot to lose, maybe?: OBESE. The clue sounds very Dan Naddor, doesn't it?

34. "Waiting for Lefty" playwright: ODETS (Clifford)

35. Mme. in Madrid: SRA

37. Beach toy: KITE. PAIL too.

38. Circle Line : Hudson :: Bateaux-Mouches : __: SEINE. Bateaux-Mouches ("Fly Boats". Bateaux = boats. Mounches = Flies) are open excursion boats that provide visitors to Paris with a view of the city from along the river Seine, a la Wikipedia.

39. Smart guy?: ALEC. Smart Alec.

40. Wall St. enforcer: SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)

41. Wooden shoe: SABOT. Same root as sabotage, according to Kazie.

42. Send, so to speak: ELATE. Slangy "send", right?

46. Moo goo __ pan: GAI. Gai is literally "chicken" in Cantonese.

47. Apartment manager, for short: SUPE. Only in crossword world.

48. Lark: ESCAPADE. One of my favorite entries in this grid.

53. Indiana and Purdue, e.g.: RIVALS. Oh, I was unaware of this fact. Don't follow college sports.

59. Knot over: RETIE

60. Spitting __: IMAGE

61. Oven cleaner component: LYE

62. "__, Therefore I Am": Dennis Miller book: I RANT. See the book cover. New to me. Dennis Miller does rant a lot though.

63. Checked out before a heist: CASED

64. Nonexpert: LAY. Wrote down HAM first.

Down:

1. Cat's passion: JAZZ. Cool cat jazz.

2. Some glee club members: ALTI. Plural of alto?

4. Semi-soft Italian cheese: BEL PAESE. Literally "Beautiful Country" in Italian. I've never had it.

5. Anatomical rings: AREOLAE. Singular is Areola: Are(a) + Ola. The nipple rings.

6. [thus]: SIC. [error left as is].

7. Common prayer opening: O GOD. Not O LORD?

8. Island in the Java Sea: BALI

9. Hypotheticals: WHAT IFS

10. Imp: RASCAL

11. Personal: Pref.: IDIO. Or "Peculiar: Pref". As in idiosyncrasy.

12. Pendulum sound: TOCK. Tick too.

13. Bygone dagger: SNEE. Learned from doing crossword.

24. "Friends" friend: PHOEBE. "Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat ...".

26. Stir-fry cookware: WOKS

27. "__ Irish Rose": ABIE'S. Abie is Irish Rose's lover.

29. Nincompoop: IDIOT

30. Tithe portions: TENTHS

31. Narnia lion: ASLAN. Turkish for "lion". I've never seen "The Chronicles of Narnia". The "Born Free" lioness is ELSA.

32. Norwegian marathoner Waitz: GRETE. This lady won a record nine-time New York City Marathon. Not a familiar name to me at all. Is Grete pronounced like "great"?

36. __-deucy: ACEY. Guessed.

38. "I do not like them, __": Seuss line: SAM-I-AM. From "Green Eggs and Ham".

39. Medicinal plant: ALOE VERA

41. Traded: SWAPPED

42. Derived from observation: EMPIRIC. John Locke is the founder of Empiricism.

44. Model railroad scale: O GAUGE. Or O SCALE. We had this clue before.

45. Part of EEC: Abbr.: EUR. EEC = European Economic Community

48. Like "Lawrence of Arabia": EPIC

49. Vedic drink for an immortal soul: SOMA. The drug in "Brave New World".

50. Balancing experts, briefly?: CPAS. Nailed it.

51. Valley: DELL

52. One-named New Age singer: ENYA

54. Rat tail?: A TAT. Rat-a-tat. Good clue.

55. Friend of Pete and Julie on "The Mod Squad": LINC

56. Brother of Abel: SETH. Broth of Cain too.

58. One-eighty: UEY. Slang for U-turn?

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: PH LEVEL (33A. Acidity or alkalinity measurement, which is literally 8 for this puzzle's four longest answers) - There are total 8 digraph PH's in the 4 longest theme entries.

17A. Plato's field: PHILOSOPHY. What is your definition of Platonic love?

22A. Wedding hiree: PHOTOGRAPHER

45A. City named by William Penn: PHILADELPHIA. The City of Brotherly Love.

54A. Its white variety glows upon exposure to oxygen: PHOSPHORUS. New word to me.

I like that all of the theme answers are long-lettered one-word entries with two consecutive PH combination (instead of phrases with one word ending in P and other starting in H. You know, the word spanning P H style). Very narrowly focused, as Nancy Salomon advocates. Can you think of any other word with the same pattern?

Nice "driving" rya Dan weaved in the clues:

30A. Driveway surface: GRAVEL

32A. Driver's aid: TEE. Golf "driver".

30D. Driving hazard: GLARE

Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 20. Pretty high. But not many sparkling clues. Guess that's why it's a Wednesday rather than a wicked Friday Dan Naddor.

Across:

1. Japanese noodle dish: RAMEN. I like the real soup-based, soy sauce flavored Ramen, not the instant noodle.

6. Starbuck's boss: AHAB. Starbuck is Captain Ahab's first mate in "Moby-Dick".

10. Stern's opposite: STEM. Hence the idiom "from stem to stern".

14. Words after complete or close: A SALE

15. One of the Simpsons: LISA. Bart has 4-letters too.

16. Head shape in a recurring "SNL" skit: CONE

20. Like mozzarella: SEMI-SOFT

21. Journalist __ Boothe Luce: CLARE. Wife of Henry Luce, founder of Time, Life, and Fortune.

25. "The Jazz Singer" subject: JOLSON (Al). "The Jazz Singer" is the first talkie movie ever made.

28. "The Ten Commandments" role: RAMESES. So many Rameses in ancient Egypt.

29. Lake near Niagara Falls: ERIE

35. 3.0, e.g.: Abbr.: GPA

39. Jerusalem temple site: ZION. Hence Zionism?

40. Soft-shell clam: STEAMER. Is the clam steamed? I've never had it.

43. Foul: SMELLY

48. "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN (Harold)

49. 1996 bride of comic books and television: LOIS LANE. "Superman".

57. 2008 American League champs: RAYS. Lost to the Phillies in the World Series.

58. Absorbed the loss: ATE IT

59. Form 1040 IDs: SSNS. So easy to lose our identities in this Internet Age, no matter how careful we are.

60. Shoppe sign word: OLDE

61. Jr.-year exams: PSATS

Down:

1. Knocks: RAPS

3. Hurt badly: MAIM. Ouch!

4. Orbital shape: ELLIPSE

5. River past Iola, Kansas: NEOSHO. Native Indian for "clear, cold water". I've never heard of Neosho River, nor the city Iola.

6. Up in the air: ALOFT

7. Aware of: HIP TO

10. Surgeon's tool: SCALPEL

11. Contents of some arks: TORAHS

12. Chef's preparation: ENTREE. Robin mentioned tamales and black eyed peas as her New Year's Day traditional food & Jeannie has crab legs & corn on the cob for New Year's Eve. What's your family ritual? We always have walleye fish and some form of sweet mochi rice. Not often ice cream though.

13. Ann __, only woman to sign a contract with an NBA team: MEYERS. With the Indiana Pacers in 1980. Wikipedia says "She participated in three-day tryouts for the team, but eventually was not chosen for the final squad.".

21. Bedouin's mount: CAMEL. Bedouin refers to nomadic Arab.

24. Speak wildly: RAVE

25. Lockheed product: JET

26. Tram filler: ORE

31. On a pension: Abbr.: RET (Retired)

33. Spin doc: PR MAN. PR PERSON to be PC.

35. __ Grissom, former "CSI" role: GIL. Got his name from crosses.

36. Campaign hustler, for short: POL

38. Fortes: TALENTS. They are not the same to me.

39. Gung-ho types: ZEALOTS

40. Involuntary contractions: SPASMS. Cramps too.

41. "__ Company": old sitcom: THREE'S

42. Astronaut Collins: EILEEN. The first female Space Shuttle pilot/commander.

43. Ocean traveler: SHIP

44. Accident: MISHAP

46. London insurance pioneer: LLOYD

47. Ad hoc oater group: POSSE. Why "Ad hoc"?

51. Dark time for de Gaulle: NUIT. French for "night". "Bonne Nuit" is "Good night". Alliteration again.

52. Ballpark figs.: ESTS (Estimates)

54. Veteran: PRO

55. Prince of Broadway: HAL. Wikipedia mentioned that he's got a record 21 Tony Awards. That's incredible.

Huge thanks to Argyle and Al for making today's blogging possible. And a belated Happy Fermat-numbered Birthday to Lorraine!

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009 Julian Lim

Theme: "On a Roll" - Progressively better bowling scores.

20A: Panhandler's request: "SPARE CHANGE?". Knocking all the pins down with two tries.

27A: Hit the mother lode: STRIKE IT RICH. All the pins fall with one try.

48A: Certain tour bus: DOUBLE DECKER. Two strikes in a row.

58A: Easy job, in slang: TURKEY SHOOT. Three strikes in a row.

Argyle here. This puzzle must be right up Boomer's alley. A good step up in difficulty from Monday. A new constructor for us, too. One problem: 35A: Object of a doctor's office phobia: NEEDLE. so close to 41A: Demur: OBJECT.

Turkey shoot: (This is the best description I found and I believe it is true. They use paper targets these days.) "In the old days they would put a live turkey (with a foot tied to the ground) behind a large log. They would scatter corn on the ground and as the turkey pecked at the corn his head would appear and disappear behind the log. Each participant(for a fee) would be given a shot (with a rifle). If you hit the turkey you claimed the bird."

Across:

1A: Tibetan capital: LHASA. Lhasa Apso

6A: Winged stinger: WASP.

10A: Tool in a wood shop: ADZE. A tool used to square-up beams, not often inside a shop.

15A: "At last it's clear!": "I SEE!". "D'oh!"

17A: Kiri Te Kanawa specialties: ARIAS. Born: March 6, 1944 - Gisborne, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island. The Maori soprano, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, is the adopted daughter of an Irish mother and Maori father and had a highly successful international opera career between 1968–2004. Not an aria, I believe.

18A: "Beautiful Girls" singer Kingston: SEAN. Sean Kingston (born 1990) is a Jamaican-American reggae fusion singer and rapper. He is best known for his debut single and #1 hit Beautiful Girls.

23A: New Orleans-to-Detroit dir.: NNE.

24A: Anacin Aspirin Free competitor: TYLENOL.

25A: Parking places: CURBS. Who started "kicked to the curb"?

31A: Third deg.?: PHD. After your B.A. and your Master's, you get your Doctorate.

34A: Invitation encl.: SASE. Self-Addressed,Stamped Envelope.

36A: Cathedral cross: ROOD. The rood from the website of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Reading, England

38A: Coll. helpers: TAS. Teaching Assistants

40A: Gradually disappear, with "off": WEAR.

51A: Oliver who directed "W.": STONE. Also directed...Platoon (1986), Wall Street (1987), Talk Radio (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989),The Doors (1991), JFK (1991)...to name a few.

52A: They may be tossed in an Easter contest: RAW EGGS.

62. Not at all bored: RAPT.

63. Piglet's creator: MILNE.

65. List-ending abbr.: ET AL..

66. Former forest near the River Avon: ARDEN. The Forest of Arden is stated by Shakespeare to be the setting for As You Like It.

68. Voluptuous: SEXY. Big can be beautiful .

Down:

1D: Minimum: LEAST.

2D: Shrew: HARPY. In classical mythology, harpies are a lot worse than just a shrew. Harpies

3D: Sans serif font: ARIAL. No curlicues.

4D: Catches: SNARES.

5D: Green lights: ASSENTS. Give the "go ahead".

6D: Letter to Santa, e.g.: WISH LIST. Done for another year.

8D: Medium session?: SEANCE.

9D: Umbrella-toting "Batman" villain: PENGUIN. Danny DeVito as "The PENGUIN"

11D: Drawbacks: DOWNSIDES.

12D: Utah national park: ZION.

13D: Alternatively: ELSE.

21D: Julius Dithers's wife, in "Blondie": CORA. Mr. Dithers is Dagwood's boss.

22D: Art Deco designer: ERTE.

28D: "The Family Circus" cartoonist Bil: KEANE.

30D: Rescuer, often: HERO. As in the movie with Dustin Hoffman. Good film.

31D: Cajole: PROD.

32D: Vagabond: HOBO. The HOBO does get around lately.

33D: Appreciate properly: DO JUSTICE.

37D: Borrowing consequence: DEBT. But if you're big enough, you don't have to pay the consequences. What a country!

39D: How plots are planned: SECRETLY.

43D: Lengths of service: TENURES.

45D: "Sounds good!": "OKAY!".

46D: One working on columns: NEWSMAN.

49D: Lower the assessed electrical capability of: DERATE. The clue is almost word for word from the dictionary.

50D: Bring back to the firm: REHIRE.

53D: Meir of Israel: GOLDA. Elected Prime Minister of Israel, 1969 until 1974.

54D: One surrounded by the enemy, maybe: GONER. But only maybe, if he is the star of the film.

55D: Old British guns: STENS.

57D: Word with sign or strategy: EXIT.

59D: 2001 Spacey film: K-PAX.

61D: Work on a seam: SEW.

There won't be Answer Grid until C.C.'s computer is fixed. Should you have any question, please feel free to go to the Comments section and ask.

Argyle