Tuesday May 11, 2010 Jeff Chen

Theme: C.C. - Both words in each theme phrase (and clues) start with letter C, including the unifier itself.

17A. Cough cause: COMMON COLD

27A. Courtside coverage: COLOR COMMENTARY

41A. Captain's concern: COLLISION COURSE. Two 15-letter grid spanning theme entries.

55A. Contract clone (whose abbreviation hints at this puzzle's theme): CARBON COPY

Argyle here.

Another clear and concise offering from Jeff Chen, whose note on this puzzle is attached at the end of my write-up.

Across:

1A. Pinochle plays: MELDS. A combination of cards for score or the act of laying down those cards, depending if you read the alliterated clue as a noun or a verb.

6A. Lure: BAIT.

10A. Arced line connecting two musical notes: SLUR. Image.

14A. Construction girder: I-BEAM.

15A. Rod in a hot rod: AXLE.

16A. Sniffer: NOSE.

19A. School reunion attendee: ALUM. Shortened version can mean male or female. Convenient.

20A. Ambient music pioneer Brian: ENO. Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality. From Wikipedia. Timbral - the adjective form of timbre: the quality given to a sound by its overtones. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (TMI, I know.)

21A. Madeline of "Blazing Saddles": KAHN. She portrayed Lilly Von Schtupp.

22A. Cathedral top: SPIRE. Top of the steeple.

23A. Not at any time, in verse: NE'ER.

25A. Flew a plane: AVIATED.

31A. Sources of fiber: BRANS.

32A. Blackens, as tuna: SEARS.

33A. Puts in stitches: SEWS.

34A. Like a birdbrain: DITZY.

35A. Rip: TEAR.

39A. Grand Canyon pack animal: BURRO.

40A. Flashy: GAUDY.

46A. Consecrates with oil: ANOINTS.

47A. Germany's von Bismarck: OTTO.

48A. Police operation: STING. Plus, 18D. 55-Down in a bust: NARC. 55D. One with a beat: COP. I was expecting 55D to be DEA.

49A. Central points: FOCI.

51A. Microwave: ZAP.

54A. Insect wound: BITE.

58A. Agreement from the flock: "AMEN!".

59A. Two-tone cookie: OREO.

60A. Office machine powder: TONER.

61A. One of a matching pair: HERS. (HIS & HERS)

62A. Red Rose: PETE. Pete Rose played baseball for the Cincinnati Reds; aka "Charlie Hustle".

63A. More than chunky: OBESE.

Down:

1D. Scampering squeakers: MICE.

2D. Black, in verse: EBON.

3D. Statute that protects car buyers: LEMON LAW.

4D. Public works project: DAM.

5D. Camel users?: SMOKERS. 34D. Pledge target: DUST. Hiding the fact that we are looking at proper names: Camel cigarettes and Pledge furniture polish.

6D. "Goldberg Variations" composer: BACH. A set of an aria and 30 variations for harpsichord published in 1741.

7D. Neural transmitter: AXON.

8D. Not well: ILL.

9D. Bill's "excellent adventure" partner: TED. Movie. Stupid fun.

10D. Be short with: SNAP AT.

11D. Nabokov nymphet: LOLITA. Lo-li-ta.

12D. Loan shark: USURER.

13D. Cure: REMEDY.

22D. Breaks a commandment: SINS.

24D. Ages and ages: EONS.

25D. Legendary female warrior: AMAZON. Was Xena an Amazon?

26D. Quite: VERY.

27D. Its eye is on TV: CBS. TV network.

28D. Refinable rock: ORE.

29D. Egyptian god of the dead: OSIRIS. Wikipedia entry.

30D. Part of MGM: METRO. (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

35D. Lacking slack: TAUT.

36D. Multicountry union using the same currency: EUROZONE.

37D. Promos: ADS.

38D. Deli loaf: RYE.

39D. Soft-voiced Crosby: BING. Known as a crooner, sang "White Christmas".

40D. Started liking, as a hobby: GOT INTO.

41D. Section of Algiers: CASBAH. Specifically the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. More generally, spelled kasbah.

42D. Prompt: ON TIME.

43D. Hang around: LOITER.

44D. Tablecloths and more: LINENS.

45D. Designer Chanel: COCO. A CC echo.

49D. Guitar ridge: FRET.

50D. Double-reed woodwind: OBOE.

52D. Big galoots: APES.

53D. Combustible pile: PYRE.

56D. "We __ the World": ARE.

57D. Corn unit: COB.

Answer grid.

Notes from Jeff Chen:

I heard a friend use the phrase COLLISION COURSE a few months ago, and I thought it was catchy. I looked it up in the cruciverb database, and luckily it's only been used once in crosswords (in a themeless puzzle) since the database's inception, but I wasn't quite sure how to make a puzzle out of it. After some brainstorming, I thought that other two-word phrases using the initials CC might make a good easy-ish puzzle, so I came up with a list of about ten that I thought were interesting. However, it still didn't feel like a very good puzzle, since it didn't have anything that tied the phrases together. Luckily I was reading your blog one day and it hit me that CC is an abbreviation for CARBON COPY, so that would serve to link up the phrases nicely. Luckily Rich agreed! Thanks for the inspiration CC! Jeff

Argyle

PS: Blogger software is having some glitches showing Comments.

Monday, May 10, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Gents - The end of these common phrases are men's names beginning with J (all in plural form).

18A. Ground beef concoctions on buns: SLOPPY JOES. Image

23A. Dried meat sticks: SLIM JIMS. Image

33A. Winter underwear: LONG JOHNS. Image

50A. Toronto ball team: BLUE JAYS. Image

56A. Fruit-and-cinnamon-flavored cereal: APPLE JACKS. Image

Quite low block count for a Monday. And triple stacks of 7 -letter non-theme answers in each Down quadrant. 5 Scabbly Js.

Argyle here. A Naddor on a Monday. Everything seems to be in order.

Across:

1A. The U.S. minimum is $7.25 per hour: WAGE. The statutory minimum wage was first introduced nationally in 1938 at $0.25/hr.

5A. In the phone directory: LISTED.

11A. It can follow poli or precede fi: SCI. (poli sci - political science)(sci-fi - science fiction)

14A. One out of two: HALF.

15A. Break out of jail: ESCAPE. A great movie, The Great Escape.

16A. Refusals: NOs.

17A. Amo, amas, __: AMAT. Latin

20A. Nervous twitch: TIC.

21A. Kitchen cabinet stack: PLATES.

22A. Light beige: ECRU.

25A. War's opposite: PEACE. Together, a very long book.

26A. Apprehension: UNEASE.

27A. Food fish that's often red: SNAPPER. Image Red Snapper with Lemongrass

29A. Quechua-speaking country: PERU. Quechua is the language of the Inca civilization, presently spoken by about 7 million people in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Dictionary.com

30A. Two-time loser to Ike: ADLAI. We may have some discussion about using Dwight David Eisenhower's nick name to clue Adlai Ewing Stevenson II's first name.

32A. Radical '60s org.: SDS. Students for a Democratic Society.

37A. Doofus: ASS.

40A. "Do __ See God?": Jon Agee palindrome book: GEESE. It appears this maybe an entry in his 1991 book, "Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog! and Other Palindromes".

41A. Meat-inspecting org.: USDA. United States Department of Agriculture

45A. Visibly embarrassed: BEET RED.

47A. Lynx family member: BOBCAT.

49A. Kind of carnival show: RAREE. A peep show, usually "raree-show".

52A. Airline to Ben-Gurion: EL AL. Ben-Gurion airport is located near the city of Lod, southeast of Tel Aviv, Israel. EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd is the flag carrier of the State of Israel.

53A. On the train: ABOARD.

55A. Rockies hrs.: MST. Mountain Standard Time

58A. Samoa's capital: APIA. Samoa Islands.

59A. Go after in court: SUE.

60A. Surgeon's tool: LANCET.

61A. Long race, for short: TEN K. 10 kilometers (6.2 miles)

62A. Military gps.: TPS. Troops?

63A. Military instructions: ORDERS.

64A. Coastal raptor: ERNE. Sea Eagle

Down:

1D. Bugs's question to "Doc": "WHAT'S UP?".

2D. Pooh's creator: A.A. MILNE. Winnie the Pooh.

3D. Ice Age remnant: GLACIER.

4D. Young newt: EFT. "They're so cute when they're young." Image.

5D. Nielsen of "Naked Gun" films: LESLIE. His movies are a farce.

6D. Muslim religion: ISLAM.

7D. Highlanders, e.g.: SCOTS.

8D. Record, á la Nixon: TAPE. Minus the an 18½ minute gap.

9D. Omar of "The Mod Squad" movie: EPPS. The 1999 movie. He is Dr. Eric Foreman on TV's "House".

10D. "L.A. Law" co-star Susan: DEY. Another TeeVee show.

11D. Nestle brand named for its covering of tiny white confection balls: SNO-CAPS. Image.

12D. Strong-armed: COERCED

13D. Publishers, e.g.: ISSUERS.

19D. Cherokee on the road: JEEP.

21D. Jammies: PJs. Pajamas.

24D. Handle roughly: MAUL.

25D. "Royal" annoyance: PAIN.

27D. Gin flavoring: SLOE.

28D. Slangy "No way": "NAH".

30D. Elderly: AGED.

31D. School dance VIPs: DJs. (disc jockey)

34D. Grimm beast: OGRE. (the Brothers Grimm and their fairy tales)

35D. Formerly, in wedding news: NEE.

36D. Math or soc. studies: SUBJ. (subject)

37D. Side by side: ABREAST.

38D. Sea lion newborn: SEAL PUP.

39D. Pancho's ponchos: SERAPES. alliteration

42D. Run playfully: SCAMPER.

43D. Motel with a sunrise in its logo: DAYS INN.

44D. On the line: AT STAKE.

46D. Relate: TELL.

47D. Pops, as a bubble: BURSTS.

48D. Multivolume ref.: OED. (The Oxford English Dictionary) What I would dearly love to have.

50D. Italian bowling game: BOCCE.

51D. Southern California hoopster: LAKER.

53D. Open just a bit: AJAR.

54D. 57-Down, for one: BAND.

57D. "Xanadu" rock gp.: ELO. (Electric Light Orchestra). We don't need to hear "Xanadu" again, do we?

58D. Chowed down: ATE.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday May 9, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: Pet Food - Part of a common food/beverage item is substituted with the sound a animal makes and the resulting punny phrase is clued with question marked appropriate animal name and the food/beverage hint.

23A. Duck's snack?: GRAHAM QUACKER. Graham Cracker. Duck quacks. This is the only theme entry where the pun is not really based on the pet sound "quack", but rather the pet itself "quacker".

38A. Canary's cereal?: SHREDDED TWEET. Shredded wheat. Canary tweets.

71A. Dog's creamer?: ARF AND ARF. Half and Half. Arf is the dog bark sound.

101A. Owl's beverage?: HOOT CHOCOLATE. Hot Chocolate. Owl hoots.

122A. Chick's first course?: SPLIT PEEP SOUP. Split Pea Soup. Chick peeps.

3D. Sheep's eggplant dish?: BAA BAA GHANOUJ. Baba Ghanouj (or Ghanoush). A dish I've never heard of. The constructor might have anticipated so, otherwise there would not be a direct "eggplant" hint. Hard to make eggplant taste good. Sheep baas.

59D. Cow's dessert? RASPBERRY MOOS. Raspberry Mousse. Cow moos.

From beverage to food. From first course to dessert. Lovely range of choices. Delicious theme clues too.

More entries for the hungry:

34A. __ Wafers: NILLA

50A. Hog meat: HAM. And PENS (62A. Hog hangouts). Hog echos.

31D. Browns in a pan: SEARS. Love seared tuna.

And of course, being a musician, John always sprinkles a few music references in his puzzle:

47A. B-flat equivalent: A-SHARP

74A. Cavaradossi's lover: TOSCA. The Puccini opera.

116A. Third degree of a musical scale: MEDIANT. New word to me. And PH. D (49D. Third deg.?). Bachelor. Master & Ph.D. Third degree echo.

55D. Vivaldi's hour: ORA. Italian for "hour".

56D. Pachelbel's "__ in D Major": CANON. Waiting for Jazzbumpa to find a perfect link.

114D. "__ in Calico": Crosby song: A GAL. Here is a clip. I was ignorant of the song.

I've highlighted in green all the cross-references and clue echos, John's hallmark. I also noticed that there's not even one cheater/helper square in the whole grid.

Across:

1. Outback developer: SUBARU. Immediately thought of Kazie and Australia.

7. Like students on finals eve: UP LATE

13. Turn over with faith: ENTRUST

20. Pain relief brand: ANACIN. And OTC (90. Like 20-Across, briefly) & ACHE (4D: 20-Across target).

21. Bit of inclemency: SHOWER

22. Have advance knowledge of, as the future: SEE INTO

25. Crossword whose answers contain all 26 letters, e.g.: PANGRAM. We've seen quite a few from Barry Silk.

26. Jeer: GIBE

27. Play narrated by a stage manager: OUR TOWN. The Thornton Wilder play.

28. Half of a Pacific island: BORA. Bora Bora.

29. Supermarket ID: UPC (Universal Product Code). And MDSE (33. Gds). Merchandise. Would prefer "Goods: Abbr.".

30. Ecol. watchdog: EPA

31. Give and take: SWAP. Nice clue.

32. Je t'__: I love you, in France: AIME. Wo Ai Ni, in Chinese.

36. Blind alley: DEAD END. And TOMCATS (19D. Alley prowlers). Alley echo.

42. 1998 biopic about model Carangi: GIA. Played by Angelina Jolie.

43. Camelot charger: STEED. Alliteration.

45. Like sirens: SEXY

46. Long-shot winners defy them: ODDS. Nailed it.

51. Stair posts: NEWELS

53. "Alice in Wonderland" (2010) star Wasikowska: MIA. Total stranger to me. An Aussi.

57. Garden party hiree: CATERER

64. Film with Bond girl Honey Ryder: DR. NO. Honey Ryder sounds very DF.

65. Jason's ship: ARGO

68. 1998 Olympics city: NAGANO. Winter Olympics.

69. Beak: SNOOT

75. Fresh: UNUSED

77. Picked do: AFRO

78. Aptly named beam: Z-BAR. No idea. Shaped like Z?

81. Lounging garb: PAJAMAS

83. Diner on a hill: ANTEATER. Ah, I definitely need a question mark in the clue.

86. NYC subway line named for two boroughs: BMT. Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit. Good to know.

87. Cue: PROMPT

91. __femoris: thigh muscle: BICEPS. See this diagram. I always associate biceps with upper arms. Also QUADS (24D: Thigh muscles). Where are quads, Dennis?

93. It may be filled with Londonderry air: TYRE. British spelling of tire. Londonderry is a new word to me. Adjective of London?

97. Van Gogh's confidant brother: THEO. He died a few months after Van Gogh killed himself.

98. Early Teutons: GOTHS

100. Mastodon preserver: TAR

104. Bunkers and streams, to golfers: HAZARDS. Hmm, it's the lake I fear. You can always pick up your balls along the streams.

108. Actress Rene: RUSSO. Love her in "Tin Cup".

109. Signed note: CHIT

111. Even so: YET

112. Fury: IRE

113. Facetious "Not funny": HA HA. And ROASTS (61D. Facetious tributes). Facetious echos.

119. Uma's role in "The Avengers": EMMA

120. Demand to be free: LET ME GO. I like the answer.

124. Not metaphorical: LITERAL

125. Tube: TEEVEE. Weird to see TV spelled out.

126. Service station feature, briefly: C- STORE. Silly, but I've never heard of Convenience Store abbreviated as C-Store.

127. Regal: STATELY

128. Garden tools: EDGERS

129. Equilibria: STASES. Plural of stasis. Euilibria is plural of equilibrium.

Down:

1. Declined: SAGGED. Not the "Declined" I had in mind.

5. Estuary: RIA

6. Going to seed, as grass: UNMOWN

7. Grab, as power: USURP

8. "Cool" relative: PHAT. And FAT (73. Full of flab). Alliteration.

9. In __ parentis: LOCO. Latin.

10. Like most early adolescents: AWKWARD. Nice clue.

11. __ Beanies: Little stuffed animals: TEENIE

12. Muff a grounder: ERR. Baseball.

13. Hockey's Phil, to fans: ESPO. Finally I remembered his name.

15. One paying a flat fee?: TENANT. Flat = Apartment.

17. Like printer paper: UNRULED. And STAPLED (18. Attached, as paper). Consecutive paper echo.

28. Moisten, poetically: BEDEW

35. Noted WWII photo site, briefly: IWO. Iwo Jima.

37. Diego's day: DIA. Alliteration.

38. Blockade: SEAL OFF

39. Blood: pref.: HEMA. Hemo too.

40. Biz boss: EXEC. Alliteration again. All the last three clues start with B. Not a coincidence. I can assure you.

44. Powerful D.C. lobby: THE NRA. THE got me.

47. Intensifies: AMPS UP

48. Earth shade: SIENNA. Beautiful shade! Sienna Miller has a unique style.

52. ER "Right away!": STAT. And TEMP (70. ER stat). ER echo.

58. They may need stroking: EGOS. Nailed it.

60. Bivouac: ENCAMP

63. Former Cub star: SOSA (Sammy). He spent his best years with the Cubs.

66. Martha's Vineyard paper since 1846: GAZETTE. Easy guess.

67. "Law & Order" actor: ORBACH (Jerry). His son Tony Orbach is a crossword constructor.

72. What the suspicious smell: A RAT

76. Sith lord's title: DARTH. Darth Vader.

79. Lee follower: REB. R. E. Lee.

82. Trendy London area: SOHO

84. Honk: TOOT

85. Posh: RITZY

88. Much-visited place: MECCA

89. Bear in a red shirt: POOH. ''Winnie-the- Pooh".

92. 1880s pres. monogram: CAA (Chester A. Arthur). Stumper.

93. Pulse quickeners: THRILLS

94. Touching comment?: YOU'RE IT. The tag game. Clever clue.

95. Stone name: ROSETTA. Rosetta Stone.

96. Visitors from afar, for short: ETS

98. Drop leaf support: GATE LEG. New word to me. It's defined as "a leg attached to a hinged frame that can be swung out to support a drop leaf table".

99. Stood out: SHONE

102. Stick: COHERE. Tricky clue.

103. Favored a foot: LIMPED

105. Montezuma's people: AZTECS. Montezuma is the last Aztec emperor.

106. Coyly decorous: DEMURE

107. Middle ear bone: STAPES. Also called stirrup.

110. Bull attractors: CAPES. Not interested in bullfighting at all.

115. Blessed: HOLY

117. Ring pretense: DIVE. Not familiar with this boxing term. Dictionary says it's "a false show of being knocked out, usually in a bout whose result has been prearranged: to take a dive in an early round".

118. Old Roman road: ITER

119 ""¿Cómo __?": ESTA

121. Strawberry, in the '80s: MET. Gimme. I have lots of worthless Darryl Strawberry baseball cards.

122. Véronique, e.g.: Abbr.: STE (Sainte). I've never heard of Véronique. French I presume?

Answer grid.

Happy Mother's Day!

C.C.

Saturday May 8, 2010 Tom Heilman

Theme: None

Total words: 70

Total blocks: 26

Quite low block count. 7-letter entries aplenty. Six in each quadrant. Clear Aye's "Pack and Stack".

But what a total disaster for me. Hindenburg crashing into the Titanic! The lower right corner was simply impossible.

So many unknown answers. Lots of unfamiliar references in the clues too. IAGO (26A. "So will I ... make the net / That shall enmesh them all" speaker) typifies the trickiness today. I know he is the "Othello" villain, but I am not acquainted with the quote at all.

Across:

1. Reacted with embarrassment, maybe: GIGGLED. Three Gs in this entry alone. I am embarrassed to say it did not come to me readily.

8. Moderate pace: JOG TROT. Unaware the existence of this term.

15. Legally gone: ON LEAVE. My first reaction is something death related.

16. Ignorant: UNAWARE

17. Spenserian beings: FAERIES. No idea. Edmund Spenser is an English poet known chiefly for his allegorical epic romance "The Faerie Queene", according to Dictionary.com. Faery is a variant of fairy.

18. Sparks resident: NEVADAN. Sparks is a city in W Nevada, E of Reno. I've never heard of it.

19. __ pro nobis: ORA. Pray for us.

20. Fry corrugation: CRINKLE. I know corrugation crinkle connection. But why fry? What fry?

22. Company abbr.: INC

23. Undersized one: RUNT

25. Nearly a billion people live in them: SLUMS. Wow, that's way more than I thought. The plural "them" and "Nearly a billion" in the clue did not prevent me from thinking of China (1.3 billion people). Felt stupid!

27. Rhone tributary: ISERE. Flowing from the Alps to the Rhone River. I drew a blank.

29. Janeane's co-star in "The Truth About Cats and Dogs": UMA (Thurman). Fun movie.

30. Asked for a hand?: ANTED. Oh, poker hand.

31. Excite: THRILL

33. Seen from above, as a view: BIRD'S EYE

35. In person: BIG AS LIFE. I've only heard of the idiom "bigger than life".

37. Deceptive lingo: JIVE TALK. Didn't know the "deceptive" connotation.

40. Carbohydrate used in jellies: PECTIN. It's stuff that makes jelly jell. Who knows they are carb? Well, maybe Al & Jazzbumpa do.

44. Chilled: ON ICE

45. Abner's radio partner: LUM. "Lum and Abner". Not in my radar.

47. Prefix with graphic: ETHNO. Ethnographic. New word to me.

48. Court org.: USTA (United States Tennis Association). Tennis court.

49. Techies' campus hangout: PC LAB

51. They can get high: SEAS. Stumped me. High seas are the open seas of the world outside the territorial waters of any nation. I was thinking of alcohol or drugs.

52. FDR home loan gp.: NHA (National Housing Agency). Outside my ken also.

53. Become payable: FALL DUE. Is this a real phrase?

55. Austin-to-Del Rio dir.: WSW. Got me also.

56. Make notes?: COMPOSE. Musical note.

58. Scholarly: ERUDITE

60. Italian colony from 1890 to 1941: ERITREA. Oh, I thought it's a French colony, like so many countries in Africa.

61. Frenzied fits: DELIRIA. Again, only knew the singular delirium.

62. Chamber group member?: SENATOR. Man, I was definitely not in the legislative chamber direction.

63. Watching carefully: ON ALERT

Down:

1. "Don't miss this chance": GO FOR IT. Just had this fill yesterday. Clued as "Words of encouragement".

2. Hurrying along: IN A RUSH. I instinctively knew the answer would not end in ING.

3. Information gatherer: GLEANER

4. Where BMW was born: GER (Germany)

5. Worldly: LAIC. I associate LAIC with nonclerical, not worldly.

6. Activist who said "You can kill a man but you can't kill an idea": EVERS (Medgar). Neither the quote nor the guy is known to me.

7. First "Mission: Impossible" TV production company: DESILU. The Arnaz-Ball studio.

8. Many ad circulars: JUNK MAIL

9. Law school newcomers: ONE Ls. One L = First Year Law Student.

10. Yielded: GAVE

11. Old carrier: TWA. Howard Hughes's airline.

12. Project, as cheer: RADIATE

13. Aptly named red tabby who played Cat in "Breakfast at Tiffany's": ORANGEY. Here is a picture. I only knew Audrey Hepburn calls the cat Cat.

14. Police radio lingo: TEN CODE. Forgot. Here is Argyle's link again.

21. Knucklehead: NUMBSKULL. I am definitely feeling like one.

24. Manhattan district: TRIBECA. Portmanteau composed of the words "Triangle Below Canal Street" .

26. Spray targets: INSECTS

28. Cream of the crop: ELITE

30. Magazine revenue item: AD FEE

32. Airport on Flushing Bay, briefly: LGA. LaGuardia Airport. Was ignorant of the Flushing Bay.

34. Sewer's target: RIP. Sewer = One who sews.

36. Safe call: ALL CLEAR. Did you think of baseball also?

37. Bumps along: JOUNCES. Yet another new word. Sigh! Did you want BOUNCES also?

38. Close to the coast: IN SHORE. OK!

39. A, B or C, e.g.: VITAMIN. Another sly clue.

41. Deadline, metaphorically: THE WIRE. Again, I only know the phrase "Down to the wire".

42. Upset: IN A STIR. Is this a common phrase?

43. "A cinch": NO SWEAT. I liked the clue and the answer.

46. Managed: MADE DO

49. Public promenade: PASEO. Stumped many last time.

50. Raeburn van __, cartoonist who drew "Abbie an' Slats": BUREN. I peeked at the answer sheet. Have never heard of this guy.

53. Defense structure: FORT

54. "The Long, Hot Summer" vixen __ Varner: EULA. Another total stranger. This poster looks hot. What's the title of that song with lyric "... making love on a long, hot summer's night"?

57. Class action gp.?: PTA. Saw this clue somewhere before.

59. "Rugrats" infant: DIL. Absolutely clueless.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday May 7, 2010 Donna S. Levin

Theme: Made-up Signs - Part of a familiar sign is substituted and the resulting punny phrase is clued with question marked appropriate place name.

17A. Sign at a laundry?: WRING FOR SERVICE. Ring for Service. Crossing PHONES (6D. Ringers). Letter W is added. No sound change.

24A. Sign at a nuclear reactor?: GONE FISSION. Gone Fishing. The only theme entry with no add-letter(s) scheme. Sound change.

42A. Sign at Cape Canaveral?: OUT TO LAUNCH. Out to Lunch. Letter A is added. Sound change.

54A. Sign at the Ukrainian tourism bureau?: WATCH YOUR STEPPE. Watch Your Step. Steppe is the vast grassland plain area in Russia and Central Asia. Letters PE is added. No sound change.

Donna also gives us three baseball references:

46A. Batter's position: STANCE

19D. Fielder's flub: ERROR

29D. Baseball record breaker of 4/8/1974: AARON (Hank). Dennis' favorite all time player. Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run and breaks Babe Ruth's record.

A few thorny spots here and there. Overall an easier Friday for me. I was on Donna's wavelength most of the time.

Across:

1. More, to a minimalist: LESS. Less is more.

5. Coll. performance barometers: GPAS

9. Boatloads: SCADS

14. Reflection in a cave: ECHO. Thought of the cave echo in "A Passage to India".

15. Its quarter reads "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers": OHIO. And REEDED (21. Like a quarter's edge). This reed meaning is new to me: make vertical grooves on the edge of a coin/medal. Quarter echo in the two clues.

16. Petty objection: CAVIL

20. Low cells: DUNGEONS. I tend to confuse this word with bludgeon.

22. Uno e due: TRE. Italian for "three".

23. Wilbur Post's buddy: MR. ED

29. Killer __: powerful software: APP. Not aware of this computer jargon.

32. Turkish peak: ARARAT. Landing peak for Noah's Ark.

33. Dept. headed by Tom Vilsack: AGR. Former governor of Iowa. I have his autograph.

34. First king of Israel: SAUL

35. Secondary: MINOR

36. Results of some receptions: Abbr.: TDS (Touchdowns)

37. __ deaf ear: TURN A

38. Soft footwear: MOCS

39. Strong squeezer: BOA. Loved the soft and strong contrast in the two consecutive clues.

40. Wisconsin college or its city: BELOIT. Unknown to me. Is Beloit a Native Indian name? What does it mean?

41. Whatever: ANY

44. Not exactly exact words: OR SO

45. Perps' patterns: MOS. MO = Modus Operandi.

49. CD holder: JEWEL BOX. Terrific answer.

56. Culprit in some food recalls: ECOLI

57. Pro's opposite: ANTI

58. Either "Raising Arizona" director: COEN. The Coen brothers.

59. Like the Taj Mahal: DOMED

60. Exploit: FEAT

61. Eldest daughter of Cronus: HERA. Did not know the eldest trivia. Her mom is Rhea.

Down:

1. Bawdy: LEWD

2. Neutral shade: ECRU

3. Commonly bruised bone: SHIN

4. Track, perhaps: SONG. Tricky clue.

5. Words of encouragement: GO FOR IT. And GET FAR (18. Be very successful). Thought of the courageous Clear Ayes and her always sunny attitude.

7. Pretensions: AIRS

8. Message in a storm: SOS. I wonder what's message in that bottle, Jazzbumpa?

9. Shield from view: SCREEN

10. Submitted: CAVED. Meh, "cave" is part of clue for 14A.

11. All fired up: AVID

12. Rolling "bones": DICE. Bone is slang for dice, I gather?

13. Arctic carrier: SLED

23. "Top Gun" enemy planes: MIGS

24. Third in a sequence: GAMMA. Alpha, Beta, Gamma. Greek alphabet sequence.

25. Sirius' master, in some depictions: ORION. Sirius is the Dog Star. I was unaware that Sirius is part of the Orion Constellation. Have no knowledge about stars.

26. Sluggo's pal: NANCY. The "Nancy" comics. I guessed.

27. Fertility deity: EROS

28. Time's 1977 Man of the Year: SADAT (Anwar). Here is the Time cover.

30. Like the wars between Carthage and Rome: PUNIC. Oh, so the Punic Wars were fought between those two?

31. Subject of the 2003 film "Sylvia": PLATH. About Sylvia Plath. Very depressing movie.

34. Enterprise helmsman: SULU. Of "Star Trek".

36. Miss Gulch's bête noire: TOTO. "The Wizard of Oz".

37. Afternoon service: TEA SET

39. "The Buddy Holly Story" star: BUSEY (Gary). Can't remember his name. Did love the movie though.

40. Screws up: BLOWS IT. Ah, Lois!

42. Prom flower: ORCHID

43. Puzo novel: OMERTA. Gimme. I've read every Puzo novel. Omerta is the the mafia code of silence.

44. Frère de la père: ONCLE. French for uncle. Aunt is TANTE. Frère de la père = Brother of the father.

46. Lang. that gives us "ombudsman": SWED. Oh, good to know.

47. Tex-Mex nosh: TACO

48. Molecule constituent: ATOM

49. Flag Day month: JUNE

50. Solidarity hero Walesa: LECH

51. Gp. led by a Grand Exalted Ruler: BPOE (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks). Was stumped. I had trouble in this corner.

52. "0" button letters: OPER. Phone button.

53. Princess from Amphipolis: XENA

55. Lummox: OAF. Add one more letter, it becomes flummox (confuse).

Answer grid.

A special "Thank you" to xtulmkr for bringing back "lethologica" to me.

C.C.

Thursday May 6, 2010 Jack McInturff

Theme: AFTERLIFE (62A. Spiritual existence, and where the ends of 17-, 23-, 39- and 49-Across can go) - Life can precede the end of each theme answer.

17A. Hunk: DREAMBOAT. Lifeboat. Ah, Daniel Craig, my dreamboat. Jeannie does not seem to be attracted to him.

23A. Upstages a performer, e.g.: CRAMPS ONE'S STYLE. Lifestyle. I thought "cramp one's style" just means "restrict your style".

39A. Becomes less leery: LOWERS ONE'S GUARD. Lifeguard. More familiar with "let one's guard down".

49A. Gets a single, double, triple and homer in one game: HITS FOR THE CYCLE. Life Cycle. Gimme. If a player hits the above in the exact order, then it's a natural cycle.

Jack also gives us two more baseball references:

2D. Boot in the field: ERROR

18D. N.L.'s Pujols and A.L.'s Mauer in 2009: MVPS. Mauer is with the Twins. Pjulos is my husband's favorite current player.

Very nice three 15-word grid spanner theme entries. AFTER LIFE is a great unifier too. To borrow Spitzboov, Bravo Zulu, Jack!

Across:

5. Muslim journey: HADJ. Or HAJJ.

9. Dig deep: PROBE. Alliteration.

14. First name in mystery: ERLE. Erle Stanley Gardner.

15. '50s Hungarian premier Nagy: IMRE. Pronounced like EEM-ruh. Thanks again for Inogolo, Lucina. What does dtr mean, by the way?

16. Kind of police gun that doesn't use bullets: RADAR. Nailed it.

19. Thus follower: AND SO

20. It's charged: ION

21. One of a Latin trio: VICI. Caesar's boast: Veni, vidi, Vici.

22. Called, old-style: DIALED

26. 33-time Rose Bowl sch.: USC (University of Southern California)

27. You, to Yves: TOI. Alliteration.

28. Campus home for some: FRAT

31. "Whoops": UH -OH

34. Pat, for one: NFLER. Oh, Pat here refers to New England Patriots then. Home team for the handsome Joshua.

44. Jam causes: LOGS

45. Beautician's supply: DYE

58. '50s-'60s TV Earp portrayer: O'BRIAN (Hugh). Not familiar with this guy. Wikipedia says he married for the first time in 2006, at the age 81. Sweet!

59. Congo river: UELE (WEY-luh). I forgot. UELE is on the upper right corner, to the south west of The Sudan. I saw Ebola too.

60. Fireplace shelf: HOB

61. "Bye Bye Bye" singers: N'SYNC. Here is the clip. The song was very popular around the time I left China.

64. Do a winter airport maintenance job: DEICE

65. Knock for a loop: STUN

66. "A Jug of Wine ..." poet: OMAR. "... a Loaf of Bread, and Thou Beside me ...". So romantic.

67. Tossed in a chip: ANTED

68. Nile biters: ASPS. Nice play on "Nail biters". Thought of Gunghy and his pet snakes. I can't breathe picturing a 7-foot (50 lbs) boa coiling around him.

69. Baltic dweller: LETT. People of Latvia.

Down:

1. Doc: MEDIC

3. Actress Verdugo: ELENA

4. Crumpets' partner: TEA. Have not had crumpets for eons.

5. Flower used in herbal teas: HIBISCUS. I've never had hibiscus tea. Not fond of TEA/teas duplication. So close together.

6. It began as Standard Oil of Indiana: AMOCO

7. Bathtub feature: DRAIN

8. Deep black: JET

9. Applauding: PRAISING

10. Attacked on foot: RAN AT

11. "Strange to say ...": ODDLY

12. Swiss city on the Rhine: BASEL (BAH-zuhl). See the map. The name escaped me also. So similar to basil in spelling.

13. Eat away at: ERODE

22. Brit. military award: DSO (Distinguished Service Order)

24. Deadens: MUTES

25. Old knockout cause: ETHER

28. Showman Ziegfeld: FLO. The name just flowed to me.

29. Hold up: ROB

32. Firefighter, at times: HOSER

35. To the nth degree: FULLY

36. Mekong River dweller: LAO

37. Work measure: ERG

38. Tobacco and Abbey: Abbr.: RDS. I've never heard of Tobacco Road. It's in North Carolina, referring to the tobacco-producing area.

40. Embarrassed: RED-FACED

41. 1980 erupter: ST. HELENS. Two nice consecutive long entries.

46. Over there, poetically: YON

48. One serving well: ACER. Tennis serve.

49. Civic engineer?: HONDA. Great clue.

50. "Peer Gynt" playwright: IBSEN

51. "Have a little": TRY IT

52. "__ You Went Away": 1944 Best Picture nominee: SINCE. Here is a poster. New to me also. Saw Shirley Temple's name.

53. The great horned owl has prominent ones on its ears: TUFTS. Stumper. He seems irked. What's the matter, pal?

54. Excited: HET UP

55. Add one's two cents, with "in": CHIME

56. Dieter's catchword: LO-FAT

57. "Questions for the Movie Answer Man" author: EBERT (Roger)

62. Comparison words: AS A

63. Online yuk: LOL

Answer grid.

Several weeks ago, Dennis mentioned a long word meaning "forgetting about words". Does anyone still remember how that word is spelled? It's been bothering me.

C.C.

PS: NY Times is running Dan Naddor's last puzzle today.

Wednesday May 5, 2010 Alan Olschwang

Theme: FILL-er Up - The first word of each two-word common phrase is a synonym of "stuff".

18A. Mule or burro: PACK ANIMAL. I am sure we all have our own favorites.

26A. Where to see racquets: SQUASH COURT. I guess the spelling with the “que” told you it was not TENNIS.

48A. Daring diamond device: SQUEEZE BUNT. wonderful alliteration and one of the exciting plays in baseball, where a runner on third comes charging home, expecting the batter to bunt the ball away from the other side, so the runner can score.

63A. Impromptu jazz performance: JAM SESSION. Being not musical, I never knew there were rules? JzB, help me out here.

A near pangram, or at least I don’t see a V or X anywhere. Three Qs.

Each of the four first words refer to stuffing things into other things. Too esoteric for me, so I cheated.

Lemonade here, and I feel like I have failed my third exam, and I am not happy, but the puzzle was fun with many new variations on clues and fill. So sit back and put on your seat belts, cuz here we go.

Across:

1. Final Four org.: NCAA. A simple beginning, with a reference to the March Madness of College BasketBall.

5. Bedouin homes: TENTS. How many remember my joke about the Jewish Genie and the Arab lost in the desert?

10. Bed board: SLAT. Okay we are motoring now.

14. The enemy: THEM. The classic US against THEM.

15. Saved on supper, one would hope: ATE IN.

16. Hot spot connection: WI FI. All right, it is coming soon.

17. Bondman: SERF. Okay, a little harder word, it is Wednesday after all.

20. Relief provider: BROMO. Did you ever associate BROMO with ART ?

22. Place with trails and trams: SKI RESORT.

23. B&O et al.: RRS. Made famous as a Monopoly RAILROAD .

25. Cousin of –trix: ESS. A Latin feminine ending, for example, EXECUTOR, EXECUTRIX: AVIATOR, AVIATRIX, thus the same as, the –ESS ending, like PROPRIETOR, PROPRIETRESS. And, 59. And the following, in a bibliog.: ET SEQ, literally an abbreviation of the Latin words. And 34D. In other words, to Brutus: ID EST, the famous i.e. and the rest of Latin lesson.

32. "Aladdin" prince: ALI. Avoiding the simple, boxing great clue.

35. Ilsa __, Bergman's "Casablanca" role: LUND. We love knowing complete names; Rick’s was Blaine.

36. Game ender, at times: HORN. I see some hockey fans amongst our group, and they end with a HORN.

37. Put on, as cargo: LADED. Same stem as Bill of Lading.

39. "Ouch!": YOWIE. Okay, we have made it from OWIE to YOWIE.

41. Backstabber: RAT. Am I the only one who always hears James Cagney when the word RAT comes up?

42. A-list: ELITE .

43. Use, as a cot LIE ON .

44. Dart through the air: FLIT. Does anyone remember the FLIT GUN ?

46. Island rings: LEIS. And, 52. Arthur Godfrey played it: UKE , for our missing Hawaiian group; hope all is well.

47. Financial statement abbr.: YTD. Year to date.

51. "Turandot" slave girl: LIU. rejecting the easy LUCY clue, we have a reference to PUCCINI’s final Opera . I never saw the clue until I was done, but it is one for the memory banks.

53. Earlier today, say: A WHILE AGO. Confusing, a short while?

65. South African Peace Nobelist: TUTU Desmond.

66. "Rent-__": Reynolds/Minnelli film: A COP. Very forgettable movie, interesting Song.

67. Parishioner's pledge: TITHE. 10% of what you make.

68. Poet Pound: EZRA.

69. Katharine of "The Graduate" ROSS. Was such a pretty girl, who also was so wonderful in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid , hard to believe she is 70.

70. Flippant: SASSY. Becoming a crossword staple.

71. Bassoon, e.g.: REED.

Yay we made it to the

Downs:

1. Airline investigative org.: NTSB. National Transportation Safety Board.

2. "Moonstruck" Oscar winner: CHER.

3. Sleek, for short: AERO. Such as AERODYNAMIC.

4. Feature of a new car: AM FM RADIO. Well, he did not say what kind of car.

5. Beer source: TAP. loved the misdirection here, as we all know my beer comes from my brew meister boys.

6. Flight data, briefly: ETAS.

7. Post-Thanksgiving soup starter: NECK. Eww.

8. "Kon-__": TIKI. Thor Heyerdahl will always be in my memory bank.

9. Trapper: SNARER. Well they can’t all be gold.

10. Deli platter cheese: SWISS. I know, there are lot of holes in that answer.

11. One might pick you up at an airport: Well after I gave up on fitting in, ATTRACTIVE KRISHNA CHICK, It hit me, LIMO .

12. Way off: AFAR.

13. Lean: TILT. Of course I was thinking of Jack Sprat from the other day.

19. Get cozy: back to my Krishna, or maybe, NESTLE .

21. RN workplaces: ORS. Operating Rooms.

24. Reaction to a library volume? : SHH. Another nice trick.

26. With cunning: SLYLY

27. Ring used in a horseshoe like game: Who did not love playing with a QUOIT ?

28. Single: UNWED. Very sexist.

29. Greek vacation isle: CORFU. There is both an Island and a city named CORFU in Greece.

30. Papal vestment: ORALE. Now this was impossible, I had to work to find this link, but it was surrounded by easy fill, so.

31. Set free: UNTIE.

32. "Farewell, mon ami": ADIEU. And, 61. French 101 verb: ETRE. To be, ah well the end of today’s French lesson.

33. Grant entrance to: LET IN.

38. Completely recovered: ALL BETTER. The owie, yowie healed.

40. Store, as fodder: ENSILED. Fancy way to say put in a silo.

45. Shih __: Tibetan dog: TZU. Aww, CUTE .

49. Pursuits: QUESTS

50. Struggle to make, with "out": EKE.

51. Struggles with sibilants: LISPS. Making a come back.

53. When it's __: answer to an old riddle about a door: A JAR.

54. City SSW of Dallas: WACO. Home of BAYLOR University.

55. Managed care gps.: HMOs

56. __ Minor: ASIA

57. Skedaddles: GITS. Only someone who says GITS would skedaddle, I guess.

58. July 4th sounds: OOHS

60. Financial advisor Orman: SUZE

62. One of a four in a nursery: : QUAD. Well if you can’t have 8 at once, have at least four.

64. Marshal at Waterloo: NEY. NEY was one of 18 Marshals appointed by Napoleon, his name was Michel Ney, and he was one of the main players at the Battle of Waterloo if you have interest in military history and strategy, it is worth reading.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Victor Barocas

Theme: Y - Each theme answer contains a contiguous pair of letter Y's.

20A. Roger Clemens has won it seven times: CY YOUNG AWARD. The honor given annually in baseball to the best pitcher.

27A. Tammy Wynette classic: "STAND BY YOUR MAN". Country music classic.

46A. 1618-'48 conflict: THIRTY YEARS' WAR. The war was fought primarily (though not exclusively) in what is now Germany and at various points involved most of the countries of Europe. From Wikipedia.

53A. Sunny color: CANARY YELLOW. The bird. From an Egg.

58D. There are contiguous pairs of them in 20-, 27-, 46- and 53-Across: WYEs.

Argyle here, with the "whys' but no "wherefores". If you care to construct a railroad wye, here is a layout.

Across:

1A. Common URL ender: ORG. Argh! I had to back out .COM the first thing.

4A. Make chocolate milk, e.g.: STIR.

8A. Wisdom teeth, e.g.: MOLARS.

14A. For each: PER.

15A. Volkswagen subsidiary: AUDI. German automobiles. And 4D. Ion and Vue, in the auto industry: SATURNS. Formerly GM automobiles.

16A. Trapped by routine: IN A RUT.

17A. With 50-Across, South American shocker: ELECTRIC. 50A. See 17-Across: EEL.

19A. Pet's home away from home: KENNEL. If you have a pet 26D. Rattler, for one: SNAKE, do they stay at kennels?

22A. Opposite of post-: PRE-.

23A. Fuss: ADO.

24A. Contingencies: IFS. "And if "ifs" and "ands"
Were pots and pans,
There'd be no work for tinkers!"

32A. Corp. bigwig: CEO.

33A. Confident: SURE.

34A. Cuttlefish pigment: SEPIA. One strange looking dude.

35A. Tear to shreds: REND.

37A. First commercial carrier to use the Boeing 747: PAN AM. A big, big plane.

40A. Well-done, as toast: DARK.

41A. On the ocean: AT SEA.

43A. The Berenstain Bears live in one: TREE. The popularity of the books subsequently spawned numerous child-friendly television shows and computer games. Wikipedia article.

45A. Actor Marvin: LEE. He was such a versatile actor.

51A. __ kwon do: TAE. Korean martial art

52A. 1 or 66, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE. Routes.

59A. Steal, as cargo: HIJACK.

62A. Ghost story setting: CEMETERY.

63A. Criticize harshly: SCATHE. And if you were the recipient, then you 27D. Get really hot: SEETHE.

64A. "Up and __!": AT 'EM. "At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun!" (The Army Air Corps song)

65A. Dogfight winner, perhaps: ACE. Nice tie-in with 64A.

66A. Tightened (up): TENSED.

67A. Confessional revelations: SINS.

68A. Ballet step: PAS. Pas is a simple step in any direction.

Down:

1D. Cartel that added Angola in 2007: OPEC. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

2D. Count (on): RELY.

3D. Earl known for tea: GREY.

5D. Appeared: TURNED UP.

6D. Hippie's "Understood": "I DIG!".

7D. Costa __: RICA.

8D. Operetta with Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum, with "The": "MIKADO". Don't forget Ko-Ko.

9D. Burdensome: ONEROUS.

10D. Finish a flight: LAND.

11D. Prince Valiant's son: ARN. We haven't had this minor comic strip character in awhile.

12D. Regret: RUE.

13D. Letters on a Cardinal's cap: STL. The St. Louis Cardinals (baseball)

18D. Nightclub in a Manilow song: COPA. Long version of the song.

21D. Manner: WAY.

24D. Savanna grazer: IMPALA. Deer-like animals in Africa.

25D. Snow White, vis-à-vis the queen: FAIRER.

28D. Throat tissue: TONSIL.

29D. Lingerie support item: BRA.

30D. "Fiddler on the Roof" matchmaker: YENTE.

31D. Wine choice: RED.

32D. Slatted box: CRATE.

36D. Berlin article: DER.

38D. Altar in the sky: ARA. In the Southern hemisphere.

39D. Little John was one of them: MERRY MEN. With Robin Hood in the Sherwood forest.

42D. Embassy diplomat: ATTACHÉ.

44D. Regards highly: ESTEEMS.

47D. Pulled hard: YANKED.

48D. Vote in favor: YEA.

49D. Whip mark: WELT.

53D. Musical based on Eliot poems: "CATS".

54D. Some TVs: RCAs.

55D. Himalayan legend: YETI.

56D. Quantum event?: LEAP.

57D. Shamu, for one: ORCA.

59D. FDR's last VP: HST.

60D. Rocks for a Black Russian: ICE. A cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur (usually three parts vodka to two parts coffee liqueur, per the Kahlúa bottle's label) served over ice in a rock glass.

61D. Yr. starter: JAN..

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, May 3, 2010 Nancy Salomon

Theme: Greetings - Three phrases (one split into two entries) used to greet old friends.

17A. Warm welcome for an old friend: "LOOK WHO THE..."

27A. Warm welcome for an old friend: "HELLO, STRANGER!"

43A. Warm welcome for an old friend: "LONG TIME NO SEE!"

59A: See 17-Across: "... WIND BLEW IN!"

Argyle here.

Much as I like starting a puzzle with some BABAS (1Across Rum cakes), and easy theme entries, I feel some of the fill isn't Monday material. I will say the perps usually filled in the difficult words. I wonder if "Look what the cat dragged in!" didn't meet the nothing untoward before breakfast rule.

Across:

6A. Greek god of love: EROS.

10A. Quite a long time: AGES.

14A. Got up: AROSE.

15A. Light fog: MIST.

16A. Knight's lady: DAME.

19A. Big bore: DRAG. Someone or something tedious, perhaps in the sense time drags when around them.

20A. Calligraphers' supplies: INKS.

21A. Mr. T's TV gang: A-TEAM.

22A. Othello's false friend: IAGO. Shakespeare. As adviser to Othello, a general of Venice, Iago lies to his master and eventually drives him to murder his wife. Dictionary.com

23A. Wheels connector: AXLE.

25A. Kentucky Fried piece: WING.

32A. Levels in the ring: KAYOs. The letters KO (knock out) spelled out. Boxing ring.

33A. Make, as money: EARN.

34A. Urgent call at sea: S-O-S.

36A. "__ a man with seven wives": I MET. (Nursery Rhyme) As I was going to St. Ives I met a man with seven wives, Each wife had seven sacks, each sack had seven cats, Each cat had seven kits: kits, cats, sacks and wives, How many were going to St. Ives?

37A. Tubular pasta: PENNE.

39A. Sail support: MAST.

40A. Exerciser's unit: REP. Repetition.

41A. Saintly glow: AURA. And 18D. Angel's topper: HALO.

42A. Flower associated with Holland: TULIP.

47A. Welcome word on a bill: PAID. Indeed!

48A. Fontanne's stage partner: LUNT. Alfred Lunt (1892-1977) and Lynn Fontanne (1887-1983) became known as the first family of the American theater. The Lunts lived for many years at Ten Chimneys, in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin.

49A. Make a backup of: COPY.

51A. Loathing: ODIUM. Almost straight from Latin.

54A. Took a bus, say: RODE.

58A. Hertz competitor: AVIS.

61A. One of Columbus's ships: NIÑA.

62A. Moniker: NAME.

63A. Puppeteer Bil: BAIRD. One of his better known creations was Charlemane the lion. He and Cora Eisenberg produced and performed the famous puppetry sequence for The Lonely Goatherd in the film version of The Sound of Music. From Wikipedia.

64A. Uptight: EDGY.

65A. Iditarod racer: SLED.

66A. "Golden Boy" dramatist Clifford: ODETS.

Down:

1D. "__ Ha'i": "South Pacific" song: BALI. Charlotte Church sings Bali Ha'i.

2D. Elvis's middle name: ARON.

3D. Library volume: BOOK.

4D. Makes daunting demands (of): ASKS A LOT.

5D. Do some quilting: SEW.

6D. Hams it up: EMOTES.

7D. __ of passage: RITE.

8D. Fed. workplace regulator: OSHA. Occupational Safety & Health, signed into law on December 29, 1970.

9D. Goblets and such: STEMWARE. Tinbeni's favorite glass.

10D. Tacking on: ADDING.

11D. Event for unloading junk: GARAGE SALE. Does your town have town-wide garage sales?

12D. Online periodical, briefly: E-MAG.

13D. Lily with bell-shaped flowers: SEGO.

24D. Big tee sizes: XLs.

26D. Quaint lodging: INN.

27D. Veronica of "Hill Street Blues": HAMEL. Picture. Description below. (Oops! Right description, wrong actress. This is Sophia Bush, from One Tree Hill, TV show.) Veronica Hamel

28D. Amazing to behold: EYE-POPPING.

29D. Common coffee break hr.: TEN AM.

30D. Made tracks: RAN.

31D. "__ Radio" (O'Donnell talk show): ROSIE.

32D. White wine apéritif: KIR. And a good use of stemware.

35D. Gas additive brand: STP.

37D. Belittling remarks: PUT-DOWNS.

38D. Verdi aria "__ tu": ERI. For a baritone voice.

39D. 3-Down not to be missed: MUST READ.

41D. Form 1040 calc.: AGI. Adjusted gross income.

42D. Whole bunch: TON.

44D. Reject: NAYSAY.

45D. Sidestepped: ELUDED.

46D. Feeling no pain: NUMB.

49D. Vaudeville dancer's prop: CANE.

50D. Roman poet banished by Augustus: OVID.

52D. Retro phone feature: DIAL.

53D. "By the power vested __ ...": IN ME. And another wedding 57D. Comes to a close: ENDS.

55D. Boo-boo, in totspeak: OWIE.

56D. Dust and grime: DIRT.

60D. Debt-heavy corp. takeover: LBO. Leveraged buyout.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday May 2, 2010 Jared Banta

Theme: Schwalterations - Common phrases with a schwa sound are altered into OF connecting phrases, which are humorously interpreted and clued. The schwa sound remains.

23A. Passion for Ferris wheels and funnel cakes?: TORRID LOVE OF FAIRS. Torrid Love Affairs. The A in "Affairs" is a schwa sound, so is the O in OF. Have never had funnel cakes. Not aware of its fair connection.

40A. Bozeman native named after a "Star Wars" character?: HAN OF MONTANA. Hannah Montana. The Miley Cyrus character. Ah is a schwa sound. Han Solo.

66A. Mom's bearing?: AIR OF PARENT. Heir Apparent. Letter A.

74A. Mary Poppins outburst?: HOOT OF NANNY. Hootenanny. Thingamajig. New slang to me. Letter e is schwa.

98A. Math class curse?: HEX OF DECIMAL. Hexadecimal. A numeral system with a base of 16. New to me. Letter a again.

117A. Occasion to hang up the fangs?: RETIREMENT OF COUNT. Retirement Account. Letter A also. Count here refers to Count Dracula, right?

3D. Country's military organization?: CORPS OF NATIONS. Coronation. Letter O. Thought of corporation first.

61D. Describe a trip to work?: TELL OF COMMUTE. Telecommute. The E in my dictionary is not shown as schwa. It has a short i sound.

Schwa is the most common vowel sound in English. Besides the A, O, E in the above theme answers, u in "circus", i in "pencil", y in "syringe" all have schwa sounds.

I got all the theme answers without much struggle. But as a non-native English speaker who is constantly struggling with English pronunciation, the base phrases took me some time to nail down. I hope my understanding of the theme is correct.

Liked the three "Ignited" echo clues:

36A. Ignited: SPARKED

116A. Ignited: LIT

60D. Ignited: AFLAME

Across:

1. Start of a kids' learning song: ABCDE

6. It may be spiked: PUNCH. The spiced beverage.

11. Prof's pointer: LASER

16. Disposed: APT

19. Mid-ninth century pope: LEO IV. Who knows?

20. Italian town NW of Venice: ASOLO. No idea. I bet the constructor was pleased to find this is an actual place when he needed this fill.

21. Get used (to): INURE

22. Former CNN anchor Dobbs: LOU. He was great when he focused his attention on the Enron guys.

26. Is for all of us?: ARE. Plural of "Is".

27. iPhone add-on: APP

29. Least scarce: AMPLEST

30. Runs: COSTS

32. Strikes a chord: RESONATES

35. One may be yellow or chocolate: LAB. Labrador.

38. Affected type: SNOB

39. Spot playmate: REX

42. Mattress spec: FIRM

44. Schrödinger equation symbols: PSIS. The pitchfork-shaped letters. I did not know what Schrödinger equation is. Still don't. All Greek to me.

46. Ray, Jay or A: ALER (American Leaguer). Rhyme.

47. Super Bowl XLIV runner-up, briefly: INDY. Indianapolis Colts.

48. Grass bristle: AWN. Like this.

50. Built from: MADE OF

52. Amt.: QTY

53. AM frequency meas.: KHZ (Kilohertz)

59. Diggs of "Rent": TAYE. Great body.

64. Grub: EATS

65. One-named Nigerian singer: SADE. I am in the mood for her "Someone Already Broke My Heart".

69. Isolde's lover: TRISTAN

71. Carmen, e.g.: MEZZO. Wanted OPERA.

73. Silent film star who played Carmen in "Blood and Sand" (1922): LILA LEE. No. Nope. She looks glamorous. Nice consecutive "Carmen".

76. Start of a run: SNAG. Stockings.

78. Like molasses in January: SLOW

79. "King Kong" heroine: ANN. Easy guess.

80. "Wow!": GEEZ

81. Affirmative reply: YES I AM

83. Was brilliant: SHONE

84. Coldcocks, briefly: KOS (Knockouts). Coldcock is a new word to me. It means "to knock (someone) unconscious, as with the fist". I was picturing a frozen banana.

85. __ Maria: liqueur: TIA

87. Resulting from this: HEREBY

89. G-man: FED

90. It stops at la estación: TREN. Spanish for train. La estación is the station I suppose.

93. "__ Three Lives": '50s TV drama: I LED. Another guess.

96. "South Park" kid: ERIC. No idea.

101. Book end?: ISH. Bookish. Great clue.

103. Tip respectfully: DOFF

106. Red Sea nation: ERITREA. One less letter than Ethiopia.

107. "Whether __ nobler ...": Hamlet: 'TIS. "To be, or not to be..."

108. Cookie nut: MACADAMIA. The only nut I don't like.

110. Social order: CASTE

111. Sugar pill, say: PLACEBO

114. Land in l'océan: ILE. Island in French.

115. Half a cocktail: MAI. Mai tai.

122. Muse of poetry: ERATO

123. Be hospitable to: ASK IN

124. Haitian capital?: AITCH. Spelled out H. The capitalized letter in Haitian.

125. Place to turn in: BED

126. Full at the table: SATED

127. Wine characteristics: NOSES

128. Turns tail: FLEES

Down:

1. Wedding settings: ALTARS

2. Show willingness to listen: BE OPEN

4. Compass pt.: DIR

5. Dasani competitor: EVIAN. Ours is Aquafina.

6. Taste: PALATE

7. GI support gp.: USO

8. Celestial phenomena: NOVAS. It's often NOVAE.

9. Pitcher Labine of the '50s Dodgers: CLEM. Not familiar with this guy.

10. To-dos: HOOPLAS

11. One of 20 on the Titanic: LIFEBOAT. Ha ha, I knew the trivia.

12. Literary collections: ANAS

13. "I'm down with that": SUITS ME

14. Get knocked out of the spelling bee: ERR

15. Checkout correction, perhaps: RESCAN

16. Sarah Palin, e.g.: ALASKAN. And IDITAROD (86. Mushers' race). Great fill, the latter.

17. Forebode: PORTEND

18. Third in a sequence: TUESDAY. Didn't come to me immediately.

24. Greg's TV partner: DHARMA. I peeked at the cheat sheet.

25. Spanish dessert: FLAN

31. David __, baseball's "Big Papi": ORTIZ. Was with the Twins for several years. Hurt all the time.

33. Geisha's band: OBI

34. Consume: EXPEND. And USE (121. Consume).

37. Last speaker in many an old cartoon: PORKY PIG. "That's all, folks!".

40. LP player: HI-FI

41. Reach via jet: FLY TO

45. Grave: SOLEMN

48. Big name in soul: ARETHA

49. Become annoying to: WEAR ON

51. Senator Feinstein: DIANNE

52. Surprise in class: QUIZ. Pop Quiz.

54. Make good as new: HEAL

56. Sibilant "Ahem!": PSST

58. Rapper who feuded with Dr. Dre: EAZY-E. Another stranger to me.

62. Common soccer score: ONE-ONE. And TIE (119. 62-Down game, e.g.).

63. Worried: STEWED

65. Good place to err: SAFE SIDE. Err is an answer to 14D. Duplication.

67. More promising: ROSIER

68. Foolhardy: RASH

70. Like some orders: TO GO

72. New Age superstar: ENYA

75. San Diego State athlete: AZTEC. I forgot.

77. Aslan's land: NARNIA. We often see ASLAN clued as "Chronicles of Narnia" lion.

83. Six-Day War country: Abbr.: SYR (Syria)

84. California berry farm founder: KNOTT (Walter). Another alien name to me. Is he very famous?

88. Interest: BEHALF

90. Auto security device hawked in infomercials: THE CLUB

91. Poker ploy: RE-RAISE

92. Was once there: EXISTED

94. Grabbed, as an opportunity: LEAPT AT

95. One playing near a bag?: BASEMAN. One more baseball reference.

97. Mrs. McKinley: IDA

99. Bordeaux brothers: FRERE. French for "brothers". Alliteration.

100. They rest on pads: MICE. Oh, now I get it. Computer mouse. The plural is mice too? How strange!

102. Progeny: SCIONS

104. Groom-to-be: FIANCE

105. Belief systems: FAITHS

108. Frock wearers: MONKS

109. Regular alternative: DECAF

112. Dieter's word: LITE. Boring! Drink real drink. Eat real food.

118. Important period: ERA

120. Manet, maybe: OIL. Here is his Olympia again.

Answer grid.

C.C.