Saturday October 16, 2010 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 28

Quite low black square count. One letter V away from being a pangram.

Barry framed this puzzle with 12 ten-letter entries, triple-stacked in each quadrant:

5A. Younger partner : JESSE JAMES. The Younger brothers. Four Js in the grid, two in this fill alone.

16A. Field for bug bugs : ENTOMOLOGY. I used to confuse it with etymology.

18A. They need to be transcribed : STENO NOTES

58A. Networking asset : SHARED FILE. Gorgeous entry.

62A. Scotch part? : PINE NEEDLE. Not familiar with Scotch Pine.

64A. Agent's accounts : SPY STORIES

1D. Southwestern national park, or the primary plant that grows there : JOSHUA TREE. This is a theme answer in Jerome's tease puzzle, with JOSH embedded in front.

2D. Apparent : OSTENSIBLE

3D. Strength-training exercises : ISOMETRICS. No idea. It strengthens an isolated area?

30D. Three-time U.S. Open champ : TIGER WOODS. Nailed it.

31D. He played Max Bialystock in "The Producers" : ZERO MOSTEL. Nailed it as well, since I got the crossing TZU easily.

32D. Act diplomatically : USE FINESSE.

A typical Silk puzzle. Long & scrabbly answers. Several baseball references as well, including his home team.

Across:

1. Bring together : JOIN

15. Bone, to Benito : OSSO. Osso Buco = Bone with a hole.

17. USAF plane for limited runways : STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing). Drew blank again, Dudley!

19. Surgical instrument that stops bleeding : HEMOSTAT. Hemo is prefix for "blood".

21. Ice cream choice : QUART. Was thinking of flavor.

22. A, in Arles : UNE

23. Crime show in its 11th season : CSI. "Crime" hint was a big help.

24. Modem speed unit : BAUD. Kept reading "Modern speed unit".

26. "Per ardua ad __": RAF motto : ASTRA. Literally "Through Adversity to the Stars".

28. Pope before Paul V : LEO XI. Educated guess.

30. Lao-__ : TZU. It's Lao-Zi in Mandarin Chinese. Literally "Old Master".

33. Bitter outburst : TIRADE

35. 2008 World Series champs : PHILLIES. Barry made a tribute puzzle to celebrate the win.

37. Baseball stats : RBIS

38. Small opening? : MICRO. As in microscope.

40. Fiend : OGRE

41. Stiff's nickname : EL CHEAPO. I was picturing a priggish old woman.

43. Formed from : MADE OF

45. Some MIT grads : EES

46. Screams : RIOTS

48. Manhattan Project notable : FERMI (Enrico). 1938 Nobel Winner in Physics.

49. Forward : BOLD

50. Result in a roped-off area, briefly : TKO. Boxing.

52. Earned : WON. Oh, as in earned/won the trust.

53. Equally hot : AS MAD. I had different "hot" in mind.

56. Cobra-killing carnivore : MONGOOSE. Was ignorant that it feeds on cobra.

61. Scribbles : JOTS

63. Sidewalk sale items : ADES

65. Bikini component : ISLE. No bra. Just Bikini Atoll.

Down:

4. Court plea, briefly : NOLO. Nolo contendere.

5. Kids : JESTS

6. Necessitate : ENTAIL

7. Proof mark : STET. "Ignore the change" mark.

8. Didactic term of address : SON. Nice clue.

9. Expressive rock genre : EMO. Three letter rock genre has to be EMO. Dark stuff.

10. Flower in the amaryllis family : JONQUIL. No idea. See here. Dictionary says it's rooted in Latin juncus, meaning "rush".

11. Voiced : ALOUD

12. Manny with 150 career pinch hits : MOTA. Totally unknown. See this photo. #11. Dodgers. Did you get it immediately, Bill?

13. Hungarian wine region : EGER. Well, maybe Jazzbumpa knows.

14. Part of SSS: Abbr. : SYST

20. Large number : SCAD. And 55. Myriad : MANY.

24. Quantum physics pioneer : BOHR (Niels). Nobel Physics 1922.

25. Accepted principle : AXIOM

27. Impetuous : RASH

29. Disney acronym : EPCOT

34. Spam, at times : EMAIL

36. Rich supply : LODE

39. 2001 high-tech debut : IPOD. That early?

42. Like wind and surf : ERODENT

44. Clueless, after "in" : A FOG

47. 1966 U.S. Open champ Fred : STOLLE. Tennis. I drew a blank. Just knew it's can't be Couples. Fred Couples has never own US Open.

49. Discloses : BARES

51. Places for pads : KNEES. And MIDI (56. It covers the 51-Down). Did you want PADS?

53. Ancient royal symbols : ASPS. Ancient Egypt.

54. Crow's-nest sighting : SHIP

57. Resort NNE of Ventura : OJAI. Man, this has become a popular city in Xword.

59. __ gratias : DEO. "Thanks be to God".

60. French iron : FER. No idea. Fer-de-lance = Iron of the lance. Strange name for a snake.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday October 15, 2010 Kelsey Blakley

Theme: Get the L in Here! - Y is replaced by LY at the end of first word of each two-word familiar phrase.

17A. Mentioned with a yawn? : DULLY NOTED. Base phrase is Duly Noted. Adv to Adv.

23A. Tightfistedness scale? : MISERLY INDEX. Misery Index. Not a familiar economic term to me. A measurement of unemployment & inflation rate. Noun to Adj.

53A. Like a centaur? : PARTLY ANIMAL. Party Animal. Centaur is part human & part horse. Noun to Adv.

64A. Old enough to know better? : HARDLY BOYS. The Hardy Boys. Noun to Adv.

The first two theme answers experienced a vowel sound change after the transformation. Nothing happened to the last two.

Sometimes our Monday puzzles have more theme entries than Friday's, but the theme concept is definitely more complicated on Friday: Adding/Deleting/Replacing letter (or letter strings), or punny wordplay. Monday's theme tends to be more straightforward, so is Tuesday's. Then we progress to Wednesday & Thursday (often) with a unifier.

Across:

1. A popular one is modeled after the Winchester rifle : BB GUN. Stumped immediately. Wiki says "One of the most famous BB guns is the Red Ryder BB Gun, modeled after the western Winchester rifle".

6. Three-time A.L. MVP : A-ROD. Four letter, with abbr. hint in the clue, who else could it be?

10. Narcissist's obsession : SELF

14. Oil source : OLIVE

15. __ fide : BONA

16. Gin flavoring : SLOE

19. Inn group member : MAID. Nice play on "In group".

20. __ trap : SET A. Didn't emerge quickly.

21. Like jellybeans : OVOID

22. Memo header : IN RE. Latin for "in the matter of".

26. Swiffer WetJet, e.g. : DAMP MOP. Have never heard of Swiffer WetJet.

29. Bereft : LORN

30. Jupiter, for one : ORB. Oh, God, I wanted GOD.

31. Allen contemporary : PAAR (Jack). Steve Allen. I was at a loss.

33. Lollipop-licking cop : KOJAK. Played by Telly Savalas.

37. Ristorante staple : VEAL

39. Explore deeply : PROBE

42. Derelict, perhaps : WINO. "Perhaps" yes.

43. Contest entry : ESSAY

45. Factor opening : BENE. Opening for the word benefactor. I don't think I would have gotten the answer even with a question mark in the clue.

47. Bucko : MAC

48. Goofs (around) : BUMS

51. Battle preparation place, in metaphor : WAR PATH

57. Actress Falco : EDIE

58. Oarlock pin : THOLE. Used to throw me off.

59. Vanishing points : ENDS

63. Outfits : RIGS. New definition of "rig" to me.

66. Send out : EMIT

67. End of a lover's ultimatum : OR ME. I penned in ELSE.

68. Designated : MEANT

69. Aussie sleep sounds? : ZEDS. Z is Zed in Australia.

70. European coal region : SAAR. No idea. Where is it?

71. Fire proof? : ASHES. We've seen similar clue before.

Down:

1. Mr. Olympia contestants' obsessions : BODS. The only Mr. Olympia I know is Arnold.

2. Risqué : BLUE. In China, yellow means risqué. By the way, this is for Jayce. Just omit the bamboo shoots. No such ingredient in authentic Chinese dumplings.

3. Thin ornamental layer : GILT

4. Black light, briefly : UV LAMP. Not familiar with the term. What is it used for? Why "black light"?

5. Marshal under Napoleon : NEY. Napoleon called him "bravest of the brave".

6. Good, except on the links : ABOVE PAR. Always happy with a double bogey round.

7. Eggbeater feature : ROTOR

8. Tip of Massachusetts : O'NEILL. Tip O'Neill. From Massachusetts. Former Speaker of the House. Great clue.

9. Beatnik's address : DADDY-O. Unknown to me. Like today's "dude". Doesn't sound cool at all.

10. Gilligan's shipwrecked ship : S. S. MINNOW. The insane SSM* start made me doubt my crossing entries.

11. Savanna grazer : ELAND

12. River through Tours : LOIRE

13. Fly-by-night co.? : FEDEX. Nice clue too.

18. "It'll never wash!" : NO SOAP. Another new slang for me.

24. Little cut-up : IMP. "Cut-up" = Prankster. Followed by IRK (25. Bug like a 24-Down).

26. Went off the deep end : DOVE. Great idiom play.

27. God wounded by Diomedes in the "Iliad" : ARES. Greek war god. Was ignorant of the wound he suffered in "Iliad".

28. Wheels of Fortune? : MBAS. Tricky clue.

32. Knock over : ROB

34. "Sands of Iwo __": 1949 film : JIMA

35. Med school subj. : ANAT

36. "Mayor" author : KOCH (Ed). Needed crossing help.

38. Doctor's orders, often : LAB TESTS

40. Stump : BEWILDER

41. Plaque holder? : ENAMEL. The question mark should point you at the teeth direction.

44. James's "Westworld" costar : YUL (Brynner). No idea. Not familiar with the movie. James Brolin.

46. Time slice : ERA

49. Aristotle's first element of tragedy : MYTHOS. See here. It consists of 6 parts, a la Aristotle. Another learning moment.

50. Home to many Berbers : SAHARA. Berbers are those North African tribesmen.

52. Annapolis newbies : PLEBES

53. Two-time Venezuelan president Carlos : PEREZ. Alien to me.

54. Turn on __ : A DIME

55. Intolerant : RIGID

56. "__ Rae" : NORMA

60. Early animal handler : NOAH. OK, Noah handled those paired animals in his Ark.

61. Bit of force : DYNE

62. Ret. fliers : SSTS

65. Sumac from Peru : YMA. Classic crossword name.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday October 14, 2010 Matt Matera

Theme: Aye-Aye, Sir - Various ways to answer in the affirmative appear at the starts of the answers to starred clues, with different language bracketed at the end of each clue as a hint. Tip off in the clue for 66A. Parliamentary votes : YEAS.

1A. *Hip-hopper who married Beyoncé (German): JAY-Z. Symmetrically placed with YEAS.

20A. *Old stories (English): YESTERDAY'S NEWS.

28A. *Inferred cosmic substance (Russian): DARK MATTER. Matter that cannot be detected directly, but "must" exist because "something" massive is interacting with the observed gravitational behavior of the matter that can be detected.

44A. *Séance device (French): OUIJA BOARD. Actually, the trademarked name comes from combining two "yes" words, OUI and JA. That makes this answer stand out a bit from the others.

51. *Fatal problem in Genesis (Spanish): SIBLING RIVALRY. Cain v. Abel.

Al here.

A fairly "agreeable" puzzle today, no? A pangram. Kind of slow starting, but once it got going, it filled in faster for me than yesterday's. More than a few obscure names and places make this a Thursday puzzle, though.

ACROSS:

5. Sturdy fabric: DENIM. From French serge de Nîmes, cloth from a town in southern France.

10. Delhi wrap: SARI. Women's wear in India. Also has an alternate of spelling saree. A seemingly infinite variety of styles.

14. Movie apiarist: ULEE. Peter Fonda's character in Ulee's Gold was a beekeeper.

15. Like sandalwood leaves: OVATE.

16. Green Zone site: IRAQ. A heavily fortified central portion of Baghdad that contained several palaces of Saddam Husein. The International Zone. Also a recent movie about the same starring Matt Damon.

17. Gets into: DONS. Puts on clothing.

18. Brewers' kilns: OASTS.

19. Things you saw while out?: LOGS. Sawing logs, slang for snoring.

23. "Paris, je t'__": 2006 film: AIME. (Paris, I love you) a film made up of 18 short stories, and had 22 directors.

24. Charged particle: ION.

25. Nashville awards gp.: CMA. Country Music Awards.

33. Mythological ride: CARPET. Close your eyes, girl, or if you prefer, don't you dare close your eyes.

35. Derisive cry: YAH. If you say so, I guess.

36. Pivotal part: CRUX. Latin for "cross".

38. Bug, perhaps: ERROR. Latin errare, wander, go astray.

39. Hottie: FOX. Obligatory pic. Just don't google images for her with the word "thumbs"...

40. Easternmost state: MAINE. Ayuh is another way to say yes.

41. "Don't touch that __!": DIAL.

42. Body art, in slang: TAT. Tattoo.

43. High-speed raptor: FALCON. Raptor (Latin) and rapid are related words. To call a raptor high-speed is sort of redundant.

47. Former World No. 1 tennis player Ivanovic: ANA. What is it that draws attractive women to tennis?

48. With 6-Down, one in fear of an audit: TAX. and 6. See 48-Across: EVADER.

49. "Dagnabit!": RATS. Charlie Brown's second-favorite interjection, especially at Halloween. "Rats, another rock."

58. Colombia neighbor: PERU.

59. Funnel-shaped: CONED.

60. Architect Mies van der __: ROHE. Father of "modern" architecture. i.e. big square buildings with lots of glass. Also tubular steel furniture.

61. Animal shelter: LAIR. Related to "lie", as in lie down.

62. Gather: AMASS.

63. Intuited: KNEW. Not quite the same? My sense of the word is to perceive or guess immediately without thinking, but without knowing beforehand. Maybe I'm wrong.

64. About: OR SO.

65. Greet respectfully: BOW TO.

DOWN:

1. Kids' author Blume: JUDY.

2. Succulent plant: ALOE.

3. Dieters may fight them: YENS.

4. Keebler cracker: ZESTA. Saltines competition.

5. Pushover: DOORMAT.

7. Org. with rovers: NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Rover as a remote exploration vehicle, not a dog. SPCA for first thoughts anyone?

8. __-bitty: ITTY.

9. Handel bars?: MESSIAH. Cute musical pun, bars of music, Handle's Messiah. (famously, the Hallelujah chorus)

10. '20s White House nickname: SILENT CAL. Coolidge. 30th president. A possibly apocryphal story has it that Dorothy Parker, seated next to him at a dinner, said to him, "Mr. Coolidge, I've made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you." His famous reply: "You lose."

11. ... ducks in __: A ROW. Explanations from decorative plaster ducks on the mantle in the 70's, to shooting galleries, are everywhere, but the likely origin is much simpler, think of the image of a mother duck leading her ducklings across a pond, which could have been observed ever since there were ducks.

12. Poverty, in metaphor: RAGS. From rags to riches.

13. Brightness nos.: IQS. I wanted something to do with lumens, or other light sources.

21. Down source: EIDER. Harvested from nests after the ducklings mature and leave it.

22. "Kidding!": NOT! Popularized by Wayne's World skits and movies (from SNL).

25. Included in the e-mail chain: CCED. Carbon Copied, a holdover from business snail mail. You can still buy carbon paper, but why?

26. Video game plumber: MARIO. Nintendo's go-to guy has appeared in over 200 games since 1981 where he was "jumpman" in the Donkey Kong arcade game.

27. Pianist Claudio: ARRAU. From Chile, which also neighbors 58A. Peru. Moonlight Sonata.

29. Honshu city: KYOTO. The Koyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emission reduction (the US has refused to participate) was first adopted there. And 45D. Airline to 29-Down: JAL.

30. Top limit: MAX.

31. Actress Durance who plays Lois on "Smallville": ERICA. On the one hand it wasn't clued with (Erica) Jong. On the other, hand, if you're not into comic book heroes made into TV shows, you're unlikely to have heard of her. This year is the last season for Smallville, which has been somewhat more soapy than super. We don't know yet if Ms. Durance has a fear of flying yet, as the red and blue blur has not figured out how to do it yet in this alternate Superman story line.

32. Bad sentence: RUN ON.

34. Former Kremlin policymaker: POLITBURO.

37. TV princess: XENA. Lucy Lawless.

39. Terrif: FAB.

40. Former sketch comedy that used Don Martin cartoons: MAD TV.

42. Hailed ride: TAXICAB.

43. "I wish 'twere otherwise": 'FRAID SO.

46. Slap the cuffs on: ARREST.

50. Like a biting remark, in British slang: SARKY. Sarcastic.

51. Burn slightly: SEAR.

52. Novelist Murdoch: IRIS. Apparently one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. Sorry to say her work is completely unknown to me.

53. Pitcher Hideo: NOMO. First Japanese major leaguer to relocate to US MLB (Dodgers).

54. Chew: GNAW. Sort of an onomatopoetic word.

55. Unaccompanied: LONE. Had SOLO at first.

56. Flightless bird: RHEA. Finally. Something other than EMU. Not new to crosswords, though.

57. Trees used to make longbows: YEWS. Foliage is poisonous, especially to horses. Rare to poison humans, unless you're like Euell Gibbons and eat everything in the forest. (Actually, that's not true. Euell died of a complications due to a genetic disorder, not from eating pine trees.)

58. Abbas's gp.: PLO. Palestine Liberation Organization. Mahmoud Abbas succeeded Yasser Arafat.

Answer Grid.

Al

Wednesday October 13, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: For Richer or Poorer - The first part of each of the four theme answers describes the financial situation of a person, in descending order of wealth.

17A. Challenges for an interviewee: LOADED QUESTIONS. This is my favorite board game, spent many hours playing the GAME with my kids and their friends.

25A. Not even close: WELL OFF THE MARK. Important in target shooting, and new ad campaigns, I guess.

40A. Journalism bigwig: MANAGING EDITOR. I guess Dan wanted to pay homage to Mr. Norris.

51A. Defied tradition: BROKE WITH CUSTOM. Interestingly, the meaning having no money comes from 1700’s , while the meaning of tradition or habit is associated with COSTUME .

When I had my last eye operation, I worked in a brokerage firm, while recuperating and my motto was, “I guarantee to make you a small fortune. Just bring me a large one.”

Lemonade here, gifted with another Dan Naddor to discuss. Unlike many of his efforts only 4 theme words and no unifier, but they were two 14s and two 15s, so if you got them it was an easy ride, and if not a struggle. A very low word count for Wednesday as a result.

Across:

1. Mr. or Mrs.: ABBR. We begin with the classic misdirection, it does not matter what the words, just that they are abbreviations.

5. Furtive message: MEET ME. HALF WAY .

11. New Deal prog.: TVA. The Tennessee Valley Authority, Still in operation providing ELECTRICITY .

14. Toon predator __ E. Coyote: WILE. Be careful WHAT YOU WISH FOR .

15. First pro team to play on artificial turf: ASTROS. ASTROTURF .

16. Used to be: WAS.

20. Serious religious dissents: HERESIES. Like MARTIN LUTHER who played the first Halloween trick.

21. Elite Eight org.: NCAA. The nickname for the college basketball championship quarter finals. You need to remember March Madness, too.

22. Trinidad's partner: TOBAGO. You too, can spy on the WORLD .

24. Digital greeting: E-CARD. Are they meant for ETARDS?

30. __ the finish: IN AT. Dan loved multiple word phrases. Like 47A. "If you ask me ...": AS I SEE IT. Or, 5D. Constituted from: MADE OF. 11D. Like some accidents: TWO CAR. 49D. "Pay __ mind!": IT NO.

31. Seventh of eight, now: URANUS. Planets, very cute and tricky now that PLUTO is just a dog; we have NEPTUNE as number 8, which ties in with 37. Neptune, for one: SEA GOD.

32. Japanese drama: NOH. We had this recently.

33. Bar shot: SNORT.

34. "May I help you?": YES. Or perhaps, BEING SERVED . Sorry, I was just being a 44A. Goof: BONER. Oh, oh, this showed up again, it must be a teen-age time for puzzles. So not clecho, just me.

39. It may be raw: DATA. My favorite clue, as I tried so hard to picture the correct fruit of vegetable.

45. Kind of will or trust: LIVING. A nice lawyer gimme, just for us.

46. Greek vowel: IOTA.

55. Spy novelist Deighton: LEN. Excellent SPY NOVELS .

56. It's attractive: MAGNET. My favorite clue, as I thought of all the pretty things in the world. (I know, so I have lore than one favorite).

57. Earthenware pot: OLLA. Real crosswordese for me; I have never heard the word used elsewhere.

58. Big name in ice cream: EDY. Big?

59. Church councils: SYNODS. Which ties in perfectly with the religion of our HERETIC .

60. Fix up: REDO. Ah, we can go back to that debate.

Down:

1. Hole-making tool: AWL.

2. Many a Britannica article: BIO. Now why is this not clued as an abbreviation, or is BIO a stand alone?

3. Mindless chatter: BLAH BLAH. Do we like this or YADDA YADDA?

4. Reacted to giving out too many cards: REDEALT. In my house the reaction would have been a mini-tantrum and cards being thrown. They took card games very seriously.

6. ABA honorifics: ESQS. Another gimme for me. HISTORY OF LAWYERS .

7. Case in a purse, perhaps: ETUI .

8. Elder or alder: TREE. Two very spiritual trees. We have a continuation of our reference to WICCA and ancient CELTIC belief. And of course, 9D. Trunk growth: MOSS.

10. D.C. setting: EST. Clock setting, Eastern Standard Time.

12. Joan of "Knots Landing": VAN ARK. Poor girl starred in Dallas and Knot’s Landing , and wanted to stay young FOREVER

13. Longtime Syrian ruling family name: ASSAD ..

18. Consequently: ERGO. And we must have at least some Latin for me.

19. Pizarro victims: INCAS. The story of how a small force led by PIZARRO conquered despite being outnumbered at least 20 to 1 is what makes history so amazing.

22. Womb-mate: TWIN. A golden oldie pun.

23. Vintner's prefix: OENO. Her we go, also a recent clue.

24. Outback critter: EMU. As was this denizen of OZ.

26. Yeasts, e.g.: FUNGI. Sounds yummy, like mushrooms.

27. Eight-time British Open host town: TROON. Get yourself a TEE TIME .

28. Greek leader?: HARD G. Silly, the beginning of the word Greek is Hard G.

29. M.D.'s specialty: ENT. No this is not a doctor who treats trees in Middle Earth, it is Ear Nose and Throat.

33. Show signs of age, as a roof: SAG. A roof, yes, that is a better image.

34. 1950s Niners Hall of Fame quarterback: Y A TITTLE. Yelberton Abraham was a very talented quarterback when I was a boy, and one of my fondest memories was watching with my father and brothers, the Chicago Bears beating Tittle and the New York Giants in the 1963 championship game. However, the strongest memory of him is this IMAGE taken the following year.

35. Harrow rival: ETON. Where Britain raised their Prime Ministers.

36. Puppeteer Tony: SARG. He helped to inspire others to create puppets BIOGRAPHY .

37. Weasel: SNEAK. No, not the kid from Harry Potter.

38. Listening device: EAR. Another Naddor trademark, a clue so simple, it is hard.

39. ÷ follower: DIVISOR. Not to be confused with Dividends and Quotients.

40. Tied in the harbor: MOORED. LIKE THIS? .

41. 1963 Burton role: ANTONY. When he and Elizabeth Taylor made the most expensive movie at the time, CLEOPATRA , Eddie Fisher recently died.

42. Picks: ELECTS. It is almost time again.

43. "Mon __!": Poirot exclamation: DIEU. Ah, the working of the little grey cells from the Belgian (do not call him French) detective creation of Dame Christie.

44. Book read by millions: BIBLE. Still, the all time best seller. I wish I had the rights.

47. Traveling: AWAY. WE GO .

48. Communicate digitally?: SIGN. A definite NO NO .

50. Get rid of: SHED . Like a snake?

52. Magnesium has two: EMS. It wraps the word.

53. Passé: OLD. Okay, I get the hint, time to wrap this up.

54. Cultural Revolution leader: MAO. What a revolutionary new clue, not!

Thanks for listening, get ready to invite everyone back and Happy Birthday to the mother of my children.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 Meredith Ito

Theme: DC COMICS - (60A. "Superman" publisher, and this puzzle's title) - The four comics in the theme have the initials "D C".

17A. "Vicious Circle" stand-up guy: DANE COOK. Dane Cook: Vicious Circle was a live stand-up comedy special performed for HBO written and produced by Dane Cook. Nine minute censored clip from his show. He has also done movies, Good Luck Chuck, and comedy albums.

25A. Stand-up guy who played Tobias Fünke on "Arrested Development": DAVID CROSS. Arrested Development was a sitcom on Fox. A lot of sexual innuendos in this clip.

36A. Stand-up guy with his own sitcom, 1995-2004: DREW CAREY. Full intro clip.

51A. Stand-up guy with multiple "SNL" personas: DANA CARVEY. A clip from the Tonight show.

Argyle here with a new constructor... or is it. We believe Merideth Ito is a new Rich Norris anagram, "I'm the editor". C.C. said the grid with just one break down the sides & columns of triple 7s in each corner is very Rich-like. The theme entries are rather short, which makes those 7s possible.

Whoever's puzzle it is they did good. I just noticed EPIC ROCK under DC COMICS. Cool!

Across:

1. See 4-Across : RIG

4. With 1-Across, fix à la MacGyver : JURY

8. "__ Bovary" : MADAME. Gustave Flaubert's first published novel (1856) and is considered his masterpiece.

14. Suffix with stamp : EDE.

15. "Lonely Boy" singer : ANKA

16. Hypothetical primate : APEMAN. Enough Anka, some Kinks instead. Clip.

19. Explosion sound : "KABOOM!"

20. Spiral-shelled mollusk : WHELK. Image.

21. Uncover, in verse : OPE

23. River inlet : RIA

24. Whit or bit : IOTA

29. Carpenter's fastener : NAIL GUN

31. Regis and Kelly, e.g. : CO-HOSTS. Morning TV.

32. Big initials in nutritional supplements : GNC. General Nutrition Centers or GNC is a Pittsburgh based commercial enterprise focused on the retail sale of health and nutrition related products.

33. Hot day coolers : ADEs

35. Clear the chalkboard : ERASE

39. Horrendous : AWFUL

42. NYSE debuts : IPOs. The New York Stock Exchange(NYSE) and initial public offering(IPO) (when a company, the issuer, offers common stock or shares to the public for the first time.)

43. Enzyme suffix : ASE

46. Predicting a market decline : BEARISH

49. Husky, e.g. : SLEDDOG

53. Start from scratch : REDO. Although you could start from scratch the first time, too.

54. The Trojans of the Pac-10 : USC. The football team of University of Southern California.

55. Luggage-screening gp. : TSA. Transportation Security Administration, part of the Department of Homeland Security.

56. __ Lama : DALAI

57. Platitude : CLICHE

63. Little laugh : TEE-HEE

64. Large-scale work : EPIC

65. Rebellious Turner : NAT. He led a slave rebellion in Virginia on August 21, 1831.

66. Iraqi neighbor : SYRIAN

67. Loser to paper and winner over scissors : ROCK. A hand game is often used as a selection method, similar to coin toss, drawing straws, or throwing dice. Simpson clip.

68. USN rank : ENS. Ensign, a junior rank of commissioned navel officer.

Down:

1. Joe Louis Arena hockey player : RED WING

2. Pocatello resident : IDAHOAN. The county seat and fourth-largest city, largest city of Bannock County, and is in the southeastern part of Idaho.

3. Like some fingerprints : GENETIC

4. Tire-changing aid : JACK

5. Game with Draw Two cards : UNO. Fun for all ages.

6. "King Kong" studio : RKO. RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum) Pictures was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age.

7. Comedian Smirnoff : YAKOV. Catch phrase, "What a country!"

8. Just about manage : MAKE DO

9. Therapists' org. : APA. American Psychiatric Association or American Psychoanalytic Association or American Psychological Association?

10. Society newcomer : DEB

11. Loving, to Luisa : AMOROSA. Luisa is a female name of German origin (from Ludwig) which means "glorious warrior". Luisa is the Italian form of the French "Louise".

12. "Little Red Book" adherents : MAOISTS. Chinese, mostly.

13. How stadium crowds move : EN MASSE

18. Mideast carrier : EL AL. Israeli.

22. Photo : PIC

25. "Bro!" : "DUDE!"

26. From the start : ANEW

27. Word preceding a 22-Down : "CHEESE!"

28. Golfer Sabbatini : RORY. South African professional golfer. His last PGA Tour title was the HP Byron Nelson Championship in May 2009, his fifth tour title. The young Rory McIlroy is probably more well-known.

30. Marinara clove : GARLIC

34. Lab subj. : SCI. Science lab.

36. Commercial battery prefix with "cell" : DURA. Image.

37. Semicircular recess : APSE. To be found in churches.

38. __-poly : ROLY. "Ho, ho, ho!"

39. Kidnaps : ABDUCTS

40. Potter's friend Ron : WEASLEY. Harry Potter.

41. More decorative : FANCIER

43. "Sweet" girl in a barbershop song : ADELINE. Sweet Adeline by The Mills Brothers (1939).

44. Recycled item : SODA CAN

45. Ones with I-strain? : EGOISTS

47. Glossy fabric : SATEEN. A cotton fabric with a luster resembling that of satin.

48. Noon and midnight: Abbr. : HRs.

50. Wee weight : DRAM. A pour, right Tinbeni?

52. Skywalker's nemesis : VADER. Star Wars.

56. Pier : DOCK

58. T'ai __ : CHI. "Supreme ultimate fist", "boundless fist", "great extremes boxing", or simply "the ultimate".

59. "Isn't __ riot?!": "Funny guy!" : HE A. A comment on today's puzzle?

61. Naval noncom: Abbr. : CPO. Chief Petty Officer

62. Pres. title : CIC. Commander in Chief (of the military services).

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, October 11, 2010 Kristian House

Theme: Don't Push Me - But they can be pulled. Four in language phrases that end in a smaller version of one of man's greatest inventions, ROPE.

18A. Engages in fanciful storytelling: SPINS A YARN

28A. Bench squad: SECOND STRING. AKA, the B team

46A. Connecting idea: COMMON THREAD

61A. Start acting independently: CUT THE CORD. An allusion to the umbilical cord.

Argyle here with an easy Monday.

Today's constructor is a math teacher in western Massachusetts (Pic, courtesy of the Xword Info) and had a puzzle on Tuesday August 4, 2009.

Across:

1. Payroll tax with Soc. Sec. and Medicare components : FICA. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA).

5. Tibet's capital : LHASA

10. Joe in a cup : JAVA. AKA, Coffee.

14. Show that launched Kelly Clarkson's career, familiarly : IDOL. American Idol.

15. Vague emanations : AURAs

16. Actor Wilson : OWEN

17. "Give" or "take," e.g. : VERB. Great clue.

20. Mukluk wearer : ESKIMO

22. Mine access : ADIT. Monday word ONLY to long time solvers.

23. The Beatles' "__ Just Seen a Face" : I'VE. You might not have recognized the title but you will the song, I think.

24. Trap : SNARE

26. Subjects of wills : ESTATES

31. Only defenseman to lead the NHL in scoring : ORR. Bobby Orr spent most of his National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Boston Bruins before joining the Chicago Blackhawks for his final two seasons.

32. Ballpark entrance : GATE

33. Watson of Harry Potter films : EMMA. Oh my, how she's grown. Image. She isn't really a member of 51D. Modern witch's religion : WICCA

37. Middle Corleone brother : FREDO. AKA, Frederico "Fredo" Corleone, brother to Santino "Sonny" Corleone and Michael Corleone, their sister is Constanzia "Connie" Corleone (previously Constanzia Corleone-Rizzi).

39. Band booster : AMP. AMPlifies(or boosts) the sound from a band.

41. Carrier renamed in 1997 : USAIR

42. "... __ forgive those who trespass ..." : AS WE

43. "__ in Boots" : PUSS. I've provided a link to the Wikipedia article because it is an interesting read. Kids today just know him as a character in Shrek movies.

45. Seventh-century date : DCI. 601.

51. "Yee-haw!" : "WHOOPEE!"

54. Prepare to drive : TEE UP

55. K+ or Na+ : ION. K+ = potassium / Na+ = sodium.

56. McDonald's symbol : ARCH. C'mon, we know it should be ARCHES, right?

58. Father to many? : PRIEST

64. Intl. defense gp. : NATO. International defense group.

65. Ornery type : CRAB

66. Seasonal sleigh driver : SANTA. Ho, Ho, Ho! Santa likes alliteration.

67. Micro or macro subj. : ECON.

68. Egyptian vipers : ASPS

69. Disapproved vocally : TSKED. Or if an Egyptian king, TUTTED

70. Damp at dawn : DEWY

Down:

1. Nine-to-__ : FIVE

2. Mid-month time : IDES

3. Wine cellar tool : CORKSCREW

4. White whale, e.g. : ALBINO

5. Hall of Fame manager Tommy : LASORDA. Baseball. Image.

6. Drill sergeant's "one" : "HUP!". I think there was a discussion about HUT or HUP on Thursday September 23, 2010.

7. Diva's moment : ARIA

8. Potential splinter remover : SANDER. It would smooth the wood, eliminating splinters.

9. Saint Francis's home : ASSISI

10. "Ode to __" : JOY. Performed by Beaker, of the Muppets. Video

11. Watch for : AWAIT

12. Zeal : VERVE

13. Authors Rice and Tyler : ANNEs. Rice writes about Vampires, Tyler wrote The Accidental Tourist.

19. Bus. letter directive : ATTN.. I remember it use to be on the lower left corner of the envelope. Is there an email equivalent?

21. Salsa fruit : MANGO

25. Juanita's "this" : ESTA

27. "Middle" period : AGES. Or the Third Age of Middle-Earth. Oops, not on Monday.

28. Family room piece : SOFA

29. Goofs : ERRS

30. Conductor's beat : TEMPO

34. Came to terms (with) : MADE PEACE

35. Flaky mineral : MICA. Used in isinglass.

36. Like the Mojave : ARID

38. 1920s-'40s art style : DECO

40. Usual fourth down play : PUNT

41. Wedding party member : USHER

44. Blended-family parent : STEP-DAD

47. Colorful fish : OPAH

48. Most insignificant : MEREST

49. Tourist draws : MECCAS

50. Unrepairable : RUINED

52. Doctor's time in the office : HOURS

53. Like much pub ale : ON TAP

57. Traffic complaint : HONK

59. Pack away : STOW

60. Cereal spokestiger : TONY. He's GRRREAT!

62. "Very funny" TV station : TBS. TBS is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally Turner Broadcasting System.

63. U.S. 1, for one : RTE.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday October 10, 2010 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Perfection, or rather TEN (116D. Theme answer count, amount of letters in each, word hidden in each, and, when repeated twice, today's date. ) - Multi-layered theme: Total 10 theme answers, each 10-letter long, with TEN spanning across, and the puzzle appears on 10/10/10.

22A. Audible sleep aid : WHITE NOISE. I need total silence.

24A. Stadium ticket datum : GATE NUMBER. Target Field has a Gate 34 in honor Kirby Puckett.

43A. Hiker's snack : DATE NUT BAR. Trader Joe's Lara Bars are the best. Dates with raw cashews.

46A. It's transferred from iron to pants during pressing : HEAT ENERGY. We have several tricky "it", "they", "them" in the clues today.

67A. Barely sufficient : JUST ENOUGH

69A. You, to you, at times? : WORST ENEMY. Great clue.

83A. Warning sign : DO NOT ENTER

88A. On and on : WITHOUT END

112A. Agreed to a proposal : GOT ENGAGED. I came to the US on Fiancée Visa.

114A. Library reminder : LATE NOTICE

We also have another implied TEN:

86D. MLB post-season mo. : OCT. Twins are done! Incurable Inferiority Complex against the damn Yankees. Windhover said this started when they were still Washington Senators.

You'll notice that besides the theme entries (perfectly placed), none of the fill are 10-letter long. It's no accident. Also the left & right grid edge three-finger rather than our normal Sunday four-finger break-up gave us plenty of 7-letter entries. 18 in total. Quite a few eye-catching 9s and 8s as well.

There's always something extra in Don's puzzles. That in turn often presents a challenge to his theme choices and grid designs. He's not called "Hard G" for nothing. I've attached his notes on the puzzle at the end of my write-up.

Across:

1. They're in Vogue : POSES. Vogue magazine.

6. Figs. disclosed before closings : APRS. APR = Annual Percentage Rate. On your mortgage.

10. Alley-oop setups, in hoops : LOBS. A term in tennis and golf too.

14. Work on, as pipe bowl ash : TAMP. What is "pipe bowl ash"?

18. Sex appeal : OOMPH. Zippy clue.

19. Fifth-century pope known as "the Great" : LEO I. Educated guess on I. Can't be X or V.

20. "There's no step 3!" product : IMAC. Nice clue.

21. Chick on ivories : COREA. Jazz great Chick Corea.

26. Wing : ELL

27. Trifle : SOU. As in "not worth a sou".

28. Kept sacred : ENSHRINED

30. Where __ at : IT'S

31. Singer Corinne Bailey et al. : RAES. Recognize her face when I googled.

33. Whole that's greater than the sum of its parts : GESTALT. Can you give me an example?

35. Be in a bee : SEW. Be in sewing bee.

36. Monthly exp. : UTIL

37. Fill with joy : ELATE

39. Admonishing king? : TUT. King Tut. Nice clue too.

40. Aide: Abbr. : ASST

42. "Me, Myself & __": 2000 film : IRENE

49. "Wait __!" : A SEC

50. All-inclusive : A TO Z

52. An atheist can't be one : ELK. The Elks. I was unaware of this fact. They are not all-inclusive then.

53. Strikebreakers : SCABS

56. Emmy-winning legal drama : LA LAW

58. Kid who moves a lot : ARMY BRAT. Great "moves", more deceptive than "travels".

63. One bit : AT ALL.

64. Gets twisted : WARPS

65. Cries of disgust : FIES.

66. Miscellany : OLIO

71. With the bow, in music : ARCO. Learned from doing Xword.

72. Approximately : OR SO

73. __-ling : DING A. And BONER (59. Blunder). Tee hee.

74. Nods, often : YESES

75. Dec. purchase : XMAS TREE. Hmm, not so far away.

77. "The vine that ate the South" : KUDZU

78. Brusque : TERSE

79. It may need a boost : EGO. Nailed it.

80. Bindle carrier : HOBO

81. Meteor tail? : ITIC. Meteoritic. How is it different than meteoric?

94. In reserve : ON ICE

95. Sharpen : WHET

97. Ed.'s request : SAE. Self-Addressed Envelope.

98. "A __ this gout!": "Henry IV, Part 2" : POX ON. This clue is for Clear Ayes, who knows all the Shakespearean stuff.

99. Spinoff group : SECT

100. Two-piece piece : BRA. Ultra friendly letter combination, hence the frequent appearances in Xword.

102. Northern lights : AURORAS

105. Paper towel brand : VIVA

106. Consumed : ATE

107. 1960 chart topper with the line "Are you somewhere up above" : TEEN ANGEL. Here is the clip. Not in my knowledge zone.

109. Add (up) : TOT

111. Small songbird : TIT. Oh.

117. Wading bird : EGRET

118. __ insurance : TERM. Had trouble getting the answer.

119. Road for Tiberius : ITER. Roman "road".

120. Code carriers : GENES

121. Versatile beans : SOYS. Versatile indeed.

122. Union mem. since 2/14/1912 : ARIZ. Drew a blank, Lucina!

123. Disney no longer used them after "The Little Mermaid" : CELS. Good to know.

124. It can make your heart pound : ANGST

Down:

1. Turned on, with "up" : POWERED

2. "Tres chic!" : OOH LA LA

3. Graciously greet : SMILE AT

4. Able, facetiously : EPT. Like "apt"?

5. Ladies : SHES

6. Song pour les enfants : ALOUETTE. We just had this entry a week ago.

7. Architect I.M. : PEI. He's born in Guangzhou.

8. Stone home : ROSETTA

9. College near Albany : SIENA. Was ignorant of the Siena College. Catholic college named after St. Bernardino of Siena, a la Wiki.

10. Laser entertainment : LIGHT SHOW. Debut entry.

11. Actor Epps : OMAR

12. Leader overthrown by Castro : BATISTA

13. Part of an act : SCENE. Play act.

14. Kite on the links : TOM. Tom Kite. Very friendly in person.

15. Dispute settler : ARBITER. And MEETING (16. Dispute settler, perhaps). Clecho (clue echo).

17. Decorative herb : PARSLEY. Never developed a taste for parsley.

21. Cow's second helping? : CUD. Fun clue.

23. Yuletide quaff : NOG

25. Improved partner? : NEW. New and improved.

29. '70s extremist gp. : SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army)

32. Mont-__-Anne: Quebec resort : STE

34. Contract segment : SUBCLAUSE. Another fresh entry.

36. Rapt ending : URE. Rapture.

38. Make possible : ENABLE

41. "__ me!" : SEZ

42. Black : INKY

44. __ Enterprise : USS

45. Role for Jackie : RALPH. Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden on "The Honeymooners".

47. Brewer of song : TERESA. Another alien character to me. She looks pretty.

48. Horror film locale: Abbr. : ELM ST.

51. Brits' thank-yous : TAS. Don't know this slang.

53. __ und Drang : STURM. Spitzboov likes to use this term.

54. Ides assassin : CASCA. Could only think of Brutus.

55. Some choirboys : ALTOS

57. Ship that survived the Clashing Rocks : ARGO. I've forgotten most of the scenes in "Jason and the Argonauts".

58. Instrument that's not seen and not heard : AIR GUITAR. Awesome clue/answer.

60. Like "park the car," to a New Englander? : R LESS. Got me again.

61. Songstress Mann : AIMEE. Nope. Mystery figure to me.

62. Fisher Price products : TOYS

63. Achilles' cousin : AJAX

64. Passed tediously : WORE ON

65. Cool sitcom guy : FONZ. "Happy Days".

68. Krone-issuing land, to natives : NORGE. Norwegian name for Norway.

69. Black __ spider : WIDOW

70. Ocular washing aid : EYE CUP. Have never heard of eye cup.

73. Do a film editing job : DUB

76. Tours head? : TETE. French for "head". The city Tours.

77. 155-mi. Asian strip that intersects the 38th parallel : KOREAN DMZ. Gorgeous entry. Crazy NDMZ cluster.

78. Sonora uncle : TIO

80. [I'm so clever] : HEH. Yes, you are!

82. Broadway array : THEATERS

83. Prescribed amounts : DOSAGES

84. Takeout order : ONE TO GO

85. "You gave it a shot!" : NICE TRY. Oui, oui!

87. Banjoist, e.g. : TWANGER. I suppose so.

89. Set apart from the rest : ISOLATE

90. "Mazel __!" : TOV. For Hahtool.

91. On the way out : EXITING

92. They're new at it : NOVICES. Tyros.

93. "CSI" procedure : DNA TEST

96. Act of war? : TUG. Tug of War.

100. More than ask : BEG

101. Rodeo rope : REATA. Or RIATA.

103. Valued old item : RELIC

104. Small business successor, maybe : SON. True.

107. Boom letters? : TNT

108. Atmosphere: Pref. : AERI. Wanted AERO.

110. Loose garment : TOGA

113. Some Caltech grads : EES. Electrical Engineers.

115. Business card abbr. : TEL.

Answer grid.

Notes from the constructor:

"At the beginning of this year, I noticed that the tenth of the month was followed by the ten of 2010 when a date is written. I realized that October would be especially significant, being 10/10/10. There had to be a puzzle in that! The only theme I could think of was to have ten be buried in the answers. Then I realized I could imitate the date, and have the answer be ten letters long, and have ten answers, three TENS (a trifecta?) It sounded challenging, but I thought with common letters like T E N it would be doable. I did come up with at least ten phrases, and I believe a couple were weak. I got great assistance from Rich who cinched it with the final ten-letter phrase.

When designing and filling the grid, it seemed natural to simply place the theme answers side by side and spread them out evenly over the grid to allow for the best chance at filling it in. I also had the advantage that I could move the theme answers around a great deal to find the best combinations. In fact, it drove me crazy that I had so many options to try different combinations. I am certain I could have done better given enough time! As it was, filling this grid was quite a challenge. To make certain that the solver understands what is going on, I had to have TEN appear in the grid, which further added to the challenge."

C.C.