Tuesday, November 16, 2010 Jennifer Nutt

Theme: Confectionery Fixes - The ends of the starred clues answers are ways to get your cacao bean fix. What's your favorite?

18A. *Chicken soup dumpling: MATZO BALL. Image. A dumpling made from matzah meal of white plain flour and water.

35A. *Paleontologist's lucky find: DINOSAUR EGG. Image. Mere coincidence they look like matzo balls.

43A. *Cappuccino seller: ESPRESSO BAR. Image. Espresso Bar in Melbourne.

61A. Confection that can start the ends of the answers to starred clues: CHOCOLATE

3D. *Basic computer component: SILICON CHIP. Image. Mere coincidence they look like matzo crackers.

27D. *Parting smooch: GOODBYE KISS. Clip.(0:35) Warning: Equal Opportunity Kisser.

Argyle here. Oh my, you should have a cup of hot cocoa instead of coffee this morning.

Ambitious lay-out for a Tuesday with the crossing of the long theme entries twice. Visually appealing but not affecting the solving, which was quite easy with some new cluing.

Across:

1. Cold shower reactions : GASPS

6. Chicken or turkey : FOWL

10. Hair tamers : GELS

14. Sacro- ending : ILIAC

15. Athletic shoe brand : AVIA. It isn't Latin for "fly". Right, Bob?

16. Stratford's river : AVON. Stratford-on-Avon is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of William Shakespeare.

17. Seward's Alaska purchase, to some : FOLLY. At the time, 1867, but they changed their tune when gold was discovered there, 1896.

20. National flower of Scotland : THISTLE. Image

22. Neophyte : TYRO. Beginner

23. Anatomical bag : SAC

24. Zeus' wife : HERA

26. Fight-or-flight response generator : DANGER

30. Ajar, say : OPEN

32. Atop : UPON

34. Typical studio apartment room count : ONE

38. Punch-in-the-gut grunt : "OOF!"

39. "Batt. not __" : INCL. "Batteries not included."

40. Bon __: witticism : MOT. French for 'good word'.

41. Sit in traffic : IDLE

42. Utmost degree : NTH

47. Baseball's Diamondbacks, on scoreboards : ARI. Arizona

48. Apollo program org. : NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

49. Wee : TINY

50. Bunny or kangaroo : HOPPER

52. Came out with : SAID

54. Recede : EBB

57. Ahmadinejad's land : IRAN. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

59. Body surfer's ride : BREAKER

65. Come up : ARISE

66. Crest : PEAK

67. Coup d'__ : ÉTAT. French, overthrow of the state.

68. Correct, as a stitch : RESEW

69. Torah holders : ARKS

70. Geologic stretches : EONS. Should this be ERAS?

71. A barque has at least three : MASTS. This image may clear up your questions about what a barque is.

Down:

1. Birthday buys : GIFTS

2. Hawaii hi : "ALOHA"

4. Buddies : PALS

5. Grain-cutting tools : SCYTHES. It is an art to swing a scythe and this painting shows a very important part of it. It is nigh on impossible to cut without a razor sharp blade. Windhover, do you swing one?

6. Hall of __: athletic standout : FAMER

7. Breakfast for Brutus? : OVA. The old Roman is having eggs for breakfast.

8. Two-time 1980s skating gold medalist Katarina : WITT

9. Quick brown fox's obstacle? : LAZY DOG. "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is an English-language pangram, used in typing lessons.

10. Cameroon neighbor : GABON. Africa Map.

11. "The Loco-Motion" singer Little __ : EVA. Clip.(1:16) On Shindig 1965.

12. Texter's guffaw : LOL

13. Tina Fey was its first female head writer, briefly : SNL

19. Asian ape : ORANG

21. Singer Horne : LENA. One of the greats.

25. Sky lights : AURORAS

28. __ Gay : ENOLA

29. Send for consultation : REFER

31. D.C. go-getter : POL. Yes, but is he just going to get our money?

33. Tennis's Sampras : PETE

35. Shore of Hollywood : DINAH

36. Words before the talk show guest enters : INTRO

37. Masked men at home? : UMPS

41. Charged particle : ION

43. Diciembre follower : ENERO. Spanish December / January

44. Frozen cake maker : SARA LEE

45. Recipe direction : STIR

46. Holstered pistol, e.g. : SIDEARM

51. Selections : PICKS

53. Looks out for, as a partner in crime : ABETS

55. Plague : BESET

56. Beer and ale : BREWS

58. Belg.-based peacekeeping gp. : NATO. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.

60. Place : AREA

61. Tax pro : CPA

62. "I've Grown Accustomed to __ Face" : HER

63. Wine barrel wood : OAK

64. Brown shade : TAN

Answer grid.

Here are a few wonderful photos of the Lopez family making & enjoying traditional tamales. Click here (2:35pm) to see Lucina's secret recipe.

Argyle

Monday, November 15, 2010 David W. Cromer

Theme: It's a bird, it's a ... - Plane, a jet, to be precise according to the unifier. The first theme requires a two-word verb phrase while the next two are single verbs; altogether, they describe a plane flight.

20A. Lose a few pounds: TAKE OFF WEIGHT

37A. Act defiantly toward: FLY IN THE TEETH OF, 'In the Face' is more common.

54A. Find ideal employment: LAND A GREAT JOB

58D. You might be on one if you do the starts of 20-, 37- and 54-Across: JET

Argyle here.

A perfunctory Monday puzzle rather easy to solve but was an ambitious construction. Six letter stacks in two corners, two near grid spanning themes and a third that made it all the way. It takes a lot of work to make it look easy.

Across:

1. Estimator's words : OR SO

5. It's cut and styled : HAIR

9. "Of __ I Sing" : THEE

13. Kathmandu's country : NEPAL

15. Part of A.D. : ANNO. Anno Domini, which is Latin for "year of our Lord". Now sometimes referred to as the Common Era, Christian Era, or Current Era (abbreviated as C.E. or CE).

16. Sniggler's prey : EELS

17. Maliciousness : SPITE

18. Not so much : LESS

19. Bivouac : CAMP

23. Opposed (to) : AVERSE

24. Pekoe, e.g. : TEA

25. "Far out!" : "RAD!". I don't believe "RAD" ever got much use.

28. Legal thing : RES. By itself, RES is Latin for thing; it starts many legal terms.

29. They're exchanged at the altar : I DOs

32. Make fun of : TEASE

34. Sweet snack with coffee : DONUT

36. Northern California peak : SHASTA. Located at the southern end of the cascades in Siskiyou County. Map.

41. __ Pieces: candy brand : REESE'S

42. Brings up : REARS

43. Make into law : ENACT

44. Bank claim : LIEN

45. Fashion that doesn't last : FAD

48. Canadian A.L. team, on scoreboards : TOR. TORonto, north across Lake Ontario from Buffalo, NY. The Blue Jays.

49. Crude in a tanker : OIL

51. Invent : CREATE

58. Monopoly square with bars : JAIL

60. Yves's girlfriend : AMIE. A Frenchman's girlfriend.

61. Country with a wall : CHINA

62. Poet __ St. Vincent Millay : EDNA. Her Columbia County, NY, farmhouse, which she christened Steepletop, is within miles of my sister's house.

63. Heavenly music maker : HARP

64. Kids' flying toys : KITES

65. Clothes : TOGS

66. Norway's capital : OSLO

67. Open-and-shut __ : CASE

Down:

1. GM navigation system : ONSTAR

2. Fix potholes in : REPAVE

3. Volleyball smashes : SPIKES

4. Wild West movie : OATER

5. One of two equal portions : HALF

6. From the beginning : ANEW

7. Maps within maps : INSETS

8. Talk radio host O'Donnell : ROSIE. Image.

9. PC support pro : TECH

10. Summer itch cause : HEAT RASH

11. Stately tree : ELM

12. Psychic's claim : ESP. Extrasensory perception (ESP)

14. Some summer babies, astrologically : LEOs

21. Deceptive moves : FEINTS

22. Collect : GATHER

26. Regarding : AS TO

27. Unable to hear : DEAF

30. "Of course I knew that!" : "DUH!". Followed by a smack to the head with a V-8 can. (D'oh is when someone else smacks you with a V-8 can.)

31. "SNL" alum Cheri : OTERI. Image.

33. Food, on a diner sign : EATS. Or the whole sign.

34. Computer insert : DISC

35. Common pickup capacity : ONE TON. A half-ton is more common.

36. Afterworld communication meeting : SÉANCE

37. Get all worked up : FRET

38. Letterman rival : LENO. Late night talk show hosts.

39. Horse that isn't two yet : YEARLING

40. Golfer's gadget : TEE

44. Alpaca cousins : LLAMAs

45. Tex-Mex serving : FAJITA

46. Makes reparations (for) : ATONES

47. Lower in rank : DEBASE

50. Wyoming neighbor : IDAHO

52. __ of lamb : RACK

53. Value system : ETHIC

55. "Woe is me!" : "ALAS!"

56. "__, Interrupted" : GIRL. It is a best-selling 1993 memoir by American author Susanna Kaysen, relating her experiences as a young woman in a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The memoir's title is a reference to the Vermeer painting Girl Interrupted at her Music. It was a 1999 drama film, starring Winona Ryder, Brittany Murphy, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg and Vanessa Redgrave. The painting.

57. Bank takeaway : REPO

59. Bustle : ADO

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday November 14, 2010 Jeff Chen

Theme: Physical Therapy Session - Each two-word common phrase starts with initials P & T.

23A. It begins with H : PERIODIC TABLE. H = Hydrogen.

29A. Place to take a date? : PALM TREE. Date palm. Medjool dates are the best.

35A. Worker with a fork : PIANO TUNER. Don "Hard G" is one.

46A. Wood shop item : POWER TOOL

57A. One may be used in child support cases : PATERNITY TEST

69A. You can't put it down : PAGE TURNER. What are you reading now?

75A. All-bark, no-bite type : PAPER TIGER

83A. Windshield downer : PARKING TICKET. Good answer/clue.

97A. History feature : PAST TENSE. Needed crossing help.

106A. Intimate exchange : PILLOW TALK. Sweet.

115A. Number that may be shocking : PRICE TAG

126A. Endurance level of a sort : PAIN THRESHOLD. My husband has amazing tolerance for pain. He bowls with painful elbow/wrist all the time.

Simple theme. Nicely executed.

Since no unifier or any specific order is needed for the theme entry placement, Jeff had the freedom to move the phrases (a few are short) around to bring out the smoothest Sunday LAT I've solved this year. The fact that all the answers contain mostly common letters sure helped too.

Thoroughly enjoyable. No obscure words/names to frustrate me.

Across:

1. Target : AIM FOR. Easy start.

7. Zany : MADCAP

13. Standout in a small pond? : BIG FISH. Big fish in a small pond.

20. "Pizza by the slice" chain : SBARRO. The name stumped me last time.

21. Cactus bump : AREOLE. Much prefer "Ring of color" clue.

22. Centers for Disease Control headquarters site : ATLANTA

25. Soaked up, as a spill : BLOTTED

26. Barnyard abode : STY

27. Fit together : MESH

28. Hip-hop doc : DRE. Dr. Dre.

30. Detection device : SENSOR

32. Skipper's direction : ALEE

34. A very long time : EONS

39. Some are narrow : ESCAPES. Narrow escapes.

43. Rice-A-__ : RONI

44. Looked for lampreys : EELED

50. Chopin's Opus 10 works : ETUDES

53. One of seven : ASIA. Seven continents.

55. Video game giant : SEGA

56. NY tech. school since 1824 : RPI. When were you there, Spitzboov?

61. Blotch : STAIN

63. VAIO computer maker : SONY. VAIO = Visual Audio Intelligence Organizer. Learned this name from an old Barry Silk puzzle.

64. Took to the airport, say : SAW OFF

68. Brontë who wrote "Agnes Grey" : ANNE

77. Present-day Persia : IRAN

78. Swarmed : TEEMED

80. U.S. dept. concerned with radioactive waste : ENER

81. "Inception" filmmaker Christopher : NOLAN. Of Batman fame.

90. Actress Thurman : UMA

91. Island at the edge of the Bering Sea : ATTU. Westernmost of the Aleutians.

95. Face-off : DUEL

96. Beethoven's "Waldstein," e.g. : SONATA

100. __ toast : MELBA

103. The toe of an Asian "boot" : OMAN. "Boot" of the Arabian Peninsula? I am ignorant of this reference.

104. From way back when : OLD TIME

109. __ City: Baghdad suburb : SADR

112. "__ said!" : NUFF

114. Essence : NATURE

119. One way to sway : FRO. To and fro.

121. Chapeau site : TETE. "Head" in French.

122. __ tai : MAI

125. 1881 Pasteur vaccine target : ANTHRAX. I remember the scare right after 9/11.

129. Cold War follower : DETENTE

130. Harshly criticize : SCATHE. Scathing remarks.

131. Discordant to many an ear : ATONAL

132. Paris's Champs __ : ELYSEES. More romantic walking along the streets in the evenings.

133. Sommelier, e.g. : SERVER

134. Pestilent fly : TSETSE. Hey, a full fly.

Down:

1. Lethal snakes : ASPS. And 10. Lethal snake : COBRA. Clecho. Please come here and cast your vote.

2. "As if!" : I BET

3. Mrs. Lincoln : MARY

4. Calendar abbr. : FRI

5. Words from a balcony : O ROMEO. By Juliet.

6. Squirrel, for one : RODENT

7. Speed of sound : MACH ONE. First reached by Dennis' idol Chuck Yeager.

8. Pianist Tatum : ART

9. __ in the water : DEAD

11. Gene variant : ALLELE. Can never remember this word.

12. Capital of Poland? : PEE. The capital letter in Poland.

13. Ali the woodcutter : BABA

14. "__ cost you!" : IT'LL

15. Grab, in slang : GLOM. Glom onto.

16. Most plump : FATTEST

17. Preamble : INTRO

18. "Card Players Quarreling" artist : STEEN (Jan). See the painting.

19. Underworld god : HADES

24. Time edition : ISSUE. Do you think Tina Brown will save Newsweek?

29. Cowboy legend __ Bill : PECOS

30. Catty : SNIDE

31. Send along : RELAY

33. Uncanny ability : ESP

35. Get set : PREP

36. Itty-bitty bit : IOTA

37. "Sometimes you feel like __ …" : A NUT. Do you?

38. See 127-Down : REST. And 127. With 38-Down, what's left : THE.

40. Amaze : AWE

41. Cribbage piece : PEG

42. Some are named for presidents : ERAS. We live in the Obama era.

45. "__ Irae" : DIES

47. Borneo rainforest dweller : ORANG

48. Offer a thought : OPINE

49. Big boat : LINER

51. While lead-in : ERST. Erstwhile.

52. Muzzle : SNOUT. Nose.

54. Memo order : ASAP

58. Memo opening : INRE

59. Daly of "Judging Amy" : TYNE

60. It flew its last flight in 2001 : TWA. Oh, I didn't know this.

62. Clavell's "__-Pan" : TAI. Tai = Big. Pan = Boss.

65. Start the bidding : OPEN

66. __ shui : FENG. Feng = Wind. Shui = Water.

67. Worries : FRETS

69. Dorm wall art : PINUP

70. Wavy lines, in comics : AROMA

71. Bashes : GALAS

72. "Bambi" doe : ENA. His aunt.

73. Brit. or Byzantine : EMP (Empire)

74. Pore over : READ

76. The Stooges, e.g. : TRIO

79. Jazz combo member : DRUM

82. Pertaining to all 50 sts. : NATL

84. Opposite of spoil : KEEP

85. Bad, in rap slang : ILLIN. What?

86. 100 simoleons : C-NOTE. So many slang for "dollar": cabbage, clam, buck, etc.

87. __ Sutra : KAMA

88. List-shortening term : ET AL

89. Place to put a tiger, in old ads : TANK. Put a tiger in your tank.

92. Media mogul Turner : TED

93. "Rizzoli & Isles" station : TNT

94. Manipulating : USING

98. Primitive light sources : TORCHES

99. Critter on Australia's coat of arms : EMU. Hey there, Kazie!

101. Gibberish : BLATHER

102. Adjust : ALTER

105. Obliterate : EFFACE

107. Consume more than : OUTEAT

108. Jerks : WRESTS. Oh, not the "jerks" I pictured.

109. "Black bird" pursuer of fiction : SPADE. Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon". Got me.

110. Synthetic fabric : ARNEL. Just refuses to sink into my memory bank.

111. Simple tune : DITTY

113. Brother in a hood? : FRIAR. Saw similar clue before.

116. Eagle by the shore : ERNE

117. Pop __, Chok'lit Shoppe owner in "Archie" comics : TATE. Learning moment to me.

118. Cancels : AXES

120. Airing, as a sitcom : ON TV

122. The Alps' __ Blanc : MONT

123. Regretful word : ALAS

124. Not doing anything : IDLE

126. They're usually under signatures: Abbr. : PSS

128. Work the soil : HOE

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday November 13, 2010 Brad Wilber and Doug Peterson

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 29

Great to see a collaboration borne out of our interview. Brad, who now has a regular monthly Saturday Stumper with Newsday, mentioned to me last time that he's co-constructed quite a few puzzles with Doug since then.

This puzzle features eight 10-letter & six 9-letter entries, mostly triple-stacked in each corner:

1A. Single-season RBI record-holder since 1930 : HACK WILSON. Total 191 RBIs in 1930. Hall of Famer. I was aware of his existence and this card, but couldn't recall his name.

15A. Not beyond belief : IMAGINABLE. REASONABLE fit too.

17A. Elementary level : FIRST GRADE. Needed crossing help.

60A. Knocking 'em dead : IN RARE FORM. Nice clue/answer.

65A. Rambo, notably : ONE MAN ARMY. Loved this one also.

67A. Circumscribes : DELINEATES

10D. Sewing circle? : NEEDLE HOLE. Why question mark?

12D. First actress to play Yente in Broadway's "Fiddler on the Roof" : BEA ARTHUR. And EMMYS (53D. Pair on the résumé of 12-Down).

13D. Wheels in a cave : BATMOBILE. In "Batman".

14D. Like many a jalopy : RUST-EATEN. New word to me.

30D. Years in which Picasso's art took a somber turn : BLUE PERIOD. Gorgeous entry.

32D. Any of the "Ocean's" movies, e.g. : HEIST FILM. Was quite fond of those silly "Ocean's" movies.

33D. Upstart : ARRIVISTE. Is it same to nouveau riche?

34D. Ultra-reliable team members : MAINSTAYS. Ah, we have quite a few on our blog. Ultra-reliable!

How long do you normally spend on a Saturday themeless? I punted after 35 minutes.

Across:

11. This ans. is one : ABBR. The word "ans" is abbreviated. I've seen similar gimmick for ACROSS.

16. __ de soie: bridal gown fabric : PEAU. Literally "skin" in French. Soie = Silk.

18. Focus of some H.S. prep courses : SATs

19. Nagano Olympics torch lighter : ITO (Midori). Japanese Figure skater. Stumped me. I wanted ALI. Silly!

20. "Cinderella" opener? : CEE. Letter C in Cinderella.

21. Like season 8 of "Dallas" : DREAMT. Didn't come immediately.

23. Light-footed woman : SYLPH. We've seen the "slender, graceful woman" clue before.

25. Esmeralda's goat in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" : DJALI. Nope! Way too hard a name for me.

28. Salty delicacy : ROE

29. Dealt with a fatal error, perhaps : REBOOTED. Computer "fatal error". Al might get this one immediately.

31. Sched. gap letters : TBA

32. Skywalker player : HAMILL (Mark). Have never seen "Star Wars".

35. Eastern theatrical style : NOH. Literally "ability". Same character as Chinese.

36. Gambler's voucher : CHIT

37. "Moriae Encomium" author : ERASMUS (Desiderius). Not familiar with "Moriae Encomium", an essay translated as "The Praise of Folly" or "In Praise of More" a la Wikipedia.

39. Ochlocracy : MOB RULE. Greek "oshlos" = Mob.

41. Bulb output, maybe : IRIS. Thought of IDEA.

42. "... and too many to mention" letters : ETC

44. Holly of Hollywood : LAUREN. She looks familiar. Nice clue.

45. Stray, in a way : SIN. "In a way", yes.

46. Reacts to an affront, maybe : SPUTTERS

48. Living room sets : TVS

49. Temporary tattoo dye : HENNA

50. Put forward : STATE

54. Less flabby : FITTER. Wanted FIRMER.

56. Bad liar's giveaway : TIC

58. Lap dog, briefly : POM

59. "By Jove!" : I SAY

64. About 5.88 trillion mi. : LT-YR (Light-year). Got me.

66. High point in a Western? : MESA. Sure was not thinking of those small plateau.

Down:

1. Old living room sets : HI-FIs.

2. Good relations : AMITY

3. "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," e.g. : CAROL

4. Metric meas. : KGS

5. Shade tree native to the British Isles : WITCH ELM. First encounter with this tree.

6. "Bus Stop" playwright : INGE

7. I-35's southern terminus : LAREDO. Drew a blank. The U.S./Mexico border city.

8. Fed. loan source : SBA

9. GOP segment? : OLD. GOP = Grand Old Party.

11. Basilica section : APSE

22. Divested (of) : RID

24. Goody two shoes : PRISS. "Goody two shoe" is a new idiom to me.

26. Cryer in a sitcom : JON. The "sitcom" here refer to "Two and a Half Men", correct?

27. Quark's milieu : ATOM

36. It's rolled out at a patisserie : CRUST

38. Leave agape : STUN

40. What eHarmony users can avoid : BAR SCENE. Those eHarmony commercials look quite sweet.

43. UPS unit : CTN. Carton I suppose.

46. Byron's "__ Walks in Beauty" : SHE

47. Geisha's mat : TATAMI

51. Left on the bridge : APORT. Can never remember those nautical directions.

52. "It Wasn't All Velvet" memoirist : TORME (Mel). Known as "The Velvet Fog".

55. Big name in TV talk : TYRA (Banks). Her talk show was over in May.

57. Caspian Sea country : IRAN

61. Vane dir. : NNE

62. Seminary subj. : REL

63. Govt. agency with a wing on its seal : FAA. Here is its seal.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday November 12, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: You (U) Fit In - Each theme answer is a common two word expression, with the letter “U” inserted into the second word, to create a humorous new expression, with the question mark at the end of the clue telling you a play on words is coming.

16A. Opening with a thud?: BAD DEBUT. BAD DEBT. Something becoming all too familiar after the recent mortgage debacle.

19A. Staple in a Hollywood first-aid kit?: STAR GAUZE. STAR GAZE. We love staring at our stars, making so many tabloids and tabloid tv shows popular. Do we really care that Disney child stars Lindsay Lohan and Demi Lovato are coke heads?

26A. Compulsion to set up camp?: TENT DURESS. TENT DRESS. An interesting internal deception because the meaning of Tent is very different when you are talking about this DRESS STYLE .

34A. Hoss and Little Joe's off-color jokes?: PONDEROSA RAUNCH. PONDEROSA RANCH, the home of the Cartwright family on BONANZA which was the first television show to be shown in color. My favorite phrase of the theme. Do you all remember the name of Ben’s (the father, played by Lorne Greene) horse?

43A. Civil unrest in Brest?: FRENCH FURY. FRENCH FRY. A nice rhyming clue, to obscure the French city.

50A. Restrain a legendary soul seller?: HOLD FAUST. HOLD FAST; FAUST is the Devil in German legend, made famous by Goethe’s tragic play.

58A. Classy accommodations at the Spider Ritz?: WEB SUITE. WEB SITE. Don’t you just love the mind that created the image of an exclusive hotel for spiders?

47. "Have a nice day" response, and a literal hint to this puzzle's theme: YOU TOO. YOU (U) too, meaning an added U.

Et tu Brute! Hallelujah, Lemonade here, week two already. Happy Friday, C.C. and all. Wow, another Naddor for me, and one so typical and so witty. I really enjoyed this effort, with 75 letters and 8 theme related answers. Lots of fun fill, a few things I should have recalled but had to work to get, and generally a good time for all.

Across:

1. Bucolic: PASTORAL. We begin with a pleasant straight forward image.

9. Sushi choices: EELS. I like some sushi, but am not fond of eels, probably something psychological from my childhood.

13. Wood preservative: CREOSOTE. COAL TAR CREOSOTE is an EPA registered wood preservative, distilled from crude coke oven tar, and is mainly composed of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), but also contains phenols and cresols. Like I knew that.

14. Plays the class clown: CUTS UP. Remember, Dan likes two word answers that create deceptive letter strings. 21A. Clueless: AT SEA. 65A. As terrific as they say: THAT GOOD. 7D. "Do you bite your thumb __, sir?": "Romeo and Juliet": AT US. I love that he includes some Shakespeare, as well as the very old insult of biting one’s thumb, which has resurfaced in our culture as seen in the URBAN DICTIONARY . 33D. Corner the market on: BUY UP. Speaking of which, do you remember when the Hunt brothers tried to corner the silver market? They were the inspiration for these BROTHERS .

17. Showy: ORNATE.

18. Overseas fem. title: SRA. As Kazie pointed out, the abbreviation for Senora, like most of our dear ladies.

25. Source of Ulee's gold: BEES.Hi Melissa, and yes, the gold was in the honey, honey.

29. She played Emma in "The Avengers": UMA. We all know this is true in the movie, but this will always be the real MRS.PEEL .

32. Mideast language: IRANI. Oh, in Iran, I guess.

33. Support group?: BRAS. Nice deception, but then again, it may all be DECEPTION .

40. Lake near Niagara Falls: ERIE. Where my oldest is currently freezing his little behind in grad school, though his birthday is in nine days, he will be home in 11!

41. Atlanta campus: EMORY. This is a very well respected private college that emphasizes research; it ended up in Atlanta through the generosity of the people from Coca Cola. If you go to Atlanta, go and tour the Coke factory (except Lindsay Lohan and Demi Lovato, who know better).

42. Jets coach Ryan: REX. He plays against Cleveland this week end, whose defense is coached by his older (by 5 minutes) identical twin brother ROB RYAN .

48. Fizzled out: DIED. Like so many romances…

49. Gulf of Finland city: ESPOO. The second largest city in Finland, and it took me way to long to drag from my brain. We just had the clue in August, in a Barry Silk themeless.

55. Word with a head slap: DUH. DOH, whatever you like; here we use the V-8 can against the head.

57. Six-Day War country: ISRAEL. Remember it well.

62. Insurer of Tina Turner's legs: LLOYDS. LLOYD’s of LONDON has been in the insurance business since 1688, and has always insured the odd things of value like insuring, silent film comedian Ben Turpin's eyes against uncrossing, Jimmy Durante’s nose, Troy Polamalu's hair for $1 million, and these R rated pre-silicone marvels of TEMPEST STORM .

63. One transferring property rights, in law: ASSIGNOR. Must have obscure law clues so Lemonade can feel smart. We love our ORs and EEs.

64. Plenty: TONS.

Down:

1. Banned pollutants: PCBS. They belong to a group of man made “organic” chemicals called PolyChlorinated Biphenyls.

2. Biblical resting place: ARARAT. A nice deception, for it was Noah’s Ark, not a person that ended up resting atop Mount Ararat.

3. Composed: SEDATE.

4. "The Fox and the Hound" fox: TOD. The hound was Copper, but I really do not remember the MOVIE.

5. Suffix with fruct-: OSE.Also with SUCR-, LACT- and others, it means SUGAR.

6. Hold up: ROB. Yes, to rob is to hold up, to burgle is to break in.

8. Riga resident: LETT. We see this one very often, and I actually have some clients from Latvia, but they moved to Venezuela.

9. Old lab heaters: ETNAS. Dan used this in a Sunday puzzle in August 2009, I did not know the term then, and do not now. I am strictly a BUNSEN BURNER guy.

10. Isaac's eldest: ESAU. Poor guy, hairy and he lost his birthright.

11. Eponymous skater Alois __: LUTZ. For our dear CA back from vacation, and our prodigal Robin, just back, we have the TRIPLE LUTZ in pictures and words. Eponymous, is when you give your name to something, like Joe Robbie stadium.

12. WWI German vice-admiral: SPEE. One I knew nothing about, but apparently quite a bold man, of whom Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty at London, wrote: "He was a cut flower in a vase, fair to see yet bound to die.”

14. Centers: CORES. Oh, okay, I get like the center of the earth.

15. Prods: URGES.

20. Justice Fortas: ABE. Another law tidbit for me; Justice Fortas was a very successful student of the law, and lawyer, arguing and winning the famous right to counsel case, GIDEON vs. WAINWRIGHT, in which the Supreme Court for the first time granted all who are accused of a crime the right to be represented by counsel, creating the Public Defender system. Mr. Fortas, who came from an Orthodox Jewish family became very good friends with Lyndon Johnson, who when he became president, convinced sitting Justice Arthur Goldberg (the then Jewish member of the court) to resign to become ambassador to the UN, so Fortas could be appointed to the court. Sadly, Fortas ended up resigning under a cloud for taking fees while on the bench.

22. Derisive: SNIDE. My favorite was this CHARACTER .

23. Raison d'__: ETRE. Meaning literally “ reason to be” in French.

24. Month before Nisan: ADAR. And then a little Hebrew calendar to make me feel at home; that calendar has leap months, where there is a 13th month added to catch up with the earths rotation from a moon based calendar.

27. Card game warning: UNO. A favorite of children of all ages, though my grandmother preferred Skip-Bo.

28. Out of bed: RISEN. Which of course reminds me of this SONG .

29. Still-life subject: URN. Really, I only remember the poem.

30. Bud: MAC. Talk about misleading, and yet easy. In our culture, BUD means beer, not buddy, so hey BUD and hey MAC was very hard.

31. Tip for a smoker?: ASH. Literal but hidden again; I still liked Camel Droppings best.

34. In accordance with: PER.

35. It may be found in a deposit: ORE. No not a bank deposit, silly.

36. Outlaw: NIX. Hmm, my in-laws are named NIX, so they are in-laws and outlaws!

37. Onetime Jeep mfr.: AMC. American Motors Company and one of the big four when the US controlled worldwide auto manufacture. Sadly the Rambler and the NASH American did not keep the company afloat, when the Pacer, their final effort to convince the country to drive smaller fuel efficient cars failed, they gave up. Not long after they folded, we had the first gas crisis and their small car ideas took hold.

38. Architect Mies van der __: ROHE. Did not know him, but he designed lots of BUILDINGS.

39. Pound sounds: ARFS. Another cute rhyme.

43. Fluted, in a way: FIFED. Not the champagne glass, but the guy playing the flute; hmm, a verb?

44. Old Spanish coins: REALS. Spanish Reals are often found at historic sites in the US, as during colonial days in the U.S., the silver Ocho Reales coin, referred to as the Spanish milled dollar, piece of eight, or eight bits, was the principal coin in circulation. Hence, the saying, 2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a dollar; all for the home team stand up and holler. Some still refer to a quarter as two bits.

45. Web address ender: EDU.

46. House Judiciary Committee chair during the Nixon impeachment hearings: RODINO. This piece of trivia was buried deep in the brain, and crossing it with ESPOO really slowed me down. In the ironies of the world, and karma, Nixon was determined to impeach Abe Fortas, who eventually stepped down.

48. Critical moments to gear up for: D DAYS. JUNE 6, 1944 .

50. Maximum degree: HILT. This sweet phrase comes from the violent turn of stabbing a dagger or a sword into the victim all the way to the hilt (the protective handle).

51. European capital: OSLO. To our Norwegian brethren, we shout out.

52. Hubbard of Scientology: L RON. Yes, I like my religion from an unsuccessful science fiction author.

53. Team acronym: SWAT. Special Weapons and Tactics.

54. John with Emmys and a journalism award: TESH. A singer, a talk show host, a piano player and a journalist.

56. Rancher's concern: HERD. Not this ONE .

59. Jamboree gp.: BSA. We had Boy Scouts of America in the very first puzzle I blogged, back in the day.

60. Be in session: SIT. Congress, or the courts, like the Supreme Court!

61. Trendy boot brand: UGG. Worn by our temperature challenged crew, including dear Lo-li-ta. Do they come in red Fishie? I guess they do not sell too well in Arizona.

Answer grid.

Well, a long day ahead, so I am out of here, hope you enjoyed the show; see you same bat channel, same bat time.

Lemonade

Thursday November 11, 2010 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Childish Behavior - With a HINT (32A) from 56A. Admonition to one acting out the starts of 17-, 23-, 34- and 48-Across: MIND YOUR MANNERS.

17A. Battle of the Bulge air assault division: SCREAMING EAGLES. The Army 101st Airborne Division. Timely clue related to Veterans day, today.

23A. Doppelgänger: SPITTING IMAGE. In fiction and folklore, your evil double. Also considered bad luck, or even an omen of death, to see one.

34A. It's hard to get romantic with one: NAGGING HEADACHE. This is probably worse. One percent of the population, really?

48A. Reason to see a mechanic: WHINING ENGINE.

Al here.

Heavy 71 theme squares. Seven Down fill intersect 3 theme entries. An ambitious grid.

Not a pangram, missing six letters, no helper squares, better than average theme, and a few clever clues. Parts of the theme did help me for once, the "ing" letters filled in a few spots. So, on with the answers. Don included a note to C.C. about the puzzle, which is included at the end of the write-up.

ACROSS

1. U.S. dept. with a Race to the Top reform prog.: EDUC.ation.

5. Iconic rings: HALOS.

10. Lock style: COIF. Lock of hair. Coif from old French for a skull cap worn with headgear, as under a helmet.

14. JV team member, perhaps: SOPH. Junior Varsity, Sophomore. A second year student, literally an "arguer". From sophume, variant of sophism (specious, fallacious argument).

15. Warning: ALERT. From Italian all'erta "to the height," from erta "lookout, high tower".

16. Back in the day: ONCE.

20. Willows for weavers: OSIERS.

21. Cause to suffer: AIL. What ails you? What is causing you to suffer? Never having looked it up before, I never realized the word had this meaning, but just thought that it referred to a state of health not being good. Even knowing that, I still wouldn't ever say "A cold ails me".

22. Word with meal or cake: OAT. I've never heard of oatcakes (similar to pancakes but with a lot of fiber), most references I found seem to be from the UK. Must be more common there?

27. Name on an airport shuttle: AVIS. They try harder.

29. Incarnation of Vishnu: RAMA.

30. Alice's workplace: DINER. Mel's Diner in the TV series, with Alice played by Linda Lavin. There's also Alice's Restaurant, the spoken "song" by Arlo Guthrie, based on a true story and made into a movie.

31. Yang's partner: YIN. Male/female, day/night. The concept of balance in all things. You cannot have a back of your hand without there being a front.

32. Clue: HINT. From old English hentan "to seize", related to hunt.

33. Cul-de-__: SAC.

40. Important no. to most car buyers: MPG. Miles per gallon.

41. Coastal raptor: ERNE. The "sea eagle".

42. It starts with "http": URL. Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol, Uniform Resource Locator.

43. Sheer: STEEP.

46. Desertlike: ARID.

47. Teeny: ITSY. Could have been itty too.

51. Reservoir borders?: ARS. The letter "R" begins and ends the word reservoir.

52. Besides: TOO.

53. __ Tunes: LOONEY. Warner Bros animation.

60. Court entry: PLEA.

61. Shopping list entries: ITEMS.

62. "Woe __!": IS ME.

63. Some shooters, briefly: SLRS. Single Lens Reflex cameras.

64. Mythical animal kingdom ennead: LIVES. Ennead: "group of nine". A reference to cats.

65. Peter or Paul, but not Mary: TSAR. There were tsarinas named Maria, though. A diversion kind of clue to get you thinking MALE, or folk music instead of rulers.

DOWN

1. Gas acronym: ESSO. Standard Oil initials: SO (say it out loud)

2. Holliday and others: DOCS. The two "L"s were a giveaway to look deeper than calendar dates.

3. Revolting situation: UPRISING. Punny.

4. Nest chorus: CHEEPS.

5. Target of pre-race stretching: HAMSTRING.

6. "__ Baba Bunny": classic Bugs cartoon: ALI.

7. Hall of Fame quarterback Dawson: LEN.

8. Leia's last name: ORGANA. One of her last names... The Star Wars universe. Born Leia Amadala Skywalker, daughter of Darth Vader. Hidden and adopted by Bail Organa, a royal family on Alderan. Also Mrs. Solo after being married.

9. "Shrek!" author William: STEIG.

10. Minor player: COG. Just a nameless tooth on a gear that keeps the wheel turning.

11. Checked out, as a book: ON LOAN.

12. Cooling-off period?: ICE AGE.

13. Uncle at 0001 Cemetery Lane, in '60s TV: FESTER. The Addams Family.

18. First name in shipping: ARI. Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate.

19. Angular measurement device used in surveying: ALIDADE. Many different types.

24. Bite: TANG. "Serpent's tongue" (thought to be a stinging organ), later "sharp extension of a metal blade", then "sharp taste" followed later.

25. "Count me in!": I'M THERE.

26. Mineral with basal cleavage: MICA.

27. Writer Rand: AYN. Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead.

28. Routing word: VIA. Latin, by way of.

32. __ Hop: bouncing ball brand: HIPPITY.

33. Time-measuring device: SANDGLASS. During the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan around the globe, his vessels kept 18 hourglasses per ship. It was the job of a ship's page to turn the hourglasses and thus provide the times for the ship's log.

35. Feds: G-MEN.

36. "__ go bragh!": ERIN.

37. Kitten's quality: CUTENESS.

38. Retail posting: Abbr.: HRS. Open hours.

39. Callaway of golf equipment fame: ELY. The founder and also the stock ticker name.

43. Overwhelms: SWAMPS.

44. Rollercoaster ride, e.g.: THRILL.

45. Former Disney chief: EISNER. Michael.

46. Rainforest rodent: AGOUTI.

47. Part of a conspiracy: IN ON IT. From prefix com- (together) + spire (breathe), so, to breathe together.

49. Kind of salad dressing: NO OIL. I may have mentioned before that you need (the right) oil to properly absorb the phytochemicals from plants, like carotene, lutein, and various flavenoids.

50. Charged particle: ION. A Greek word meaning "go" adapted by Michael Faraday to label particles that move towards an electrode of opposite charge.

54. Columnist Bombeck: ERMA.

55. Nieuwpoort's river: YSER. Belgium.

57. Courtroom VIPs: DAS. District Attorneys.

58. Test, as an engine: REV.

59. Sra.'s neighboring counterpart: MME. Senorita, Mademoiselle. Spanish and French for miss.

Answer grid.

Note from Don about today's theme:

"I think secretly that everybody finds a bratty kid more interesting than a thoroughly well-behaved angel. I found some words that describe the bratty behavior, and put them into phrases, wondering when the solver would catch on. It is not the usual kind of puzzle theme, which might make it more of a surprise when the solver comes to the last theme answer. I felt fortunate to find a 15-letter phrase to tidy it up. Next time someone says, “Mind your manners”, you can say “That’s a 15-letter phrase that addresses bratty behavior!"

Al

Wednesday November 10, 2010 Pamela Amick Klawitter

Theme: Barter Town - The first word of each two-word theme answer is a synonym for 'trade.'

18A. Flea market cousin : SWAP MEET. San Jose, Ca hosts "The Original World's Largest Flea Market."

24A. Mickey Mantle or Mark Teixeira, notably : SWITCH HITTER. A player who bats both left- and right-handed.

39A. Fill in at school : SUBSTITUTE TEACH. Nice shout out to several of our regular commenters.

51A. Currency differential : EXCHANGE RATE.

62A. Commercial imbalance : TRADE GAP. The amount by which the value of a country's visible imports exceeds that of visible exports.

Melissa here.

A rare weekday puzzle from our LAT Sunday regular constructor Pamela Amick Klawitter. The grid design resulted in lots of 4-letter (30) & 5-letter (19) entries.

Across:

1. "60 Minutes" correspondent : SAFER. Morley. Did three tours in Vietnam.

6. __ Helens, Wash. : MT. ST. Mount Saint Helens. May 18th of this year marked the 30th anniversary of an eruption there which lasted 9 hours. The result of an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale.

10. Setup punch : JAB

13. Pump option : PREPAY. Gas pump.

15. Tad : IOTA

16. L.A.-based oil giant, familiarly : OXY. Occidental Petroleum Corporation.

17. Get there : ARRIVE

20. Soccer VIPs? : MOMS. Haha, nice.

21. Source of low-alcohol wines : ASTI. A white sparkling wine produced in an area to the south of the town of Asti, in Piedmont, Italy.

23. No longer newsworthy : PASSE

27. Diet successfully : LOSE

28. Counsel : ADVISE

32. "__ Gold": Peter Fonda film : ULEE'S

35. Helper: Abbr. : ASST.

38. Lobbying gp. : PAC. Political Action Committee.

43. Modern __ : ERA. Bit of a stretch I thought.

44. Friend's pronoun : THEE. 'All the world is queer save thee and me, and even thou art a little queer'. Robert Owen (1771-1858).

45. "Then ..." : AND SO

46. Karate instructor : SENSEI. Japanese title of respect, used to address teachers and professionals.

49. Glued to the tube, say : RAPT

57. Shoelace protector : AGLET. We all know this by now.

60. Smack back? : EROO. Smackeroo. Also with sock- or stink-. Or more appropriately, switch.

61. It's wet in Oaxaca : AGUA. Spanish for water.

64. "The Sound of Music" quintet : OSCARS. Best director, Best film editing, Best score, Best picture, Best Sound.

66. "Awesome!" : RAD

67. Botanical junction : NODE. The point on a stem where a leaf is attached. Like this.

68. Golf commentator Pepper : DOTTIE. Did not know her.

69. Poet Lowell : AMY. Welcome back, Clear Ayes!

70. Texter's sign-off : TTYL. Talk to you later.

71. Many Miley Cyrus fans : TEENS.

Down:

1. Sends unwanted e-mail : SPAMS

2. Road sign symbol : ARROW

3. Nuclear pioneer Enrico : FERMI. Italian physicist who developed the first nuclear reactor.

4. Bible letters : EPISTLES. Twenty one epistles in the New Testament (not counting Revelation), most believed to be written by Paul.

5. Toyota __4: SUV model : RAV

6. Peruvian volcano El __ : MISTI. Again with a volcano.

7. Namely : TO WIT. "That is to say."

8. Ticketing place: Abbr. : STA. Station.

9. Danced like Bojangles Robinson : TAPPED. Remember this scene?

10. Stereotypical diner name : JOE'S. Eat at Joe's.

11. Forest choppers : AXES

12. Unit of computer memory : BYTE. Eight bits make one byte.

14. Slangy assents : YEAHS

19. Sportscaster Albert : MARV. Broad jumper. I KID!

22. Knife holder : SHEATH

25. Budgetary concern : COST

26. British art institution : TATE. Network of four art galleries in the UK (Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate Modern, and Tate St. Ives).

29. Apple touchscreen computer : I-PAD

30. Anatomical pouches : SACS

31. Return from a cave? : ECHO. Sneaky, but I nailed it.

32. Finds a purpose for : USES

33. Dangle a carrot in front of, so to speak : LURE

34. "My Country" author : EBAN. Subtitle, "The story of modern Israel." Needed perps.

36. Seek damages : SUE

37. Buffet heater : STERNO.

40. Suffix with meteor : ITIC. Meteoric rise to fame. Sometimes unexplainable.

41. Finish line indicator : TAPE.

42. Play break : ENTR'ACTE. French for "between the acts."

47. Watermelon bit : SEED

48. Magnitude : EXTENT

50. "... 'What __ boy am I!'" : A GOOD. Little Jack Horner nursery rhyme.

52. Exciting : HEADY.

53. Adrien of cosmetics : ARPEL

54. Colorful quartz : AGATE

55. Shroud city : TURIN. Shroud of Turin.

56. Lets up : EASES

57. Name on a razor : ATRA

58. Fat measure : GRAM

59. __ Luck : LADY

63. Understood : GOT

65. Heavy drinker : SOT

Answer grid.
Melissa