Sunday March 27, 2011 Matt Skoczen and Victor Fleming

Theme: Rowdy Bunch - WILD can precede the first word of each starred answers.

22A. *Old library aid : CARD CATALOG. Wild card.

32A. *Soda fountain choice : CHERRY COKE. Wild cherry.

64A. Maurice Sendak kids' book, and the starts of starred answers : WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. Lovely unifier.

97A. *Ragtime dance : TURKEY TROT. Wild turkey.

110A. *'60s Haight-Ashbury type : FLOWER CHILD. Wild flower.

3D. *Political mantra : PARTY LINE. Wild party.

20D. *Drug problem : SIDE EFFECT. Wild side. Do you have a wild side?

67D. *One side of a defunct wall : WEST BERLIN. Wild west.

76D. *A cappella leader's gadget : PITCH PIPE. Wild pitch.

Fun puzzle. Made me think of Charlie Sheen's Wild Thing in "Major League": Wild Thing, you make my heart sing.

Terrific theme answer interlock in this grid. Awesome grid design. It takes luck as well as skills to make them work.

Quite a few baseball references to delight me, but I was stumped by O'DOUL (28A. Two-time N.L. batting champ Lefty). Of course I wanted GROVE. Lefty Grove was a Hall-of-Famer. Wiki shows O'Doul won the batting champ in 1929 & 1932. Too long ago.

Another possible stumper for some might be ENOKIs (94A. Japanese mushrooms), which are part of my diet, so no problem here.

Across:

1. Move to a larger container, say : REPOT. Plant.

6. Office exchanges : MEMOS

11. Put a dent in : MAR

14. "Woe __!" : IS ME

18. In any way : AT ALL. Man, I had trouble getting this little answer.

19. Aromatic resin : ELEMI

20. "¿Quién __?" : SABE. Spanish for "Who knows?". Not me.

21. Where the Pecos R. begins : N MEX

24. Gadget, for one: Abbr. : INSP (Inspector). Not familiar with Inspector Gadget.

25. Water turbidity cause : SILT

26. Book after Neh. : ESTH

27. "Midnight Cowboy" con man : RATSO. Disturbing movie.

29. Motorcade VIP : PRES. OK, President.

30. Hit a lot of high notes : YODELED

34. Societal ideals : VALUES

36. What obsolete things fall into : DISUSE

38. Bananas : DAFT. I like nuts on bananas. 

39. "Marley & Me" actress : ANISTON (Jennifer). Love her. Can't understand Angelina Jolie's appeal. 

41. React to boredom, perhaps : NOD OFF. Thought of YAWN AT first.

43. Defeats : LOSSES. Noun.

47. Port of Crete : CANEA. Stumped me again.

48. Cockney toast starter : (H)ERE's. The starting H is dropped in Cockney accent.

50. Souvenirs at the park, usually : FOULS. Foul balls. I was picturing pins/caps/bats, etc.

52. Controversial "gift" : ESP. Why controversial? I wanted GAB.

53. Fresno-to-Bakersfield dir. : SSE. I trust it's correct.

54. Not __ Town: anti-hate-crime movement : IN OUR. New to me.

56. Procter & Gamble toothpaste : GLEEM

58. Salad cheese : FETA

59. Sail motions : FLAPS. I don't get this one. TIDES wouldn't work.

60. Not of the cloth : LAIC

61. Bombed : PIE-EYED. Both slang for "drunk".

69. One way to anticipate : EAGERLY. Then we have 85A. Eager beaver : DYNAMO. Slight dupe. But I did like the clue for the latter.

70. 8 x 10 phots., e.g. : ENLs

71. "... but maybe I'm wrong" : OR NOT

72. "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" dramatist : INGE (William). Easy guess.

73. Job jar items : TASKS

75. Thomas Paine's belief : DEISM

76. __ band: school rally performers : PEP

79. "Golden Age" Hollywood studio : RKO

80. Kept awake, maybe : ATE AT

82. Bruce of "The Astronaut Farmer" : DERN

83. "There is __ in the affairs of men ...": Brutus : A TIDE. Do you like this kind of quote clue?

87. '70s-'80s FBI sting : ABSCAM

90. Like some markers : GENETIC. Wow, first encounter with this DNA term "Genetic marker".

92. Swedish tennis great : BORG (Björn)

96. Chops up : MINCES

100. Spa service : MUD BATH. Nice one.

102. Big name in pineapples : DOLE

103. First toothbrush to go to the moon : ORAL B

104. One leading a charmed life? : COBRA. Charmed by the snake charmer.

105. The first one was founded in 1824 Eng. to protect carriage horses : SPCA. Good to know this trivia.

108. James or Jones of jazz : ETTA

109. __-mutuel : PARI

112. Lent organs? : EARS. Lend me your ears.

113. Harrow rival : ETON

114. Saintly qualities : AURAS

115. Utah's state gem : TOPAZ

116. Make a chart of, as land : PLAT

117. Safety feature for some walkers : NET

118. Conforms : OBEYS

119. Stieg Larsson was one : SWEDE. Quite popular after his death.

Down:

1. Regatta : RACE. Thought of Gunghy.

2. H-like letters : ETAS

4. Fixer-upper, often : OLD HOUSE

5. Dr. Mom's forte : TLC

6. Heavy __ : METAL

7. Made joyous : ELATED

8. Alice's restaurant? : MEL'S DINER. "Alice" the sitcom.

9. 1847 novel based on its author's time in the Society Islands : OMOO. Melville novel.

10. Milano Mr. : SIG. OK, Signore.

11. Impressive house : MANOR

12. Inane relative? : ABSURD

13. E-mail option : REPLY ALL. I Like this entry too.

14. Popular restaurants : IN SPOTS

15. Smug grin : SMIRK

16. A beanball might lead to one : MELEE

17. Personal organizer nos. : EXTs.

23. Part of a playground exchange : ARE SO

28. Very : OH SO. SO easy to have a dupe for a Sunday puzzle.

31. One who spiffs up your wheels : DETAILER

32. It's chewed in leas : CUD

33. Corp. fiscal VIPs : CFOs

34. Little suckers? : VACS (Vacuums). And 111. Small change? : CTS (Cents). Both "little" and "small" mean "in shortened form".

35. Santa __: West Coast winds : ANAs

37. Popular pad : SOS

40. Abecedarian : NEOPHYTE

42. One of them? : FOE. Nice clue.

44. "I'm outta here!" : SEE YA

45. Perfume compound : ESTER

46. One in a black suit : SPADE. Playing cards again.

49. Scammer's ploy : RUSE

51. Calling strikes, e.g. : UMPIRING

55. NFL part: Abbr. : NATL

56. Maddens : GALLS

57. Eye shades : LIDS

58. Suffix with song : FEST

59. Lacking dates : FREE. In a way, yes.

60. Patty alternative : LINK. We could only afford to eat meat once in a year in my childhood. Lots of stuff were rationed until I was about 10.

62. Getaway places : INNS

63. Typical Bond villain's malady : EGOMANIA

64. Uncanny : WEIRD

65. Good thing to have at a tearjerker : HANKY

66. Prod : EGG ON

68. Weed whacker : HOER

74. Battery spec : AAA

75. "Disclosure" co-star : DEMI MOORE. Beautiful hair.

77. Falco of "Nurse Jackie" : EDIE

78. Push-up targets : PECs

80. Unrestrainedly : AMOK

81. Unwrapped excitedly : TORE OPEN. Like my Xmas morning.

82. U.S. terr., 1861-'89 : DAK

84. Circus : TENT SHOW

86. Keep __ of: stay current with : ABREAST. Dennis would have fun with this clue.

88. Persnickety sort : SNOB

89. Collapsible bed : COT

91. Put in a cell : EMBAR

93. Pirouette : GYRATE

95. Seller of the $5 FOOTLONG : SUBWAY. Eat Fresh.

97. Add up to : TOTAL

98. Extreme : ULTRA

99. Occult medium : TAROT

101. Kind of shoes or blues : DRESS. I remember Monica's blue dress.

102. Sea, with "the" : DEEP

104. Country place? : CLUB. Country club.

106. Not in one's birthday suit : CLAD

107. Cutter with a bent blade : ADZE. This guy is using one. I'd like to see this word in Jerome puzzle.

110. __ Schwarz: NYC toy store : FAO

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday March 26, 2011 Julian Lim

Theme: None

Total words: 70

Total blocks: 32

Congrats to Julian Lim on his first themeless!

Plenty of lively entries today. Very ambitious grid: triple stacks of 9s in the upper left corner and lower right corner, then one 15 in the middle crossing four Down 10s which in turn intersect another pair of 9s. Nice interlock. The marquee answers are:

36A. Roll with the punches : TAKE IT AS IT COMES

11D. Not at all like rocket science : IDIOT-PROOF. So simple in retrospect.

12D. Fight fiercely : GO TO THE MAT

27D. It was blamed for reduced pasta sales in 2003 : ATKIN'S DIET. Filled this in with authority. I occasionally rock!

28D. Relax : FEEL AT EASE

My favorite today is OBAMACARE (15A. 2010 health statute, informally). Has to be one of the seed entries.

Quite a few head-banging moments for me. Did you think of deck of cards when seeing ACE (6D. Valuable diamond)? Did you want GEM?

Across:

1. Its first mascot was a toque-wearer named Speedee : McDONALDS. Here is Speedee, McDonald's mascot til 1961.

10. Father in the comic strip "Bringing Up Father" : JIGGS. Well, maybe eddyB & JD knows. I've got no idea.

16. Deify : ADORE. Not the same to me.

17. Beastly place? : MENAGERIE

18. Protest tactic : SIT-IN

19. Galway Bay's __ Islands : ARAN. West coast of Ireland.

20. Groupings affected by natural selection : GENE POOLS

22. Asked for a ticket? : SPED. Nailed it.

24. Pluck : METTLE

25. Leisure wear : LOAFER

29. Werewolves do it : MORPH. And ISO (32D. Prefix with 29-Across). Isomorph is a new word to me. Wikipedia says it's "an organism that does not change in shape during growth". I am not one then.

30. Among other things, in Latin : INTER ALIA

33. Iranian-born TV director Badiyi : REZA. Total stranger to me. Reza seems to be a popular Iranian name.

39. Shrub yielding an indigo dye : ANIL

40. Dollars for quarters? : HOME LOANS. Awesome clue.

41. 2008 runner : NADER (Ralph)

44. Still running : LEFT ON. Oh, left the water on. .

45. Beer named for a river : AMSTEL. Was unaware of the river connection.

47. Ham relative : SHEM. Both Noah's sons. Got me.

49. Ruined the family photo, maybe : MADE A FACE

51. Cooling treats : ICES

55. Like a baseball bat's symmetry : AXIAL

56. Potter's concern : VOLDEMORT. A sweet clue for all you "Harry Potter" fans. I was stumped.

59. Piece maker? : REESE. Oh, Reese's Pieces.

60. Bizet's "Habanera," for one : OPERA ARIA

61. Ethyl butyrate, e.g. : ESTER

62. Folded : WENT UNDER

Down:

1. Home of V. Van Gogh's "Starry Night" : MoMA. Here is Don McLean's "Starry Starry Night". Always makes me want to cry.

2. Handle user : CBer

3. "SNL" cast member with Phil and Kevin : DANA (Carvey)

4. Majlis al Jinn cave site : OMAN. I've never heard of the cave before.

5. Shrew : NAG

7. Coffeehouse option : LARGE

8. Like some flowers : DRIED

9. Detected : SEEN

10. "The Eyre Affair" author Fforde : JASPER. Another stumper. I faintly recall Melissa or Clear Aye mentioned this book before.

13. Cook, in a way : GRILL

14. Meaning : SENSE

21. Dashboard Confessional music genre : EMO. What?

22. Brunei's capital Bandar __ Begawan : SERI. Silly, but I really don't know this.

23. Fall lead-in? : PRAT. Pratfall.

25. "Kiss Me Deadly" singer Ford : LITA. Alright, here's a clip.

26. "... __ open fire" : ON AN

29. Seriously injure : MAIM

31. Memorable movie lion : LAHR (Bert). "The Wizard of Oz".

34. Greek known for paradoxes : ZENO

35. The "A" in many org. names : ASSN

37. Beginning to cast? : TELE. Beginning of the word Telecast.

38. Skelton's Kadiddlehopper : CLEM

42. One in a pit : DEALER. Casino pit.

43. Wrap artist? : ELF. Cute clue.

45. Six-time NBA All-Star Stoudemire : AMAR'E. Sorry, man, don't know you.

46. Plateaus, with "out" : MAXES

47. Sniper's aid : SCOPE

48. Annie's student : HELEN (Keller). Anne Sullivan.

50. Make no bones about : AVOW

51. Supermodel with a Global Chic collection : IMAN. I wanted EMME.

52. Line with juice? : CORD. Power "juice".

53. Ohio tribe : ERIE

54. Rock or tin follower : STAR

57. "The 5000 Fingers of __": Seuss film : DR T. Yet another unknown.

58. Feu extinguisher : EAU. Feu = "fire". Hey, Splynter, only one French today.

Answer grid.

C.C.

PS: Regarding yesterday's "Pu-Pu platter", in Cantonese, Pu = Jewel/Treasure,  which is spelled as Bao in Mandarin.  Babies are often called "Bao Bao". I've never heard of Pu-Pu platter until I came to the US.

Friday, March 25th, 2011 John Lampkin

Theme: HALF- BAKED, and I was half baked this morning, and did not see it was a John Lampkin puzzle til later - one of the few constructors that I know of, and I like his style. The usual misdirection, and a tough to get theme, with it's circular reference - but hey~! it's Friday, right?

61A. Not well thought out : HALF-BAKED

Each theme answer is half of a common phrase:

17A. 61-Across Asian appetizer? : PU PLATTER - pu-pu platter, used to get this all the time.

21A. 61-Across cheer? : HIP HOORAY - "Hip-hip, horray ~!!!"

37A. 61-Across musical? : BYE BIRDIE - Bye-bye Birdie - not familiar with the "actual" story - according to Wiki, it's an Elvis related one.

55A. 61-Across gag? : KNOCK JOKE - Knock-knock joke, as in;

"knock, knock...who's there ?...Disguise...Disguise who ?...This guy's doing the blog today ~!"

Splynter

And away we GO ~!

ACROSS:

1. Work on a batter : STIR - theme related, and I was immediately mis-directed by John, thinking this was a baseball clue: Pitch didn't fit, and I'm not a big fan, so I waited on the perps.

5. Grandly appointed : POSH - again, I was looking for named, voted, etc....

9. Stand for : ABIDE

14. Strong-spined volume : TOME - Slight clecho w/23A. Spine movement? : SHIVER

15. Forte : AREA - ugh, so easy I missed it

16. "I __ Piano": Irving Berlin hit : LOVE A - my only music clue today.

19. Class figs. : PROFS - professors

20. Bleak : GRIM

25. Code-cracking gp. : NSA - National Security Agency; their website has a "7D. Greet warmly : SEE IN" feel to it....

26. Chatspeak qualifier : IMO - 'In My Opinion'

27. Batter's supply : PINE TAR - ah, now we have baseball; I need some pine tar when I play the drums - I keep dropping my sticks ~!

29. Select, in a way : SCREEN - good clue

32. "Then again ..." : YET

33. Doglike carnivore : HYENA

36. Ballet __ : RUSSE - total unknown, it's the Russian Ballet company

39. Ashes, e.g. : TREES - Baseball bat wood.

42. Geometry basic : AXIOM - I am familiar with the 'common' version - you can read about the geometric, Euclid version here.

43. Animal's gullet : MAW

46. Personally give : HAND TO

48. Meadow bloomer in the buttercup family : ANEMONE - Image

50. Hamburger's article : EIN - Hamburg, Germany, not French, thank you...

51. A.L. rival of N.Y. : BOS - yes, the hard-core baseball rivalry, BOSton Red Sox vs. New York Yankees. AL= American League.

54. Flashes : GLINTS - good clue/answer

59. Seed coating : ARIL - crossword word

60. Inspire profoundly : IMBUE

64. Great Lakes explorer La __ : SALLE

65. Convenient abbr. : Et. Al. - and others, from the Latin Et Alia

66. "Pretty Woman" actor : GERE - Richard Gere

67. Fishhook connector : SNELL - didn't know - here's how to tie one.

68. Disallow : DENY

69. Highland tongue : ERSE

DOWN:

1. Letters at Indy : STP

2. Head-scratcher : TOUGHIE - and, 13D. Hardly a head-scratcher : EASY ONE

3. Fossil indentation : IMPRINT

4. Be haunted by, perhaps : RELIVE

5. Square on the table? : PAT - oh, butter

6. Sports MD's specialty : ORTH - Orthopedic - my mom is slowly healing from her broken ankle, toughing it out at rehab for one more week - hopefully.

8. Dwells incessantly (on) : HARPS

9. Chow chow : ALPO - Chow, the dog; had one; they can be vicious

10. Town name ending : BORO - from German burg, meaning "fort", and the English version "bury"

11. They don't laugh when they're tickled : IVORIES - ah, "I Love A Piano"

12. Discredits : DEFAMES

18. Purple hue : AMETHYST - great clue, and my birthstone

22. Eats : HAS

23. Code user : SPY - and, my shortened nickname

24. Comedic actress Martha : RAYE

28. 1988 self-titled C&W album : REBA

30. FBI facility since 1932 : CRIME LAB

31. Nice street : RUE - Yup, here we go....Nice, in France, the town, and the French for street - three times, now, man.

34. Disallow : NIX

35. Diva's moment : ARIA

37. Daffodils' digs : BED

38. Bell sound : DONG

39. 1889 work of art deemed unsuitable for general display at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair : THE KISS - don't know it: here it is.

40. Title savant in a 1988 Oscar-winning film : RAINMAN - Played by Dustin Hoffman; my good friend Elizabeth was the bank officer that Tom Cruise speaks to - she's listed on IMDb, and still gets paid for her two lines....

41. Dignify : ENNOBLE

43. Handle : MONIKER - great clue

44. Pair in a rack : ANTLERS - down, boys - I wondered, too... hey~! "show me your links"

45. Horror filmmaker Craven : WES

47. Gram. case : OBJ - object, as in subject, verb, object: "John fooled Splynter", and I am the object in this sentence.

49. Illusion : MIRAGE - as in thinking you were going to see some "racks".

52. Gasped in delight : OOHED

53. Ray in the sea : SKATE - We have a "touchy-feely" tank of these at Atlantis, the aquarium in Riverhead.

56. Select : CULL - lumber reference, too, to pull out the warped boards, etc.

57. Sailing stabilizer : KEEL

58. Vigorous style : ELAN

62. Annoying buzzer : FLY

63. Danish capital? : DEE  - Capital letter in Danish.

Answer grid.

Stepping in for Lemonade today - thanks for letting me be a part of this wonderful blog, and part of your morning ritual ~!

Splynter

Thursday, March 24, 2011 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

Theme, revealed in 55 Across: Decide once and for all, and what one can do to the ends of 17-, 22-, 36- and 47-Across: MAKE-OR-BREAK.

17A. Romantic evening components, perhaps: DINNER DATES. Ask someone out, break their heart.

22A. California Gold Rush staple: SOURDOUGH BREAD. Earn money, start eating a meal.

36A. Alien statutes: IMMIGRATION LAWS. Aliens, of course, meaning foreigners, rather than ETs from outer space. Make legislation, break a rule.

47A. Wurlitzer whirlers: JUKEBOX RECORDS. Make a musical recording, best a formerly unsurpassed accomplishment.

Hi all, Al here, with the honor of blogging a Thursday puzzle with a very well known co-author, at least well-known around this particular blogosphere anyway... I hope I don't have to spell it out for you all. There's a note at the end from said co-author which explains the structure of the theme better than I could.

ACROSS:.

1. Soaking spots: BATHS. The original meaning was to heat, not to immerse.  Bath, in Somerset England, was named because of its hot springs.

6. Mideast ruling family name: ASSAD. Syria.

11. Field call: CAW. Corn field, not sports.

14. Language that gives us "kayak": INUIT. Inupik Eskimo inuit "people," plural of inuk "man."

15. Abu __: DHABI. The richest city in the world.  Today's geography lesson. Fabulous architecture.

16. She played Beatrix in "Kill Bill": UMA. Thurman

19. Strain: TAX. To put a burden on...so the same meaning, really.

20. Reason-based faith: DEISM. A point of view that states a supreme being exists, but without interfering in human affairs, and without any organized religion.

21. Film in Cannes: CINE. French.

27. Watering hole: PUB. Where people gather and don't drink water, and 52A. 27-Across offerings: ALES.

28. 23-Down was one: Abbr.: SEN.ator with 23D. 2009 Peace Nobelist: OBAMA and also 49D. Homeland of 23-Down's father: KENYA.

29. "Able was __ ...": palindrome start: I ERE I saw Elba.

30. Try in court: HEAR.

32. Came around regarding: AGREED TO.

40. It can make a star shine: LEAD ROLE.

41. 4-Down titles: SRIS. An honorific prefix meaning "beauty" along with 4D. Gandhi, for one: HINDU.

42. Stadium take: GATE. Short for "gate money" collected from selling tickets.

43. Like sashimi: RAW. A sushi terminology and pronunciation guide.

46. Cause of star wars?: EGO. S.W. is not capitalized, so this does not refer to the movie nor Reagan's SDI.  Literally meaning in-fighting amongst actors because of their swollen sense of self-worth. Possibly clue-related to 2D. Darth, at one time: ANI. Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars movies.

53. Plant moisture buildup: EDEMA. A swelling, not necessarily limited to plants.

54. Quaint stopover: INN. Old English "inne" inside, within.

61. Hens do it: LAY.

62. Novelist Jong: ERICA. Fear of Flying, which wasn't about flying.

63. Blue Cross competitor: AETNA. Originally sold fire insurance, thus the "Etna" name to invoke the image of a fiery volcano.

64. Yellow __: SEA. Bonus geography lesson.

65. He passed Lou in 2009 to become the Yankees' all-time hit leader: DEREK. Lou Gehrig, Derek Jeter, baseball. I sense C. C.'s influence here...

66. Pulitzer writer Kidder: TRACY. The Soul of a New Machine, about Data General Corporation designing a new machine under high pressure and an impossible schedule so that they could compete with Digital Equipment Corporation's VAX. Set in the 70's.

DOWN:

1. Certain eBay click: BID.

3. Large cask: TUN. Originally 256 gallons, and related to the ton weight measure.

5. Directs: STEERS.

6. Attaches to the house: ADDS ON.

7. SeaWorld performer: SHAMU.

8. Did nothing: SAT.

9. Symbol of honesty: ABE. A political rarity.  He didn't like the nickname, though.

10. Bad-mouth: DIS. Shortening of "disrespect".

11. Sweetie pie: CUTIE. For the ladies...

12. Whirlpool brand: AMANA. Once owned by Raytheon, the inventors of the microwave oven way back in 1947. Home use wasn't available until 20 years later.

13. Like some slippery floors: WAXED.

18. Sally in space: RIDE. The first woman in space. I always think of this song when I see her name.

21. Anglers' baskets: CREELS. And they say men don't like wicker.

22. "So I was wrong": SUE ME. I was just watching Guys and Dolls again for the umpteenth time tonight...

24. Leslie Caron title role: GIGI.

25. Sub: HERO. Hoagie, grinder, blimpie, po' boy, others.

26. British weapon designed in Czechoslovakia: BREN. A light machine gun. The name was derived from Brno, the Czechoslovak city where the Zb vz. 26 was originally designed, and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Arms Factory.

27. Three-time Masters champ Mickelson: PHIL. Golf.

31. Ruffles features: RIDGES.

32. Had: ATE.

33. Challenged: DARED.

34. Campfire base: TWIGS. Or steel wool connected to a battery...

35. __ buco: OSSO. Italian for "Bone with a hole", veal with vegetables, and wine sauce.

37. Snatch: GRAB.

38. __-Rooter: ROTO. That's the name, you just flush your troubles down the drain.

39. "A Clockwork Orange" narrator: ALEX. The main character. Anthony Burgess, writer, Stanley Kubrick, director of the movie adaptation, who left the final "redeeming" chapter from the book out of the movie, because it didn't feel like it "fit" with the rest of the story.

43. New Jersey's state tree: RED OAK.

44. Top server: ACER.

45. Burrowing marsupial: WOMBAT. The wombat lives across the seas/Among the far Antipodes./He may exist on nuts and berries,/Or then again, on missionaries; /His distant habitat precludes/Conclusive knowledge of his moods,/But I would not engage the wombat/In any form of mortal combat. -- Ogden Nash

47. Puts in the can?: JAILS.

48. Radii neighbors: ULNAE. Both Latin plurals.

50. Volleyball great Gabrielle: REECE.

51. More elusive: RARER.

55. Dr.'s study: MED. Abbrevs in clue and answer.

56. Were now?: ARE. Present tense.

57. Cassis apéritif: KIR. Blackcurrant liqueur topped up with white wine.

58. Seventh Greek letter: ETA.

59. Mandela's org.: ANC. African National Congress.

60. Mary __ Ash, cosmetics company founder: KAY. Pink Cadillacs for the top sales people.

Answer Grid.

A note from C.C. about today's puzzle:

This puzzle was accepted last November. Don and I tried to engage MAKE & BREAK in a different context in each theme entry. We also felt it was necessary that certain ending words in the theme answers be plural to consistently apply MAKE  & BREAK. Gridding was a bit of challenge due to the theme phrase length  & the letter combination in JUKEBOX RECORDS. The wonderful clues for STAR ROLE & EGO are Rich's creation.

Don was very open to the idea of collaborating on puzzles. He feels that the process is inspirational for both sides, no matter the experience of either. It is fun to see the evolution of thought processes as they are explored through e-mail exchanges. I am very lucky to have him as a Lao Shi (teacher).

Al

Wednesday, March 23, 2011, Frank Virzi

Theme: Don't Touch That Dial! Each theme answer is a made-up two word phrase using the names of two television shows.

17A. Family line of bar makers? : SOAP DYNASTY

24A. Windfall of chicken pieces? : WINGS BONANZA

37A. Glasgow girl under a spell? : BEWITCHED LASSIE

47A. Frat guy with a spatula? : HOUSE FLIPPER

58A. Unwanted grass at the Cotton Bowl? : DALLAS WEEDS

These kinds of themes take some extra creativity, and must be pretty challenging to clue. I don't watch much tv, but knew of all these shows. Except for House and Weeds, all are older shows. Appears to be Frank Virzi's debut LA Times puzzle.

Melissa here, late work night, rushing this out with no links.

Across

1. Note for a soprano : HIGH C. The C two octaves above Middle C.

6. Puts away : JAILS

11. Jet or time follower : LAG

14. Heart chambers : ATRIA

15. __ vincit amor : OMNIA. Latin for "love conquers all."

16. Dander : IRE

19. "Wheel of Fortune" request : AN E. I'd like to buy a vowel.

20. Huge amount : TON

21. Malamute and mastiff : DOGS. So simple.

22. "The Road to Wealth" author : ORMAN. Suze.

27. Four-time Masters winner, familiarly : ARNIE. Arnold Palmer. Wikipedia says he was the first star of golf's television age, which began in the 1950s. He is part of "The Big Three" in golf along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player who are widely credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world.

30. Cockamamie : INANE. I want to see cockamamie in a puzzle sometime.

31. Vichyssoise veggie : LEEK. Soup made with potatoes, leeks, cream and stock.

32. Lloyd or Paul of Cooperstown : WANER. Brothers who both played baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

34. Teachers College advanced deg. : Ed.D. Doctor of Education degree. Bill Cosby earned his from the University of Massachusetts. For his doctoral research, he wrote a dissertation entitled, "An Integration of the Visual Media Via 'Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids' Into the Elementary School Curriculum as a Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning".

41. Pitches between innings? : ADS. Great clue.

42. Clod choppers : HOERS. Cute. You chop dirt clods with a hoe.

43. Source of Davy Crockett's cap : COON

44. City on the Aar : BERNE

46. Slugger Ramirez : MANNY

52. Angiogram image : AORTA

53. Like San Francisco's Coit Tower : DECO. Déjà vu.

54. Google Earth image : MAP

57. Popular ending? : IZE. Popularize. Alright then.

62. Celestial Seasonings product : TEA. I like Bengal Spice.

63. Hot coal : EMBER

64. Bunsen burner cousins : ETNAS

65. Terre Haute sch. : ISU

66. They may be French : DOORS. Kisses wouldn't fit.

67. Reservations : DOUBT. Nice misdirection.

Down

1. "... why __ thou forsaken me?": Matthew : HAST. Words uttered by Jesus Christ from the cross in the book of Matthew. Prophesied in Psalm 22.

2. "Am __ strict?" : I TOO. This seems odd, is it a phrase you hear often?

3. Nana : GRAN. Wanted Gram.

4. With it : HIP

5. Links assistant : CADDIE. Lots of them running around where i work.

6. Mah-__ : JONGG

7. Build up : AMASS

8. __ and outs: peculiarities : INS

9. Blotto : LIT. Slang for drunk. Slammed, smashed, plastered, hammered, sloshed. Just a little toasty is enough for me.

10. Michener novel set in Japan : SAYONARA. My favorite Michener is Centennial. How  about you?

11. "Michael Collins" star : LIAM NEESON. Never saw it.

12. Desilu co-founder : ARNAZ. Desi.

13. Davis of "A League of Their Own" : GEENA

18. "Who touches a hair of __ gray head ...": Whittier : YON. Seems a bit obscure to me, this is a line from the poem Barbara Frietchie, by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892). About Frietchie, a Unionist during the Civil War.

23. Campaigned : RAN

24. Collaborative Web site : WIKI. A Hawaiian word for "fast."

25. Tight spots : BINDS

26. Turow work set at Harvard : ONE-L

27. Goya's "Duchess of __" : ALBA. A departure from the usual Jessica clue.

28. Pond plant : REED

29. Reuters, e.g. : NEWS BUREAU

32. Big shot : WHEEL

33. Cousin of atmo- : AER

35. "Runaround Sue" singer : DION

36. Say no to : DENY

38. Like some machinery nuts : THREADED

39. Part of NFC: Abbr. : CONF. National Football Conference.

40. Fight memento : SCAR

45. Me. hours : EST. Maine - Eastern Standard Time.

46. Sounded like a Siamese : MEOWED.

47. Greater Antilles nation : HAITI

48. Percolates : OOZES. Percolate - Filter gradually through a porous surface or substance.

49. Lazybones : IDLER

50. Orchard fruit : PEARS

51. IBM products : PC'S

54. Maître d's offering : MENU

55. Not much at all : A DAB. A dab'll do ya.

56. Soft "Hey!" : PSST. I'd recognize my mom's pssst from across the room.

59. Latin 101 verb : AMO

60. Wall St. action : LBO. Leveraged Buyout. The acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (bonds or loans) to meet the cost of acquisition.

61. 1940s mil. venue : ETO

Answer grid.

Melissa