Thursday, May 5, 2011, Julian Lim

Theme: Gone with the wind. The main answers all have had their "hat" blown away.

17. "Don't tell a soul!": KEEP IT UNDER YOUR. It is likely that there's no direct link to hats at all and that 'keep it under your hat' just meant 'keep it in your head'. "The man whose estate lies under his hat need never tremble before the frowns of fortune."--Anthony Trollope

31. Spout nonsense: TALK THROUGH ONE'S. This has quite a few speculative explanations.  My favorites are a reference to the emptiness of the hat atop one's head, as if one were thinking and speaking with an empty head, and Joseph Smith (the book of Mormon) reading a stone that nobody can see with his face buried in his hat.

41. Moonlight, say: WEAR MORE THAN ONE. To hold multiple jobs. This one is fairly direct. Back when almost everyone wore hats, if a man who was an admiral, a Lord Lieutenant of a county and Chancellor of a university - each of which has an impressive ceremonial hat - was going to an official function, the question "which hat will you be wearing?" would mean "in which capacity will you be attending?".

60. Instantly ... or how this puzzle's other three longest answers came about?: AT THE DROP OF A HAT. In the 19th century it was occasionally the practice in the United States to signal the start of a fight or a race by dropping a hat or sweeping it downward while holding it in the hand. The quick response to the signal found its way into the language for any action that begins quickly without much need for prompting.

Hi all, if it's Thursday, it must be me...

ACROSS:

1. Some graphic works: EROTICA. I wanted to fill this with "ESCHERS".

8. It often involves x's: ALGEBRA. Solve this equation for "X". Tricky putting this immediately following the preceeding clue to misdirect your thinking.

15. Of words: LEXICAL. From Greek "Lexikos", pertaining to words. A Lexicon is a dictionary of words.

16. One doing a lot of riding: NEEDLER. Riding in the sense of "giving a hard time". To needle is to goad or provoke a response.

19. Phishing targets: Abbr.: SSNS. An insidious form of Spam emails that can do damage if they bait you to bite at the lure. Legitimate companies don't email you for personal information. They only request it if you initiated a transaction with them. Never give out your identity in respnse to an unsolicited email or phone call, even if it looks legit.

20. Handbill: FLYER. Meaning of "small handbill or fly-sheet" is from U.S. slang (originally especially of police bulletins), on notion of "made to be scattered broadcast."

21. Nothing special: SO-SO. Every puzzle has some of these fillers.

22. Wroclaw's region: SILESIA. Today's geography lesson. An ancent region, now part of Poland and the Czech Republic.

24. Refillable candy: PEZ. The name Pez was derived from the letters at the start, the middle and the end of the German word for peppermint, Pfefferminz, the first Pez flavor. Pez was originally introduced in Austria.

25. Equilibrium: STASIS. The Greek word, meaning "a standing still".

29. 34-Down degree: NTH. A mathematical term indicating indefinite number, in which n is an abbreviation for number.

38. Carl's sweetheart, in "Up": ELLIE. Pixar movies are for everyone, and this one tugs at your heartstrings while still being funny. If you haven't seen it, don't let the fact that it is a "cartoon" keep you from renting it.

39. Double-slash container: URL. Internet locators that web browsers understand start several different ways, the most prevalent is:  http://  This is so common that you don't even have to type it in when you manually enter one in the address bar, all modern browsers will assume you meant to do it.

40. Deteriorate slowly: ERODE. I think I did this before... Latin erosionem "a gnawing away", from rodere, to gnaw, related to rodent.

44. Black and __: two-beer drink: TAN. Bass Pale Ale and Guinness (yes, the ones who produce the record book), usually, layered carefully, not mixed together.

45. Pugilism venues: ARENAS. Boxing.

46. "The Island of the Day Before" author: ECO. Umberto. Wiki has a fairly succinct plot synopsis.

49. Event with a queen: PAGEANT. First thoughts were of the recent Royal Wedding, a planned distraction, I'm sure.

53. Entre __: NOUS. French. Between us. A movie of that name was subtitled Coup de Foudre, which means "love at first sight".

55. Tanager homes: NESTS.  Colorful birds.

56. Impatient sounds: TSKS.

63. Cape user: MATADOR. Spanish, literally "killer," from matar "to kill or wound," probably from Arabic mata "he died."

64. Ex claim: ALIMONY. From Latin alimonia "food, support, nourishment, sustenance". "I won't pay," he said.  "Oh, yes you will," she Ex claimed.

65. Suffering terribly: IN AGONY. From Greek agonia "a (mental) struggle for victory," originally "a struggle for victory in the games.

66. "Listen to Your Heart" pop duo: ROXETTE. Official video.

DOWN:.

1. Horned game: ELKS. Other choices, both singular and plural, DEER,  BUCK.

2. "Cheers" actor Roger: REES. Character: Robin Colcord.  Didn't really remember him at first.

3. Paddy animals: OXEN. Rice paddies.

4. Inside information: TIPS.

5. Here, in Haiti: ICI. More French.

6. Cajun entrée: CATFISH. Not a big fan of "blackened" foods, I have a midwest "bland" taste palate.

7. __ in the conversation: A LULL. Related to lullaby, as in a "sleep".

8. Range along the Ring of Fire: ANDES.

9. Wolf's activity: LEERING. Howling, anyone? Wolves as a symbol of lust are ancient, e.g. Roman slang lupa "whore," literally "she-wolf". The equation of "wolf" and "prostitute, sexually voracious female" persisted into 12c., but by Elizabethan times wolves had become primarily symbolic of male lust.

10. Lux. neighbor: GER. Luxembourg and Germany.

11. Breyers alternative: EDYS.

12. It barely gets beyond the infield: BLOOP. Baseball.

13. Conserve, in a way: REUSE. Reclaim, recycle.

14. __ con pollo: ARROZ. Spanish, rice with chicken.

18. Science educator Bill: NYE. Bow ties are cool. Oh wait, that's a different character, Who knows Who I mean?

22. Display of links: SITE MAP. Usually created by the site webmaster for search engine crawlers to catalog, but regular users can also save time searching for something if they know it is on specific site.

23. Really: AT HEART.

25. Worry: STEW. Fret. To simmer in one's own juices.

26. "The Handmaid's __": Atwood novel: TALE. "Speculative" fiction. Beginning with a staged terrorist attack (blamed on Islamic extremist terrorists) that kills the President, a movement calling itself the "Sons of Jacob" launches a revolution, ousted Congress, and suspended the U.S. Constitution under the pretext of restoring order. Taking advantage of electronic banking, they were quickly able to freeze the assets of all  "undesirables" in the country, stripping their rights away.

27. __ puttanesca: with a spicy tomato sauce: ALLA. Literally "whore's style spaghetti" in Italian.

28. Avoid: SKIRT. Outskirts are the border or edges of a city or the hem of a skirt.

30. Mezzo Marilyn: HORNE. In keeping with the plethora of foreign language today, here's Habenera.

32. Capek play: RUR. Rossum's Universal Robots. More like androids, but this introduced the word "robot" to the English language (and science fiction).

33. Refinable rock: ORE.

34. Like z: Abbr.: ULT. Latin "ultimo", meaning last.

35. When two hands meet?: NOON. Probably the cleverest clue in the puzzle, clock hands. Imagine how boring the world will be if everything becomes digital-only instead of analog.

36. Author Buchanan: EDNA. Mysteries.

37. Dates: SEES.

42. With no end in sight: ON AND ON. Or, facing forward...

43. His co-pilot was a Wookiee: HAN SOLO. Star Wars.

46. As a friend, in Marseilles: EN AMI. French.

47. Trig function: COTAN. I think math counts as a foreign language, too...

48. "__ sight!": OUTTA. Uptight and all right. Little Stevie Wonder.

50. Elbridge __, governor famous for redistricting: GERRY. A portmanteau word Gerrymander came about because a district in MA looked like a salamander after political machinations were enacted to redistribute voting blocs to favor the party in power for future elections.

51. Peruvian pronoun: ESO. Spanish for "that".

52. How some stocks are sold: AT PAR. At the original price, no discounts or premiums.

54. Woolly rug: SHAG.

56. Far from titillating: TAME. Not graphic (1A).

57. Recorded on film: SHOT.

58. Key figure in epistemology: KANT. Immanuel.  Philosophy, the study of knowledge and justified belief. If you want to immerse yourself...

59. Eyelid nuisance: STYE.

61. Japanese capital of yore: EDO. Tokyo today.

62. Quandary: FIX. With "in a".

Answer Grid.

Al

Wednesday, May 4, 2011 Don Gagliardo

Theme: CAT-ITUDE. each theme answer describes a characteristic of a cat.

17A. *Like some ovens : SELF-CLEANING. more things should come with this option. like cars. and kids. and where's the self-cleaning toilet?

17A. *Checking, as books : BALANCING

35A. *Field action : HIGH-JUMPING

53A. *Part of many a magic act : DISAPPEARING. my cat does this all the time. about which my son says, 'he's a man, he'll be fine.'

58A. New York resort area, and what the answers to starred clues are : CATSKILLS - or CAT SKILLS. cute pun. see note from don hard g at the bottom.

Across:

1. Work on, as a part : COMB. i suppose.

5. Donald, to his nephews : UNCA. easy guess.

9. Polite title : MADAM. ma'am is short for madam.

14. [Turn the page] : OVER.

15. Indian flatbread : NAAN

16. Monterrey girlfriend : AMIGA. monterrey is mexico's third largest city.

19. Plymouth's county : DEVON. plymouth is a city in england. in this map of devon county, you can see plymouth to the southwest.

22. Expand operations : UPSIZE

25. Expand one's belly : EAT. partial clecho.

26. Goose egg : NIL. zip, nada, zilch.

27. Hard work : MOIL. not to be confused with mohel.

28. Activist with Raiders : NADER. ralph nader recruited hundreds of idealistic college students and lawyers to work with his center for study of responsive law.

31. 1987 Masters champ Larry : MIZE. best known for this shot.

32. 61-Down resident : PIG, and 61D. 32-Across home : STY

33. Versatile, powerwise : AC/DC. "DC is the abbreviation for direct current, which is a type of electrical current that travels through a circuit in only one direction. Direct current is the type of electrical power that is produced by fuel cells, batteries, and generators equipped with commutators. While DC power was the first type of electricity to be commercially transmitted, it has been widely replaced by alternating current (AC) electricity, and is now used primarily in electrochemical and metal-plating applications."

34. Subdivided : ZONED. tricky.

39. Flat-topped formation : BUTTE. courthouse butte near sedona, arizona.

41. Boston or Baltimore : PORT

42. Blame, slangily : RAP. according to the book, 'the whole ball of wax,' by laurence urdang, the expresssion is taken facetiously, from a ‘rap on the knuckles.’ that shows what i know, i would have guessed it was related to rap sheet, which is an acronym for record of arrest and prosecution.

45. Blame : ONUS. from latin.

46. Flower girl's path : AISLE. timely - gotta love this shot.

48. Geologic procession : EONS

49. Bert Bobbsey's twin : NAN

50. Little devil : IMP

51. Lunch time : MIDDAY

57. Place to play : ARENA

62. Best Buy squad members : GEEKS. before i switched from pc to mac, i had a stool there with my name on it.

63. Busy as __ : A BEE

64. Toned-down "Awesome!" : NEAT. extra credit for anyone who knows where this comes from: "dear annie. thanks for your letter. you sound neat."

65. Ferber and a Dame : EDNAS

66. Mama __ : CASS

67. Plucky : GAMY. if you say so...

Down:

1. Cheap pipe material : COB. scroll down this page for instructions on making your own corn cob pipe.

2. Ooplasm containers : OVA. the ooplasm is cytoplasm of an oocyte. oo yeah, i knew that off the top of my head.

3. Blanc who voiced Bugs : MEL

4. Sergio Mendes & __ '66 : BRASIL. remember this?

5. Relax, as one's fist : UNCLENCH. made me think of this.

6. Greenhorn : NAIF. a naive or inexperienced person.

7. Call off an appt. : CANCel. often abbreviated cx.

8. "Hulk" director : ANG LEE. didn't know that, never saw hulk.

9. Ticked off by : MAD AT. wanted irked.

10. Word of agreement : AMEN

11. Water shower? : DIVINING ROD. show-er. get it?

12. Fret (over) : AGONIZE

13. Really botched up : MANGLED

18. Pince-__ : NEZ. the style of spectacles worn by teddy roosevelt.

21. Poor listener's in-and-out organ : EAR. in one ear, out the other.

22. One wearing black at home : UMP. umpire.

23. Island dish : POI

24. Trusting way to purchase : SIGHT UNSEEN

29. Descriptive wd. : ADJ. adjective.

30. Bra choices : D-CUPS.

31. Day for the fair-of-face child: Abbr. : MON. "Monday's child is fair of face." what day were you born?

33. Some do it gracefully : AGE. like her.

34. Teen omen : ZIT. acne.

36. "__ for me to know ..." : IT'S. '... and you to find out.'

37. Kind of biol. : MOL. the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity, commonly mol bio.

38. Bases for arguments : PREMISES

39. "Of Human __" : BONDAGE. novel by w. somerset maugham.

40. Like some TV pilots : UNAIRED

43. Nostalgist's suffix : ANA. as in, americana.

44. Future therapist's maj. : PSY. psychology.

46. Band booster : AMP. amplifier.

47. Medicinal syrup : IPECAC. ick.

48. Garden container? : EDGING. nice.

50. "None for me, thank you" : I PASS

52. Publicity : INK

54. Songwriter Paul : ANKA

55. Rhyme scheme in Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" : AABA. yes, but only the first stanza:

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

lines 1, 2, and 4 all have the same rhyme sound, while line 3 introduces a new sound. see this link for the rhyme scheme of the remaining stanzas.

56. Hwys. with nos. : RTES

59. Thompson of "Back to the Future" : LEA

60. Flee : LAM. didn't know this could be a verb, meaning escape. usually hear it as a noun, 'escaped convicts on the lam.'

Answer grid.

Melissa

Constructor note:

What an interesting word, Catskills. I wonder about its origin. For some reason one day, I just heard it as Cat Skills, two words. I grew up with cats, and was always amazed at what they can do. They do have extraordinary abilities. Why not do a puzzle about them? It helps that Rich is a cat person. Thanks to Rich, he helped me to round off my list of cat abilities. There may be some others that I have forgotten. Will the cat people out there write in to tell us about cat’s skills that others of us may have forgotten?

Tuesday, May 3, 2011 Jeff Chen

Theme: Hop to It - Our little unifier hops across the bottom of the grid, as indicated by the circles. Check the answer grid for the proper placement of the circles if your version is missing them or are incorrect (Cruciverb puz file contained an error, the three circles should be moved one column right to 60D). Because the unifier is in the vertical columns, I will list them left to right instead of top to bottom.

51D. Sing like Bing : CROON

30D. 2007 Iraq War strategy : TROOP SURGE

6D. In whatever way possible : BY HOOK OR BY CROOK

34D. Little one hopping across today's puzzle : ROO. Winnie-the-Pooh's little buddy.

9D. Stereotypical deal-making site : SMOKE-FILLED ROOM

10D. Was angry to the max : HIT THE ROOF

60D. Cheer : ROOT

Argyle here. Lemonade714 must have some pull. He asked Friday, "Isn't it time we had a Jeff Chen puzzle?" and here we are. You might call this a visual theme. If you had the circles, it was easy to pop in ROO in the appropriate places, perhaps a little too easy. It might have been more satisfying to find them on your own. ?

Across:

1. Schmooze, as with the rich and famous : HOBNOB

7. Baseball's Cobb et al. : TYs

10. Fabled loser : HARE

14. Hooters' hangout : OWLERY. The Owlery is a room on the top of Hogwarts Castle's West Tower, where the school owls and the owls belonging to students live during the school year. Of course!

15. __ Kippur : YOM

16. Quite angry : IRED

17. Money to burn : WEALTH

18. Pi follower : RHO

19. Musical quality : TONE

20. Canonized pope known as "The Great" : ST. LEO. He was an Italian aristocrat, and is the first pope of the Catholic Church to have been called "the Great". He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452, persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy. Reason enough to make him a saint, eh?

21. Spoken thumbs-up : A-OK

22. Feds concerned with counterfeits : T-MEN

23. Top-level URL ender : .GOV

25. Donkey's bray : HEE-HAW

27. "Oopsy!" evoker : MISTAKE

31. "How silly __!" : OF ME

32. State emphatically : AVER

33. Legendary Bruin : ORR. Played his first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins.

35. Words with a sigh : "I TRIED"

39. __ Bell : TACO

40. Phantom's rival, in "The Phantom of the Opera" : RAOUL

42. Nobel Institute city : OSLO

43. Lay to rest : ENTOMB

45. NBA's Magic, on scoreboards : ORL. The Orlando Magic play in the Amway Arena.

46. Actress Lena : OLIN. Swedish-born Lena Olin already had a successful career as an actress before she came to Hollywood.

47. Settles the bill : PAYS

49. Fixed charges : SET FEES

51. Washington-based warehouse club : COSTCO

53. Hubbub : ADO

54. Pakistani language : URDU

55. Barbecue morsel : RIB. 13Down. Site of a 55-Across removal : EDEN

57. Less polite : RUDER

61. Dark film genre : NOIR. French black; noting the black numbers in roulette.

62. Nickel source : ORE

63. Cat also known as the dwarf leopard : OCELOT. Image.

65. Quarterback Flutie : DOUG. Played in both the NFL and the CFL.

66. "__ the land of the free ..." : O'ER

67. "Check that out!" : "OH, LOOK!"

68. Bar buyer's words : ON ME

69. Bar barrel : KEG

70. Treating maliciously : MEAN TO

Down:

1. In what way : HOW

2. Hasn't settled yet : OWES

3. Beginning trumpeter's sound : BLAT

4. "Gimme a Break!" star Carter : NELL. TV sitcom ran '81 to '86 on NBC.

5. Sandinista Daniel : ORTEGA

7. Banks with an Emmy : TYRA She has had so many different looks, I'll just lick the Google search page.

8. "__ and a bottle of rum!" : "YO-HO-HO!"

11. Odor : AROMA

12. Buy more Time, say : RENEW. The magazine.

24. Aloe __ : VERA

26. 911 respondent : EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.

27. Play or room follower : MATE

28. Nobelist Pavlov : IVAN. The Russian physiologist who went to the dogs.

29. Breakaway group : SECT

36. Ginger and Mary Ann's home away from home : ISLE. TV's Gilligan's Isle. The show was Gilligan's Island but the theme song called it Gilligan's Isle.

37. Nobelist Wiesel : ELIE

38. Crime bosses : DONs

41. Major in astronomy? : URSA

44. Yoga student's roll : MAT

48. Nighttime bash : SOIREE

50. Acknowledgment of a witty rejoinder : TOUCHÉ Derived from the sport of Fencing.

52. Hatred : ODIUM. You may be more familiar with the adjective form, ODIOUS.

54. Annul : UNDO

56. North Atlantic hazard : BERG

58. Oscar __ Renta : DE LA

59. North Carolina university : ELON

64. WBA decision : TKO. World Boxing Association/Technical Knockout.

Answer grid.

Argyle

The puzzles from the Crosswords LA tournament are now available for purchase through Paypal.  The cost for eight puzzles (5 tournament puzzles & 3 bonus ones) is $5 and all profits go to charity (Reading to Kids). You'll get eight great puzzles from constructors such as Liz Gorski, Tyler Hinman, Karen Tracey and more. Click the below button to buy now. The puzzles should be instantly delivered to your e-mail inbox upon purchase. (Added later: Please check your Spam folder if you don't receive puzzles immediately).

Monday, May 2, 2011 Robyn Weintraub

Theme: Where's the Wizard? - The first words of the theme entries will lead you to the Wizard of Oz and if you aren't sure of which are the theme entries, the unifier at the end will tell you.

17A. "Come this way!" : "FOLLOW ME!"

25A. Annual black-tie broadcast, familiarly : THE OSCARS

40A. Beatles film with Blue Meanies : "YELLOW SUBMARINE"

52A. Hot spot for pizza : BRICK OVEN

66A. MERGE or SIGNAL AHEAD, e.g. : ROAD SIGN

73A. One of five who heeded the directions in the first words of 17-, 25-, 40-, 52- and 66-Across : TOTO. Along with Dorothy Gale, Tinman, Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion.

Argyle here and no B-movie but a fine Monday puzzle. It is too bad the Cruciverb site is down but there isn't much to explain anyway. Quite a few three-letter entries but that is a small price to pay to get six theme entries, one a grid spanner, into a Monday puzzle. Ms. Weintraub had her debut puzzle in the NY Times on Monday, March 28, 2011 so I assume this is her LAT debut, also. Good job, Robyn. More info on our constructor here.

Across:

1. Indiana city of song : GARY. Gary Indiana(2:00) from The Music Man.

5. TV channels 2-13 : VHF

8. Draw unwelcome graffiti on : DEFACE

14. Concept : IDEA

15. Rowboat need : OAR

16. Ran to Vegas to get married, perhaps : ELOPED

19. "Dirty" hair color : BLONDE

20. Breadcrumbs, in a children's story : TRAIL

21. Army NCO : SSGT

23. College official : DEAN

24. Blush-inducing H.S. class : SEX ED

27. Needle hole : EYE

29. Palm smartphone : TREO. Image.

30. Turn over a new __ : LEAF

34. Bungle the job : ERR

36. Tall hat wearer at Buckingham Palace : GUARD

44. Like Keebler magic : ELFIN

45. Prefix with political : GEO

46. Airport transport : TRAM

47. Writing tools : PENS. In case you don't watch TV, this funny Geico ad.

50. Doc's org. : AMA

56. Inclined to opine : VOCAL

61. Like rain forests : LUSH

62. "I Got You Babe," e.g. : DUET

63. Asinine : INANE

64. Half a Beatles nonsense title : OB-LA-DI

68. Church official : CLERIC

69. _ Jima : IWO

70. Lead-in for while : ERST

71. Living room piece : SETTEE

72. 8x 10 or 11 x 14: Abbr. : ENL. Photo enlargements.

Down:

1. Bridal shower pile : GIFTS

2. Really like : ADORE

3. Take a long bath, say : RELAX

4. Connecticut Ivy Leaguer : YALIE. Usually, we get Eli's.

5. Promise : VOW

6. Pets on wheels : HAMSTERS

7. Not stale : FRESH

8. Credit card user : DEBTOR

9. Right-angle shape : ELL

10. Mall eatery site : FOOD COURT

11. Sleep clinic concern : APNEA

12. Storage closet wood : CEDAR

13. Perfect places : EDENS

18. Renaissance Faire sign word : OLDE

22. TV's "_ Smart" : GET

26. "Sonic the Hedgehog" developer : SEGA. SEGA is a multinational video game software and hardware development company.

28. Hedge bush : YEW

30. Soap ingredient : LYE

31. Electric swimmer : EEL

32. E.T. of '80s TV : ALF

33. Sales meeting visual aid : FLIP CHART

35. Snug bug's spot : RUG

37. Bubble wrap filler : AIR

38. Genetic letters : RNA

39. Like JFK and FDR : DEM. Both were Democrats.

41. Fun run length, for short : ONE K

42. Boston nickname : BEANTOWN

43. Boo-boo kisser : MOM

48. "Not happening!" : "NO DICE!"

49. "Law & Order: __" : SVU. Special Victims Unit.

51. Enthusiastic : AVID

52. Voting alliances : BLOCS

53. Russian coin : RUBLE

54. Archipelago unit : ISLET

55. Goosebump-inducing : EERIE

57. First stage : ONSET

58. Largest city in Africa : CAIRO. Egypt.

59. Common teenage emotion : ANGST

60. Slow, to Solti : LENTO

65. Conk out, as an engine : DIE

67. Gmail alternative : AOL

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday May 1, 2011 Chris A McGlothlin

Theme: Unfinished B Movies - B is changed P in all the 11 movie titles (Added later: Letter- wise, P is an unfinished B).

23A. Film about an embarrassing fig leaf situation? : ADAM'S RIP. "Adam's Rib". Tracy & Hepburn. Watched it long time ago.

25A. Film about winning the chicken breeder's trophy? : SILVER PULLET. No idea. "Silver Bullet". Stephen King horror film.

30A. Film about great cornbread? : THE LOVELY PONES. "The Lovely Bones". Stanley Tucci is a great actor.

51A. Film about where to put Melba sauce? : ON THE PEACH. "On the Beach". Unknown to me. Melba peach.

54A. Film about clashing egos? : PRIDE WARS. "Bride Wars". Starring Kate Hudson & Anne Hathaway.

66A. Film about swabbing drudgery? : MARRIED TO THE MOP. "Married to the Mob". Michelle Pfeiffer.

85A. Film about Milo's pal Otis? : A PUG'S LIFE. "A Bug's Life". Pixar animated film.

87A. Film about a tick at a kennel club event? : PEST IN SHOW. "Best in Show". Clear Ayes might know this movie.

102A. Film set in a sty? : PIG MOMMA'S HOUSE. "Big Momma's House". Another unknown to me.

114A Film about a celebrity golf tournament? : STARS AND PARS. "Stars and Bars". Starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Not on my radar.

116A. Film about V-chip users? : PORN FREE. "Born Free". Hello Elsa!

Very theme-heavy. We often see 7-9 theme entries in a Sunday grid. 11 are tough to maneuver around.

Great LA Times debut by Chris A McGlothlin, who had a NY Sunday puzzle earlier this year.

Across:

1. Words preceding a pronouncement : I DOs

5. 2010 Heisman Trophy winner Newton : CAM. First overall pick by the Panthers. Lots of sports talk about this guy.

8. Novel digits : ISBN

12. Trig function : ARCSINE. Hated math.

19. Guy : MALE

20. In the style of : ALA

21. Popeye's __' Pea : SWEE

22. Sentence alterations : PAROLES. Prison sentences.

27. Toast triangle topper : CAVIAR. Yummy!

28. Link letters : URL. You should definitely subscribe to Paul's free "Word of the day". Full of nuggets.

29. Most prone to brooding : MOPIEST

35. Buffy's love : ANGEL. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

38. Simpson judge : ITO. He must know that Simpson did it.

39. Tallow source : SUET

40. Scrub over : REWASH

45. Italian mine : MIO. "O Sole Mio". My sun.

46. Walk pompously : STRUT

48. Strip : PEEL

50. Bassoon relative : OBOE

57. Catholic college near Oakland : ST. MARYS. No idea. We've got a St Mary's here in MN too.

58. 45 players : HI-FIs.

61. Bridge supports : TRUSSES

62. "... the whites of __ eyes" : THEIR

63. TV intro opening : HERE'S

64. With 115-Down, wrinkly pooch : SHAR. 115. See 64-Across : PEI. Shar =Sand. Pei = Skin.

65. Computer add-on : ESE. Computerese. Great clue.

71. Some four-yr. degrees : BSS (Bachelor of Social Science).

74. Really could use : NEED

75. Afterward : LATER

76. Bribable : VENAL. Don't confuse it with Venial (Venial sin).

80. Moves back : RECEDES

82. "Kills 99.9% of bacteria" product : LYSOL

83. Lennon classic : IMAGINE. My brother loves this song.

89. Colorado River feeder : GILA

90. __ bene : NOTA

92. Am : EXIST

93. First name in despotism : IDI (Amin)

94. Run fast : GALLOP

97. Team-player liaisons: Abbr. : AGTs

99. Saucer contents? : ETS. Flying saucer.

100. Setting for "Starry Night Over the Rhone" : ARLES. Loved van Gogh's yellow and blue. 
 
106. Trapped : UP A TREE. Nice answer.

109. Opener's target : CAN

110. Prepared for baking, as flour : SIFTED

118. "The Kids Are All Right" Oscar nominee Bening : ANNETTE

119. Art Deco designer : ERTE

120. Clampett patriarch : JED

121. The Auld Sod : EIRE

122. Painters' plasters : GESSOES. Always a challenging word for me.

123. Pastoral poem : IDYL

124. Madrid Mrs. : SRA

125. Way out : DOOR

Down:

1. All-in-one Apple : iMAC

2. Word from a crib : DADA

3. Norwegian royal name : OLAV. Hi there, Lord Magnus Shadrack of 64th Street.

4. Hebrew, e.g. : SEMITE

5. Writer John le __ : CARRE

6. Rhyming fighter : ALI. Clued as "Poetic boxer" in Gareth Bain's March puzzle.

7. Tourist's aid : MAP

8. Disputed point : ISSUE

9. Ice cream lines : SWIRLS

10. Bankrupt : BELLY-UP

11. Harry Reid's st. : NEV. He always seems so gloomy.

12. Cook's protector : APRON

13. Fast-talking performer : RAPPER

14. Princess jaunt : CRUISE. Princess Cruises.

15. It's always underfoot : SOLE

16. Troubles : ILLs

17. Bygone Nair competitor : NEET

18. D.C. setting : EST

24. Satirist Mort : SAHL

26. Drama queen, e.g. : EMOTER

31. Some Millers : LITEs

32. Neither esta nor esa : OTRA (other). Neither this nor that.

33. One with backing : VOUCHEE

34. Friends, in slang : PEEPS

35. "__ Wanted Man": 2008 novel : A MOST

36. Amendment dealing with unenumerated rights : NINTH. I forgot all I learned during the Citizenship exam.

37. "You win" : GOT ME

41. Amazes : WOWS

42. Belittle : ABASE

43. Tender spots : SORES

44. "Steppenwolf" author : HESSE (Hermann)

46. Watch secretly : SPY

47. Lead-in following a second point : THIRDLY

49. Supple : LITHE

52. Corey of "The Lost Boys" : HAIM

53. Going concerns? : ERRANDS. Nice clue.

55. Apothecary's weight : DRAM

56. Old VW camper : EUROVAN

59. Greek cheeses : FETAs. I came to the US when I was 30, how about your Greek wife, Husker Gary? I'm guessing Barry G's wife (Tianjin, China) and Jayce's wife (Hongkong) arrived here at a slightly earlier age.

60. Carbon-14, e.g. : ISOTOPE

63. Buried : HID

64. NASDAQ unit : SHR (Share)

67. Projection booth item : REEL

68. Common conifer secretion : RESIN

69. Fax forerunners : TELEXES

70. Cribbage pieces : PEGS

71. Fayetteville fort : BRAGG. Fort Bragg.

72. Tone of the Kansas sequences in "The Wizard of Oz" : SEPIA

73. Oar : SCULL

77. It meant nothing to Nero : NIHIL

78. Battery current entry point : ANODE

79. Comedian Black : LEWIS

81. It's the same in Paris : EGAL. Literally "the same".

82. "Unhand me!" : LET GO

83. "__ Easy": Guns N' Roses song : IT'S SO. The constructor did not have much choices here, with ?T??O arrangement.

84. Charles River sch. : M.I.T.

86. Got all bubbly : FOAMED

88. Jedi adversary : SITH. "Star Wars".

91. Payment option : ATM CARD

95. Decides one will : OPTS TO

96. Somalian menace : PIRATE. Brutal!

98. Wisenheimer : SMARTY

100. Speller's clarification : AS IN. Q as in queen. People always want to add an U after my Q.

101. Made calls, in a way : REFFED. Ref can be a verb?

103. They're found in pools : GENES

104. Photographer Adams : ANSEL

105. Fed. nutritional no. : US RDA

106. __ Reader : UTNE

107. "Only the credits held my attention" et al. : PANS. I don't get this pan.

108. Greek war god : ARES

111. Crosby, Stills & Nash, e.g. : TRIO

112. Architect Saarinen : EERO

113. A few bucks? : DEER. Cute clue.

114. Lose support : SAG

116. Short sleepers? : PJs

117. Anthem contraction : O'ER. 

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday April 30, 2011 Barry C. Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 68

Total blocks: 27

This puzzle is anchored by two Down 10s intersecting triple stacks of 9s, which cross another Down 9:

1A. Michael Jordan began college as one : MATH MAJOR. Was unaware of this trivia.

15A. Plants : SHRUBBERY

17A. Sex symbol of the silents : THEDA BARA. Rare to see her full name.

53A. Adjacent to : ALONGSIDE

58A. Shepherd of old radio : RIN TIN TIN. German shepherd.

5D. GMAT taker's goal : MBA DEGREE

60A. Where three's a crowd : TETE-A-TETE Two person chat. Therefore three's crowd. Stumped me.

9D. 2006 N.L. MVP : RYAN HOWARD. Phillies should send Barry team-signed balls/bats for his loyalty and continued promotion of their players.

26D. Behave suitably : ACT THE PART. Nice entry.

31D. What oldies evoke : NOSTALGIA. Easy to lose time on YouTube.

How's your solving experience today? Felt harder than last Saturday's grid.

Across:

10. Leather leggings : CHAPS. The guy in the middle looks dangerous.

16. "Casbah" actor, 1948 : LORRE (Peter). I've never heard of the film "Casbah". Only "Casablanca".

18. Very funny : ARIOT. A-word to irk Bill G.

19. Accessory : ADD-ON

20. Titans, e.g. : NISSANS. The pickup truck. Not the Tennessee Titans I had in mind.

22. Current source : OUTLET. Power.

24. Negative sentiment : I HOPE NOT

25. "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen" composer : GRIEG (Edvard). "Peer Gynt" is all I know about him.

26. He got his only World Series ring in 2009 : A-ROD. Big deal.

27. Staff note : MEMO

28. "Viva-Vegas" link : LAS. Viva Las Vegas.

29. Eastern quaff that's typically 18-25% alcohol : RICE WINE. Do you like Sake?

32. 21-Down, e.g. : ELEMENT. 21D. Kelp nutrient : IODINE. You can find kelp in miso soup.

34. They're assumed : ANONYMS. Nice clue.

38. Motions : GESTURES

40. Want ad abbr. : EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity)

41. Mosque leader : IMAM

44. "__ a hunch ..." : I HAD

45. Far from assertive : TIMID

47. Ariadne, to Minos : DAUGHTER. Quite a sophisticated clue.

49. Archaeologists, at times : DATERS

50. Clique : IN-GROUP

51. "Going Rogue" author : PALIN (Sarah)

52. Three-time Clooney role : OCEAN (Danny). "Ocean's Thirteen" is pretty good.

57. Old Scottish landholder : THANE. Like Macbeth.

59. Like some bars : SANDY. I don't get this clue.

Down:

1. Colorado hrs. : MST

2. Sound of recognition : AHH

3. Mill's "On Liberty," for one : TREATISE. Not familiar with the work.

4. Where plays may be discussed : HUDDLE. Football.

6. Brother's keeper? : ABBOT. Monastery.

7. Name often seen before a hyphen : JEAN. Like Jean-Claude Van Damme I suppose.

8. #4 at Boston Garden : ORR (Bobby)

10. Necklace feature : CLASP

11. Jockeys : HORSEMEN

12. European satellite launcher : ARIANE. I can never remember this name.

13. Nous or vous : PRONOM. French for pronoun.

14. Begins : SETS TO

22. Eye up and down : OGLE

23. River through Orsk : URAL. Sometimes we see ORSK clued as "Ural River city".

24. Fight cause, often : IRE

30. As found : IN SITU

33. Hollywood-themed Vegas hotel : MGM GRAND. Crazy consonant cluster.

35. Rial spender : YEMENITE. Only know them as Yemenis.

36. Rabin's '70s predecessor : MEIR (Golda)

37. Fixes bare spots, in a way : SODS

39. Former Mideast gp. : UAR

41. Certain how-to book targets? : IDIOTS. Dummies also.

42. La __: region of central Spain : MANCHA. Where Don Quixote's from.

43. Like the stables cleaned by Hercules in a single day : AUGEAN. Augean stables. Unpleasant task.

46. "I disagree" : IT ISN'T

48. Love : HONEY

49. "Purgatorio" writer : DANTE

51. Bridge in Paris : PONT. French for "bridge".

54. Rest : LIE

55. Morse character : DIT

56. Wind dir. : ENE. Not much a clue. 

Answer grid.

Click here to read Rich Norris' article on our E-less puzzle last Saturday.

C.C.