Tuesday, January 17, 2012 Matt Skoczen

Theme: "HB, B.W." - A celebration of Betty White's 90th birthday.

9A. With 66-Across, actress born 1/17/1922 : BETTY 66A. See 9-Across : WHITE

18A. 20-Across role for 9-Across : ROSE and 20A. Sitcom co-starring 9/66-Across : "THE GOLDEN GIRLS"

37A. Dramedy on which 9/66-Across had a recurring role : "BOSTON LEGAL"

55A. Sitcom co-starring 9/66-Across : HOT IN CLEVELAND and 61A. 55-Across role for 9-Across : ELKA

Argyle here. I hope you had a chance to watch TV special honoring Betty White last night. If you want to know more about the three shows in the theme, I will give you a link to their Wikipedia page and a clip from the shows. The Golden Girls / Clip.(8:27); Boston Legal / Clip.(0:40) She played a recurring character named Catherine Piper. There are longer clips but not in English; Hot in Cleveland / Clip.(0:20)

Good thing I got those last two from the perps because I never saw her on "Boston Legal" and never heard of "Hot in Cleveland". Now Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", that I know. The puzzle is OK; it has a lot of theme which means some compromises. Matt has given us Sunday puzzles before.

Across:

1. __ Romeo: sports car : ALFA. Italian.

5. Cleveland NBAers : CAVS. (Cavaliers)

14. Weevil's target : BOLL. Cotton.

15. __ II razor : TRAC

16. Love, in Italia : AMORE

17. Fit to __ : A TEE

19. Infuriates : RILES

23. Really revel in : EAT UP

24. Neptune's realm : SEA

25. NFL position : CTR. (center)

27. "Baby and Child Care" author : DR. SPOCK

30. Entertain in style : REGALE

33. Congestion site : SINUS

36. Frasier's brother : NILES. TV (David Hyde Pierce)

40. Buckeye State sch. : OHIO U

42. Miss America accessory : TIARA

43. Message on a dirty car : WASH ME

45. Becomes fond of : WARMS TO

50. White House advisory gp. : NSC. National Security Council.

51. Skater Midori : ITO. She is the 1989 World Champion and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist. She is the first woman to land a triple/triple jump combination.

54. Went out with : DATED

60. Suppress : SIT ON

62. "American ___" : IDOL

63. Fur tycoon : ASTOR

64. Lender's security : LIEN

65. Canadian vocalist Vannelli : GINO. Clip (2:32)

67. Not as much : LESS

68. Political cartoonist Thomas : NAST

Down:

1. Died down : ABATED

2. Mandrake the Magician's assistant : LOTHAR. Lothar is looking rather mod.

3. Armadas : FLEETS

4. Good thing to get in competition : A LEG UP

5. PC corner key : CTRL

6. Yankee slugger, familiarly : A-ROD

7. Flower holders : VASEs

8. Public embarrassment : SCENE

9. Italian seaport : BARI. Map

10. Mideast VIP : EMIR

11. One in a phone bill list : TOLL CALL

12. Bridge support : TRESTLE

13. "That's affirmative!" : "YES!"

21. Marsupial that plays dead : OPOSSUM

22. Long-snouted swimmer : GAR.

26. Legal thing : RES

28. Op. __: footnote abbr. : CIT. (the work has been cited)

29. Necktie feature : KNOT

31. Fencing challenge : "EN GARDE!"

32. Italian actress Scala : GIA. Image She was in "The Guns of Navarone" (1961). Died too young.

34. Prefix with form : UNI

35. Cabbagy side dish : SLAW

37. Dunkable Italian cookies : BISCOTTI. Must be leftovers from yesterday. ("Biscotti" is the plural form of biscotto.)

38. "That's amazing!" : "OOH!"

39. Generation : ERA

40. BYOB word : OWN. Bring Your Own Bottle. If you want something stronger, see below.

41. Cannabis preparation : HASHISH. "It's not mine. I'm holding it for a friend."

44. German article : EIN

46. Bad-mouth : MALIGN

47. Ballparks : STADIA. Plural of stadium.

48. Dovetail sections : TENONs. The projections on the right piece are the tenons and the slots on the left piece that receive them are the mortises.

49. Less than 100 shares of stock : ODD LOT

52. Immune system agent : T-CELL

53. Kukla's puppet pal : OLLIE. They interacted with Fran. Kukla, Fran and Ollie was an early TV show using puppets, originally created for children but soon watched by more adults than children. It did not have a script and was entirely ad-libbed. It first aired from 1947–1957.

56. __ one's own horn : TOOT

57. About, on a memo : IN RE. (in the matter of)

58. Barely gets, with "out" : EKEs. Eek, another EKE.

59. Soccer moms' rides : VANS

60. Went out with : SAW

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.

Happy 21st wedding anniversary to Ron (Jazzbumpa) and Gloria! I know you'll make it special, Ron.

Monday, January 16, 2012 Janice Luttrell

Theme: Hang Your Hat Here - Whether you have just a cap, a ten-gallon, or un chapeau, you can find a home for it today.

20A. Dairy food with loose curds : COTTAGE CHEESE

38A. Dip for veggies : RANCH DRESSING

57A. Tenderloin often served with Béarnaise sauce : CHÂTEAUBRIAND

55D. Place to live, one of which starts the three longest puzzle answers : ABODE

Argyle here. Debut(?) puzzle for our constructor today. Three nice long themes and a unifier in a pleasing grid. No complaint from me.

Across:

1. Actress Anderson : LONI. Here is a WKRP clip(1:26) where she is laying it on for a Mr. "Breezy".

5. Like one who limps : LAME. Like Dr. House.

9. Exhausted, with "out" : WIPED. Yes, I had TIRED first. Good fake-out.

14. Sportscaster Hershiser : OREL. And 51D. Los Angeles ballplayer : DODGER. In 1988, he won the Gold Glove, Cy Young Award, the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP with the Dodgers.

15. Director Kazan : ELIA

16. Biscotti flavoring : ANISE. More food.

17. Sagacious : WISE

18. Computer storage medium : DISC

19. Aquarium fish : GUPPY. Learn more, if you want, here.

23. Pub pint : ALE

24. Buddhist sect : ZEN

25. Many shoppers buy on it : CREDIT

28. Bare minimum : LEAST

30. Jibs and spinnakers : SAILS

33. Often-flowery verse : ODE

34. "Is it soup __?" : YET. Hard to believe but I can't find a video of this Lipton commercial.

36. Letters before an alias : AKA. (also known as)

37. Bed with a mate : TWIN

42. "I've Gotta __": Sammy Davis Jr. hit : BE ME. Recorded by a lot of singers.

43. Fair-hiring inits. : EEO. (Equal Employment Opportunity)

44. "Casablanca" pianist : SAM

45. Honest prez : ABE

46. Idyllic places : EDENS

48. Lukewarm : TEPID

52. Internal Revenue Code expert : TAX PRO

54. Stable diet? : HAY

56. Brian with the album "Music for Airports" : ENO. It's time for Mr. ENO to take a rest.

61. Pandemonium : CHAOS

63. Jackson 5 member : TITO. The third of the ten Jackson children.

64. Glitch : SNAG

65. Songstress Lena : HORNE. She didn't sing "I've got to be me".

66. Gunk : CRUD

67. Remote button : MUTE

68. Broke off, as talks : ENDED

69. Ballyhoo : HYPE

70. Suffix with road or hip : STER. Roadster or Hipster.

Down:

1. Like diet beverages : LOW-CAL. Low-Calorie.

2. Baltimore bird : ORIOLE

3. Lipton rival : NESTEA

4. Abba's "__ the Music Speak" : I LET. Clip.(5:19) One of their last songs.

5. Rocky projection : LEDGE

6. Martians and such : ALIENS

7. Catchall abbr. : MISC.

8. For one : EACH

9. Track transactions : WAGERS

10. Occupied, as a lavatory : IN USE

11. "Put a lid on it!" : "PIPE DOWN!" plus 47D. "Zip your lip!" : "SHUT UP!". Is our constructor a mother? I wonder.

12. Sixth sense, for short : ESP

13. Susan of "L.A. Law" : DEY

21. Ancient Mexican : AZTEC

22. Mercedes-Benz model series : E CLASS. Dennis?

26. Beatnik's "Gotcha" : "I DIG"

27. Finger count : TEN

29. "Auld Lang __" : SYNE

31. Hank with 755 career homers : AARON

32. Tina Turner's ex : IKE

35. Precisely, after "on" : THE DOT

37. Game-stopping call : "TIME!". A few called this weekend, eh?

38. Country singer McEntire : REBA

39. "Don't leave home without it" convenience : AMEX CARD. American Express Card.

40. Poor grade : DEE

41. Mythical man-goat : SATYR

42. Halloween decoration : BAT

46. Rubbed off the board : ERASED

49. Bar snack item : PEANUT

50. Present from birth : INNATE

53. "E.T. __ home" : PHONE

58. Cut with acid : ETCH

59. Breezy : AIRY. For Mr. Breezy, see 1-Across.

60. Doctrines : ISMs

61. Revolutionary Guevara : CHE. Castro's friend.

62. Darlin' : HON'

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday January 15, 2012 Peter A. Collins

Theme: Stout and Thin - Parse the title as "ST out and TH in", i.e, ST is replaced with TH in each theme entry.

23A. "My priest has met Pulitzer-winning playwright Henley"? : FATHER KNOWS BETH. Father knows best. Beth Henley.

39A. Dinner served on a wooden strip? : THE LATH SUPPER. The Last Supper.

41A. Blast from Babe? : RUTH BELT. Rust belt. Babe Ruth.

71A. Compliment to a young genius? : WHY YOU LITTLE THINKER. Why you little stinker.

100A. Small compartment for lifting self-esteem? : EGO BOOTH. Ego boost.

102A. Nonsense talk from an inner city? : GHETTO BLATHER. Ghetto blaster.

122A. Reason for foggy coop windows? : BREATH OF CHICKEN. Breast of chicken.

This puzzle title reminds me of Peter Wentz's "Find out" puzzle, in which D is replaced by F in each common phrases. You need to parse the title as "F in/D out".

When constructors place all their theme entries in Across, they can then non-theme Downs which are longer than the shortest theme entries. Peter took full advantage of that and gave us quite a few nice long Downs.

Across:

1. See-through dessert : JELL-O

6. "It's just __ said ..." : AS I

9. Rite site : ALTAR

14. Shooter's setting : F-STOP. Not the gunman "shooter".

19. Oriole-related, e.g. : AVIAN

20. Pugsley, to Gomez : SON. Easy guess. I've never watched "The Addams Family".

21. Carried : BORNE

22. "That's __!": mom's admonition : A NO-NO

26. Hull parts, often : KEELS

27. Gator tail? : ADE. Gatorade. Fun clue.

28. Secant's reciprocal : COSINE

29. Princess from Alderaan : LEIA. "Star Wars".

30. Have a blast, with "up" : EAT IT

31. Outcome : RESULT

33. Greenish-yellow fruit : CITRON. Looks like lemon.

35. Gonzaga University city : SPOKANE

37. Goofballs : NUTS

45. New York Harbor's __ Island : ELLIS

46. Suffix with Carmel : ITE . Carmelites is a "Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name", according to Wiki. St Teresa was a Carmelite.

47. Green pod : OKRA

48. She walked Asta : NORA. "The Thin Man".

50. Graceful woman : SYLPH

52. Made a jumper, maybe : SEWED

56. Tide during the moon's first quarter : NEAP

57. Star in Virgo : SPICA. Gimme for Spitzboov & Bill G. I drew a blank.

59. Member of the fam : SIS

61. Polynesian drink : KAVA. Sedating.

62. Protect, as during a gym routine : SPOT. I don't get this clue, Dummy.

64. Relieved remark : AT LAST

68. Neat time : GAS. Neat clue.

70. Bill's "excellent adventure" partner : TED. From "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure".

75. Efron of "High School Musical" : ZAC. Here he is. Not the high school boy anymore.

76. What Nixon and Kennedy have in common? : ENS. Do you like this clue?

77. Insect with eyespots on its wings : IO MOTH. No idea. Cute. D-Otto's pig is cute too.

78. Black, to Balzac : NOIR

79. Pitching stats : ERAs

81. Sushi fish : EEL. Ah, food!

83. Risky meeting : TRYST. "Risky" makes it exciting.

85. Lobster meat source : CLAW

88. Bits of progress : DENTS. Make a dent.

90. Uses a Kindle : READS

94. Key with three sharps: Abbr. : A MAJ

95. Premium coffee variety : KONA. From Hawaii.

96. One-eighty : UEY

98. Turn __ ear : A DEAF

107. Son of Isaac : ESAU

108. Verbena family plant : LANTANA. See here.

109. Like magma : MOLTEN

111. Big house locale : ESTATE

115. Columbia et al. : IVIES

116. First light : DAWN

118. Workshop grippers : CLAMPS

120. Novelist Buntline : NED. What did he write?

121. Pola of the silents : NEGRI. Rudolph Valentino's lover.

125. Caused to submit : TAMED

126. Guadalajara-to-Puerto Vallarta dirección : OESTE. "West".

127. __ later date : AT A

128. Hollywood's Hayek : SALMA. Natural beauty.

129. Focused look : STARE. What you guys do to my link above.

130. Director of the last four Harry Potter films : YATES (David)

131. "Can't Help Lovin' __ Man" : DAT

132. Lock on top? : TRESS

Down:

1. "Aladdin" heavy : JAFAR. No idea, Santa!

2. Skirt : EVADE

3. Beers for dieters : LITES

4. __-di-dah : LAH

5. Bridge opening : ONE CLUB. Bridge terms always stump me.

6. More than wonders : ASKS

7. Drive-in chain with carhops : SONIC

8. Complicit : IN ON IT

9. Crunched muscles : ABS

10. Southeastern pine : LOBLOLLY. Oh, so this is called loblolly.

11. Shipbuilding dowel : TREENAIL. Again, not familiar with the term. Do you use them, Splynter/Jerome?

12. No voter : ANTI

13. Go over and over : RE-HASH

14. Deceptions : FAKE-OUTS

15. Preview : SNEAK PEEK. Nice upper right corner.

16. Dancer's technique : TOE TAP

17. Surfing, say : ONLINE

18. Word with board or boy : POSTER

24. Powdered rock used as an abrasive : ROTTEN STONE. Same as pumice stone?

25. "__ people ..." : WE THE. Constitution.

32. Bummed : UNHAPPY

34. Kinfolk: Abbr. : RELs

36. Omega preceder : PSI

38. Sty fare : SLOP

40. Rx amts. : TSPS

41. Friend of Harry and Hermione : RON. "Harry Potter" again.

42. Mandolin kin : UKE

43. Source of an alley racket : TRASH CAN

44. Court event : TRIAL

49. When the Sugar Plum Fairy appears in "The Nutcracker" : ACT II

51. Fan setting : HIGH

53. 1815 battle site : WATERLOO

54. Even once : EVER

55. Senior, to Junior : DAD

58. Guy who's high in a loft? : ALTO. Why "in a loft"?

60. Patron of workers : SAINT JOSEPH. I thought he's the patron of carpenters only.

63. Santana's "__ Como Va" : OYE. Here is a clip.

65. Buck passer, briefly? : ATM. And 66. 65-Down feature : SLOT.

67. Aquarium denizen : TETRA

69. __-cone : SNO

71. Share ending : WARE. Shareware.

72. Manual reader : USER

73. Culinary herb : THYME. I'm guessing this is a common herb in Jayce's or Barry G's family.

74. Oust : KICK OUT

75. Athens : omega :: London : __ : ZED. Last letter in alphabet.

80. Speech therapy candidate : STUTTERER

82. Sharon of "Boston Public" : LEAL

84. Wise : SAGE

86. Pantry annoyance : ANT. Always a welcome sight here at the corner.

87. Nursery cry : WAH

89. Save for later : SET ASIDE

91. '60s Batman portrayer : ADAM WEST

92. Set off : DETONATE

93. Satirist Mort : SAHL

97. Over there, old-style : YON. Hither and yon.

99. Retrieve : FETCH

101. McCartney, notably : BASSIST

102. Flashes : GLINTS

103. Attack, as one's work : HAVE AT

104. Puzzle : ENIGMA

105. Record label founded by Diddy : BAD BOY. Ha, gimme for me.

106. Insert more rounds : RE-LOAD. Ammo.

110. 1990s treaty acronym : NAFTA. U.S.-Mexico-Canada commerce treaty.

112. Electronic monitor site : ANKLE. Ankle monitor. House arrest.

113. Crawls (with) : TEEMS

114. Writer Ferber and others : EDNAs

117. Region : AREA

119. Aspiring GP's exam : MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)

123. Some NFL receivers : TEs (Tight Ends)

124. One in a jam, maybe : CAR. Nice clue too.

Answer grid.

Happy Birthday to KQ!

C.C.

Saturday, Jan 14, 2012, Alan Olschwang

Theme: None

Words: 70

Blocks: 32

5 grid-spanners today from our constructor, whose last Sat LAT puzzle was April 2011. This was another healthy mental workout for me, with just a couple of "ugh" spots of proper names crossing foreign words or abbrs. Our 15-letter entries:

17A. Without delay : AT THE DROP OF A HAT - Scroll down to read about it here

32A. They're hidden in negotiations : ULTERIOR MOTIVES - every single one of them

37A. One with a lot to offer : REAL ESTATE AGENT - a "lot" to offer - good one ~! I need to get in touch with local agents, so I can promote my new Inspection business; I saw this name for an Inspection company yesterday - "Sure Lock Homes"; thought it was a locksmith's truck at first....

38A. Cousins of flares : BELL BOTTOM PANTS - Image

52. Rail campaign, traditionally : WHISTLE STOP TOUR - a little history here, and a side note that the color of UPS trucks is called "Pullman Brown"

Yes, No, Maybe, Not ~??

Onward ~!

ACROSS:

1. "Vexations" composer : SATIE - Don't like to start on a Proper Name; sparse piano piece

6. Offers : BID PRICES - not a fan of eBay, but it's OK in crosswords

15. Collision sound : CLACK - Makes me think of Terry Pratchett's "communications" system

16. Annoy the director : OVER-EMOTE

19. Backstabber : RAT

20. __ Arann: Dublin-based carrier : AER - WAG, of Aer Lingus type

21. Communicates, in a way : SIGNS - using your hands, for the deaf, e.g.

22. __ rich : FILTHY

25. Nice noodle? : TETE - French, the city of Nice (neece)

26. "The Prague Cemetery" author : ECO (Umberto)- Crossed with "biblical mount" ??? - Eh

27. Dope : POOP

29. First mate? : EVE - Adam's mate

39. GPS heading : SSE

40. Apparently are : SEEM

41. Egg head? : OVI

42. Office stamp : REC'D - I like to "over-pronounce" when I fill in crosswords; hence, this is "Wrecked"

44. Common soccer result : ONE-NIL - my dad is a monster soccer fan, so I hear on the TV all the time a "gripping one nil victory for Manchester ~!!!" ( 1-0 )

47. Express a view : OPINE

49. Classified letters after a number : RMS - I actually do not get this at all - my first thought was Rms, for hotel rooms, then I thought it was speaker output rating; and now I wonder if it's the reference to a British ship

51. Horned grazer : GNU

56. They may be competing : INTERESTS

57. Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Anne __ von Otter : SOFIE - a half WAG; I had the --FIE part

58. Chucks : TOSSES OUT - Do we all use the word 'chuck' in this sense? I know it's common here on Long Island

59. Examines closely : SIFTS

DOWN:

1. Secret Santa gift : SCARF - Never been in a Secret Santa; my mom, as a teacher, was often involved - but never got or gave a scarf

2. Asia's __ Mountains : ALTAI - take a gander

3. Revealing : TATTLE-TALE - adjective, in this moment

4. Hessian pronoun : ICH

5. Obtain the hard way, with "out" : EKE

6. Drill : BORE

7. Composer Novello of British theatre : IVOR

8. Passbook abbr. : DEPosit - that kind of passbook

9. Many a Rilke work : PROSE POEM - Rainer Maria Rilke

10. Overhaul, as in dry dock : REFIT

11. Celeb's concern : IMAGE

12. Rosenberg trial attorney Roy : COHN

13. They may change during flights: Abbr. : ETAs

14. Ready : SET

18. Word with trip or light : DAY

23. Immune response component : T-CELL

24. Biblical mount : HOREB - Not up on my Bible - more here

25. Oater omen : TOM-TOM - the "injuns" are mounting an attack DUM - dum - doo-doo

27. Blotto : POTTED - Sunday marked 7 years since I was "potted, blotto, wasted", etc.

28. Be bombastic, perhaps : ORATE

29. Barkeep's respite : EVENING OFF - does he go to the bar anyway? I used to on my night off....

30. Blow off steam : VENT

31. Ballpark figs. : ESTimatesS

32. Metro regions : URBS - metropolitan/urban

33. Bottom of the barrel : LEES

34. Symmetrical, in a way : ISOSCELES - the Triangle; how many can you find?


35. Hit lightly : TAP ON

36. "__ my love ..." : I GAVE

42. Gets promotions : RISES - possible I might be getting one

43. __ nous : ENTRE - 'Frawnsh', again

44. Spanish bear : OSO

45. Arctic language : INUIT

46. Attractive aspects of fishing? : LURES

47. "Aaugh!" : OH NO

48. Worst : PITS

49. Alphabet string : RSTU - I'm OK with this

50. __ Helens, Wash. : MT. ST. - the volcano

52. 1999 Pulitzer-winning play by Margaret Edson : WIT

53. "__ Beso": Anka hit : ESO

54. Some email enders : PSs - Have you ever added a P.S. to an email, or just wrote another one?

55. French pronoun : TOI - Eh, you know how I feel; seems like French is more frequent at the beginning of the year~?

Answer grid.

For those who are wondering, my paperwork is in for the promotion at UPS, but no word yet - and I got a real cell phone at last ~! Yea~! It works as a phone, everywhere, and all the features work - joy~!

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

1) Congratulations to Splynter on the impending promotion and new cell phone. You deserve both!

2) Happy Birthday to dear JD. Hope it's a day full of wonders and love. Look at her adorable grandsons.