Sunday January 23, 2012 Jeff Chen

Theme: "Pajama Party" - Each two-word common phrase starts with letters P & J.

23A. April first activity : PRACTICAL JOKE. And 92. Good 23-Across, say : RIOT.

28A. Place to connect : PHONE JACK

34A. Commercial flier : PASSENGER JET

50A. Skin lotion ingredient : PETROLEUM JELLY. Sounds so greasy to me. I've never used Vaseline.

63A. Many a bar : PICK-UP JOINT. Wow, I don't know there's a term for this. I know almost every bar in Guangzhou. Wasted youth, but I had fun.

84A. Piña colada ingredient : PINEAPPLE JUICE. Great tenderizer also.

94A. Local connection vehicle : PUDDLE JUMPER. Also new to me.

104A. Unlikely beauty contest entrant : PLAIN JANE

112A. Being hoist with one's own petard : POETIC JUSTICE. OK, help me. The clue is an adjective phrase, the answer is a noun. No?

I often try to guess what the theme is after I read the puzzle title on Sundays. Today I guessed right! Constructing has definitely improved my solving skill.

9 theme answers with 107 squares are quite a lot to grid, esp with those scrabbly J's. Today's grid is remarkably clean. The four corners (NW, NE, SW & SE) are challenging to pull off, hence the four helper squares.

Across:

8. Lets out : FREEs

13. Get down from : HOP OFF

19. Baja California city : TIJUANA. This is where Dennis sinned. Argyle too.

20. Great Seal symbol : EAGLE

21. Uniform adornment : EPAULET. Or EPAULETTE. French for "little shoulder".

25. Servile followers : MINIONS

26. Some tabloid pairs : EXES. Like J-Lo and Mark Anthony.

27. Beverage nut : KOLA

30. Wax partner : WANE

31. Blow, as a lead : LOSE

33. Delights : ELATES

40. Crazes : FADS

42. 1976 raid site : ENTEBBE. Uganda. "Seat" in its local language, according to Wiki.

43. Moving through water, in a way : OARING. Why do I want an extra R?

45. Dexterous : DEFT

49. Mother __ : TERESA. One tenacious tiny lady.

54. Hot under the collar : IRATE

55. Not seasoned : RAW

56. Eponymous Hungarian inventor : ERNO RUBIK. Hey, full name.

57. Strike lightly : TAP ON

58. Tim Tebow teammate : BRONCO. Gator Mom started raving about Tebow 2 or 3 years ago on the blog.

62. What you will : ESTATE. Nice clue.

67. Jordan neighbor : ISRAEL

72. Unkempt : SLOPPY

73. Military material : KHAKI

78. Klondike Gold Rush figure : SOURDOUGH. Not familiar with Klondike Gold Rush (1897 and 1899). Ended when gold was found in Nome, "prompting an exodus from the Klondike".

82. Key near F1 : ESC. Did you peek at your computer?

83. Consumed : EATEN

88. "Black Swan" director Aronofsky : DARREN. Gimme. His long-time girlfriend Rachel Weisz just married the latest Bond last year.

89. Madrid Ms. : SRTA

90. 2007-'08 NBA Rookie of the Year Kevin : DURANT. Is he still good?

91. Real : GENUINE. So I heard Lemonade's voice last year. Very young.

97. Capital west of Baton Rouge : AUSTIN

101. K-6 : ELEM

103. Hayworth of Hollywood : RITA

106. Hawaii's coffee capital : KONA

107. Cuba o Majorca : ISLA

111. Typical sudoku entry : INTEGER. Man, I just can't handle Sudoku. Gives me headache.

117. Most stretched : TAUTEST

118. Finished : ENDED

119. Only place where some ideas look good : ON PAPER. Great clue/answer.

120. Wears : SPORTS

121. Winter fabrics : WOOLS

122. Some younger lovers, in slang : BOY TOYS. J-Lo's new boyfriend won't like this clue.

Down:

1. "The Racer's Edge" : STP

2. Green land : EIRE. Also ERIN.

3. "Iliad" hero : AJAX

4. Fortune founder : LUCE. Also "Time".

5. Nearly four-hr. exams : SATs. 53. Some 5-Down takers : JRS

6. Cycle starter : UNI. Unicycle.

7. FedEx delivery : PACKAGE. Sometimes I don't think those guys love their job. Marti's mail carrier is an exception. So is our blog Saturday man.

8. Hall of Fame pitcher known as "Bullet Bob" : FELLER (Bob). Dazzling fastball.

9. Delhi prince : RAJA

10. Source of chutzpah : EGO. I like the word "chutzpah".

11. Fraternal order member : ELK

12. Oozes : SEEPS

13. Blood: Pref. : HEMO

14. Made a suggestion, say : OPINED

15. Judging groups : PANELs

16. Mystical board : OUIJA. "Yes" (French) and "Yes" (German).

17. A&W offering : FLOAT

18. Illicit dealer : FENCE

22. Clucking sounds : TSKs

24. Crackerjack : A-ONE

29. One often seen among Bunnies : HEFNER (Hugh). Can you picture Argyle lives Hef's lifestyle?

30. Seattle Storm's gp. : WNBA

31. "O, let me not be mad" speaker : LEAR

32. Another, in Argentina : OTRO

34. It may come before four : PETIT. Petit four, French for "small oven". I just knew it wouldn't be THREE.

35. Birth of __ : AN ERA. I've only used "End of an era".

36. Band : STRAP

37. Handle : SEE TO

38. "Beverly Hillbillies" star : EBSEN (Buddy)

39. Mark (down) : JOT

41. "Son of __!" : A GUN

44. Seine sight : ILE. French for "island".

45. Fifth bk. of the Torah : DEUT. Torah has the same content as Old Testament, right?

46. 1814-'15 exile site : ELBA. Napoleon.

47. Dart : FLIT

48. Kid : TYKE

50. Place for un pique-nique : PARC. French for "park". French "picnic" looks funny.

51. Furry moon dweller : EWOK

52. Bubbly name : MOET

55. HR consequence : RBI. And 108. 55-Down, for one : STAT. Here's another whimsy Haiku from Ant's book:

another cold front
i oil
my glove

59. Mu followers : NUS. Greek alphabet.

60. NCO below Sgt. : CPL

61. Eye, to Eduardo : OJO

63. Plunk down : PLOP

64. Crude gp. : OPEC. Crude oil.

65. __ dixit: assertion without proof : IPSE

66. Lincoln Ctr. locale : NYC

67. AOL et al. : ISPs

68. Dark time in Dijon : SOIR. "Evening". Bon soir!

69. Squirt : RUNT

70. Bailiwick : AREA

71. Child-care writer LeShan : EDA

73. Sandra's "The Lake House" co-star : KEANU (Reeves). They also co-starred "Speed" of course.

74. __-scarum : HARUM. New word to me. Sounds very DF.

75. Anchor position : ATRIP. Just off the bottom. From now on, I won't feel bad if miss any nautical term. See, our sailor D-Otto couldn't even tell whether he's a buoy or a gull.

76. Southern New Hampshire city : KEENE. What is it famous for again?

77. Private : INNER

79. Prom coif : UPDO

80. Allergen found in most bread : GLUTEN. Unless it's marked "gluten-free". Rice has no gluten.

81. HRH part : HER

85. Joke : JAPE. Tiny clue/Answer dupe with 23A.

86. "One" on a one : UNUM. "E pluribus unum". On a "one dollar" bill.

87. "__ be my pleasure!" : IT'D

88. Start of a familiarity illusion : DEJA

91. Find work : GET A JOB

92. Impostor : RINGER

93. Not seriously : IN JEST. Like some of the comments on our blog, esp Jazzbumpa's & Tinbeni's.

95. iPhone alternatives : DROIDS

96. "The Mod Squad" role : LINC

97. Make __ stop : A PIT

98. Radii neighbors : ULNAS

99. Showed sudden interest : SAT UP. You want to sit up and listen? 80% of women are wearing the wrong size bra. Bra fitting is a good career for Dummy.

100. Connect with : TIE TO

102. Skunk seeking l'amour : LEPEW

105. Liberal group? : ARTS. Liberal arts.

106. "Hooked on Classics" label : K-TEL.

107. '60s Cosby/Culp series : I SPY

109. Slimming option, for short : LIPO. I wonder why fat always grows on stomach area.

110. __-deucy : ACEY

113. John __ Lennon : ONO

114. Former name for Tokyo : EDO

115. Game with colorful cards : UNO

116. MD workplaces : ERs

Answer grid.

Some extra notes:

1) Thanks for the sweet comments yesterday, everyone. You all warmed my heart on this cold winter morning.

2) Happy 66th birthday to our witty constructor John Lampkin and Happy 80th Birthday to our proud grandma & great-grandma Marge!

3) Happy Year of Dragon! A year of hope and courage.

C.C.

Saturday, Jan 21st, 2012, Brad Wilber & Doug Peterson

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 32

Happy Birthday to C.C. and her Crossword Corner Blog - we turn "Four" today ~!!!

To celebrate, we have two of our regular constructors teaming up, much like our host does with her co-conspirator DonG. I got through this one without red-letter, or a Google cheat, but not without waking up some of the darker portions of my sleeping brain....A pinwheel of triple elevens and nines, no spanners or climbers, but a tough solve all the same. Lots of proper names, and foreign ones, too, which never makes it easy, and one name I refused to give up on (17A.).

Onward~!

ACROSS:

1. Fictional Bagne of Toulon prisoner : JEAN VALJEAN - I had not a clue; reference to Les Misérables; here is a little on the location

12. "How relaxing!" : AHH

15. Military sanction : ARMS EMBARGO - the "O" at the end was a big help; not too many words there

16. Friend of Piglet : ROO - Characters from Winnie the Pooh

17. The Hulk, untransformed : BRUCE BANNER - Now, I grew up on the TV series in the 70's, with Bill Bixby as DAVID Banner; I would not let this one go until I started on the blog, and checked this link

18. Double-chevron wearer: Abbr. : CPL - when you don't know rank, take your pick; SGT, ENS, ah - Corporal

19. Universal signal since 1908 : S.O.S.

20. Ultravox frontman Midge __ : URE - Total blank; perps filled this in; Brit pop band

21. Held up : LASTED - anyone else start with ROBBED ??

23. Office orders : REAMS - not FORMS, but paper measures

26. Tessellated artwork : MOSAICS - tessellate, from the Latin for small stone cube, which was lurking in my lobes somewhere; a sample

27. Native American in Connecticut : MOHEGAN - for BarryG, probably a straight fill; for me, a duh V-8 can moment, because I see the commercials for the casino 'Mohegan Sun' in CT all the time....

30. Dylan contemporary : OCHS - More here

31. Gave a shot, say : DOSED - the Doctor who "1D.'s" you with a needle

34. Spica's constellation : VIRGO - we just had these two

36. Sprinkling : FEW - I had "TAD" to start

37. Lacking a point : INANE

38. First name in spy fiction : IAN - Flemming, James Bond's creator - for you, C.C. (Xie Xie.)

39. 2010 Literature Nobelist Mario Vargas __ : LLOSA - More here

41. Ga. airport that serves Hilton Head Island : SAV - D'oh~!! Another V-8 moment; this airport

42. Prefix with -loquent : MAGNI - pompous

44. Highest score possible with a single dart : SIXTY - a triple 20



45. Keen : AVID

47. Missed payment result : LATE FEE

49. Louisiana license plate image : PELICAN - Image

51. Baseball Hall of Famer Cap : ANSON - If it's baseball, I defer to C.C. (From C.C.. Wow, I've never heard of the guy. Died in 1922. The first player to have over 3,000 career hits. He played a record 27 consecutive seasons, the last game with the Chicago Colts (now Cubs) in 1897. Inducted into the Hall in 1939 by the Veteran's Committee. Just a Wiki summary.)

54. Easy to erect : PREFABricated, like houses

55. Crony : PAL

57. Memory unit, briefly : MEG

59. Labyrinth location : EAR - canal #1

60. The Bridge of the Americas locale : PANAMA CANAL - canal #2

64. Gone by : AGO

65. Yellow Brick Road terminus : EMERALD CITY - not "THE LAND OF OZ", but I was never a big fan

66. Remote abbr. : REW

67. "Charlie's Angels" actress : KATE JACKSON - one of eight that I can think of, from TV and movies - Image, on left

DOWN:

1. Ring sequence : JABS - Boxing ring

2. Reason for striking out : ERROR - Ah, not whiff, as in baseball, but in tezt - text

3. Divert : AMUSE

4. White House foreign policy gp. : NSC - National Security Council

5. Certain migratory pattern : VEE



6. Jump : AMBUSH

7. Brace with a 90-degree bend : L-BAR

8. Krakowski of "30 Rock" : JANE - Image; dated a girl who looked just like her

9. Southwest add-on : ERN - SouthwestERN

10. Really drawn-out : AGE-LONG

11. Dunn and Ephron of Hollywood : NORAS

12. Lemming predator : ARCTIC FOX - Image ( a tad rough )

13. Trousseau holder : HOPE CHEST

14. Reigns : HOLDS SWAY

22. __ Miguel, largest of the Azores : SAO - I WAGed SAN, got close enough

24. "Well said!" : AMEN

25. PC peripheral : MODEM

26. Hitchcock title kleptomaniac : MARNIE

28. "B.J. and the Bear" star Greg : EVIGAN - another show I grew up with, and totally believed was real - a truck driver with his co-pilot, a chimpanzee....ah, youth

29. Goliath, for one : GIANT

31. Become extinct : DISAPPEAR

32. Typically : ON AVERAGE

33. London street known for high-end haberdasheries : SAVILE ROW - Map-ish

35. His watch signals Superman : OLSEN - Jimmy, the photographer at the Daily Planet; I was thinking Alfred or Commissioner Gordon, but that's BATman

40. Whoppers : LIES

43. Mobile home? : ALABAMA - Mobile, the city

46. Lack of similarity, informally : DIF

48. Holly follower? : FA-LA-LA - Christmas song, Deck the Halls "...with boughs of holly..."

50. "War with the Newts" sci-fi novelist, 1936 : CAPEK

52. Old Dodges with front-wheel drive : OMNIs

53. "Swell!" : NEATO

55. Trim : PARE

56. Key of Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 : A MAJ - I had the "A" from Pal and the "J" from Jackson, so I had the key, and it was not minor

58. Romance novelist Elinor : GLYN

61. Circus safeguard : NET

62. Quarantine advisory org. : CDC - Centers for Disease Control - Gov't Agcy

63. Speech balloon cry of dismay : ACK~!! - Bill the Cat, Bloom County

Answer grid.

Yes, No, Maybe, Not ~?

Thank you, C.C., for a wonderful way to start the day, and my gratitude for being allowed to help everyone get through a tough Saturday puzzle~!

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

As Splynter mentioned earlier, we turn "Four" today! I want to say a special "Thank you" to Dennis and all my blogging crew. Without their constant nurturing & hard work, this blog would have withered and died last Fall. I also want to thank those who donated, commented and wrote me emails. I appreciate your kindness and readership.