Monday, February 2, 2015 Warren Stabler

Theme: Today - The end of winter prediction.

41A. What we'll have of 3-Down, according to folklore, if 18-Across 62-Down sees his 50-Down on 65-Across : SIX MORE WEEKS. The most referential clue I think I've seen. I'll list them in order.

3D. Cold season : WINTER

18A. Pennsylvania borough in today's news : PUNXSUTAWNEY

62D. Given name of the critter in today's news : PHIL

50D. Sundial casting : SHADOW

65A. February 2, every year : GROUNDHOG DAY

Argyle and Phil here and a whimsical puzzle from a new constructor. On Groundhog Day(today), if Phil(the groundhog) sees his shadow and returns to his hole, he has predicted six more weeks of winter-like weather. If Phil does not see his shadow, he has predicted an "early spring". If he's smart, he won't poke even his nose out this morning.

Across:

1. Burst into tears : BAWL

5. Wander off the point : RAMBLE

11. Rainy : WET

14. Hodgepodge : OLIO

15. In the plane's cabin, say : ONBOARD

17. New Year's __ : EVE

20. Clinton's instrument : SAX. (saxophone)

21. Ambulance VIP : EMT. (emergency medical technician)

22. '50s nuclear experiments : A-TESTS

23. Founded, on signs : ESTD.(established)

25. Foe : ENEMY

27. Approved, briefly : OK'D

29. Pop singer Diamond : NEIL

31. Henry VIII's sixth wife Catherine : PARR. The last of his wives, she married him on 12 July 1543, and outlived him.

32. Conk out : DIE

35. "Make up your mind!" : "YES OR NO!"

37. Germany's __ Republic, 1919-'33 : WEIMAR. Weimar was the city where the constitutional assembly took place. Wiki

40. Flip-flops : THONGS. Do you know whose these are?

43. Puppies : WHELPS

45. Bahamas capital : NASSAU

46. Thick fog metaphor : PEA SOUP

48. Dirt road groove : RUT

49. Amt. on a new car window : MSRP. (manufacturer's suggested retail price)

53. Venus de __ : MILO

54. Mess of hair : MOP

56. Employee handing out playbills : USHER

57. Stoolie : FINK

59. Workshop grippers : CLAMPS

63. Word after Iron or Stone : AGE

64. Corp. leader : CEO. (chief executive officer) and 7D. Corp. execs' degrees : MBAs. (Master of Business Administration)

68. Coffee hour vessel : URN

69. Asian language in a region famous for tigers : BENGALI. "...if called by a panther,

don't anther."

70. __ vault : POLE

71. Letter before tee : ESS

72. La Brea discovery : FOSSIL

73. Filled with wonder : AWED

Down:

1. Girl who lost her sheep : BO PEEP

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,

And doesn't know where to find them;

Leave them alone,

And they'll come home,

Wagging their tails behind them.

2. Barnard graduate : ALUMNA. Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college in NYC and one of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, it has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900.

4. Bagel go-with : LOX

5. Landslide victory : ROUT

6. Poker pot starter : ANTE

8. Bend before in reverence : BOW TO

9. Lucky Luciano cohort Meyer __ : LANSKY. Known as the "Mob's Accountant", Lansky was never found guilty of anything more serious than illegal gambling. Which reminds me, how did you do on the big game?

10. Before, in poetry : ERE

11. Cowboy movies : WESTERNS

12. Shirking, as taxes : EVADING

13. LBJ's home state : TEX. (Texas)

16. Salon coloring : DYE

19. Speak : SAY

24. Sweetie pie : SNOOKUMS. In 1904, 'The Newlyweds', a newspaper comic strip, was about an elegant young couple and their baby, Snookums.

26. Dennis the Menace's grumpy neighbor : MR. WILSON

28. Hate : DETEST

30. Part of UCLA : LOS. (University of California, Los Angeles)

32. Chinese appetizer : DIM SUM

33. "I think ...," in texts : IMO. (in my opinion)

34. Make, as money : EARN

36. Mets' old stadium : SHEA

38. Old Montreal baseballer : EXPO

39. Back : REAR

41. Flippered aquarium attractions : SEA LIONS

42. Sch. with a Spokane campus : WSU. (Washington State University)

43. Typist's stat. : WPM. (words per minute)

44. Some young cows : HEIFERS

47. Pennsylvania raceway : POCONO. Known as the Tricky Triangle.

51. Entertain in style : REGALE

52. Victimized, with "on" : PREYED

55. Outlet inserts : PLUGS

56. GI show gp. : USO. (United Service Organizations)

58. USSR secret service : KGB. (komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti)

60. Santa __: West Coast winds : ANAs

61. 1551, to Caesar : MDLI

64. Billiards stick : CUE

66. NBA official : REF. (referee)

67. Dean's list no. : GPA. (grade point average)

Argyle

Sunday Feburary 1, 2015 Gail Grabowski

 Theme:  "You Must Be Joking" - A is changed into U in each theme entry.

27A. Flea? : DOGGIE BUG. Doggie bag.

29A. Sign of a barbecuer's inattention? : SMOKING BUN. Vivid clue. Smoking ban. Not in casinos, unfortunately. Sad life in casinos.

48A. Most miles logged in a pickup, say? : TRUCK RECORD. Track record.

64A. Blizzard in Birmingham? : SNOW FLUKE. Snowflake. Never been to Birmingham. Too warm to snow there.

81A. Vessel that inspires ideas? : THINKING CUP. Thinking cap.

99A. Shack made of aluminum wrap? : TIN FOIL HUT. Tin foil hat.

102A. Cowardly lion, once? : YELLOW CUB. Yellow cab. I love the clue.

36D. Prospector's close attachment to his helper? : MULE BONDING. Male bonding.

40D. Reservation for an upper berth? : BUNK DEPOSIT. Bank deposit.

Once again, Gail started her theme answers in Row 4 rather than the traditional Row 3. This allowed her to put the two 11's in the Down slots.

Such a simple and elegant theme. I learned from making my own Sundays that it's hard to achieve Gail's elegance and smoothness. You need to always put solvers in mind when filling the grid.

Across:     

1. Item worn diagonally : SASH.  I was picturing the one-shoulder T-shirt.

5. Guess : STAB

9. Suffix with techno- : PHOBE

14. Hate the thought of : DREAD

19. Expressive dance : HULA

20. Taylor of "Six Feet Under" : LILI

21. Kind of artery : RENAL

22. Out of practice : RUSTY. My Xi'an dialect is very rusty now. This makes me smile. Xi'an is the capital city of Shaanxi Province.

23. David Cameron's alma mater : ETON

24. "... the __-coloured ink": Shak. : EBON

25. Corkers? : IRISH. Oh, one from Cork.

26. Taper off : ABATE

31. Oz. sextet : TSPs

32. Signs up : JOINS

33. Blowup: Abbr. : ENL (Enlarge)

34. Mutual respect : COMITY. What we have here in our Corner.

37. Action film staples : STUNTS

39. Ever so slightly : A WEE BIT

43. Fundraiser's call list : ALUMS. Boomer's high school is quite aggressive in their fundraising.

44. Geometry subject : PLANE

45. Manner of moving : GAIT

46. 108-card game : UNO

47. Wide margin : MILE

51. "Breaking Bad" Emmy winner Gunn : ANNA. She played Skyler.

52. Calendrical brink : EVE. Is "Calendrical" a word you use?

53. Common product in Super Bowl ads : BEER.  And 89. Colorado-based brewery : COORS

54. Fluffy accessory : BOA

55. Brought out : EVOKED

57. Blood work charges : LAB FEES

59. Ones that tip a lot : CANOES. Lovely clue.

62. Hang on the line : AIR-DRY

63. PBS URL ender : ORG

67. Sault __ Marie : STE

68. Enjoy a home-cooked meal : DINE IN. I wonder how often Splynter dines in. I don't think he or Argyle cooks.

71. Garage capacity : ONE CAR

72. Faddish gift that has ranged from kittens to crocodiles : CHIA PET. Never had one. This stuff does not appeal to me.

76. "Day __": 1969 Peter, Paul and Mary hit : IS DONE

77. Motor oil letters : SAE. For Society of Automotive Engineers. I wanted STP.

78. Dull thing to be in : A RUT. And 60D. Every seven days : A WEEK. To me, these two are partials, though clued otherwise.

79. Flowery tribute : ODE

80. Blood line : VEIN

86. Warts and all : AS IS

87. Follower of directions? : ERN. Western.

88. Industry mogul : CZAR. Drug Czar.

90. Singer/songwriter Travis : TRITT

91. Uses Elmer's on once more : RE-GLUES

93. "__ Fideles" : ADESTE

95. Laudable : WORTHY

96. Play the wrong golf ball, say : ERR. Two-stroke penalty in your league also, Gary?

  

97. Quarters : ABODE

98. First name in architecture : EERO

107. Break down slowly : ERODE

108. Weeper of myth : NIOBE

109. Like Arizona's typical climate : ARID

110. Raid discovery : KILO. As in drug.

111. Tough tissue : SINEW

112. "The Chew" co-host Hall : CARLA. We had her before.

113. Confirmation, e.g. : RITE

114. Peak near Messina : ETNA

115. Nautical poles : SPARS

116. Long-eared equines : ASSES

117. Safe document : DEED

118. Fiscal __ : YEAR

Down:

1. Storage spot : SHED

2. Modern prefix with fill : AUTO. The software constructors use has a Autofill function.

3. Trudge : SLOG

4. Punter's statistic : HANG TIME

5. Yawning, perhaps : SLEEPY

6. 1970 Poitier title role : TIBBS. Mr. Tibbs.

7. Baseball family name : ALOU

8. Microsoft search engine : BING. Yellowrocks' preferred search engine.

9. Cell user : PRISONER. Prison cell.

10. Recluse : HERMIT

11. Subway selection : ONIONS. They have quite a few restaurants in China.

12. Enjoys the sun : BASKS

13. Inclusive school acronym : EL-HI. Just won't go away.

14. Where to find stories on Friday? : DRAGNET. Joe Friday.

15. Debris : RUBBLE

16. Son of Isaac : ESAU

17. Mail-routing abbr. : ATTN

18. Salon supply : DYE

28. Followers' suffix : ISTs

30. Fresh bean sprout? : NEW IDEA. Another nice clue.

32. Basement buildup : JUNK. Ours is full of worthless baseball cards.

34. Caravan mount : CAMEL

35. Three-time A.L. batting champ Tony : OLIVA. Here he is with Boomer. TTP mentioned how nice Ernie Banks was the other day. Tony Oliva is the same. Rod Carew is rather distant.

37. Speak indistinctly : SLUR

38. Washington's Sea-__ Airport : TAC

39. Rhine tributary : AAR

41. Word with circle or city : INNER

42. Apple polisher : TOADY

44. Defensive hoops tactic : PRESS

45. "__ your father" : GO ASK

48. Driving need? : TEE

49. Virus in 2014 news : EBOLA. We have an Ebola Czar!

50. __ d'Alene : COEUR

51. Angiogram image : AORTA

53. Initiate : BEGIN

56. Call on : VISIT

58. Carefully controlled refrigerant : FREON

59. First name in late-night : CONAN. Not into this guy.

 

61. Bears' org. : NFC

65. Respectful reply : NO SIR

66. Linen shades : ECRUS

68. Salvage crew member : DIVER. I meet lots of interesting people in our flea markets. One of the coin dealers is a diver/treasure hunter.

69. Rhone tributary : ISERE

70. Los Angeles-based ISP : NETZERO. I did not know they're based in LA.

73. Military drill syllable : HUP

74. Author Wharton : EDITH

75. In a mood : TESTY

78. Farm fraction : ACRE

82. Is down with : HAS. And 85. Came down with : GOT

 83. Pitchers may hold them : ICED TEAS. Of course I was thinking of baseball! Iced Lemon Tea (with honey) is the default summer drink in Hong Kong.

84. Bloodhound asset : NOSE

86. Scrolling convenience : ARROW KEY

88. Dating concerns for teens : CURFEWS. Our college dorm lady closed the door at 11:00pm sharp. Crazy days.

90. Turf maintenance brand : TORO

92. Library, e.g. : LENDER. IRS does not send libraries the tax form instruction booklets this year. Made Boomer mad. Do you all e-file?

93. Detests : ABHORS

94. Bar order : DOUBLE

95. Like many metal joints : WELDED

97. Rap sheet entry : ALIAS

98. Type smaller than pica : ELITE

99. Fool, with "up" : TRIP

100. Macbeth's burial site : IONA

101. Worshipper of the sun god Inti : INCA. I normally spell "worshiper" with one P. You?

102. School attachment? : YARD. I think I put in MARM first.

103. Lackawanna's lake : ERIE

104. Make mention of : CITE

105. Prismatic bone : ULNA

106. Animal that doesn't sound very interesting : BOAR. Ha ha.

107. Season opener? : ESS. So is PRE.

 C.C.