Tuesday, February 10, 2015 Kevin Christian

Theme: 11-13-11 - You don't need to be a yegg to crack these combinations.

17A. Computer user's combination : CUT AND PASTE

39A. Computer user's combination : POINT AND CLICK

64A. Computer user's combination : DRAG AND DROP

Argyle here with Kevin. We haven't seen him in awhile but we're glad to have him back. And since you are probably computer savvy or you wouldn't be here, I won't explain the combos. Let's just say there is a beauty in the tightness of this theme, clues and answers.

Across:

1. Waned : EBBED

6. "Boyhood" actor Ethan : HAWKE. Any reviews?

11. Taking a personal day, say : OFF. Strange entry.

14. Emancipation Proclamation subject : SLAVE

15. Tale of Achilles and Agamemnon : ILIAD. The Odyssey and the Iliad are among the oldest extant works of Western literature. (On my reading bucket list. ;-) )

16. Bro : PAL

19. Green prefix : ECO

20. Gallery display : ART

21. Pinnacle : TOP

22. Accustoms (to) : ENURES

24. Wan : PALE

26. Pen points : NIBs. Fountain pens, not the ball point kind.

29. They may be run at bars : TABS

30. What potatoes and needles both have : EYES. Sewing needles, not the hypodermic kind.

31. AT&T, briefly : TELCO. Shortened version of TELecommunications COmpany

33. Nebraska tribe : OTOE. They reminded me; no ERIE today.

34. Biblical beast : ASS

36. Waikiki's island : OAHU

38. Aegean island : IOS

43. 14-time NBA All-Star Duncan : TIM. He played his entire career for the San Antonio Spurs. That's something.

44. Washing machine filler : LOAD

45. Anthem contraction : O'ER

46. Indian princess : RANI

48. Rainbow maker : PRISM

 

50. Leave out : OMIT

54. Have __: be connected : AN IN

55. Boy with a dragon, in a Disney classic : PETE

56. Wine region near San Francisco : NAPA

57. Part of USSR : SOVIET

60. Louis XVI, for one : ROI. (King)

62. Resistance measure : OHM

63. "Game of Thrones" airer : HBO

68. Spot for a Bluetooth headset : EAR

69. United Arab Emirates city : DUBAI

70. Cat-__-tails : O-NINE. (whip)

71. Dr. of rap : DRE

72. Pine (for) : YEARN

73. Modern surgical tool : LASER

Down:

1. Get away from it all : ESCAPE

2. DVD alternative : BLU-RAY

3. War movie scene : BATTLE

4. Actress Gabor : EVA

5. Bit of progress : DENT

6. Many a Woodstock attendee : HIPPIE

7. In the style of : À LA

8. Ill. neighbor : WIS. Illinois/Wisconsin

9. Prince William's wife : KATE. Cheeky, she is Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

10. Genesis garden : EDEN

11. Like Verdi's most famous works : OPERATIC

12. Subject of the 2010 film "The Social Network" : FACEBOOK

13. Follows dental advice : FLOSSES

18. "Please continue" : "DON'T STOP"

23. __-Aztecan: language family : UTO

25. Actor Morales : ESAI

27. Dagwood's wife : BLONDIE

28. Big bunch : SCAD

32. "Give me a break!" : "OH, COME ON!"

35. NBC show with skits : SNL

37. Suffix with glob : ULE

39. Place for cocktails and music : PIANO BAR

40. Hardly a picky eater? : OMNIVORE

41. 50+ org. : AARP. Formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, now simply AARP, Inc.

42. Waffle maker : IRON

43. Vandalized : TRASHED

47. Pasta suffix : INI

49. Muscle injury : STRAIN

51. New Zealand natives : MAORIs

52. Samsung Galaxy competitor : iPHONE

53. Mess (with), as a lock : TAMPER

58. Whirlpool : EDDY

59. T, on a test : TRUE

61. Fan mail recipient : IDOL

65. Lawyer's gp. : ABA. (American Bar Association)

66. Long-snouted fish : GAR. Ugly but Native Americans used the scales of the gar as arrowheads. Tough.

67. "CSI" evidence : DNA

 

Argyle

Monday, February 9, 2015 Joel Mackerry

Theme: Boom Boom, Out Go the Lights. The lights come back on when the start of these five seemingly random entries are brought together by the unifier.

17A. *Handy tool to have when you're out of loose-leaf paper : HOLE PUNCH. Black Hole - where the car keys go.

29A. *Amulet : MAGIC CHARM. Black Magic - how the keys disappeared.

37A. *Prime ballpark accommodation : BOX SEAT. Black Box - in the news all to often.

39A. *Architectural style featuring geometric shapes : ART DECO. Black Art - without an 's' on Art, it is African American Art.

44A. *Stand-up venue : COMEDY CLUB. Black Comedy - definitely two meanings; comedy that employs morbid, gloomy, grotesque, or calamitous situations in its plot or comedy either by African Americans or shows featuring characters of African ethnicity. Redd Foxx had it all covered.

60A. Ostracize ... and what the first words of the answers to starred clues comprise : BLACKLIST. In our sense, BLACK LIST.

Argyle here with another debut and a good one at that. A few tough words and some crosswordese but all in all, a good start to the week.

Across:

1. "The Alphabet Song" opening : A B C D

5. Closed : SHUT

9. Postpone : DEFER

14. Lemony in taste : SOUR. Our first CSO. (Coincidental Shout Out)

15. "__ Lisa" : MONA

16. Overjoy : ELATE. If Mona was elated, she didn't show it.

19. Red-suited reindeer driver : SANTA. My personal CSO.

20. China's Zhou __ : ENLAI

21. Forming a queue : LINING UP

23. Memory aid, such as "HOMES" for the Great Lakes : MNEMONIC

26. Amount paid : COST

34. Sch. in the smallest state : URI. (University of Rhode Island)

35. T-shirt sizes, for short : SML. small, medium, large

36. Sound portion of a movie : AUDIO

41. Amazed : IN AWE

42. Regret : RUE

43. "__ Misérables" : LES

48. French father : PÈRE

49. Kids' show host with a "Neighborhood" : MR. ROGERS

51. "Will you marry me?" is one : PROPOSAL

55. Flusters : FAZES

59. Deceived : LED ON

63. Submit tax returns online : eFILE. Timely.

64. Actor Lugosi : BELA

65. Sulk : MOPE

66. Small and unimportant : DINKY

67. Cheese from the Netherlands : EDAM

                  Gill Brooks

68. Winter fall : SNOW. Enough already!

Down:

1. Arthur of tennis : ASHE. Crossword's favorite player.

2. Timely benefit : BOON

3. Select with care : CULL

4. Imagined while sleeping : DREAMT. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

5. Church-founded Dallas sch. : SMU. (Southern Methodist University)

6. Luv : HON. Not exactly abbreviations; I'm not sure what to call them.

7. Clean with Liquid-Plumr : UNCLOG

8. Hummus paste : TAHINI

9. Dry up : DESICCATE. The little packages you find with some items is desiccant.

10. Vivacity : ELAN

11. Vampire tooth : FANG. Normally, they come in pairs.

12. Caesar's immortal "And you?" : "ET TU?"

13. Gather in a field : REAP

18. Bowler's target : PIN. CSO Boomer.

22. Actor Cage, in tabloids : NIC

24. Austen heroine : EMMA. "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich."

25. Milkshake additive : MALT. How common is it? You have to ask for it around here.

26. Like Rubik's creation : CUBIC

27. Maine college town : ORONO

28. Early riser's hr. : SIX AM

30. 1963 Paul Newman film : "HUD"

31. Dancer Astaire : ADELE. She was Fred's elder sister, and his partner in a 27-year career in vaudeville and theater, beginning when he was five and she was eight.

32. Potato cutter : RICER. I wouldn't want to be that potato; Julia looks demented.

33. Bullwinkle, for one : MOOSE

35. Start-up cash : SEED MONEY

38. Nor. neighbor : SWE. Norway/Sweden

39. Cut __: dance, in old slang : A RUG

40. Hick : RUBE

45. 1520 and 2015, e.g.: Abbr. : YRs

46. Buster who played Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon : CRABBE. He was raised in Hawaii. I didn't know that. Wiki link

47. Lazed : LOLLED

48. Biblical songs : PSALMS

50. Bobby's monogram, in '60s politics : RFK. Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy

51. Argued in court : PLED

52. Lower-interest mtge. : REFI. (ReFinance)

53. Norse war god : ODIN

54. President when Texas was annexed : POLK

56. Utah national park : ZION

57. 1960s-'70s Boston Bruins nickname : ESPO. Phil Esposito

58. Hearty dish : STEW

61. Pie __ mode : À LA

62. Pic taker : CAM. picture/camera

Argyle

Note from C.C.

Happy Birthday to our talented Saturday Stud Splynter! Hope you're having fun making the board/card game during your precious one-week vacation. I love reading what you think of the  puzzle every Saturday and getting a glimpse of what's going on in your life. Thanks for all your hard work, Splynter!

Sunday, February 8, 2015 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme:  "Movie Trailers". Our lovely Marti has appended a word to familiar movie titles and then hilarity ensued as the resulting phrase made sense but in a fun way. My favorite was 

56A. Movie about a morning mixer? : THE BREAKFAST CLUB SODA, which in this case seems to be Coca Cola and not CLUB SODA. Gotta love product placement fees!
 

22A. Movie about a second-place swordsman? : BLADE RUNNER UP - Probably had a bad epee

39A. Movie about a case of brilliance? : THE SHINING EXAMPLE

80A. Movie about remedial grammar? : BACK TO THE FUTURE TENSE - When we hit 88 mph, we will have returned to 1985

96A. Movie about a gabfest getting out of hand? : RAGING BULL SESSION (not much gabbing going on in this session)

119A. Movie about a Brownie coming of age? : GONE GIRL SCOUT - she sold me some Thin Mints and then split

I always have a good time with Marti's puzzles and this was no exception. I'll bet her fertile brain produced a big bone pile of rejected entries that didn't make the cut. 

After blogging for C.C. two weeks ago and Marti today, may I submit a humble entry - "Strength Of An Attractive Female"
 

                        Power"  

Get your popcorn, turn off your cell phones, sit back and enjoy the show! 

Across        

1. "Shucks!" : AW GEE

6. Alley roamers : TOM CATS - a venue our kitty will never see

13. Relatives of bolts : SCREWS - Betcha you've got a drawer at home full of both like we do

 

 

19. Contemporary of Burns : BENNY

20. Central __ : AMERICA - I only know Panama and Guatemala on a map for sure. You?

 

 

21. Red choice : CLARET - Yup, it's Marti's puzzle!

24. Went around : ROTATED - We ROTATED kids every 12 weeks for 34 years so I got everyone of the 400+ Eighth graders. No wonder I can't remember them!

26. Fifth-century invader : ATTILA - Romans called him "The Scourge of God"

27. As above, in footnotes : IDEM - Not IBID. Footnoting was "The Scourge of College" for me. 

28. Logan of "60 Minutes" : LARA

29. Con opening : NEO

30. It might include problems : TEST - Was that Central America test above a problem?

32. Syria's most populous city : ALEPPO - Millions have fled

35. Stupefyin' Jones creator : CAPP - Julie Newmar wowed 'em in that role on Broadway and reprised the character in the 1959 movie version of Lil' Abner.
 

36. Rocks, maybe : ICE - not allowed in some venues ;-)

44. "Finale Ultimo" chorus in "The Sound of Music" : NUNS - Reprise #2. The NUNS sang Climb Every Mountain against this fabulous backdrop.

 

 

46. Dire destiny : DOOM

47. Actress Vardalos : NIA - Tom Hanks' wife Rita Wilson, of Greek heritage, convinced him to see NIA's play and then Hanks' company, Playtone, got the movie off the ground.

 

 

48. Mudville dud : CASEY - He shouldna taken two strikes!

49. Per se : AS SUCH

52. Cocktail word for "strained" : COLADA - Learning for me. I've strained to get to the car after too many pina coladas.

54. "12 Angry Men" actor Cobb : LEE J - Did that kid really kill his dad or not?

61. Rembrandt van __ : RYN - He went by his first name like Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni 

62. One who gives a hoot : OWL

63. Some "MIB" characters : ET'S -  I liked 'em better in Close Encounters

64. Prefix with metric : ISO - As in ISOMETRIC exercise. Let's all pause for three reps!

 

 

65. Guns : REVS - Followed by "She's real fine my 409..."

67. 1977 Steely Dan album : AJA - Pronounced Asia, the name of a Korean bride taken by Donald Fagen's friend's brother's wife

68. Fisher daughter on "Six Feet Under" : CLAIRE

70. Eur. peak on the Decade Volcanoes list : MT ETNA - Lots of company.

 

 

73. Slammer : PEN

74. Milkweed features : PODS - Here is a piece of Milkweed Pod art by our constructor Marti that she calls Parakeets. Yeah, I know, she's pretty talented! 
 

76. 911 responder, for short : EMT

77. Game-winning line : O O O 

 

 

78. Austrian article : EIN - Ich bin EIN Berliner still gives me goosebumps 

79. Bard's preposition : ERE

86. River islets : AITS - sometimes, what gets learned here, stays here

87. Steps in for : ACTS AS - In the last Husker bowl game, another coach had to ACT AS the head coach for fired Bo Pelini

88. One might get a return : SENDER - Only Big Girls Don't Cry kept Elvis' Return To SENDER from the #1 spot in December 1962

89. Pre-Little League game : T-BALL

92. "Selena" star, to fans : J LO

93. Ton : SLEW

95. Paper or plastic alternative : TOTE
 

102. Agree silently : NOD 

103. Solo often in Italian : ARIA - I'll take Nessun Dorma

104. It had a big part in "The Ten Commandments" : RED SEA - Big "Part"? Good one Marti!

105. Tater : SPUD 

107. Denver winter hrs. : MST

108. Big do : FETE

109. Popular tablet : I PAD - Don't ask Joann to choose between her iPad and me!

113. Blows : ERUPTS - See map at 70A for examples

117. Naval attire : PEA COAT - I'd be willing to bet there's some of these hanging in closets among our sea-going (sea-went) sailors here at the Corner.

 

 

122. Laid-back : AT EASE - Now if the space is between the A and the T...

123. Like the Empire State Building : ART DECO

124. Helped by the jet stream, as a flight : EARLY - A BOAC flight from NY to London arrived an hour and a half early recently as a 200 mph jet stream pushed it up to near the speed of sound

125. ATM part : TELLER

126. "Ah, it's clear now!" : YES I SEE

127. Inscribed pillar : STELE

Down:

1. Group whose logo looks the same in a mirror : ABBA - Hey, this would work, but not as I just typed it.

 

 

2. Shoemaker's strip : WELT

3. Flying pest : GNAT

4. Call the whole thing off : END IT - "Just take one dip and END IT!"

 

 

5. Lace hole : EYELET

6. Start of ancient Troy? : TAU - τροία

7. Upscale hotel chain : OMNI

8. Heal : MEND 

9. First Nations tribe : CREE 

10. Aviator : AIRMAN - Sgt. Major Dickerson had trouble with this AIRMAN.

 

 

11. Horned Frogs' sch. : TCU

12. Flower in trees? : SAP - Aha, Marti, you didn't get me!

13. Pickle : SCRAPE

14. Laundry brand : CLOROX

15. Pro __ : RATA

16. The Gay '90s, e.g. : ERA

17. Messy-meal handouts : WET-NAPS - With a side of ribs

18. Church feature : STEEPLE - C'mon, you've made this STEEPLE, haven't you?

 

 

23. Impetuous : RASH

25. Grumpy companion : DOPEY

28. Evian Championship co-sanctioning org. : LPGA

31. CNN founder Turner : TED

33. Godiva competitor : LINDT
 

34. "Giant Brain" introduced in 1946 : ENIAC

35. Key of 20 Haydn symphonies : C MAJOR

36. Caught : IN A TRAP - Speaking of Elvis, which of his songs has "IN A TRAP" in the lyric? It's my favorite.

37. Plum position : CUSHY JOB - Thanks for the raise, Dad!

38. Baja city : ENSENADA - Inlet or cove in español

40. Put (away), as money : SOCK

41. Bojangles, e.g. : HOOFER 

42. "Sorry, can't stop to chat" : I'M LATE - I'M LATE, for a very important date...

43. Whizzes : ACES

45. Hero : SUB

50. Gator relative : CROC 

51. Computer company co-founder Bill : HEWLETT - Garage in Palo Alto, CA where Bill started. California named it "The Birthplace Of Silicon Valley".
 

53. Braying beast : ASS

54. Sheen : LUSTER

55. Piano keys not played in a 35-Down scale : EBONIES - Not a sharp or flat in sight.

 

 

57. Los __ : ALAMOS - A more destructive birthplace

58. A bad one can raise one's score : LIE

59. Trust : DEPEND ON

60. Put off by : AVERSE TO 

66. Showed disdain : SNEERED - What Elvis did when he sang Return To Sender

69. Hairy sitcom cousin : ITT

70. Airy dessert : MOUSSE - You can see some of that air here.
 

71. Bottom lines : TOTALS

72. Hold 'em opener : ANTE

75. Colleague of Thomas : SCALIA

77. O'er and o'er : OFT - Tis OFT we see ere and o'er 

81. Brickmaking tool : KILN

82. Lecture sites : HALLS

83. Paris' __ des Beaux-Arts : ECOLE

84. Doesn't allow to gather dust : USES -  Our theme song?

 

 

85. Otolaryngology doc : ENT - An ENT had my head scanned and it revealed nothing. Wait a minute... 

89. Lady's friend : TRAMP

90. Stool, often : BAR SEAT

91. Inflame : AGITATE

92. Patron saint of lost causes : JUDE

94. "America's Dairyland": Abbr. : WIS - Maybe not... 
 

97. Washday challenge : GREASE

98. Outdo : BETTER - What musical featured, Anything You Can Do, I Can Do BETTER?

99. Superdome team : SAINTS - Their post-Katrina success culminating in the 07/08 Super Bowl win really help put NOLA back on its feet

100. GM subsidiary : OPEL

101. Drinks on a 90-Down : NURSES

106. Old Venetian coin : DUCAT

108. Mustang that just arrived : FOAL - cute

110. Mani go-with : PEDI - had one last year, haven't been back

111. A long time : AGES

112. Rollers for high rollers : DICE

114. Tiny sweater? : PORE - cute too

115. Eponymous 18th-century agriculturist Jethro __ : TULL - His invention of the horse drawn seed drill helped fuel the British Agricultural Revolution.

 

 

116. Eye sore : STYE

118. Animation still : CEL - This 1935 CEL, the first with Mickey Mouse in color, sold for $420,000. Most, if not all, animators are now laid off.
 

119. Lively : GAY

120. Vein contents : ORE

121. Anagram of 120-Down : ROE - nice coupling finish!

No puzzle to do, no blog to write and I sang and played in church last night. Hmmm... I wonder if that old sock drawer needs a look-see.