Saturday, May 9th, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing J,X)

Blocks: 30

Dammit~!  I was doing so well with this one, but the NE corner had too many proper names for me to get any kind of start, and therefore, I had to cheat - and still struggled.  Oh well.  What a shame, too, because the SW corner had such a warm, fuzzy* feel to it.  I was feeling pretty sure we were getting a Silkie, and I did well on the last one, so I was overly confident today.  Triple 10-letter corners across, and triple 8-letter downs.  Two 12-letter spanners;

30a. Character in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" : QUESTION MARK - I got this via perps, but I got fooled by the "?" in the title - not the name of a person from the film....

39a*. Pie order : ANCHOVY PIZZA - I do love pizza, but have to admit, I have not had anchovy

Delaward~!

ACROSS:

1. Grooming tool : RAZOR BLADE - I let this one go to start; my friend Heather is a very popular dog groomer here on the North Fork of L.I., and so I was "sorta" stuck in that frame of mind

11. Holding pattern nos. : ALTs - Altitudes, the height in feet that a plane 'holds' over an airport - who else went with "ETAs"~?

15. Disappears : EVAPORATES - like my confidence in finishing without a cheat

16. 1974 N.L. batting champ Ralph : GARR - baseball for C.C.

17. Huge success : MONSTER HIT - Everything seems to be a 'monster hit' today

18. Morales of "Criminal Minds" : ESAI - doubled up from yesterday

19. In Paris, in Paris : ICI - Frawnche for "here"

20. For whom New York's Queensboro Bridge was renamed : ED KOCH - took me a second to remember this

21. Diamond discovered in the '60s : NEIL - ugh.  duped.  big time. 

22. Tight ends? : TEES - T ighT, get it~?

24. Weather report abbr. : SSE

25. Casual qualifier : SORTA

26. Child player : STREEP - oh.  JULIA Child, got it.  IMDb

29. "Camelot" Tony winner, 1961 : BURTON - OK, I cheated.  Shoulda known this

34*. Try to win : WOO - I tried to win the blue-eyed beauty who worked at the 39a. restaurant

37. Do a fixer-upper job : REPAINT - I am done with the repaint job at aMano restaurant, but there's more to be done at A Lure

38. Fed. property overseer : GSA - General Services Administration - the Wiki - I was thinking "HUD", but was pretty sure the "U" was not going to work

42. Family secret, perhaps : RECIPE

43. Best in a restaurant : OUTEAT

47. Creator of Heffalumps : MILNE - Winnie the Pooh

48. Fighter acronym : MIG - and more Cold War initials at 53d. Sputnik letters : CCCP

51. "M*A*S*H" actor : FARR - I think HuskerG is a big fan of "Klinger"

52. Surfeit : GLUT

53. Warning : CAVEAT - Latin "let him beware"

56. Realize : SEE

57. Bonanza : LODE

58. Capital on I-77 : CHARLESTON - West Virginia; takes me about 7mins to do the I-70 thru Wheeling on my way to Cincinnati

60. Through : OVER

61. Term coined by Hugh Hefner : CENTERFOLD - I did not know this

62*. Bonds : WEDS

63. Winnings : PRIZE MONEY

DOWN:

1. Pays : REMITS

2. Relative of a stilt : AVOCET - this bird has legs; and this one; and this one

3. Comparatively kooky : ZANIER

4. Photo __ : OPs - "opportunities"; I so hesitated to put this in, but it was correct

5. Learning method : ROTE

6. Gave rise to : BRED

7. Literary symbols of daybreak : LARKS - ah, not "COCKS"

8. One of a literary trio : ATHOS - The Three Musketeers

9. Prepare for takeoff, maybe : DE-ICE

10. O.T. book : ESTHer

11. 18 for graduating high school, e.g. : AGE NORM - today's "fun sponge"; I get it, but it just would not come to me, being in the 'down'

12. Combat game : LASER TAG - I have played the game in a local arena, played it in the woods with friends, but I find paintball to be a lot more exciting

13. Quislings : TRAITORS - Cheated.  I did, however, use the actual dictionary, and not Google

14. Colombo's country : SRI LANKA - Dah~!  I was stuck in South America for too long

23. Et __ : SEQ - more Latin, used in law, "and the following"

25. "Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak" writer : SUN-TZU

27. Atlas section : EUROPE

28. Bug : PEEVE

29. 1951 Reagan co-star : BONZO

31. Mole, maybe : SPY

32. 31-Down strategy : TAP - Wiretap, e.g.

33. Only Super Bowl won by the Jets : III

34*. Virtuous feeling : WARM GLOW

35*. R.E.M. hit, with "The" : "ONE I LOVE"

36. Blocked : OCCLUDED - like clouds

40. Ones saying "warmer," perhaps : HINTERS - "you're getting cold, colder, ice cold, warm, warmer, warmer...."

41. Justice Dept. agency : ATF

44. City near Bethlehem : EASTON

45. Specialized cactus branch : AREOLE

46. In : TRENDY

48. "Real Time" host : MAHER

49. 14th-century Russian prince : IVAN I

50. "Still Standing" co-star Jami : GERTZ

54. Sailor's direction : ALEE

55. Time spent in one's seat : TERM - political term

59. It's nearly 700 mi. south of Sea-Tac : SFO - Nailed it, but I knew Sea-Tac is the airport in Washington state

Splynter

Friday, May 8, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Cast your bread upon the water and out comes a pun puzzle.

Well after marti had another puzzle run with Jeffrey ending last Thursday, he is back to Friday with a puzzle right up my carbohydrate loving alley. As we discussed earlier in the week with the WHERE/WARE/WEAR/WERE  sound, a puzzle based on sound-alike humor can be under-appreciated by those who speak very differently from the constructor. For me, while 16 across was easy, I do not say 'HALLA' I use the "CHHH" sound, so the HOLIDAY transfer was not there, but it really did not slow me down. All of the puns require some regional accent but I found them all very entertaining, especially in the context of the limited field of types of bread. Jeffrey fills out the theme with two grid-spanners (my guess is RYE sense of humor was the inspiration) and a built-in reveal which I did not need. The rest is fairly straight-forward with lots of 6's and a couple of 7s and 8s. The list is ACTION, ARARAT,  HANNAH,  LOOK TO,  MISHAP,  NOISES,  OOLALA,  OPPOSE, ORANGE,  PASTOR,  RAMMED,  RIYADH,  ARCHAIC,  BETIDES, ARRANGED, ERIC IDLE, with some also returning fill from recent puzzles. It played like a Thursday for me.

16A. Good feelings during Jewish bread celebrations?:  CHALLAH DAY CHEER (15).  HOLIDAY Cheer was enough for me to get his idea, if you have not had French Toast made from Challa you are missing a real treat.

25A. Cautionary tale about Greek bread? : PITA AND THE WOLF (14). PETER and the Wolf is a crossword regular (see yesterday)  and the boy who cried wolf still gets much play. My favorite of the fill, if not of the bread. Pita is so thick.

45A. Baker of only one type of Indian bread? : NAAN CONFORMIST (14). NONconformist. Is there a variation in saying NAAN? I like it infrequently.

62A. Ability to laugh at deli bread ... and at three other answers in this puzzle? : RYE SENSE OF HUMOR (15). WRY Sense of Humor. I grew up with caraway seeds.

 I cannot think of any English muffin, brioche, croissant, baguette or focaccia pun so on to the rest.

(ooo, maybe something about a CROSS AUNT?!?)

Across:

1. Flock leader : PASTOR. Not of sheep...no religion no politics, no picture of Tammy Faye. This was easier because of yesterdays clue/fill.

7. Old : ARCHAIC. What a nice old word.

14. Film genre : ACTION. When asked who the best present day action movie star is, Dolph Lundgren suggested perhaps it is this STAR.

15. Co-creator of the Rutles, a parodic band : ERIC IDLE. The parodic addition seems unnecessary.

18. iComfort maker : SERTA. SEALY has the same number of letters. Anyone else tempted to put in APPLE?

19. Spiritualist's sighting : AURA.

20. Greek peak : OSSA. I do not associate Greece with snow; this is near Mt. Olympus?

21. Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer : LIN. The now almost forgotten Jeremy is replaced by MAYA.  Not to be confused with 40A. Draw, as a portrait : LIMN.

23. Newspaper thickener : ADS. Especially on Sundays.

33. Scores : MANY.

34. Big opening : MAW. Usually associated with a voracious animal's mouth.

35. Calf neighbor : TIBIA. Muscle and bone.

36. Scraps : ORTS. Those little leftover pieces of food, I think from German. Not to be confused with 49A. Conquistador's treasure : ORO. Spanish for Gold.

37. Commandment word : SHALT.

41. Home of minor league baseball's RubberDucks : AKRON. A cool unknown. LINK. Damn, Styx is playing there tonight.

43. Friend of Eeyore : ROO. Kanga's little one in Pooh's world.

44. Signs of island hospitality : LEIS. The bad double entendres are too easy.

50. Decorative swimmer : KOI. They often look like huge goldfish but are variations of Carp.

51. Mont Blanc, par exemple : ALPE. Fill for marti.

55. "A good deed __ ever forgot": "Huckleberry Finn" : AIN'T. Unremembered but easy fill.

57. Blush cause : SHAME. "Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to."  Mark Twain,

65. Planned : ARRANGED.

66. Hit with force : RAMMED.

67. Happens to : BETIDES. Another great word from the past, often with woe, "One of these was punctuality and woe betide anyone who arrived late in school without a very good reason for being so." Fraser, Christine Marion NOBLE BEGINNNINGS

68. Fight : OPPOSE.

Down:

1. D.C. fundraisers : PACS. Political Action Committees are already gearing up for 2016.

2. Pine : ACHE. Not the tree, the yearning.

3. Take the lead : STAR.

4. Slope : TILT.

5. "C'est magnifique!" : OO LA LA. Linda.

6. Genetic messenger : RNA.

7. Ancient landing spot : ARARAT. We had this Mount back in a Gareth Thursday in April.

8. King Saud University city : RIYADH. Did you remember where the H goes?

9. Speculative bond rating : CCC. Oh my, not a good bond, but an extra C shout out for the Corner?

10. Jaunty greeting : HI HO. Be careful...

11. Summer quaffs : ADES. A CSO; thanks JW!

12. Martinique et Réunion : ILES. We have volcanoes and islands this week.

13. Michael of "Arrested Development" : CERA.

15. URL ending : EDUcation.

17. Disney's Montana : HANNAH.    THEN.       NOW.

22. Pet food creator Paul : IAMS. The story. LINK.


24. Place for quiet, at times : SET. Quiet on the set! Rolling!

25. Yukon warmer : PARKA. Last week ANORAK, this week...

26. Mural beginning : INTRA. I was playing intramural tag football when Kennedy was shot.

27. 1980s-'90s heavyweight champ : TYSON. He was not impressed with PACQUIAO MAYWEATHER fight, and consumers have filed a class action LAWSUIT based on the undisclosed shoulder injury.

28. Grumpy, say : DWARF. More Disney; or not Disney

29. Hesitant thought : WILL I. or won't I?

30. Theatrical honors : OBIES. Off Broadway. (OB)

31. Control, in a way : LIMIT.

32. Followers : FANS.

33. Halloween effect : MOAN. I hope more often than that in your home.

38. Seek guidance from : LOOK TO.

39. Brand for greenskeepers : TORO. Lawnmowers etc.

42. Sgt., for one : NCO.

46. Grand Marnier flavor : ORANGE. A shout out to Amy?

47. Malfunction indicators, perhaps : NOISES. When you start your car and you hear things it often leads to a ...

48. Thing gone wrong : MISHAP.

51. Many an 8-Down native : ARAB.

52. Harp relative : LYRE. Back after LYRA yesterday.

53. Sassy : PERT.

54. Actor Morales : ESAI. He is crossword staple.

56. Composer Rorem : NED. He is crossword staple also.

58. Hardest part : HUMP. Get over the....

59. It's used in rounds : AMMO.

60. Springfield watering hole : MOE'S. Speaking of rounds...CSOs abound for our Chairman.

61. Paris : terre :: Bonn : __ : ERDE. Earth.

63. Word with game or point : END. Which we are near....as we pace...

64. Not to : FRO. Cute

When  you have a bread puzzle you are bound to have some crumby clues (LMAO), but I had a fine time and one of my faster Fridays. Damn, I am missing Styx, lemonade out.

Thursday, May 7, 2015 Gareth Bain

Theme: Anagram

17-Across. Washington landmark : CAPITOL BUILDING.

Night image

38-Across. Escher's "Relativity" is an example of it : OPTICAL ILLUSION.

Kind of like the stairs at Hogwarts

61-Across. 9-Across treatments : TOPICAL STEROIDS.

What else can I say?

Did you see the common letters as you were solving? I had to go back and look for the theme when I was done. Pretty straight forward, and just a hint of deviousness in the clueing, so I was wondering if I had the wrong day of the week?!

Across

1. __ of Cleves : ANNE.

5. Ink, so to speak : TATS.

9. Skin problem : RASH. Get out those TOPICAL STEROIDS.

13. Genuine : REAL.

14. "How much wood __ a woodchuck chuck ..." : WOULD. ("...if a woodchuck could chuck wood. A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.")

16. "__ Wood sawed wood": tongue twister opening : ESAU. Did he beat the woodchuck, though? I wonder if our resident thespian Ol' Man Keith knows this one?

20. Hidden supply : STASH.

21. Major installation? : ARMY BASE. Here's a bit of that devious clueing I mentioned. Not an art exhibit or a new kitchen, but the home of a high ranking officer.

22. Pianist Dame Myra __ : HESS. Most famous for her luncheon concerts during the London blitz.

25. Site of South America's westernmost mainland point : PERU. The key word is "mainland."

26. Fairy tale patriarch : PAPA BEAR.

30. Latin dances : SALSAS.

34. Saccharide suffix : OSE. Glucose...fructose...sucrose...(am I being verbose?)

35. Legal write-up : BRIEF.

37. Elizabethan strings : LUTE.

42. Provided with an email dupe : CC'ed. Shoutout to our leader!

43. Poke around : SNOOP.

44. Many corp. logos : TMs. Trademarks

45. Apollo home : HARLEM. The Apollo Theater in Harlem.

48. "The Wolf of Wall Street" director : SCORSESE. I didn't catch that one - any good?

50. Prominent theater sign : EXIT.

52. Suture securer : KNOT.

53. Impeded : SLOWED UP.

57. Bandleader Shaw : ARTIE.

64. NASCAR route : OVAL.

65. Incline : SLANT.

66. __ school : PREP.

67. Use a blowtorch on : WELD.

68. James of jazz : ETTA. And a partial clecho:

69. James portrayer : SEAN. Connery. Bond.


Down

1. Hammer-throw trajectories : ARCS.

2. With 59-Down, "Very clever!" : NEAT. And 59-Down. See 2-Down : IDEA.

3. Popular wine source : NAPA. Lately I have latched onto Chilean wines - their Carménères originate from Bordeaux.

4. Prophet in 2 Kings : ELISHA.

5. "Tea for __" : TWO.

6. Former Time Warner division : AOL.

7. Big wind : TUBA. Another little misdirection.

8. Drink noisily : SLURP.

9. Popular energy drinks : RED BULLS.

10. China setting : ASIA. Were you fooled? We have had this clue many times before.

11. Comic __: typeface : SANS. Hint: Unless you are applying for clown college, do not use this font for your resume!

12. Whopping : HUGE.

15. Places to see FDR : DIMES.

18. "Doctor Who" broadcaster : THE BBC.

19. Constellation named for an instrument : LYRA. Beautiful old celestial map showing Lyra on the right.

23. Shot contents : SERA. Did you really want "ryes," Tin?

24. Some voyages : SAILS.

26. Shelter resident : POOCH. And another partial clecho:

27. Shelter org. : ASPCA.

28. Hero in a Prokofiev work : PETER. The wolf always gets second billing.

29. Rider's handful : REINS.

31. Hotel choice : SUITE.

32. Elemental bits : ATOMS.

33. "Common" asset : SENSE. It' s the least common one...

36. Congregation : FLOCK.

39. New York airport name until 1963 : IDLEWILD. It was renamed after the assassination of JFK.

40. "On Golden Pond" bird : LOON.

41. Big fuss : UPROAR.

46. Suit : EXEC.

47. Mythical gold maker : MIDAS.

49. Barbershop sharpeners : STROPS.

51. Bridal shop netting : TULLE. I always wonder what they are hiding under there?

53. Put in the overhead bin : STOW.

54. "All you need," in a Beatles song : LOVE.

55. Australian export : OPAL.

56. Hurdle for a jr. : PSAT.

58. Flag : TIRE.

60. "World Series of Poker" channel : ESPN.

62. Explosive initials : TNT.

63. Greek vowel : ETA.

After Zeta

Marti, over and out!

Wednesday, May 6th 2015 Michael Dewey

Theme: All About Eve-n The word EVEN is wrapped around each theme entry.

20A . Toy with a heating element : EASY BAKE OVEN. Wow, this old classic has gone all hi-tech and politically correct. It didn't look like this when I bought one for my daughter back in the 90's - it was pink in those days and it definitely didn't have a boy on the box. 

35A. Fairy tale villain : EVIL QUEEN. The antagonist in Snow White and other tales, and definitely a 22-Down in this incarnation:

45A. 1961 Rick Nelson hit : EVERLOVIN' I wasn't familiar with this song, and I can't say I'm surprised. It wasn't exactly a smash hit - it made the Billboard Top 20 in the US but only at #16.

55A. Neither ahead nor behind ... and what 20-, 35- and 45-Across are literally doing : BREAKING EVEN. A good thing after a weekend in Vegas, less so if we're announcing the company's annual results.

Morning! Thanks to Michael for this one; the theme entries split "EVEN" on a 1-3, 2-2 and 3-1 letter-count basis and a 3-2-1 word countdown, so a pleasing progression by the numbers; and a pangram to boot so plenty to like for a midweek offering.

I was having a little trouble with the west, so the theme reveal definitely gave me a leg-up there. When I thought a pangram was emerging that gave me another helping hand towards the end. Good stuff.

 Let's see what else catches the eye (Lana Parrilla as the Evil Queen obviously does!)

Across:

1. Common lunch hr. end : ONE PM

6. Lowers, as lights : DIMS

10. Drift gently : WAFT

14. Half an Evergreen State city : WALLA. Walla Walla, Washington. In the news as recently as Monday for making Global Yodel's list of the 15 most underrated cities in the US.

15. Fancy entrance : ARCH

16. Clickable image : ICON. Part of the WIMP quartet of user interface concepts introduced by Apple, "borrowed" from Xerox PARC research lab. Windows, Icons, Mice, Pointers

17. Bit of dental work : INLAY

18. Indian noble : RAJA

19. On deck : NEXT. No problem for C.C. I'm sure. Next batter up in the on deck circle at the ballpark.

23. Like "las" in Sp. : FEM. I had to look closely to see whether that was an L or an I, then some head-scratching before "Aha! Feminine".

24. Out of the reach of : BEYOND

27. Country where Quechua is an official language : PERU

30. Erstwhile TV ministry : PTL. No clue, needed the crosses. I didn't live in the US when this show was on the air, and to be honest I wouldn't have watched it anyway.

33. White Label Scotch maker : DEWARS. "Nailed it" says Tinbeni.

38. Camera setting : F/STOP. Controls the size of the aperture on a manual camera. Apparently the "F" stands for "focal ratio".

39. Carol contraction : 'TIS the season to be jolly, falalala ...

40. "Not my decision" : UP TO YOU

42. Hoppy brew, briefly : IPA. Cheers! Not much in the way of Food! for me today, so a liquid diet instead.

43. Satellite-launching rocket stage : AGENA. Developed by Lockheed and named for the alternate name of the star Beta Centauri because this upper stage would "ignite in the sky".

47. Nightly news fodder, with "the" : LATEST

49. "__ only a game" : IT'S. Not to the fans it's not. My English Premier League team Chelsea clinched the championship on Sunday so big smiles from me! Here's my Facebook profile picture today:

50. Marshy areas : FENS

51. Public figure? : NOTARY

53. Bungler : OAF

61. Clown of renown : BOZO. I had COCO first; that caused a little slowdown in the southwest.

64. Met or Nat : NL-ER. Another gimme for C.C! The New York Mets and the Washington Nationals in Major League Baseball's National League. For some reason I thought the Mets were in the AL, so I was left wondering how "TREADY" at 48D was a word.

65. Jazz singer O'Day : ANITA. Thank you, crosses.

66. Crumbled ice cream topping : OREO

67. 2013-'14 Magic Johnson Award winner Nowitzki : DIRK. Dallas Mavericks All-NBA power forward.

68. Eastern faith : ISLAM

69. Sticky goo : GUNK. Had "G", wanted "GLOP", saw sense.

70. Urges : YENS

71. Writer Zora __ Hurston : NEALE. Thank you, crosses.

Down:

1. Baby's boo-boo : OWIE

2. Family nickname : NANA

3. Plumbing joints : ELLS. I'm assuming ells are short for elbows, but I can't find anything to back that up.

4. Lighthearted : PLAYFUL

5. "I'll think it over" : MAYBE

6. Nyctophobe's fear : DARK. From the Greek nyktos, "of the night".

7. "Dies __": hymn : IRAE

8. Low-paying position, in slang : MCJOB.

9. Cut off : SHAVED

10. Gathers choice parts from : WINNOWS. Nice word.

11. Celebrated pilot : ACE

12. Cunning critter : FOX

13. Demolition aid : TNT. Boom!

21. Stimulate : AMP UP

22. Good-looker : EYEFUL

25. Hardy's "The Return of the __" : NATIVE

26. Pop over : DROP IN

27. "She loves me not" piece : PETAL

28. Greg of "B.J. and the Bear" : EVIGAN. All crosses, again. I'm relieved I knew AGENA otherwise the "G" would have been a big empty square when everything else was finished.

29. Take on successfully, as a challenge : RISE TO

31. Béret bearer : TÊTE. The grave accent on the first 'e' and the national stereotype is your hint that we're looking for a French word here.

32. Pope after John X : LEO VI

34. Bridge measures : SPANS

36. Deep-space energy source : QUASAR

37. Duma vote : NYET. Fourth language of the day. English, Spanish, French, now Russian.

41. Director Welles : ORSON

44. Tablet relative : NETBOOK. Lower-cost, simplified laptops running a browser such as Chrome.

46. Side with the ball : OFFENSE. Interesting. True for American Football, less so in other sports such as soccer where the offense and defense are on the field at the same time.

48. Hot, for now : TRENDY

52. New England collegian : YALIE

54. Born-__ : AGAIN. No doubt fans of the PTL Show at 30A

56. "Show Boat" composer : KERN

57. Really gets to : IRKS

58. TV handyman Bob : VILA. More crosses. Not a good "name" day for me today.

59. List-shortening abbr. : ET AL. Et alia in full. I like how list-shorteners seem to be abbreviated - also "et cetera".

60. Reputation : NAME

61. Marshy area : BOG. Second marsh of the day.

62. Tulsa sch. named for an evangelist : O.R.U. Oral Roberts. Born-again, PTL and this one make a evangelical trifecta.
.
63. "__ in the Art of Writing": Ray Bradbury collection : ZEN. When I corrected my "COCO" clown at 61A I tried BOBO instead. Then I saw I was left with "Ben in the Art of Writing" and asked myself "Who the heck is Ben?" The penny finally dropped.

That's it from me. Here's the grid:

Steve

Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: GOING POSTAL - The first word can precede STAMP.

17. Inevitable future event : DATE  WITH DESTINY. Date stamp. 

22. Slicing-dicing appliance : FOOD  PROCESSOR. Food stamp.

39. What an ant can't move, in song : RUBBER TREE PLANT. Rubber stamp. 

51. 1983 Murphy/Aykroyd comedy : TRADING PLACES. Trading stamp.

60. Philatelist's pride, and what the first words of 17-, 22-, 39- and 51-Across can be : STAMP COLLECTION. 

A first class puzzle from Marti - we should really letter have it. Did you hear about the unstamped letter? You wouldn't get it.

Melissa here.

Across:

1. Letters in a bachelor's ad : SWM. Single white male.

4. Bette's "Divine" nickname : MISS M. Bette Midler.

9. Carried on, as war : WAGED

14. "Caught you!" : O-HO

15. Chilling : ON ICE

16. Words of sympathy : I CARE

20. Partner of crafts : ARTS. Beautiful style of architecture.

21. Love, in Roma : AMORE. Italian. 

In the kitchen with love

28. Drag to court : SUE

29. Audiophile's components, collectively : STEREO

31. Glitzy wrap : BOA

34. Applies messily : DAUBS. I tried slops - daubs seems dainty to me. I looked it up. I was wrong.

38. Idi of Uganda : AMIN

43. Ottoman title : AGHA. Wiki.

44. Two under par : EAGLE

45. Prefix with classical : NEO

46. Like glee club music : CHORAL. Tried cheery first.

49. Ques. response : ANS

57. Has __ up one's sleeve : AN ACE

58. Killer whale : ORCA

66. Divining deck : TAROT

67. Attorney general under Reagan : MEESE

68. Debate side : CON

69. Agricultural coupling devices : YOKES

70. Possible "How'd you hurt your knee?" response : I FELL. Aw.

71. Mimic : APE

Down:

1. Baking __ : SODA

2. Fishing spot : WHARF

3. "Eureka" in California, e.g. : MOTTO. This prompted me to look up Oregon's state motto, where I currently live. Alis Volat Proprils (She Flies With Her Own Wings). I like it. What is your state's motto?

4. Work on a lawn : MOW

5. Pasta suffix : INI. Fettuccini.

6. Shankar gave George Harrison lessons on one : SITAR

7. Jerk : SCHMO. Schmuck.

8. French red wine : MEDOC. New to me.

9. Most knowing : WISEST

10. Play part, or play a part : ACT

11. Happy, in Le Havre : GAI. French - I had no idea. Shore excursion near Paris.

 

12. Directional suffix : ERN. Western.

13. Susan of "The Partridge Family" : DEY

18. Those, in Tijuana : ESOS

19. "__ Tu": 1974 hit : ERES. 

23. "Bro!" : DUDE. Don't taze me, Dude. Doesn't have the same ring.

24. Bartlett or Bosc : PEAR

25. Notary's imprint : SEAL

26. TV financial maven Suze : ORMAN

27. French queen : REINE, French word for "queen," not the name of a French queen.

30. Not duped by : ONTO

31. Bric-a-__ : BRAC

32. Should, with "to" : OUGHT

33. Detest : ABHOR

35. All-purpose vehicle, for short : UTE. Utility vehicle.

36. Push-up top : BRA

37. Part of a line: Abbr. : SEGment

40. Silents siren Theda : BARA

41. Israeli airline : EL AL

42. Clinton transportation secretary Federico : PENA

47. Makes fit : ADAPTS. See above.

48. "The Mod Squad" role : LINC. Looks a little like Lenny Kravitz.

 

50. Loch Lomond local : SCOT

52. Mother of Ashley and Wynonna : NAOMI. The Judds.

53. Treble symbol : G CLEF

54. Martinique volcano : PELEE

55. "All My Children" vamp : ERICA

56. Baskin-Robbins utensil : SCOOP

59. Green Gables girl : ANNE

60. Muddy pen : STY

61. Eastern "way" : TAO

62. Old couples carrier : ARK. Clever.

63. Stooge with bangs : MOE

64. Night class subj. : ESL

65. Animation collectible : CEL

Pardon me while I get back to googling Lenny Kravitz ....

Melissa

Note from C.C.:

Our beautiful Melissa is back! She will be blogging once a month. Melissa took a long break from the blog to take care of some family matter. She's sorely missed.

  

Monday, May 4, 2015 Kevin Christian and Andrea Carla Michaels

Theme: Homophones - Were you aware the sound in the middle of the theme entries was a homophone?

17A. 1957 Michael Landon horror film role : TEENAGE WEREWOLF

27A. "You're going to like the way you look" clothing chain : MEN'S WEARHOUSE

46A. Place to copy keys : HARDWARE STORE

62A. "Not in my backyard" : "ANYWHERE BUT HERE"

WARNING: Strong language. George Carlin(6:05) - NIMBY (Not in my back yard) (Dealing with homelessness)(and golf)

Argyle hear. No reveal but two spanners. You ought not have any problems with this one.

Across:

1. Reject, as a sweetheart : JILT

5. Bee Gees family name : GIBB

9. Beginning : ONSET

14. Emmy winner Falco : EDIE. Both comedy and drama.

15. Comédie musicale part : ACTE. French.

16. Beautiful, in Bologna : BELLA. Italian.

20. __ Arabia : SAUDI. Arabic. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud.

21. Nightclub in a Manilow song : COPA. "At the Copa, Copacabana, the hottest spot north of Havana!"

22. Tootsies : FEET

23. Poet Khayyám : OMAR

25. Exxon's ex-name : ESSO. And current, too.

32. Isr. neighbor : SYR. (Israel/Syria)

33. Listener? : EAR

34. "I give up!" : "UNCLE!"

36. Sailor's confinement : BRIG. and the occasional Marine could be found there.

38. Struck down, in 39-Down : SMOTE

41. "Finish the job!" : "DO IT!"

42. Curved like a rainbow : ARCED

44. "So that's your game!" : "A-HA!"

45. Function : USE

51. Baseball stitching : SEAM

52. Animal on the California state flag : BEAR

53. Trig or calc : MATH

56. Words claiming innocence : "NOT I"

58. Higher-ranking : UPPER

65. Skylit courtyards : ATRIA

66. "__ fair in love and war" : ALL'S

67. Extremely dry : ARID

68. __ to be: destined : MEANT

69. Jeans brand : LEES. Trademark Lee™

70. Women in habits : NUNS

Down:

1. New York footballers : JETS. 8–8 regular season 2014.

2. Notion : IDEA

3. In __ of: substituted for : LIEU

4. Muscle-to-bone connector : TENDON

5. Vaudeville bit : GAG

6. Banana split ingredient : ICE CREAM. Standard vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, right?

7. Call in a bingo hall : B TWO

8. Paging device : BEEPER

9. U.K. honor : OBE. Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

10. Recently discovered : NEWFOUNDland (icebergs)

11. Wild plum : SLOE

12. Fashion magazine : ELLE

13. 300-pound president : TAFT. William Howard Taft, our 27th President.

18. Goals : AIMS. Not ENDS today.

19. Calamine lotion target : RASH

24. Fills with wonder : AWEs

26. Almost worthless amount : SOU. Old French coin.

27. Gift from the Magi : MYRRH

28. "Fear of Flying" author Jong : ERICA

29. Like a loud crowd : AROAR

30. Clean with elbow grease : SCOUR

31. Beethoven's "Für __" : ELISE

32. Agcy. that aids start-ups : SBA. (Small Business Administration) Formed July 30, 1953.

35. French summer : ÉTÉ

37. "Rhapsody in Blue" composer : GERSHWIN

39. Holy Scripture : THE BIBLE

40. Lighten up : EASE

43. Ike's initials : DDE. (Dwight David Eisenhower) our 34th President.

47. Wind down : WANE

48. Lacking principles : AMORAL

49. Pulled tight : TAUT

50. Many an adoptee : ORPHAN

53. Polite way to address a lady : MA'AM

54. Pot starter : ANTE

55. "America's Next Top Model" host Banks : TYRA

57. Prefix with gram or graph : TELE

59. Lima is its capital : PERU. Home of the lima bean, really.

60. Ireland, poetically : ERIN

61. Chianti and Merlot : REDS

63. Sombrero, e.g. : HAT

64. Battleship letters : USS. At least ours are.

Argyle

Sunday, May 3, 2015 Gail Grabowski

Theme: "From Beginning to End" - The beginning prefix of each compound word is moved to the end.

27A. Outstanding building manager? : STAR SUPER. Superstar.

29A. Truck at the end of the convoy? : FINAL SEMI. Semifinal.

 

43A. Ordinary hero? : STANDARD SUB. Substandard.

67A. One auditing highway department supplies? : SIGN COUNTER. Countersign.

87A. Golfer with an array of trick shots? : CREATIVE PRO. Procreative. And 37D. Two-time Masters champ Ballesteros : SEVE. Super creative around the green.

 

103A. Rate goose feathers? : GRADE DOWN. Downgrade.

105A. Well-rehearsed swindle? : FLUENT CON. Confluent.

39D. Spock's memoir? : LOGICAL BIO. Biological.

47D. Chess champion's blog entry? : MASTER POST. Postmaster.

Lots of compound words in English, so Gail has a deep well. However, she needs the second words to be nouns & the transformed phrases conveying enough surface sense.

Once again, Gail starts her theme entry in Row 4 rather than Row 3 to accommodate the two Down 10's.

Across:  

1. It puts the blue in blue cheese : MOLD

5. Lit up : AGLOW

10. High muck-a-muck : MR BIG

15. Shell occupant : CLAM

19. Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Estelle Parsons in 2014 : OBIE. Did you try TONY?

20. Took turns? : DROVE. Great clue.

21. Lawrence partner : GORME (Eydie). Steve Lawrence.

22. Fast-moving mammal : HARE

23. Bedsheet material : PIMA. I'm often surprised buy the mount of money people spend on those designer T-shirts. It's just cotton.

24. Bored by it all : JADED

25. Puff up : BLOAT

26. Composer Stravinsky : IGOR

31. Source of inspiration : MUSE

32. Scatter : DISPEL

36. Ridicule : JEER AT

37. Like some partners : SILENT. Nailed it.

40. Big name in small trucks : TONKA. Founded here in MN. Lots of beat-up Tonka toys at our flea markets.

41. Nursery supply : SOIL

42. Genre of the band Jawbreaker : EMO

47. Co. leaders : MGT. Oh, Management. I was thinking ??S.

50. Hazy : VAGUE

53. Tiered snack : OREO

54. French bean? : TETE

55. It may be blank : STARE

57. It's a turnoff : EXIT RAMP. Simple and elegant clue.

59. How many vacations are taken : BY CAR

60. Hapless sort : LOSER

61. Shut down : CEASE

62. Pressure line : ISOBAR

64. Sacher creations : TORTES. Have you tried Egg Tarts before? You can find them in those dim sum places or Jayce's home. Much lighter than tortes.

65. All-in-one printer option : SCAN

70. Jazzman Fountain : PETE

71. Prepared : ALL SET

73. Least available : RAREST

74. More respectable : NICER

76. 1940 DC Comics debut : ROBIN. Here is the magazine. Probably costs hundreds nowadays.

77. Bogged down : MIRED

78. Held firm : STOOD PAT

81. Literary __ : GUILD. I only know Writer's Guild.

82. Flow with force : SPEW

83. Northern terminus of I-79 : ERIE. New clue!

85. Spots for dips : POOLS

86. WWII venue : ETO (European Theater of Operations)

90. Routine letters : SOP. I googled. It stands for Standard Operating Procedure.

91. Brandy letters : VSOP. Consecutive "letters" clue echo.

93. Black cats, perhaps : OMENS

94. Conservative portfolio investments : T-NOTES

97. Not so demanding : EASIER

100. Banish : DEPORT

102. In : CHIC

110. Get to : RILE

111. Begins : OPENS

113. Prime minister between two Ehuds : ARIEL (Sharon). One of the Ehuds is in serious trouble right now. Convicted of bribery.

114. With two exceptions, NFL Pro Bowl locale since 1980 : OAHU. Wiki said the exceptions are in 2010 and 2015.  What happened?

115. Canadian gas brand : ESSO

116. Contradict : BELIE

117. Distress : PERIL

118. Lowly laborer : PEON

119. They're often in hot water : TEAS. Indeed. I seldom drink iced tea.

120. Sanction : ALLOW

121. Game of chance : BEANO. I've yet to see Rich uses the "gas prevention" angle.

122. Calligrapher's supplies : INKS

Down:

1. Challenging locks : MOPS. I don't get the "Challenging" part. Difficult to maintain or difficult to sport the style?

 

 2. Departure notice? : OBIT

3. Succotash bean : LIMA. Never had succotash. Boomer loves lima beans.

4. "Goodness!" : DEAR ME

5. Fiddles with : ADJUSTS

6. Wine, with "the" : GRAPE

7. Valuable vein : LODE

8. Like some soap opera plot elements : OVERDONE

9. Abandon bachelorhood : WED. Like George Clooney, who finally found the perfect girl.  So, be patient, Splynter, you'll find your Amal!

10. '60s-'80s Brit. sports car : MGB

11. Pocahontas' spouse : ROLFE

12. Range setting : BROIL

13. "Project Runway Canada" host : IMAN. Gimme. It was canceled after 2 seasons.

14. Find work : GET A JOB

15. Carpentry tool : CHISEL. My first boyfriend is a great carpenter. I had the cutest bookshelf in my college years.

16. Pub order : LAGER

17. Pizzeria attraction : AROMA

18. Reason for a raise : MERIT

28. Daily power source : SUN

30. Molokai memento : LEI

33. Chinese leader? : INDO. Indo-Chinese. I thought of SINO first.

34. 2 Tone revival music genre : SKA

35. Wedding day rental : PARTY BUS

38. It gives you the big picture : IMAX

40. Protective covering : TARP

41. Litigant : SUER

44. "Love Is Strange" actress : TOMEI. Never saw the film. About a same-sex couple.

45. Prepare to serve, as wine : DECANT

46. Kick off : START

48. Extend a hand to : GREET

49. Short : TERSE. Argyle will be nervous if he gets long ones from me.

 

51. Whisk, for one : UTENSIL

52. Notable time : ERA

55. __-pitch : SLO

56. Quiznos offering : TORPEDO. My boss (an ex-Marine) introduced torpedoes to me. Also Snickers bars and Long Island Iced Tea.  He speaks fluent Chinese.

58. Part of TA: Abbr. : ASST

59. Reacted to a bad call : BOOED

62. How homes may be measured : IN AREA. Does this fill sound awkward to you?

63. Cork alternative : SCREWTOP

64. The Magi, e.g. : TRIO

65. Military nickname : SARGE

66. Pull : CLOUT

68. Curmudgeonly comment : GRIPE

69. Keypad key : ENTER

72. Objective : END

75. Rights reader : COP

77. Auto ad no. : MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price)

78. Samples, in a way : SIPS

79. Water-storing plant : ALOE

80. An oz. has six : TSPS

83. "Did you __?" : EVER

84. Cheap way to live : RENT-FREE. I was just talking to my brother that every family in our factory had an apartment pre-1990. Often jammed, as three or  four families shared one kitchen and one toilet room. But it was free. Hospital visit was almost free (Less than $1 dollar for the visit).

87. City on the Guadalquivir River : CORDOBA. Spain.

88. "If you ask me," to texters : IMO

89. Cassio's commander : OTHELLO

 

91. They may be seen in streams : VIDEOS

92. Go out with : SEE

95. Diarist Anaïs : NIN

96. Well-armed swimmers? : OCTOPI. Well-armed indeed. Delicious too. 

97. Blue heron kin : EGRET

98. Originate : ARISE

99. Dip with zip : SALSA. I like it mild.

100. "Fain would I __ on form": Juliet : DWELL

101. Film composer Morricone : ENNIO. He scored The Untouchables.

102. Update : CUE IN

104. German auto : OPEL

106. Former Italian capital : LIRA

107. Battle of Normandy city : CAEN

108. "Hmm ... I guess that's all right" : OH OK

109. Sisters : NUNS

112. Seam, say : SEW. I did not know "Seam" can be a verb.

113. BOLO equivalent : APB.  BOLO = "Be On the Lookout"

In case you missed yesterday, Barry G linked this wonderful piano recital of his 10-year-old son Joshua, who's about 5 years old in our blog archive picture. Hello, Joshua, you're so talented!

C.C.