Monday, August 3, 2015 Ray Hamel

Theme: Poor grade (or an appropriate title for this puzzle) - D-plus. The target word starts with 'D' followed by phonetic long vowel, progressing from 'D-long A' to 'D-long U'.

17A. Thanksgiving, casually : TURKEY DAY. D + Ā

21A. Actress/activist who was Ossie Davis' life partner : RUBY DEE. D + Ē

38A. Crooked craps cube : LOADED DIE. D + Ī

60A. Anonymous man : JOHN DOE. D + Ō

65A. "Where Are You!" toon pooch : SCOOBY DOO. D + Ū

Argyle here. Impressive looking grid for a Monday; triple seven columns in all the corners. The long fill keeps this easy theme puzzle from being too bland.

Across:

1. Receives : GETS

5. Slide downhill on runners : SLED

9. Long stories : SAGAs

14. Water color : AQUA

15. Frankfurt mister : HERR. German.

16. Chat room troublemaker : TROLL

19. "Humble" home : ABODE

20. River through Rome : TIBER

23. "Give me __!": start of a Hoosier cheer : AN I

24. Becomes slippery, as a road : ICES UP

28. Dirty dishes site : SINK

29. Negative aspect : CON

30. Hot chili pepper : CAYENNE

32. Parisian summer : ÉTÉ

33. Wood choppers : AXES

35. When repeated, a former breath freshener : SEN

36. Hard luck case : LOSER

42. "My bad" : "SORRY"

45. __ Nineties : GAY

46. Nepalese staple : RICE

50. Tres menos dos : UNO. Spanish 3-2=1

51. Finds : LOCATES

55. Doze briefly : NAP

56. Alpha follower : BETA

58. In the best shape : HALEST

59. Part of TGIF: Abbr. : FRIday

62. Storage auction buys : UNITS

64. Argentine icon played by Madonna : EVITA

69. Roman agriculture goddess : CERĒS

70. Quattro automaker : AUDI

71. Texting button : SEND

72. Garbage : TRASH

73. Film holder : REEL

74. Other than that : ELSE

Down:

1. 1997 Hawke/Thurman sci-fi movie : GATTACA. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a pretty good review.

2. Semiannual astronomical event : EQUINOX. So is the solstice.

3. Many a windmill : TURBINE. Redux c/a.

4. Sushi bar cupful : SAKE

5. Hardly outgoing : SHY

6. Was in first place : LED

7. Stretch of history : ERA

8. Practice session : DRY RUN. The Word Detective says the term comes from fire companies doing practice sans water.

9. Wild guess : STAB

10. Fast food chain known for its roast beef : ARBY'S. Current ad campaign, "Arby's | We Have The Meats".

11. Halloween treats : GOODIES

12. Like firm spaghetti : AL DENTE. (firm to the bite)

13. More smooth : SLEEKER

18. Guitarist Clapton : ERIC

22. "Star Trek: Enterprise" network : UPN. (United Paramount Network)

25. Bambino's home : CASA. Not Babe Ruth's.

26. Watched with suspicion : EYED

27. Mali neighbor : SENEGAL. African west coast.

31. Yale student : ELI

34. Digital camera type, for short : SLR. (single-lens reflex)

37. Poet's "above" : O'ER

39. Popeye's Olive : OYL

40. See socially : DATE

41. Salon colorings : DYES

42. Topic : SUBJECT

43. Bogey, vis-à-vis par : ONE OVER

44. Nest egg named for a Del. senator : ROTH IRA

47. Nonbeliever, to some : INFIDEL

48. Moving day stack : CARTONS

49. Show in a television series : EPISODE

52. "Look what I found!" : :"O HO!"

53. Shaw's "__ and Cleopatra" : CAESAR. (George Bernard Shaw)

54. Ticket part you keep : STUB

57. Feeds the kitty : ANTEs

61. Smidge, as of salt : DASH

63. Org. at 11 Wall St. : NYSE. (New York Stock Exchange)

66. Actor's aid : CUE

67. Poetic tribute : ODE

68. It may be crude : OIL

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to our beautiful Melissa, whose life was turned upside down the past few years. Melissa is the most courageous and selfless sister I know. Find her the sweetest cake, Dave!

Sunday, August 2, 2015. C.C. Burnikel

Theme: ALL SQUARE. In the words of those two great American philosophers, Huey Lewis and Sponge Bob, It's Hip To Be SQUARE. 

You had to be pretty sharp to get hip to the theme that the eight long horizontal fills were all SQUARE in shape! C.C. is very interested in how many will suss out the theme with no reveal. Couple that with her usual clever cluing and you have a wonderful Sunday adventure! Now let's get SQUARED up and see where we finish.

23. Refrigerator message : STICKY NOTE - A 3M staple. These are 3" x 3"

25. Fight spot : BOXING RING - Somewhere between 16' x 16' and 25' x 25'. 

38. Pastime that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013 : CROSSWORD PUZZLE - Today's was 21 cells x 21 cells, just like Melanie Miller's ET puzzle last Sunday

54. One of a game's 100 : SCRABBLE TILE - Here they are, each 3/4" x 3/4"

80. Picnic purchases : PAPER NAPKINS - Usually 6" x 6"

93. Soup toss-ins : SALTINE CRACKERS - These washed down with tea were mom's cure for upset tummies. These are 2" x 2"

110. Audiophile's collectible : ALBUM COVER - I wore this record out when I was a ute. 12" x 12"

113. Place to find a mate? : CHESS BOARD - Professional tournament boards are 18" x 18". Can you see White's one move checkmate?

Now for the not so SQUARE fills:

Across       

1. Palms in your hands : PDAS - Smart phones have replaced them and lots of other devices!

5. Used Google Wallet, say: PAID - Having paid, you are now SQUARE

9. Washington or Ford : ACTOR - Denzell and Harrison e.g.

14. __ shot : SLAP - The start of one

18. Event before a closing : SALE - I know a store that had a closing SALE for two years

19. Bug : ANNOY

21. Milan-based fashion house : PRADA - What the devil wears

22. Duel measure : PACE  - Hamilton and Burr were back to back, strode ten PACES, turned and shot. Hamilton got second place

27. Toe preceder? : TAC - I had to let TIP go. In War Games, the computer had to learn that some games have no winners, including  Tic TAC Toe and Global Thermonuclear Warfare 

28. Really hot : ON A TEAR - Let it ride!

30. Attach, in a way : PIN - Tail on the donkey e.g.

31. Fair attractions : RIDES - You game? Me either!

32. Ball standout : BELLE 

34. Weasel relative : STOAT - A group of STOATS is a "caravan".  You're welcome.

36. Barfly : SOT

37. Spinner? : PR MAN - No, no no! That wasn't a gaffe, what my candidate meant was...

45. Agree to another tour : RE-UP - A military tour

46. Campus bigwig : DEAN

47. Surfing mishap : WIPE OUT - Also the most famous rock 'n roll drum riff?

48. __ Center: L.A. skyscraper : AON

49. "X-Men" actor McKellen : IAN

50. Yellowstone sight : ELK

51. Hi-__ monitor : RES 

52. SFO info : ARR - ARRIVAL. Some say the O in SFO stands for San FranciscO, some say San Francisco/Oakland and some say it stands for nothing

53. "The Long, Hot Summer" director : RITT - 1958 classic where Martin RITT directed Mr. and Mrs. Paul Newman in this movie the year they got married

58. Last courses : DESSERTS - Bad guy get their just deserts

60. Buy from : SHOP AT

61. 2000 MapQuest acquirer : AOL

62. Morph- ending : EME - Smallest grammatical unit in a language

63. Too cute, in Chelsea : TWEE - Just like our Brit Steve!

64. Not real : ERSATZ - Is oleo ERSATZ butter?

67. "Raging Bull" Oscar winner : DE NIRO - Some say De Niro and Scorsese's best work

69. Attention : CARE

71. __-wop : DOO

72. CBS hit set in Vegas : CSI - ...and Miami and NY...

74. License : PERMIT

78. Tour of taverns : PUB CRAWL - A sometimes dangerous 21st birthday exercise

83. Any one of a 1963 all-brothers Giant outfield : ALOU - Jesus, Matty and Felipe on Hondo's team!

84. Enjoy some courses : EAT

85. Bodega pronoun : ESA - In slang, ESA is a word for Spanish "homegirl"

86. Big name in lip balms : EOS - Cute container

87. Med. checkup initials : LDL - Low Density Lipoprotein - Bad cholesterol

88. N.Y school overlooking the Hudson : RPI - The fightin' Redhawks of Rennsellaer Polytechnic Institute

89. Expanse : STRETCH - We once drove the STRETCH from Cheyenne to Yellowstone. Not much to see.

91. Downward movements : SAGS - The less said the better

92. Award named for a Muse : CLIO - For excellence in advertising, design and communication 

96. Invitee : GUEST - Even anon's are welcome GUESTS here and add to the mix even when snarky or rude

97. Pink label : RCA - We don't have any of her music. Do you?

98. Cockamamie : INANE

99. Lover of balance and harmony, so they say : LIBRA

100. Like TV's "Wayward Pines" : EERIE

103. Swabbie : GOB - American sailor. Origin unknown

105. Where most people get into hot water : BATHTUB

108. __-K : PRE

115. Puffed-up : VAIN - In your You're So Vain, Carly has claimed she is is talking about a composite of three men

116. Track bet : PLACE - If you bet $2.00 for American Pharoah to PLACE (come in second) in the Belmont Stakes, you won $2.80

117. Unit of purity : KARAT - 18K gold is 18/24 or 75% gold and 25% other metals to make it more durable

118. Move with a mouse : DRAG

119. "Anything __?" : ELSE - "Will that complete your order?" is now McDonald's version

120. Its mascot uses fowl language : AFLAC - Ubiquitous insurance duck

121. Seasoned salts : TARS - Some more GOBS

122. Blue-bottled vodka : SKYY

Down

1. "Over here!" : PSST

2. Records concern : DATA BREACH - In 2014, Target and these

3. 2013 Literature Nobelist : ALICE MUNRO - No clue

4. Instant : SEC

5. Two-time U.S. Open winner Stewart : PAYNE - A natty dresser and fine gentleman who died at 42 in a plane accident

6. Actress Paquin : ANNA - Once again, no clue but perps to the rescue

7. How some games are won, briefly : IN OT - Overtime 

8. Spoils : DOTES ON - What? You think we're spoiling our kitty?

9. SFPD alert : APB - All Points Bulletin.

10. Midriff-revealing wear : CROP TOP - A public service to those of you who didn't know what one was...

11. Airport arrival : TAXI - How a pilot gets to the gate at SFO or a passenger can get to SFO on the road

12. Asgard head : ODIN - Asgard is one of the nine worlds of Norse mythology

13. Tried to win, with "for" : RAN - Lifelong Minnesotan Harold Stassen RAN for president 10 times between 1940 and 2000

14. Quick squirt : SPRITZ

15. Set, as a trap : LAID - The best LAID plans of men and mice...

16. Troubling spots : ACNE - Ah, one of the many vagaries of my ute

17. Spots for coats : PEGS

20. First Literature Nobelist from Ireland : YEATS - William Butler YEATS

24. German city, to Germans : KOLN - Not Cologne 

26. Tiler's need : GROUT

29. City SSE of Santa Fe : ROSWELL - Home of the International UFO Museum 

33. Tablet holder : LAP

35. "__ man should have money in his head, but not in his heart": Swift : A WISE

36. Eggs on : SPURS - I don't know if American Pharoah's jockey used spurs but he used his whip 32 times in the home stretch at the Kentucky Derby

37. Goody two shoes : PRISS

38. One taking a selfie : CELL - Now you can use a selfie stick

39. Casino chip collector : RAKE - They RAKE in a lot more than they push out!

40. Software instruction file : READ ME - I don't

41. __ Tracey, one of the original Mouseketeers : DOREEN - She wasn't Annette but still...

42. Rumble in the Jungle setting : ZAIRE - They used the 25 Across SQUARE

43. Lenya of "From Russia With Love" : LOTTE - My LOTTE LENYA is a name in Mack The Knife

44. Tolkien tree giants : ENTS 

46. Ownership consequences, often : DEBTS

51. Carnival city : RIO - Probably won't find a 37 D PRISS in their parade (finally found a picture modest enough to display)

53. Edit a lot : REWORK - Rich's job here. Either with a scalpel or a chainsaw ;-) 

55. Brief glance : APERCU - In a sentence - "Gaston Boissier, L'Afrique (1895), is a picturesque but somewhat superficial APERCU of the principal Roman ruins." Again, you're welcome.

56. Less adorned : BARER - What many other Carnival pictures I found were!

57. Passion tea maker : TAZO

59. Throat condition : STREP

62. Singer Adams : EDIE - Mrs. Ernie Kovacs and cigar pitcher

65. Pop-up producer : ADWARE - nasty stuff

66. Pre-Aztec Mesoamerican : TOLTEC

68. "None for me" : I PASS

69. Mea __ : CULPA - A husband's Latin motto!

70. Hot and bothered : ABOIL

72. Game show with a Red Light Challenge : CASH CAB 

73. Place for peels : SPA

75. Milwaukee Brewers' home : MILLER PARK - Looks like a theme park from I-94

76. Disorderly : IN DISARRAY

77. Letter-shaped opening : T-SLOT

78. 3, 4 and 5 : PARS - The USGA says any hole longer than 691 yards is a PAR 6 and there are hardly any of them 

79. MetLife competitor : AETNA

80. Praline piece : PECAN

81. Back : REAR

82. Nutmeg-flavored quaffs : NOGS

89. Order to attack : SIC 'EM

90. Area south of SoHo : TRIBECA - Triangle Below Canal Street

91. "What did I tell you!" : SEE THAT

92. Baby panda : CUB

94. Holy threesome : TRIUNE - Often used as another name for the Holy Trinity

95. Talent : KNACK

96. "Shadow Dancing" singer Andy : GIBB

99. Craves, with "for" : LUSTS - Even Jimmy Carter admitted to looking at women with LUST in his heart

100. Gutter locale : EAVE - I had Boomer's LANE first

101. Carrier with a King David Club : EL AL - Every passenger is interviewed before boarding

102. Jeter's 1,311, briefly : RBIS - Runs Batted In. Some now write RBI since Runs is already plural. 75 RBI sounds odd to us old, er, veteran baseball fans

103. Holey pursuit? : GOLF - A Par 6? Holey Moley!! 

104. Track : OVAL - Here's a banked OVAL - no SQUARE here!

106. Vindictive goddess : HERA

107. Onetime Russian monarch : TSAR - 1917 was their swan song

109. Liable to snap : EDGY

111. Nos. expert : CPA - Only they speak fluent IRS

112. __ hall : REC

114. Pigs out (on), for short : ODS - Get those Fritos out of sight!

Like Teddy Roosevelt in the early 20th century, C.C. has given us a SQUARE DEAL on this enjoyable Sunday exercise. Was anyone else surprised she didn't include a certain SQUARE  that is 90' x 90' with rectangles at three corners and a pentagon at the fourth? I'll bet she gave it some thought.