Friday, March 4, 2016,Tom Pepper and Marcia Brott

Theme: Is your hangout  hanging out?

Two of the Minnesota crossword clan (see George Barany and the rest of his friends at Facebook) collaborate on this Friday punfest. Five places where people may congregate are revealed in clues which re-purpose words or phrases with the first word of the fill an animal, to give us whimsical answers. All are clued with "HANGOUT." I thought some of the theme fill was very funny and the long non-theme fill are especially sparkly. DARTH VADER,  AXIS OF EVIL,  DON QUIXOTE are an impressive triumvirate. The rest of the fill is a bit easy for a Friday, but lets peel this grape and see where the seeds are.

17A. Hangout for Hyacinth in "Fantasia"? : HIPPO CAMPUS (11). We begin with a brainy pun. How many recalled that her name was Hyacinth?

28A. Hangout for Tchaikovsky's Odile? : SWAN DIVE(8). From SWAN LAKE (3:04) to a cheap place.

37A. Hangout for Heckle and Jeckle? : CROW BAR (7). Oh those wacky BIRDS (6:04).

42A. Hangout for Mickey and Minnie? : MOUSE PAD (8). In California.

57A. Hangout for Garfield? : KITTY CORNER (11). A CSO to CED and all those at the Corner who love our feline friends. Garfield has his OWN.

Across:

1. Call of the wild : ROAR.  Nice simple 1A.

5. Shade : NUANCE.

11. '80s defense prog. : SDI. Strategic Defense Initiative.

14. Competent : ABLE. Which brings to mind 19A. Poetic preposition : ERE.

15. Walk down the aisle, maybe : ESCORT. A nice safe clue.

16. Dough unit : WAD. Money not Dunkin'

20. Condescend : STOOP. How could you stoop so low?

21. "__ Louise!" : GEEZ. An expression that skirts blasphemy and rhymes.

22. Agreeable word : LET'S.

23. Moon observation : MARE. A Friday piece of info that we have not seen in a very long time. The lunar maria /ˈmɑriə/ (singular: mare /ˈmɑreɪ/) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas. Wiki.

25. Bk. before Job : ESTHer. A mini-version animated.

26. "Skyfall" singer : ADELE.

32. Dendrite counterpart : AXON. Neurons have specialize cell parts called dendrites and axons. Dendrites bring electrical signals to the cell body and axons take information away from the cell body. Neurons communicate with each other through an electrochemical process. Wiki.

33. Mediterranean country : GREECE.

35. Hoop holder : EAR. Backboard?

36. Pewter part : TIN. Another CSO to our always shiny toastmaster.

38. iPhone, e.g. : PDA. Personal Data Assistant.

39. Lawyer letters : ESQuire.

40. Warm to the max : NICEST. No clue.

41. Runs out of gas : DIES. Sorry honey, my car died.

44. Pep squad output : CHEER.

46. Panda maker : FIAT. Cars;  and 57D. Soul from Seoul : KIA.

47. __ ed : PHYS.

48. Explicit message : SEXT. It is back; you know there is a cache of all your texts.

49. Eleanor's successor : BESS. Truman. A classy first LADY.

52. Rub the wrong way : PEEVE. Not usually thought of as a verb.

56. Ab __: initially : OVO. Repeat of the week.

59. Like a fiddle? : FIT. This may be the ORIGIN.

60. Still together : INTACT. After 56 years of marriage...

61. Tenderfoot : TYRO.

62. Something for the inn crowd : ALE. Cute in/inn pun.

63. 1979 title role for Vanessa : AGATHA. If you watched the movie or know the story and watch CASTLE you can see where those writers get their ideas.

64. Simon __ : SAYS. Let us reveal the downs now.

Down:

1. 44-Across cries : RAHS. Rah rah ree, kick 'em, in the knee...

2. Story of a lifetime : OBIT. Nicely clued.

3. Canine filler : ALPO. Not the tooth, but the puppy.

4. Some bank agents : REPO MEN. Most banks use independent contractors.

5. Japanese IT services giant : NEC. Yes they are BIG.

6. Linguistic practices : USAGE.

7. Maker of earthquake pills and dehydrated boulders : ACME. Free shipping on orders over $50.00

8. "Ain't gonna happen" : NOPE. Not prudent.

9. Oscar winner Penelope : CRUZ. Pictures tell it all.

10. Vulcan and Klingon, briefly : ETS. Since extra-terrestrial means not of earth...

11. Honey alternative : SWEETIE PIE. Sappy names for loved ones. My wife uses honey all too often.

12. AFI's third-greatest movie villain : DARTH VADER.  Can you name the other two? Hint, both were played by actors first name Anthony.

13. Bad day for Caesar : IDES. Coming soon. It means he middle of the month, not necessarily the 15th.

18. Hydrated gemstone : OPAL. Also a small car maker.

22. '60s trip cause : LSD. Ah, those days.

24. Maintain, as golf clubs : RE-GRIP. Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you. Not to be confused with this horror.

25. U.S. dept. with a lightning bolt on its seal : ENERgy.

26. War on Terror epithet : AXIS OF EVIL. One from George W. LINK.

27. "Ingenious gentleman" of classic fiction : DON QUIXOTE. The very important myth is reality work by Cervantes.

28. Basted, say : SEWED. Not a chicken but a hem.

29. Entanglements : WEBS. We weave, when first ....

30. Some kind of trick : A CATCH.

31. Baroque and Classical : ERAS.

32. "Lemme __!" : AT'EM.

34. Portuguese cape : ROCA. The westernmost part of Europe it SAYS.

37. Tech news website : CNET.

41. Leaves high and dry : DESERTS.

43. Met : SAT. Another no clue for me.

45. Shot provider : HYPO. Not confused with HIPPO.

47. "Gotcha!" : PSYCH.

48. Couch potato's spot : SOFA.

49. Cherry variety : BING.

50. Sundance Kid's gal : ETTA. What a face.

51. Strikeout-to-walk ratio, e.g. : STAT.

53. Irish New Ager : ENYA. LISTEN. (3:41)

54. Not just somewhat : VERY.

55. Boy with a bow : EROS.


58. Windy City transit initials : CTA. Chicago Transit Authority.

Some music, beautiful people and a challenge that was great. Thank you Tom and Marcia. Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.: 

This is Marcia's LA Times debut. Her puzzles have appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Wall Street Journal. Congrats, Marcia! You continue to rock, Tom!

Left to right: Marcia Brott, David Hanson, Tom Pepper & Nancy Herther

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016 Mel Rosen

Theme: Rock Remix - A word scramble with "ROCK" in the theme entries.

As the grid-spanner in the center tells us:

39A. Jangle pop and the like, and a hint to a hidden feature of 17-, 30-, 46- and 63-Across : ALTERNATIVE ROCK. Exemplified in this case by a youthful-looking Michael Stipe and the jangly-mandolin-lead from Peter Buck. Great song. (Great video too).

17A. Temporarily out of stock, with "on" : BACK ORDER. You get an "F" in Supply Chain Management if you're responsible for inventory and this happens.

30A. One might spoil a dream : CLOCK RADIO. I've been woken many times in hotel rooms by the radio going off at quite bizarre times during the night and tuned to a weird channel. I always check and turn it off now when I check in to the room.

46A. Gadgets with helical parts called worms : CORKSCREWS. I never travel without one in my bag. I'd had the same one in my carry-on for at least two years until last Tuesday when the TSA guy at Burbank Airport took exception to it. Considering it had been through, conservatively, at least 50 checkpoints I was a little surprised.

63A. Restaurant convenience : CHECKROOM. I had no idea this was a thing. Now I know it is.

Neat theme from Mel and some suitably crunchy fill and cluing which together make up a firm Thursday. It took me a little while to get started and "jangle pop" was an unknown term for the theme hint, but after pinwheeling around the grid a couple of times things came together. Let's dive in a little deeper.

Across:

1. Congressional authority : WHIP. Keeping elected representatives under control, in attendance and toeing the party line. In an infamous case in the UK, during a tied vote, an MP was brought to Parliament in an ambulance (having suffered a severe heart attack) to break the deadlock. The two party whips were discovered in the ambulance arguing as to whether or not he was dead and could vote.

5. Lifeless : BLAH. Not the first definition that springs to mind.

9. Repaired, as a boot : SOLED. Not re-soled?

14. Warning to a tot : NO NO. This one's odd. Why a tot? Because you have to repeat "No"? Or is it a "no-no"?

15. Academic apparel : ROBE

16. Dancer Fred's dancing sister : ADELE. The singer gets a break from crossword duty today.

19. Add a lane to, say : WIDEN

20. Hot rod rods : AXLES. I saw "Hot hot rods" and was completely bamboozled by this one. Then I realized I'd misread the clue. So, axle = rod. Hot rods have axles, therefore hot rod rods. I'm channeling my inner Thumper on this one.

21. Not stable, in a way : TOP HEAVY

23. Sighed line : AH, ME

26. Wall St. event : I.P.O.

27. "Yeah, sure!" : I BET!

36. Beth, to Jo : SIS

37. Hindu "sir" : BABU. A very respectful term. I was called "Steve-babu" and "Steve-guru" on occasion when I was working in Mumbai. I don't think I merited either.

38. Spot in a spa : SAUNA

43. Old counters : ABACI. This little section caused me some trouble - I had ESTER first, and I didn't know ECK so I was looking at ABE_I and scratching my head, then the penny dropped.

44. Aussie hoppers : 'ROOS

45. Daisy __ : MAE

49. The Constitution St. : CONN -ecticut.  Also known, less catchily, as "The Land of Steady Habits".

50. Cadenza maker : KIA

51. 50-Across' locale : ASIA. South Korea to be exact. I had a Kia rental car last week. Not the most stylish thing to look at, but it was nicely equipped and was pretty lively.

53. Enjoy the sunset : FACE WEST

58. About : CIRCA

62. Old marketplace : AGORA

66. Flower part : SEPAL

67. Dynamic beginning? : AERO

68. The Big Easy acronym : NOLA. Because EEPG (Ernie Els, Professional Golfer) is wrong. CSO to one of our regulars.

69. "East of Eden" surname : TRASK. Great novel.

70. Balcony section : LOGE

71. Card game for three : SKAT

Down:

1. Where the Sky and the Sun collide, for short? : WNBA. Last week's CHICAGO SKY learning moment clued me into this one. Coincidentally, the SUN are from "The Land of Steady Habits".

2. Scam : HOAX

3. Part of the pkg. : INCL. I tried ENCL first, thinking of an enclosure in an envelope. Nope, this is "included in the price".

4. Jab : POKE AT

5. "Darn, it's cold!" : BRR

6. Airport near Tel Aviv : LOD. The former name. It's now called Ben Gurion Airport. The airport code is TLV, so I think this is a wee error in the cluing. No harm, no foul, in my book. One of our snarky anons doubtless will jump on this one though.

7. Withhold information about, say : ABET

8. Beyond noble : HEROIC

9. Supports in shop class : SAWHORSES

10. Comic strip drooler : ODIE. Garfield's antagonist.

11. Mythical Spartan queen : LEDA

12. The mi. in Mile-High City : ELEV. I was there last week. Curiously, the ELEV is posted in the lobby of the Denver Tech Center Marriott next to the ELEVATORS.

13. Opposite of admit : DENY

18. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH

22. Walther __: James Bond's pistol : PPK. One of my friends carries a concealed PPK when he's carrying cash to the bank. It packs a heck of a punch in spite of being so small.

24. Thom of shoes : MCAN. Spelled McAn.

25. Tyrrhenian Sea island : ELBA. "Able was I, ere I saw Elba".

27. Name on the "Robot" series books : ISAAC. Author Asimov.

28. Bag End notable : BILBO. Of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" fame. Not Frodo, though it could be.

29. To be, in Toledo : ESTAR. Not ESTER as I originally thought. Spanish isn't my "first" foreign language.

31. Bizarre : OUTRÉ

32. Berne's river : AAR

33. Italian cathedral : DUOMO

34. Like Andean pyramids : INCAN

35. Kind of bucket : OAKEN. This one is the trophy for the winner of the Purdue - Indiana football rivalry game.

37. Outdoor exercise choice : BRISK WALK

40. Luther opponent Johann __ : ECK. Close to Natick'ed with ABACI until I fixed my "ESTAR" misspelling.

41. Louisiana Territory state : IOWA

42. Discovery astronaut James : VOSS' Flew five times on the shuttle and in the International Space Station. He, with colleague Susan Helms., has the record for the longest space walk from the ISS (eight hours, 56 minutes). Definitely the Right Stuff.

47. Cannes corp. : CIE. Compagnie abbreviation.

48. Imp : RASCAL

49. Stone monuments : CAIRNS

52. Word of disgust : ICK. My reaction when I got the answer to 54D below.

53. Up-tempo : FAST

54. Too much sun, they say : AGER

55. Club in a Manilow song : COPA. I thought it was the Copacabana, but the song title is "Copacabana (At the Copa)". I stand corrected.

56. Baseball stats : ERAS

57. Religious prefix : THEO. -logy, -logian, etc.

59. Corner piece : ROOK. Chessboard corners. They do move around, but they start off in the corners.

60. Fizzy drink : COLA

61. Bit of introductory Latin : AMAT. Amamus, amatis and amant don't seem to be crossword-fodder. Do we run out of familiarity when we get to the plural verb forms?

64. 100 nanojoules : ERG

65. 41-Down college : COE. Thank you, crosses.

And .... here's the grid.

Steve

Wednesday March 2, 2016, Pawel Fludzinski

THEME: SWIMMING TO RIO

Husker Gary here having a swimmingly good time blogging Dr. Pawel Fludzinski's (Ph.D in Synthetic Organic Chemistry) lovely mid-week puzzle that he has synthesized for us. The first word in each of the good doctor's theme fills are the names of the strokes employed by swimmers in the Relay Medley swim event in the order in which they occur for the Team Event.

This is a very timely theme in this Olympic year and for the third straight Olympics, America's Swim Trials will be held in a facility 45 minutes from me.

If you've been following the news from Rio, swimming in the pool is far more preferable to participating in any event held in their polluted waters.

Theme Answers

17. 1985 film featuring Doc Brown and Marty McFly : BACK TO THE FUTURE - A SWIM STROKE with a good view of the ceiling OR a fabulous movie

22. Possible place for a train ticket : BREAST POCKET - A SWIM STROKE where the chest and torso do not rotate and is sometimes called the frog stroke OR where some pols are purported to live

37. Concept that small changes can have large consequences, as in theoretical time travel : BUTTERFLY EFFECT- A SWIM STROKE similar to the breaststroke but accompanied by two dolphin kicks per cycle OR an effect explained by Jeff Goldblum as he was enlightening (read hustling) Laura Dern in Jurassic Park - If a butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo, there will be rain in Central Park

46. Improvisational music genre : FREESTYLE RAP - The final SWIM STROKE in the race which can not be any of the previous strokes and is usually the Crawl OR RAPPING by creating lyrics off the top of the RAPPER'S head. Hmmm... what rhymes with...

And the reveal

56. Olympic medley found in order at the starts of this puzzle's four other longest answers : SWIMMING STROKES 

Here are all four strokes in the order they occur in the Individual Medley. The relay event Dr. Fludzinski was referencing has to start with the backstroker in the water to avoid a collision when the previous swimmer touches the wall. 

Across 
       
1. Gin and tonic, e.g. : NOUNS - Erase DRINK and put in a part of speech

6. Outback birds : EMUS

10. "Pardon the Interruption" channel : ESPN - I'm a big fan of curmudgeon Tony Kornhesier 

14. Photographer Leibovitz : ANNIE

15. Island hoppers : SEA PLANES - I'll bet most of you know the rhyming name of this huge SEA PLANE that only flew once

19. Sesame __ : OIL

20. Julio to julio : ANO - July to July in Español

21. Potter's practice : MAGIC - Harry's forte not Doc Potter's from M*A*S*H

27. AFL partner : CIO

 28. __ Bator : ULAN - Rent an apartment in this building in ULAN BATOR for 1,650,000₮ (Mongolian Tughriks) or $810/month

29. Dude : BRO

32. How storybooks are often read : ALOUD

35. Bibliography abbr. : ET AL - Oh how I hate(d) typing bibliographies!!

36. "Nessun dorma," e.g. : ARIA - "None Shall Sleep" from Puccini's Turandot. There may be better but I've not heard them

40. Cheese with an edible rind : BRIE

41. Shakes a leg : HIES

42. White House staffers : AIDES

43. "You got it!" : YES

44. Bombard : PELT - Wisconsin cheerleaders had to take cover last year after being PELTED with snowballs from Wisconsin fans

45. Michael Caine title : SIR

51. Pastoral tribe of Kenya : MASAI - By the looks of this MASAI Jumping dance, these guys could play in the NBA

54. Sch. with a Phoenix campus : ASU 

55. "__ you nuts?" : ARE

61. Heredity sources : GENE POOLS 

62. Gala or ball : EVENT

63. Got off the ground : TEED - We'll be TEEING the ball up regularly very soon

64. Brogan or brogue : SHOE

65. Fizzy beverages : SODAS - Not thirst quenching to me

Down:

1. Big wheel : NABOB

2. Broadcast sign : ON AIR

3. Claudius, to Caligula : UNCLE - Claudius succeeded his nephew when Caligula was assassinated in 41 A.D. How 'bout that GENE POOL 

4. Suffix with peace : NIK

5. Shelve : SET ASIDE

6. Legally prohibit : ESTOP 

7. "Whatevs" : MEH 

8. Oil-rich fed. : UAE

9. 50+, e.g., on a L'Oréal tube: Abbr. : SPF - OK, here 'ya go

10. Erode : EAT AT

11. Form-fitting : SNUG

12. Meter starter? : PERI - From the Greek peri - 'about, 'around

13. Fraction of a min. : NSEC - 1 NanoSEC : 1 SEC as 1 SEC : 31.7 years

16. Light bulb unit : LUMEN - LUMENS required on a ball diamond

18. Hip about : ONTO

23. Under 90 degrees : ACUTE

24. Factory stores : OUTLETS - They don't seem cheaper to me

25. Potter's supplies : CLAYS

26. Mustard family member : KALE

29. Born partner : BRED

30. Stuffed pepper filling : RICE

31. Wild things to sow : OATS - ...and hope for a crop failure

32. First name in advice : ABBY - One of those Sioux City, IA twins

33. It may be found at the end of the line : LURE - In Julian Lim's Saturday brain buster it was clued "Fly,  commonly"

34. Big name in elevators : OTIS - OTIS made elevators common when he invented the safety brake which he demonstrated by cutting the supporting rope and only falling inches

35. Taxpayer's option : E-FILE - Got my money back within 10 days

36. Burning : AFIRE

38. South Korea's first president : RHEE - Born Yi Su‧ng-man and westernized his name to Syngman RHEE

39. Learning opportunities for many : FAILURES - How do telemarketers keep going?

44. Do the do just so : PRIMP

45. Betting aid: Abbr. : SYST

46. Renowned : FAMED

47. Café cup : TASSE

48. Did a fall chore : RAKED - All for naught!

49. Venue that often sells its naming rights : ARENA - Those swim trials are held in the Century Link ARENA in Omaha

50. Kid brothers or sisters, at times : PESTS

51. High-ranking NCO : MSGT - Most critics said MSGT Bilko should have been left to Phil Silvers

52. __ bit: slightly : A WEE

53. Trig ratio : SINE

57. Apple mobile platform : IOS

58. Japanese drama : NOH - Japanese for "skill" or "talent". Yeah, I knew that...

59. Shine, in brand names : GLO

60. Ab __: from day one : OVO - Didn't see until perps filled it in. You can't get more day one than OVO (egg)

Okay, let's hear some freestyle comments from you but please stay in your own lane!

GRID

Tuesday, March 1, 2016 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Porcine Palace - I pity the fool that has to tell Miss Piggy she didn't make the cut.

17. *Whom Charlotte saved, in an E.B. White classic : WILBUR

 

18. *"Animal Farm" tyrant : NAPOLEON

 

23. *GEICO spokscritter who squeals, "Wee wee wee!" : MAXWELL

 

39. *"Toy Story" toy bank : HAMM

 

40. *Stutterer in Looney Tunes sign-offs : PORKY

 

43. *Unlikely title shepherd in a 1995 film : BABE

 

53. *40-Across' gal : PETUNIA

 

65. With 67-Across, annual March 1 event celebrated in the answers to starred clues : NATIONAL

67. See 65-Across : PIG DAY

Rabbit Rabbit or should I say, "Oink, Oink"? Argyle here. This site here has a pretty good explanation of today's celebration. Jeffery is often a Friday constructor so a few crunchy nuggets in the mix can be expected. Plus the theme entries may not be all that familiar but should be found doable. Quite satisfying. I best get busy; a lot of linking to do.

Across:

1. Human rights advocate Jagger : BIANCA. Mick's wife from 1971 to 1979.

7. Leaves in a big hurry : RACES OFF

15. Seductive quality : ALLURE

16. Having the capacity for learning : EDUCABLE. [ej-oo-kuh-buh l] or, educatable

19. Reason-based faith : DEISM. As opposed to THEISM.

20. Self-regard : EGO

21. One-__ jack : EYED. Spades and Hearts.

22. QB's gains : YDs

27. Variety : TYPE

28. More pert : SAUCIER

33. Mets' former stadium : SHEA

36. Singer Yoko : ONO

38. "Ninotchka" star Greta : GARBO

 

44. Reputed UFO pilot : ALIEN

46. "Golly!" : "GEE!"

47. "Great Taste...__ Filling": Miller Lite slogan : LESS

48. Carter's vice president : MONDALE. Walter.

51. Suffix with novel : ETTE

55. __ Grande : RIO. Photo of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

 

58. Burn slightly : SEAR

62. Latin art : ARS. M-G-M motto, "Ars Gratia Artis", "Art for art's sake"

63. Doggie : POOCH

68. Biological order including eight-armed creatures : OCTOPODA. lol, ISOPODS yesterday.

69. Waiting one's turn : IN LINE

70. Catching-up query : WHAT'S NEW

71. FBI operatives : AGENTS

Down:

1. Ribald : BAWDY

2. Perjurer's confession : "I LIED"

3. "Silent Night" words before calm and bright : ALL IS

4. Used-up pencils : NUBS

5. Really bad : CRUMMY

6. __ Lingus : AER

 

7. Take more Time? : RENEW

8. Maxims : ADAGEs

9. Domelike building top : CUPOLA

10. Earth-friendly prefix : ECO. Umberto Eco died last month.

11. Mall event : SALE

12. Do as told : OBEY

13. Arctic chunk : FLOE

14. Provide (for oneself) : FEND

24. Per unit : A POP

25. Strange: Pref. : XENO

26. Tote : LUG

27. Domesticated : TAMED

29. Pay television : CABLE

30. "Dies __": Latin hymn : IRAE

31. Flows back : EBBS

32. Some reddish deer : ROEs

33. Bedding accessory : SHAM

34. Saintly glow : HALO

35. Key with one sharp: Abbr. : E MINor

37. Nonprofit URL ending : .ORG

41. Really eager : KEEN. Yesterday we had [Really into : KEEN ON].

42. Bigfoot kin : YETI

45. Rest of the afternoon : NAP

49. Use as support : LEAN ON

50. Online investment service : E*TRADE

52. Music studio activity : TAPING

54. Amer. attorney's study : U.S. LAW

55. "The Thinker" sculptor : RODIN

56. Words of refusal : "I CAN'T"

57. "I remember now!" : "OH, YES!". So maybe you can now.

58. Skiing surface : SNOW

59. Per unit : EACH

60. "__ girl!" : ATTA

61. Real hoot : RIOT

64. Gawk at : OGLE

66. Photo __: media events : OPS

67. Actress Zadora : PIA

 

Argyle

Monday, February 29, 2016 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Today. Like the month, the entries end with a synonym for leap.

37A. February 29th ... and, based on the ends of 16-, 24-, 49- and 60-Across, this puzzle's title : LEAP DAY

16A. Mideast protest movement that began in 2010 : ARAB SPRING

24A. Cash cache : BANK VAULT

49A. Morally obliged : DUTY BOUND

60A. TV actor who played the Maytag repairman : GORDON JUMP. (The Big Guy, Mr. Carlson)

Argyle here on a very special day. Maybe you math types can figure it out. I started the month and now I am closing the month. When will this happen again? Oh yeah, the puzzle. I better hop to it.

Across:

1. Frequent-flier no., e.g. : ACCT. I'm no frequent-flier so no number here.

5. Rental agreement : LEASE

10. Many GRE takers : SRs. College seniors going to grad school take the Graduate Record Examination.

13. Big, fancy dinner : GALA

14. Finalize, as a comic strip : INK IN

15. Tiny pest : GNAT

18. Mount St. Helens outflow : LAVA

19. Cloud computing giant : IBM

20. Crotchety oldster : COOT. "Stay off of my lawn!"

21. Postpone : DEFER

22. "Little Broken Hearts" singer Jones : NORAH. She is the daughter of Ravi Shankar and the half-sister of Anoushka Shankar. You can hear the influence in this song but the meaning?...that's something else.

27. Win-win : NO LOSE

29. Tall tale : YARN or perhaps 61D. Flowery poem : ODE

30. Run fast : GALLOP

31. Bond or Bourne : SPY. Bad boys.

32. [Oh, well] : [SIGH]

36. E-tailer's address : URL. Internet address.

40. Cow sound : {MOO!}

41. Sailboat staff : MAST

43. Will Ferrell holiday movie : "ELF"

44. Really into : KEEN ON

46. Makeover : REDO

48. 14-legged crustacean : ISOPOD. They've been around a long time and come in many forms.

53. Dull finish : MATTE

55. Laura's classic "Dick Van Dyke Show" wail : "OH, ROB!"

56. Dubliner's land : EIRE

58. Golfer's double bogey, usually : SIX. The most common length hole is a par 4, ergo, double bogey(two over par) is 6.

59. Put on weight : GAIN

63. Sound-off button : MUTE

64. Headache relief brand : ADVIL

65. Part of town : AREA

66. Ginger __ : ALE

67. Take care of : SEE TO

68. Second to none : BEST. C.C., of course.

Down:

1. "Encore!" : "AGAIN!"

2. Rich pasta dish : CARBONARA. Based on eggs, cheese, bacon, and black pepper.

3. New England shellfish sandwiches : CLAM ROLLS

4. It's picked up in bars : TAB

5. Cosmetic surg. option : LIPO. (liposuction)

6. Dress like Judge Judy : ENROBE

7. Curly-tailed guard dog : AKITA

8. Envy or lust : SIN

9. An official lang. of Hong Kong : ENGlish

10. Big mess : SNAFU

11. "Bolero" composer : RAVEL

12. Set in motion : START

15. Collects bit by bit : GLEANS

17. Where subjects are taught : SCHOOL

21. TiVo, for one : DVR. (digital video recorder)

23. Every bit : ALL

25. "Cagney & Lacey" law-enforcing gp. : NYPD. (New York Police Department)

26. Paddled boats : KAYAKs

28. Swim team swimsuit : SPEEDO. Those crazy boys at Seton Hall.

30. Orbit, e.g. : GUM

31. Sunscreen letters : SPF. (Sun Protection Factor)

33. Uncertain words : I'M NOT SURE

34. Happy days : GOOD TIMES. Both were sitcoms.

35. Sweetie : HON

38. Baseball's Felipe or Moises : ALOU

39. Naval petty officers : YEOMEN

42. "Have a sample" : "TRY ONE"

45. Org. concerned with pesticides : EPA. (Environmental Protection Agency)

47. Tidal retreat : EBB

48. "Ta-da!" : "I DID IT!"

49. Religious doctrine : DOGMA

50. Ryder rival : U-HAUL. Truck rentals.

51. All too familiar : TRITE

52. Timid person's lack : NERVE

54. Yank in China, maybe : EXPAT. Shortened Yankee and expatriate.

57. Chewy caramel candy : ROLO

60. __ station : GAS

62. Quick punch : JAB

Argyle