Friday, July 29, 2016, John R. Obrien

Title: Unlock the shift key!

Mr. O'Brien breaks away from his pattern of one LAT in March each year with his first venture into the world of Fridays. The theme is very cute, all the theme clues are the numbers that would show if the shift key were not held down. In other words, &$& is 747, which is a Jumbo Jet. If you are doing the puzzle on paper, this is a real bear, but with the keyboard, I found it pretty fast for a Friday, but i do get paid for sussing Friday themes. The word distribution is more early week with no long fill except the theme and many 6 letter fill:  AMORAL,  NOMADS,  NOVENA,  OMELET, VERONA, LAYMAN,  ANODES and IN A FOG   are my favorites. The 8/12/15/12/8 pattern does not feel familiar but did yield 55 theme squares. I am not suggesting the puzzle was easy, there are lots of very hard clues and slight obscurities, but we got her done.

17A. &$&: JUMBO JET (8). 747 is the real clue.Did you FLY?

24A. @! : GAMBLING GAME (12). 21 (also known as blackjack). Do you PLAY?

40A. !&&^ : BROADWAY MUSICAL (15). 1776 is the clue. Do you REMEMBER?

52A. ** : KEYS ON A PIANO (12). 88 Do you wonder WHY?

66A. What was mistakenly held for four puzzle clues : SHIFT KEY (8).

Across:

1. Bozeman sch. : MSU. Montana State University. I think this is a highly regarded COLLEGE.

4. __ on the knuckles : A RAP. Generally administered with a ruler, sometimes even the sharp edge.

8. Hardly homebodies : NOMADS.

14. Black __ : OPS.

15. Protection in a purse : MACE.

16. Folded fare : OMELET. Another gift from the French chefs. LINK.

19. Romeo's home : VERONA. Cool, a Friday Shakespeare clue/fill, or two.... 49A. Cordelia, to Regan : SISTER.

20. Great way to walk : ON AIR. Did anyone else go here....Extra credit for naming both parents of the star.

21. Olympics event : RACE. Timely but vague.

23. Baseball statistic : HIT.

28. Ancient time-telling device : CANDLE. Really fun INFO.

31. Hastings Ismay was selected as its first leader in 1952 : NATO. The name sounds like bad pig Latin, and I  never heard of HIM. he was interesting and NATO was an easy guess based on the year.

32. It can come between Clinton and Rodham : NEE. Hillary Rodham Clinton, née Hillary Diane Rodham.

33. Quaint retail word : OLDE.

36. Last words? : OBITS. Well done, even if a bit depressing.

44. Zaire, nowadays : CONGO. HISTORY. Not the Belgian Congo.

45. Sommelier's concern : YEAR. Wine was just too easy. Clecho-61D. Sommelier's prefix : OENO.

46. Outback native : EMU.

47. Mild cheese : EDAM. Yes, but not soft, it is is a semi-hard cheese that originated in the Netherlands. Edam ages and travels well, and does not spoil; it only hardens. These qualities (among others) made it the world's most popular cheese between the 14th and 18th centuries, both at sea and in remote colonies. (wiki).

57. Porter, for one : ALE. remember there are two basic types of Beer- ALE or LAGER. LINK.

58. Washington is prominent on them : ONES. Money, honey.

59. Property crime : ARSON. Burn baby, burn.

63. Like astronauts during liftoff : SEATED. HG, why?

68. Intact : ENTIRE.

69. Pamplona runner : TORO. The Bull, silly. he does not speak English in Pamplona.

70. Having four sharps : IN E. I defer to our musicians to explain.

71. Hoi polloi : MASSES. A Greek term, that became pejorative.

72. Like bachelor parties : STAG.

73. Bit of wit : MOT. French for word, part of the phrase "Bon mot."

Down:

1. Magic : MOJO. Defines as a magic charm, talisman, or spell. "someone must have their mojo working over at the record company" magic power.

2. Like web sites : SPUN. Cool deception, nit computer web but spider web.

3. Robert E. Lee's alma mater : USMA. United States Military Academy, Commonly referred to as West Point.

4. Unprincipled : AMORAL.  Nice explanation of the "A" as a negative prefix. LINK.

5. British rule in India : RAJ.

6. Biting : ACERB. Never seen in this form except in puzzles.

7. "She loves me" bit : PETAL.

8. Multi-day devotion : NOVENA. From the Latin for nine.

9. Kipling's "Follow Me __" : OME.

10. Nice view : MER. When a clue begins with Nice, it usually is hiding some French, like the owrd meaning sea.

11. It's heard coming and going : ALOHA.

12. Casual Friday material : DENIM.

13. Announce : STATE.

18. Texas city nickname : BIG D. Dallas.

22. Word on many a marquee : CINEMA.

25. Persian greeting : MEOW. Kitty cat not Iranian.

26. Classic muscle cars : GTOS.

27. Asian expanse : GOBI. The desert.

28. "Mad Money" network : CNBC. Jim Cramer.

29. Bubbly-textured Nestlé chocolate bar : AERO. Popular in England Steve? NC?

30. Light element : NEON.

34. Hardly an expert : LAYMAN.

35. Hall of Fame golf course architect Pete : DYE. Have you played ANY?

37. "Law &Order: SVU" actor : ICE T.

38. Unexciting : TAME.

39. Nasty campaign tactic : SLUR. Timely but verboten.

41. Quite a while : AGES.

42. Carroll's stammering self-caricature in "Alice in Wonderland" : DODO. A CSO to one of our own "Dodo: I say, you'll never get dry that way.
Alice: Get dry?
Dodo: Have to run with the others. First rule of a caucus race, you know.who has left us. "
More politics to avoid.

43. Celestial bear : URSA. Major, minor? Just Latin for bear.

48. Battery terminals : ANODES.

50. Befuddled : IN A FOG. been there often.

51. Put in folders, say : SORT.

52. Longtime "American Top 40" host : KASEM. Casey...did they ever bury him?

53. Justice Kagan : ELENA. One of the three.

54. "When You Are Old" poet : YEATS.
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

55. Raid victims : PESTS.

56. Clapton's "__ the Sheriff" : I SHOT. But he did not shoot the deputy. The Bob Marley song...

MEANING

60. Dairy case option : SKIM. The nut milks are taking over.

62. Russian refusal : NYET. No.

64. Frank McCourt memoir : TIS.




65. Poetic preposition : ERE.

67. George's brother : IRA. The Gershwins, but you knew that.

I really enjoyed the creativity of the theme and all the Greek and Latin as well as some great cluing- Like web sites : SPUN  is my favorite. Welcome to Friday John; Lemonade out.

Thursday, July 28th 2016 C.C.Burnikel

Theme: Story Arc - the four theme entries have a story to tell.

17A. Host of a program also known as "The Factor" : BILL O'REILLY. [Lore]. Often in the news.

"Like all great theologies, Bill's can be boiled down to one sentence: There must be a god, because I don't know how things work." - Stephen Colbert.

24A. Feature of some German nouns : MALE GENDER. [Legend]. Masculine, Feminine and Neutral. Der, Die, Das. Latin too.

34A. '60s-'70s sitcom whose four original family members were married over the course of the series : MY THREE SONS. [Myth]. Never saw the sitcom, but it osmosis'ed its way into my brain the the crosses pulled it out for me.

47A. Virus symptom, perhaps : FATAL ERROR. [Tale]. Took me a little while to cotton on to this one - a virus in the computer sense leading to the dreaded "blue screen of death".

56A. Private details ... or what's found in this puzzle's circles : INSIDE STORY

A couple of things about the theme struck me as as not quite right - if "inside" refers to the position of the circled word in the phrase, then "MYTH" isn't really "inside", more off to the left edge. Also, I don't see an INSIDE STORY as "private", more a story told by those who were present.

I'll take my Mr. Grumpy hat off now, this is the view out of the office window this morning, and who can stay grumpy looking at Mt. Rainier on a sunny day?

Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Novelist celebrated on Bloomsday : JOYCE. If ever there was an almost mythical legend of lore and tale-telling, it would be James Joyce. His novel "Ulysses" is set on a single day, June 16th 1904, and the protagonist, Leopold Bloom, lends his name to the annual celebration of the book, and the author, on the anniversary.

6. Leaves on a shelf? : PAGES. Plenty of pages in Ulysses. My edition is just shy of 700 of them.

11. Pampering place : SPA

14. Spheres of study : AREAS

15. Like 1-Across : IRISH. To be sure.

16. Granola grain : OAT

19. "What a cutie!" : AWW

20. Pampas weapon : BOLA. Leg-entangling thing.

21. Slanted text: Abbr. : ITAL

22. "A" on many a cornerstone : ANNO. Probably old cornerstones now that the "CE" designation appears to be more acceptable.

23. He or I : ELEM. Cracking clue. The abbreviated helium and iodine are chemical elements.

27. Lee material : DENIM. Lee jeans. The hard-wearing cotton fabric "serge de Nîmes" eventually anglicized to"denim".

29. Locks : TRESSES

30. Half a repartee : TAT. Tit for?

32. Stick around : STAY. We see "segue" sometimes in the crossword - here's a great example from Jackson Browne as "The Load Out" segues into "Stay".

33. Berliner's direction : OST. The German compass rose, clockwise from the top - Nord, Ost, Süd, West

37. Wee amount : SOU. In spite of the apparently Scottish allusion with "wee", the sou was French.

39. "Glee" extra : TEEN

40. Backing : PRO

41. Belgian diamond center : ANTWERP

43. Expressive tweet space-savers : EMOJI. What's the singular? I have no idea.

51. Cries of clarity : AHAS!

52. Temptation garden : EDEN

53. "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy" speaker : IAGO. Handsome antagonist in Othello, or at least Kenneth Branagh is.

54. Banks on a runway : TYRA. Here she is:

55. Place for a screwdriver : BAR. I'll have a double, please. Lots of ice, California orange juice, Tito's vodka. Sláinte! A good start to Bloomsday.

59. Before, to Byron : ERE

60. Action movie climax : CHASE

61. Toys in laps, briefly : PEKES

62. Newsman Koppel : TED. I don't watch much news TV. Thank you, crosses.

63. Pompeo of "Grey's Anatomy" : ELLEN. I don't watch much drama TV. Thank you, crosses.

64. Hobbit on a quest : FRODO. Did anyone else find Sam Gamgee an inspiring character in the book and a complete pain in the backside in the movie? "Mr. Frodo! Mr. Frodo! Mr. Frodo!". Ugh.

Down:

1. Elbowed : JABBED

2. Player with an orange-and-black logo : ORIOLE. Baltimore baseball player.

3. Federal Reserve chair after Bernanke : YELLEN. Nailed it!

4. Great misfortune : CALAMITY

5. Anka's "__ Beso" : ESO

6. Michelangelo statue : PIETA. In St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, appropriately.

7. Courier alternative : ARIAL. Not self-delivery? Oh - typeface. Gotcha.

8. Manufacturer of Venus razors : GILLETTE. Did you see that Dollar Shave Club just got bought by for one BILLION dollars by Unilever? That's one heck of a disruptive business model.

9. Immigrant's subj. : ESL

10. Uncomfortable in singles bars : SHY

11. No-goodniks : SO-AND-SOS

12. "Dances With Wolves" natives : PAWNEES

13. If all goes wrong : AT WORST

18. Edge : RIM

22. Short reply? : ANS. Like this is a self-describing crossword answer!

25. Clutch : GRASP

26. Pooh's gloomy pal : EEYORE. One of my favorite characters in the books (not the travesty that is the Walt Disney Studio version).

28. Monster High doll maker : MATTEL. Who? What? Apparently "The entire franchise will be rebooted in 2016, with new face molds, movie animation (starting with "Welcome to Monster High"), slogan ("How Do You Boo?"), and song "This Is How We Boo" performed by Jordin Sparks". So now we know.

31. "Done!" : THERE!

32. C-SPAN fig. : SEN. POL went in. POL came out.

34. Complained under one's breath : MUTTERED

35. Retaliatory act : REPRISAL

36. "Oh, it's fine" : NO MATTER

37. Low-risk wager : SAFE BET. No such thing in my experience.

38. How some foolish things are done : ON A DARE

42. Pallid : WAN

44. Tribute song on John Lennon's "Imagine" : OH YOKO. Nice to see her expanded by a couple of letters.

45. Rattled : JARRED

46. Mom's argument-ending words : I SAY SO. Rarely seen without "because ...".

48. More than see : RAISE

49. Birth city of most of the Osmonds : OGDEN

50. Seafood delicacy : ROE

56. Hotel amenity : ICE. Not in a lot of English hotels. They look at you as if you're crazy if you want a bucket of ice.

57. Org. with 30 franchises : NHL. The National Hockey League. I didn't realize there were so many teams. I think I can name maybe 10 without straining, then I'm starting to hunt and peck.

58. Hawaiian Tropic lotion letters : S.P.F.

This time last week I was in the English north-west, today the Pacific north west, and beautiful weather in both places. I feel charmed! The weather's so nice up here I'm going to stick around for the weekend. Aaaaaand finally ..... here's the grid!

Steve

Wednesday, July 27, 2016, Jeff Wechsler

TITLE: OO, OO, OO, OO, OO, OO

Joe E. Ross's signature phrase as Gunther Toody from Car 54 Where Are You? serves as prolog for Jeff's wonderful Wednesday puzzle where he has six entries that start with OO, four across and two down. Jeff's amazing incorporation of six of them at a Wednesday level further impresses this humble blogger.


Jeff Wex has also requested "that this puzzle, based on its theme, should be dedicated to Lemonade's wife, Oo".  I am happy to do so!!

Husker Gary here, gladly summarizing a puzzle with a lot of OOMPH!

Theme Entries

17. Butterfingers' comment : OOPSY DAISY - A variant of Upsy Daisy that is said when a child stumbles or is being lifted. Or before and after this...

23. Comet-filled region of space : OORT CLOUD - Far out, man!

48. Chinese beverage literally meaning "black dragon" :  OOLONG TEA - After withering, rolling, shaping and firing

54. Plays it like Cary Grant : OOZES CHARM - Of Zoltan Karpathy, Professor Higgins proclaimed, "OOZING charm from every pore, he oiled his way across the floor"

11. Wonka worker : OOMPA LOOMPA - Don't they seem to be a little creepy?

23. Expressions of delight : OOHS AND AAHS - C'mon, you know you say it!

Across

1. Fast-arriving letter : E-MAIL - After face-to-face, my preferred method of communicating 

6. Leaping parasite : FLEA

10. Verne protagonist : FOGG - Nemo in the sub, FOGG in the balloon

14. "It Happened One Night" director : CAPRA - I could watch it again today!

15. Equestrian strap : REIN

16. Collected knowledge : LORE

19. See 22-Down : AMIN and 22. With 19-Across, Oscar-winning Forest Whitaker role : IDI - A completely despicable man

20. Numerous centuries : EON

21. "Win one for the __": Reagan : GIPPER 

27. Have more birthdays : AGE - The only thing worse than AGING is not AGING

28. Circuit components : DIODES

30. "Ah, Wilderness!" playwright : O'NEILL - Notice the top-billed actor in this Broadway cast

32. Needed Advil, say : ACHED

33. Investor's concern : LOSS

34. Little bit : IOTA

37. Interfere (with) : MESS

38. Soda purchases : COKES

39. 1980s surgeon general : KOOP - Apropos on an OO day!

40. Education orgs. : PTA'S

41. Take ten : REST

42. "Philadelphia" director Jonathan : DEMME - Stereotypical director activity where DEMME is setting up a shot for Philadelphia

43. "Whatever your heart desires!" : NAME IT

45. "Always," in a military slogan : SEMPER

46. Imogene's comedy partner : SID

50. Saws : ADAGES

52. Juillet's season : ETE

53. Brunch, e.g. : MEAL - As long as there's bacon...

61. Pearl Harbor site : OAHU

62. Headed for overtime : TIED - Talk about your overtimes!

63. Very dangerous : TOXIC

64. Staff mem. : ASST

65. Bit of river turbulence : EDDY

66. The Washington Monument's 897 : STEPS - Climbing these is no longer permitted but the record is 6.7 minutes set in 2007

Down

1. Green start? : ECO

2. Red Guard leader : MAO

3. Waze or Uber : APP

4. Agcy. with collectors : IRS

5. Like a parfait : LAYERED - Poirot often uses the word "Parfait" (Perfect) on the eponymous British TV Series when his "little grey cells" have made a discovery

6. Old Belgian currency : FRANC

7. Tourist gift on 61-Across : LEI

8. Stuttgart cubes : EIS

9. "Care to take a stab at the answer?" : ANY GUESS - Can you guess the 6-letter word (not 5-letter as posted earlier) that connects these four pix? (*Answer below by grid)

10. Kerfuffle : FLAP

12. "Peer Gynt Suite" composer : GRIEG

13. Bromance or romcom : GENRE

18. Fiji has three : DOTS - Or tittles

24. Ukrainian port : ODESSA

25. Regards with anticipation : LOOKS TO

26. Starting point : ONSET

28. Soggy : DAMP

29. "O.G. Original Gangster" rapper : ICE-T - First hip-hop album with the warning you see 

31. "... just as I am" : LIKE ME

33. Trompe __ : L'OEIL - French for Trick the eye. I love these chalk drawings that do just that 

35. Weighty volume : TOME

36. Mimic : APER

38. Chimney cleaner's target : CREOSOTE

42. Becomes aware of : DETECTS

44. "The Simpsons" beer server : MOE

45. PD ranks : SGTS - It was interesting to see SGT Joe Friday pre and post Miranda Rights 

46. Polynesian nation : SAMOA

47. Planning session fodder : IDEAS

49. Hard up : NEEDY

51. Excess : GLUT

55. Suffix with fact : OID - Here's one from the King Of FACTOIDS!

56. Zoo opening in London? : ZED

57. What a red "H" often indicates : HOT

58. Bunyan tool : AXE

59. __ Van Winkle : RIP

60. Mic wielders : MCS

A scout troop's short a child, Krushchev due at Idewild, LA Crossword comments where are you?

*CHANGE

THE GRID

Tuesday, July 26, 2016 Janice Luttrell

Theme: Festival Seating - or the opening bell at Macy's on Black Friday; don't get caught in the stampede.

20A. "SportsCenter" co-anchor : HANNAH STORM

56A. Extreme onset of anxiety : PANIC ATTACK

11D. Overdraft fee, e.g. : BANK CHARGE

29D. Caffeine jitters : COFFEE RUSH

Argyle here and so is Janice again but no reveal. Even less 3-letter entries than Monday's. Remarkable. I'll add Hannah Storm's picture here.

Across:

1. Willy Loman's favorite son : BIFF. I know Biff the Bully from Back to the Future.

5. Surrounded by : AMID

9. Site with a "Find a Doctor" section : WEB MD

14. Recline lazily : LOLL

15. Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida __" : LOCA

16. Firefighter Red : ADAIR. He was famous for snuffing out oil well fires.

17. Jai __ : ALAI

18. Ajar : OPEN

19. Like the yolk in Eggs Benedict : RUNNY. Do you like them runny? I prefer a little set to them.

23. Kenan's comedy partner : KEL. Wiki. I must be too old to find them funny.

24. Pottery material : CLAY

25. Uproar : OUTCRY

27. Microfilm unit : FICHE. You needed a reader.

30. Tuba sound : [OOM-PAH]

32. To whom Lennon's "Woman" is dedicated : ONO. Yoko.

33. Bit of shuteye : CATNAP

36. Cheers from the stands : RAHs

39. Sharable PC files : PDFs. (Portable Document Format)

41. Maker of candy "pieces" : REESE. Yum! Straight out of the freezer on a hot day ....

42. Yorick's skull in "Hamlet," e.g. : PROP. "Alas, poor Yorick"

43. Waiting room seat : SOFA

44. "Location, location, location," to a real estate agent : MANTRA

46. Test for M.A. seekers : GRE. (Graduate Record Examination)

47. Playwright Albee : EDWARD. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

49. Deli loaf : BREAD

51. Cybermoniker : USER ID

53. Word with map or code : AREA

55. "Morning Edition" broadcaster : NPR. (National Public Radio)

62. Unrefined : CRUDE

64. Uproars : ADOs. Outcries.

65. Better __ ever : THAN. Better than sliced deli loaf.

66. Cutting beam : LASER

67. "Sommersby" actor Richard : GERE

68. Prefix with dextrous : AMBI

69. Spirit of a people : ETHOS

70. Beach cover : SAND

71. Tree house : NEST

Down:

1. Not at all thrilling : BLAH

2. City in southeast Kansas : IOLA

3. Spanish dessert : FLAN

4. Shrink back : FLINCH. A fast shrink.

5. Hi and bye on Lanai : ALOHA

6. Sister of Peter Rabbit : MOPSY

7. Rapper-turned-actor : ICE-T

8. Five-O detective's nickname : DANO. The controversy here. Add to it if you care.

9. Get ready in the bullpen : WARM-UP

10. Dean's URL ender : .EDU

12. One who digs hard rock? : MINER

13. How deadpan humor is delivered : DRYLY

21. Actor Guinness : ALEC

22. "__ Room": longtime kids' show : ROMPER. 1953 to 1994

26. Waterproof cover : TARP

27. Natty dressers : FOPs

28. __-European : INDO

30. Without letup : ON END

31. Tobacco kiln : OAST. We see it used to dry hops more commonly.

34. Doomed Spanish fleet : ARMADA

35. Drop on a cheek : TEAR

37. Israeli dance : HORA

38. Went too fast : SPED

40. __ City: Baghdad suburb : SADR. Formerly known as Saddam City.

45. Aid in a bad way : ABET

48. Windshield cleaners : WIPERS

50. Wicker material : RATTAN

51. One who might call you his niece : UNCLE

52. Fat-avoiding Jack : SPRAT, but not his wife who could eat no lean.

53. Part of a squirrel's stash : ACORN

54. Demolished, in Devon : RASED. It would be nice to visit before all the old houses are gone.

57. Reminds ad nauseam : NAGS

58. Inspiration : IDEA

59. Woeful words : "AH, ME"

60. Street fleet : CABs. Neat.

61. Make mittens, say : KNIT

63. "Gloria in Excelsis __" : DEO

Argyle

Monday, July 25, 2016 Shannon Summer

Theme: No Reveal Monday - Homonyms.

20A. Brought in for repair, as a disabled car : TOWED TO THE SHOP

35A. Obeyed strictly : TOED THE LINE

52A. Milne play about an amphibian : "TOAD OF TOAD HALL"

Argyle here. It would appear this is a debut puzzle. Simple and clean. OK.

Across:

1. Monster party : BASH

5. Cooled with cubes, as tea : ICED

9. Hood's bank job : HEIST

14. Author __ Stanley Gardner : ERLE. Perry Mason was created by Erle Stanley Gardner.

15. Dress that reaches the ankles : MAXI

16. According to : AS PER

17. Roman love god : AMOR

18. Bird sacred to Tut : IBIS

19. Animal shelter arrival : STRAY

23. Dublin's land: Abbr. : IRE

24. __ bran : OAT

25. Either "T" in "AT&T," when abbreviated : TEL. (American Telephone & Telegraph, founded in 1885)

26. Jul. and Aug. : MOs. (months)

28. Oppressive ruler : TYRANT

30. Cause of much yawning : BORE

31. Really bug : IRK

32. Playground plank for two : SEESAW

34. __ Spumante : ASTI

38. Coll. staff member : PROFessor

40. "Finally!" : "AT LAST!"

41. Joint that may need replacing : HIP

42. Bugs for payment : DUNs

44. Put a worm on : BAITED

48. Electrical particle : ION

49. & : AND

50. Hindu term of respect : SRI

51. Lead-in with car or tourism : ECO

56. Beat at chess : MATED

57. "If __ $1000000": Barenaked Ladies song : I HAD

58. List-ending abbr. : ETAL

59. Doctor on the starship Enterprise : McCOY. Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy.

60. San __, Italy : REMO

61. Shortest Great Lake name : ERIE

62. Culture: Pref. : ETHNO

63. Golda of Israel : MEIR. Prime Minister of Israel, 1969 to 1974.

64. Title for Byron : LORD

Down:

1. "Scram!" : "BEAT IT!"

2. Weapons facility : ARMORY

3. Adagio, as compared to allegro : SLOWER

4. "You can have it" : "HERE!"

5. Mimicked : IMITATED

6. Explorer Sebastian : CABOT. c. 1474 – c. 1557 Wiki LINK.

7. Interstate highway sign word : [EXIT]

8. One hanging near the kitchen sink : DISH TOWEL

9. Red tape, e.g. : HASSLE

10. O.T. book named for a woman : ESTHer.

11. "Scout's honor!" : "I PROMISE"

12. City on a harbor : SEAPORT. (Sanremo, per esempio)

13. Attempt : TRY

21. Transplant recipient : DONEE

22. "Lo, How a Rose __ Blooming": carol : E'ER

27. Speed down snowy slopes : SKI

29. Starting with : AS OF

30. Thai money : BAHTs

33. Not give an inch : STAND FIRM

34. Pro's opposite : ANTI

35. First-class : TOP NOTCH

36. Dog believed to have originated in Newfoundland : LABRADOR

37. Start of a "Come again?" response : "I SAID ... "

38. __ Beta Kappa : PHI

39. It's "read" during a reprimand : RIOT ACT

42. Beatnik's bro : 'DADDY-O'

43. Game with Draw Two cards : UNO

45. Italian playhouse : TEATRO. Learning moment.

46. Cream-filled pastry : ECLAIR

47. Dressed to kill, with "up" : DOLLED

50. "Ditto" : "SO AM I"

53. Thousands of years : AEON

54. "With this ring, I __ wed" : THEE

55. Cad : HEEL

56. Sra., in France : MME. (madame)

Argyle