Tuesday, February 7 2017, Gerry Wildenberg


Theme: Big Deal. Two word phrases beginning with the letters B and D.

17. Zero or one : BINARY DIGIT. Bit is short for binary digit, the smallest unit of data in a computer. As Alan Watts said, “is you is, or is you ain’t?”


52. July 14, in France : BASTILLE DAY. French National Day formally called la Fête Nationale, commemorating the storming of the Bastille in 1789 during the French Revolution. Dickens writes about it in his masterpiece A Tale of Two Cities. 

11. Thirteen : BAKER'S DOZEN. Why?


25. Performer who shimmies and uses finger cymbals : BELLY DANCER.

29. Like little, glittering eyes ... and a phonetic hint to this puzzle's four longest answers : BEADY

Get it? Bee-Dee. Nice.

Melissa here. Only two complete unknowns for me, and lots of fun and interesting fill.

Across        


1. Gownlike Roman garment : TUNIC

6. Like teary eyes : MOIST. The Science Behind Why People Hate the Word 'Moist.'


11. Sculpted physique, briefly : BOD


14. Sky blue : AZURE


15. Asteroids game company : ATARI


16. Actor Vigoda : ABE. Another talented person the world lost in 2016.

 19. Japanese carp : KOI


20. Trunk of the body : TORSO


21. Orchard rows : TREES


23. Internet destination : WEBPAGE


27. Good Housekeeping publisher since 1911 : HEARST


28. Pilot Earhart : AMELIA


29. Leaning-on-the-horn sounds : BLARES


31. Hawk's claw : TALON


32. Wintry temps : TEENS


33. NYG rival in the NFC East : DAL. Dallas Cowboys.


36. Pinball excess : TILT


37. Mountain bleaters : GOATS


38. Ball-and-mallet game : POLO


39. Foxy : SLY


40. Business convention handouts : CARDS


41. Clods : BOZOS. Haha.


42. __ Wilson, who played Sam in "Casablanca" : DOOLEY


44. Peaceful : SERENE


45. Sports venues : STADIA


47. Original star of "Star Trek" : SHATNER. William.


48. Bedding : LINEN


49. Promised : VOWED


51. __ de Triomphe : ARC. View.


58. Golf ball holder : TEE


59. Hodgepodges : OLIOS


60. Eat away at : ERODE


61. Lith. or Est., once : SSR


62. Graphs' horizontal reference lines : X-AXES. Horizontal line on a graph.


63. "Billions & Billions" author Carl : SAGAN. Pale blue dot.
 

Down

1. Indent key : TAB


2. Submachine gun named for its designer : UZI


3. Religious school teacher, perhaps : NUN


4. Lyricist Gershwin : IRA


5. Free from doubt : CERTAIN


6. Madrid mother : MADRE


7. Bluesman Redding : OTIS


8. "Othello" schemer : IAGO


9. __ Lanka : SRI


10. Giggles : TITTERS


12. Thin woodwinds : OBOES


13. Jefferson, religiously : DEIST. Thomas Jefferson’s religious beliefs.


18. Lotus position discipline : YOGA


22. "The Facts of Life" actress Charlotte : RAE


23. Light bulb units : WATTS


24. Online letters : EMAIL


26. "The __ thickens!" : PLOT


27. Brinker on skates : HANS. Unknown for me, a novel first published in 1865 by Mary Mapes Dodge. Also, the name of a budget hotel in Amsterdam, with a hilarious website. “The hotel that couldn’t care less, but we will try.”


30. "I'm game" : LET'S


32. Ripped : TORE


34. Without assistance : ALONE


35. Hard luck case : LOSER


37. Big party : GALA


38. Shipping route terminus : PORT


40. Vending machine feature : COIN BOX


41. Subordinate church officials : BEADLES. “Official of a church or synagogue." New to me.


43. Poem of praise : ODE


44. "Where the Sidewalk Ends" poet Silverstein : SHEL


45. Blind strips : SLATS


46. Goodyear products : TIRES


47. Ham go-with : SWISS


49. Powerful engine : V-SIX


50. Oklahoma native : OTOE


53. In the style of : ALA


54. Historical period : ERA


55. Pooch : DOG


56. Oral health org. : ADA. American Dental Association.

57. Japanese currency : YEN

Monday, February 6, 2017 Jake Braun

Theme: Synonyms

54. Virtually zero, and where the ends of 20-, 32- and 43-Across are literally situated: NEXT TO NOTHING. That means they start with a synonym for zilch.

20. Player who shoots par regularly: SCRATCH GOLFER. Zero handicap.

32. Floppy disk backup device: ZIP DRIVE. Nil.

43. Ballad for a valentine: LOVE SONG. Zero score in tennis.

Argyle here. No complaints.

Across:

1. Most musicals have two: ACTS

5. Start to faceted or purpose: MULTI

10. Modern organizers, for short: PDAs. (personal digital assistant)

14. Countenance: MIEN

15. In front: AHEAD

16. Wine prefix: OENO. Vowel friendly.

17. First chip in the poker pot: ANTE

18. Football with scrums: RUGBY

19. Songwriter Kristofferson: KRIS

23. Malted relative: SHAKE

24. Magnolia State school, familiarly: OLE MISS. University of Mississippi.

27. Baseball misplays: ERRORS

31. Calendar page: MONTH

35. Forest official: RANGER

36. Angsty rock genre: EMO

37. Michelangelo statue: PIETA

39. R&B's __ Hill: DRU. Such costumes!

40. Changes gears: SHIFTS

46. Start of a Poitier film title: TO SIR, WITH LOVE.

47. Seek ambitiously: ASPIRE

48. O. Henry works: STORIES. Easy to overthink this one.

50. Mexican dip: SALSA

58. Slick-talking: GLIB

60. Jokes and such: HUMOR

61. Cupid: AMOR

62. Save for binge-watching, say: TIVO

63. '50s nuclear trial: A-TEST

64. Dressed in: WORE

65. River of Hades: STYX

66. Barcelona babies: NENEs

67. Joint commonly replaced: KNEE

Down:

1. Accumulate, as a fortune: AMASS

2. Easy-peasy task: CINCH. This puzzle?

3. Aquarium fish: TETRA

4. Moved stealthily: SNEAKED

5. Artist Chagall: MARC

6. "Nah": "UH UH"

7. __ Mason: investment giant: LEGG. Founded in 1899 as a brokerage firm in Baltimore, MD.

8. No-nos: TABOOs

9. Poem of rustic life: IDYLL

10. Critters hunted with a hugely popular 2016 mobile app: POKÉMON

11. Heroic exploits: DERRING DO

12. Young Darth's nickname: ANI

13. Distress signal at sea: SOS

21. La. or Dak., once: TERR. (Territories)

22. Disaster relief org.: FEMA. (Federal Emergency Management Agency)

25. Titanic rear end: STERN

26. "So what" shoulder gesture: SHRUG. meh.

28. Fabric flaws: RIPS

29. Egg: Pref.: OVI

30. Fishing line holders: REELS

32. Thin citrus peels: ZESTS

33. Words spoken by a sweater?: "I'M HOT"

34. Plant responsible for much itching: POISON IVY

35. Sitarist Shankar: RAVI

38. High side: TOP

41. Locomotive furnace: FIREBOX

42. Cereal coveted by a silly rabbit: TRIX

44. Former "formerly": ERST

45. Seattle football pro: SEAHAWK

47. Sharp as a tack: ASTUTE

49. Wharton's Frome: ETHAN

51. Chihuahua citrus fruit: LIMÓN. (Spanish for "lemon") Tricky.

52. Boring lecture, for example: SNORE

53. Share the same opinion: AGREE

55. Dark clouds, perhaps: OMEN

56. Aroma detector: NOSE

57. Leftover bits: ORTs

58. Classic sports cars: GTs. No particular make.

59. Set fire to: LIT

Argyle

Sunday, February 5, 2017, Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

TITLE: SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT

Did one of these wonderful toys ever find its way into your home? When the string was pulled and released, it played the sound of the animal selected by the center arrow.

Don and C.C. took the premise of this toy and turned it into a  very clever gimmick for today's puzzle. They took some common phrases that contain an animal and made a silly phrase using the SOUND associated with that animal in place of the animal's name. How cool is that? No reveal was necessary as you can see in these theme fills.

21. Sign of a lawn tractor problem? : HISS (SNAKE) IN THE GRASS - I don't care to be close enough to hear this sound

26. Inhospitable medical fraud? : COLD QUACK (DUCK) - Not a frigid fowl!

41. Landscaping mulch specialists? : BARK (DOG) HANDLERS - Uh, who's handling who?

67. "Ahooga!" producer? : SILLY HONK (GOOSE) and 119. Posting that periodically reposts itself? : MIGRATORY TWEET (BIRD) - If they went south this winter and I didn't, how come they're SILLY? A specific and general bird reference. 

71. Hard golf club to swing? : GRUNT (PIG) IRON - An intermediate product of the smelting of iron ore usually shaped in ingots 

96. Excitement about the producer of the original "Charlie's Angels"? : SPELLING BUZZ (BEE) - Dirt on Aaron Spelling or attempts on these words

111. Playful crib liner? : SQUEAK (MOUSE) PAD - Here's an adversarial one

Now let's see what else Don and C.C. have for us in this, uh, HOOT of a puzzle:

Across

1. Director's shout : ACTION - Clint Eastwood doesn't shout this because, "It even makes the horses nervous." He simply says "Begin".

7. Sulky-pulling horse : PACER

12. Woods on a tee : TIGER - Tiger's meteoritic career seems to be flaming out

17. With alarming suddenness : WHAMMO

18. Independent African nation since 1993 : ERITREA - Do you know where it is on this map? The answer is under the grid at the bottom of this write-up.

20. Arizona neighbor : SONORA

23. Frigid : ARCTIC

24. Iowa's state tree : OAK

25. Bucket list items, say : GOALS

28. __ Schwarz : FAO - I'll bet you know this movie, the star on the right and the song they are playing in this scene at the FAO Schwarz Toy Store.

30. Plant with edible leaf sheaths : LEEK

32. Clump on a lawn : TUFT

33. Org. that dropped "Lawn" from its name in 1975 : USTA - Grass/Lawn tennis surfaces used to be the most common but are rare now due to maintenance costs

34. Flexible pronoun substitute : HE OR SHE - Have you ever been to a Gender Reveal Shower?

37. Exit : LEAVE

39. Number for a pair : DUET

43. One way to learn : ASK

44. Like the viva voce part of some exams : ORAL - Latin for "with living voice"

48. 15-member sports org. : ACC - Clemson won the ACC and National Championship this year

49. Dorm room, perhaps : STY

50. Some float in place with the tide : PIERS

52. Irish brew : RED ALE

54. Pampas birds : RHEAS

57. Make more attractive : SWEETEN

59. "Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat" author : AMY TAN

60. Restless desire : ITCH - Tom Ewell is the other person in this iconic scene from The Seven Year ITCH

63. MGM motto word : ARS

64. Bottled surprise : GENIE

66. Pet Shop Boys label : EMI

73. Sch. in Tempe : ASU

74. Island veranda : LANAI - Word I learned on The Golden Girls

75. Anti-bullying ad, e.g. : PSA

77. 2014 "Cosmos" presenter __ deGrasse Tyson : NEIL

78. Register, as a sale : RING UP - I'll bet C.C. knew the umpire just did RING UP this batter

80. Sounded displeased : SNORTED

83. Did pre-heist planning at : CASED

87. How some goods are quickly sold : AT COST 

88. See eye to eye : AGREE

89. Director DuVernay : AVA

92. Conceptual artist Yoko : ONO

93. Ritz alternative : HI HO

94. Schubert's "The __ King" : ERL - Not on my playlist

100. '70s jazz band Spyro __ : GYRA

102. Model X maker : TESLA

103. Type of counter seen in kitchens? : CALORIE - High tech method using your 108. Part of iOS : SYST

104. Vogue rackmate : ELLE - My subscription has lapsed

106. Make a move : STIR

110. "Monsters, __" : INC

113. "The game didn't go well" : I LOST

115. "Top Hat" studio : RKO

118. Card game with tricks : EUCHRE - Contents of a standard EUCHRE deck

124. Common boot feature : LACING - One question in a recent survey asked whether I UNLACE my shoes when I remove them. I do. You?

125. August birthstone : PERIDOT - New word for me

126. Sherpas' language : NEPALI - Mt. Everest is Sagarmāthā in NEPALI 

127. Moves like a monarch : FLITS

128. Rent-a-car choice : SEDAN

129. Swimmer's bane : CRAMPS


Down

1. Dr. Seuss title ender : A WHO

2. Seed used in smoothies : CHIA - Also a funky gift

3. Group on a mission : TASK FORCE

4. Uses Facebook Chat, briefly : IMS

5. "Jeepers!" : OMIGOSH

6. Ill-advised move : NO NO - Trying to dunk over LeBron James

7. Market before building : PRESELL

8. 2008 bailout beneficiary : AIG

9. Shaq's pos. : CTR

10. Obama __ : ERA

11. Get out of a pickle : RESCUE - This guy did not get out of one

12. __ wrench : TORQUE

13. Held at the station : IN CUSTODY

14. Suggested subtly : GOT AT

15. Former "Weekend Today" co-host Hill : ERICA

16. Pool triangle : RACK

18. Jennifer of "Zero Dark Thirty" : EHLE

19. Starting with : AS OF - AS OF today there are 44 days until Spring!

20. Down : SAD

22. Scout's find, ideally : TALENT

27. Old Fords : LTDS - 1984 Ford LTD Crown Victoria 

29. Genesis vessel : ARK

31. One with lasting merit : KEEPER

32. Den focal point : TV SET

34. I-beam relative : H BAR - An I-beam on its side?

35. Every partner : EACH - EACH and every one of  you

36. Takes in : HAS

38. Ovine sign : ARIES

40. Poland neighbor : UKRAINE - Probably easier to spot than ERITREA

42. Prefix with -lexic : DYS

43. Voice of the difficult homeowner in "Up" : ASNER

45. Yelp contributor : RATER

46. Enterprise rival : ALAMO

47. October Revolution figure : LENIN

51. The Skatalites music genre : REGGAE - Pioneers of Ska music

53. Ipecac, for one : EMETIC

55. Be on the disabled list, say : AIL

56. Galaxy Note accessory : STYLUS

58. Transitional state : WAKING

61. Local branch : CHAPTER

62. Doll : HON

65. Blue __: German wine brand : NUN

67. She played Buffy : SARAH - After seven seasons, she had become "annoyed" with the role

68. Question in Matthew : IS IT I - Engendered by Jesus' statement "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me"

69. Day break? : LUNCH

70. __ cavity : NASAL

72. Stevedore's org. : ILA - Brando won an academy award playing Terry Malloy who took on the ILA

75. Gets ready to operate : PREPS

76. Braces (oneself) : STEELS

79. Return from searching? : GOOGLE HIT

81. Brian who has coached two Olympic skating gold medalists : ORSER and 85. Longtime Wyoming senator Mike : ENZI - Two names I didn't know and will forget

82. Indian lentil stew : DAL

84. Chip flavoring : SOUR CREAM

86. Nap : DOZE

90. Spoils recipient : VICTOR

91. Ducks, on ESPN crawls : ANA - The Anaheim Ducks NHL team

95. Farrier's tool : RASP

97. Overdo the flattery : LAY IT ON - The master

98. Shiny craft store supply : GLITTER

99. It's good in Quebec : BON

101. Itches : YEARNS - ITCHes is both fill and clue today 

102. Cleans : TIDIES

104. The same : EQUAL

105. "All My Children" Emmy winner on her 19th try : LUCCI

107. Pipe smoker's gadget : TAMP

109. Tab target : SLOT

111. __-starter : SELF

112. Brewery unit : KEG

114. Media player command : SYNC

116. Large seaweed : KELP

117. Spunkmeyer of cookie fame : OTIS

120. Hurdle for srs. : GRE

121. Disencumber : RID

122. Govt. lawyer : ADA

123. Employment org. created in 1935 : WPA

Here's the grid and if you wish to comment, we will  not say, uh, NEIGH:

Eritrea from 18 Across

Saturday, Feb 4th, 2017 David C. Duncan-Dekker

Theme: DCDD

Words: 68 (missing J,X,Z)

Blocks: 33

Well I just about smoked through this puzzle, despite having no answers for the first three long Across fills. A pinwheel grid with triple 10-letter corners meant easier 4-letter fills for crossings, and some of them were too much of a 'gimme' for a Saturday construction.  Hey, they gotta throw us a bone once in a while, no~?  Very few proper names, I knew all of them, and several other clues were in my wheelhouse as well.  One from each corner;

1. Runway covering : TARMACADAM - here I thought this was redundant, as TAR and MACADAM were the same thing, but I went looking and discovered I was wrong

57. Flipper, for one : BOTTLENOSE - I started with "TV----", but 'character' was too long; for some reason, I thought dolphins were "bottleNECK".  Ooops

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish

13. Not yet on the shelves : UNRELEASED - my book is unreleased - and uh, unwritten, right now....

24. 1956 rockabilly hit : BE-BOP-A-LULA - before my time, but the phrase appears in this song, which I have linked before, but I think it's worth hearing again

The Afterlife

Paul SimONWARD~!

ACROSS:

11. Border : ABUT - dah~! Not EDGE

15. Hedge : EQUIVOCATE

16. Mellow, with "down" : TONE

17. Source of sweet-scented spice : NUTMEG TREE

18. Car alarm : HORN

19. What suspects may be charged with : TASERS - suspect or perp~?  One can be a suspect without getting tased in the process - I hope

20. Grease, often : FAT

21. Squeezed (out) : EKED - gimme

22. Something else : LULU

23. First name in legal fiction : ERLE - his Wiki

24. Good yield : BUMPER CROP

Looks like it's gonna be a good year~!

30. Not a good look : LEER - gimme

31. Made possible : ENABLED

32. Pan Am competitor : TWA - ugh.  I tried UAL, then NWA, and finally got it right

34. Darken, in a way : TAN - ooh, I was close with DYE at first

35. Ordered : BOSSED - yesterday my senior boss thought he'd tell me how to load one of my trucks - so I said to him "why don't you just go sit in the office~?"

36. Manage poorly : ILL USE

38. Leftover bit : ORT - gimme

39. Kid's cry : "MOM~!"

41. Dresses : ATTIRES - ah, the verb, not the noun

42. Like some horses : PIED - pondered "ROAN"

44. Hunting dogs : COONHOUNDS

46. Business opening : AGRO - thought it was agrI, but....

47. Letter-shaped fastener : T-NUT

48. Depict artistically : LIMN

49. Certain game extensions, briefly : OTs - the NY Rangers won in OT on Thursday

50. Force user : OBI-WAN - I use the Force - it keeps me sober

56. Hand or foot : UNIT - measures, not "limbs"

59. "Constant Craving" singer : LANG - k.d., and I remembered this song

60. Police may look for one : EYEWITNESS

61. Gucci or Rossi : ALDO - perps

62. Some talk show personalities : RADIO HOSTS

DOWN:

1. Big top, e.g. : TENT - gimme

2. Water color : AQUA

3. Groovy things : RUTS - "LPs" was too short

4. Street performer : MIME - gimme

5. Claim : AVER

6. Minor players : COGS

7. Perform : ACT - gimme

8. War-torn Sudanese region : DARFUR - featured in this song from Thievery Corporation

9. Got stuffed : ATE A LOT

10. Join for a drink, say : MEET UP WITH - only if it's coffee - OK, Diet Coke, too

11. Close behind : AT HEEL

12. Library feature : BOOK RETURN

14. Gentle quality : TENDERNESS

22. Flat-panel TV component : LCD - had in, took it out

25. Hardly fresh : UNORIGINAL

26. Code-breaking game with colored pegs : MASTERMIND - ah, I remember this game, but I never played it

27. __ Kids: "Sesame Street" brand : PBS - perps

28. Am or Fm : ELEMent - almost got me; I went with BAND first, but this is Americium and Fermium

29. Fictional Soviet sub : RED OCTOBER - I can think of a more difficult way to clue this on Saturday - e.g. "sub captained by Ramius"

33. Chorus line? : ALTO

37. Voice of Master Viper in "Kung Fu Panda" films : LIU

40. Flamenco guitarist Carlos : MONTOYA - perps gave me MONT---, and given the occupation/first name....

41. Social worker? : ANT - gimme

43. "What's the rush?" : "DON'T GO...."

45. Kicked to the curb : OUSTED

50. A little of this, a little of that : OLIO - I have not seen this in a puzzle for a long time - but I don't get to the weekday puzzles much

51. One of the March sisters : BETH - I had the -ET-, so I figured BETH was a good choice

52. __ time : IN NO

53. Tribulations : WOES

54. No. 2 : ASST. - Always reminds me of Dr. Evil

55. Headland : NESS - new definition for me

58. Light head? : TWI - twilight; second "lead-in" clue in the grid (46a.), which is unusual

Splynter