Saturday, Jan 14th, 2017 Roland Huget

Theme: None

Words 68 (missing B,F,J,K,Q,Z)

Blocks: 25 

A perfectly symmetrical construction with chunky corners and no way to get from one to the other without going through 15-letter spanners and climbers makes this possibly the most difficult grid to work with;  I have to own up to one Google cheat, but other than that, I call this one a win - no fun-sponge answers, and solid fill throughout.  The last Saturday puzzle from Mr. Huget was nearly an identical grid, and I re-read my write-up and it was a struggle then as well.  Still, I liked the challenge, and I was within my personal allotted time, so one cheat is fair, right~?  Anyway, the four spanners and climbers;

31a. Classic children's story about healing : THE SECRET GARDEN - I'd heard of it, but knew nothing about it, so I went to the the Wiki

36a. '60s TV sidekick : AGENT NINETY-NINE - from Get Smart - one of my favorite openings for a show and theme song - here's the 60's Agent 99; I liked Anne Hathaway in the 2008 movie myself

GET SMART

7d. Find the weakness of : HIT WHERE IT HURTS

8d. Accessory for FDR : CIGARETTE HOLDER - see also 55d. for a WWII contemporary

bONnieWARD~!

ACROSS: 

1. "Yikes!" : "OMIGOSH~!"

8. Whitewash : COVER-UP

15. Ancient Roman coins : DENARII - I took Latin for four years in school, so the couble "I-I" at the end was acceptable

16. "It's not an option for me" : "I HAVE TO." - I have to add a leg image - it's not an option for me

17. Court exhibit, perhaps : DNA TEST

18. Squared up : GOT EVEN - I was not sure if this was a carpentry clue, or an "I.O.U." one

19. Customs : MORES - dah~! Not NorMs

20. '70s org. for 21-Down : WHA - I immediately filled in NHL, as I knew who we were looking for at 21d - and I was wrong~!  The WHA was the World Hockey Association, a league I had never heard of - I grew up with the NY Rangers, the team my dad followed before the birth of the Islanders - who got their start from the legal battles of the NHL with the WHA - the Wiki
 

22. Viking family dog of comics : SNERT - Hägar the Horrible

23. Notable periods : ERAS - a gimme for Saturday

24. Side issue? : THORN - a "thorn in one's side" - har-har

26. Piano __ : TRIO - yeah, this one was vague, at best; I pondered LEGS

27. Hound : NAG - oops, not the 'other' hound - DOG - I have an idea for a new board game that I have been working on all week, and there's a good chance I can produce it if the prototype is good - my friend Mike works with China to produce backyard games and such

28. Little ones : PEE-WEES

30. "Microsoft sound" composer : ENO - perps

34. "What's Hecuba to him, __ to Hecuba": Hamlet : OR HE - OK, the only fill that was "meh", but not too bad when you quote Shakespeare

35. St Ives gallery : TATE - a WAG off  '--TE'

43. Discount tag abbr. : IRRegular

44. One giving a thumbs-up? : HITCHER - Always makes me think of the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

45. Put the kibosh on : NIX - ARGH~! not HEX, not POX

46. Actors Glass and Silver : RONs - both have died; I knew Ron Silver - he was a lawyer on Law & Order, but I had to look up Ron Glass - ah, from Barney Miller, just before my time

48. Total confusion : CHAOS - I mentioned this word last week - and KAOS was in Get Smart, too

49. High seas adverb : THAR - she blows~!

50. Creamer of the LPGA : PAULA - perps and WAG

52. Search result : URL - oops, not HIT

53. "Rocky IV" antagonist Ivan : DRAGO - this was "my time", but Rocky movies were not my thing; 1985 was a good movie year - Back to the Future, A View to A Kill, and a tie-in to 28a. - see here

54. Being tracked, in a way : ON RADAR

56. Think it likely : DARESAY - I pondered DEEMS SO

58. Reference : RESPECT - should this have been reVerence~?  I'm calling blooper

59. Hyundai 1990 launch : ELANTRA - Nailed it, even if it was a WAG

60. Locks : TRESSES

61. Unfair treatment : RAW DEAL 

 DOWN:

1. Leftover : ODDMENT

2. Festival of Lights symbol : MENORAH - big help in the NW

3. Really ticked : IN A RAGE

4. 36-Down areas : GATES - did not work with my NorMs

5. They may be picked out : ORES - ah, a fresh clue for an old fill

6. Family nickname : SIS

9. "Look what I found!" : "O HO~!"

10. Brewery fixtures : VATS

11. What happened : EVENT

12. Venerated : REVERED - still calling blooper at 58a.

13. Womb-related : UTERINE

14. Floatplane feature : PONTOON

21. Six-time Hart Trophy winner : HOWE - either HOWE or HULL

24. Lego line that may include gears and motors : TECHNIC - my favorite collection of Lego sets; I have several kits still in a closet at mom's house, including the "old" helicopter set - here's the latest helicopter, but all the new kits have pre-molded parts that take some of the fun out of building

25. Countermands : NEGATES

28. Capital of Western Australia : PERTH - ooh, good WAG off just the "H"

29. Faun look-alike : SATYR

32. Male issue : SON

33. Cartoon canine : REN

36. Site with scanners : AIRPORT

37. It usually doesn't get a laugh : GROANER

38. Hospital triage pro : ER NURSE

39. Mayberry's home: Abbr. : N. CARolina

40. At the last minute, say : IN HASTE

41. New York county north of Erie : NIAGARA - my one cheat - and living in NY, I shoulda known....

NW corner - polar opposites; I'm in Suffolk, SE

42. 2016 World Series MVP Ben Zobrist, e.g. : EX-ROYAL - hockey is my thing, not baseball

47. Sharp rebukes : SLAPS

49. General direction : TREND

51. Citrus coolers : ADES

53. Main attraction : DRAW

55. Dogfight participant : ACE - Iron Maiden's Aces High

57. Like : À LA

Splynter 

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear JD, who joined our blog after she retired in 2008. Below is the first picture JD shared with us back when her daughter Shelby got married. Truman was only a baby then. How time flies. You can click here for many beautiful pictures JD shared with us over the years.

Friday, January 13, 2017, Bart Beisner

Title: Any PORT in a storm. Maybe we can go drinking at that place on the left in Oporto, where they hook you to an IV to get you the liquor quicker.

We return this Friday with another one clue fits all puzzle; this time the word is PORT and all four themers are 15 letters! There are many other meanings for PORT in the DICTIONARY but Bart picked some entertaining ones. It is also our first Friday the 13th of 2017....I assure you unlike Splynter I have never worn a hockey goalie mask.

We also continue our trend to bring back constructors from the past, this time with Lt. Col. (ret.) Beisner who had ONE previous publication that I have located.  He did stop by to say hello that day, perhaps he will again. With all the gridspanning you would expect little room for long sparkly fill, but we do have ESCROW,  TUNEUP,  FANNED, AWAY TEAM,  TARHEELS,  PRINCESS and  ROSE OILS. Now it is time to look at the theme:

20A. Port : CITY WITH A HARBOR (15).

25A. Port : AFTER DINNER WINE (15).

43A. Port : LEFT SIDE OF A SHIP (15).

48A. Port : CONNECTION POINT (15).

A nice set; now the rest.

Across:

1. Cabo's peninsula : BAJA.  Cabo San Lucas, a resort city on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, is known for its beaches, water-based activities and nightlife. Playa El Médano is Cabo’s main beach, with outdoor restaurants and numerous bars. Past the marina is Land's End promontory, site of Playa del Amor (Lover's Beach) and El Arco, a natural archway in the seacliffs.

5. Stupefy : BESOT. Getting drunk with love.

10. Earthy shade : ECRU. They really do not agree on this simple ("Raw") color.

14. "Don't have __, man!" : A COW. Bart must be a fan of his namesake Simpson. A nice subtle Selfie SO.

15. Jennifer Saunders' "Ab Fab" role : EDINA. The frumpy one; Patsy was Joanna Lumley who was a replacement for Mrs. Peele when they tried the New Avengers.

16. Room service challenge : SLOB.

17. Simba's mate : NALA. Disney's Lion King Queen.

18. Pack animal? : HIKER. This was hard for being so easy.

19. Shrewd : CUTE. I understand it now, nut also hard to suss.

23. Heavy weight : TON.

24. It may need a boost : EGO.

34. "Mean Girls" actress : LOHAN. Rumored to be trying to get a sequel going to revive her now dead career.

35. Instrument heard in the Doobie Brothers' "Black Water" : VIOLA. Their producer, the great Ted Templeton did not see it as a hit.

36. Lived and breathed : WAS.

37. Uncompromising : GRIM. Hmm.

38. __ nus: barefoot, in Bordeaux : PIEDS. High level French. A very pedestrian clue.

39. Hilarious one : RIOT.

40. Scotch datum : AGE. I pass this to the Tinman to explain.

41. Construct : ERECT.

42. Friend of Jerry and George : COSMO. Kramer.

46. Org. with a square-rigger on its seal : USN. See the square-rigger? You all can discuss.

47. Jungle swinger : APE. I always heard it was tarzan who was a swinger who would go both ways.

57. Ointment additive : ALOE.

58. De Valera of Ireland : EAMON. The perps were solid and I needed 'em all. New York City native, Éamon de Valera was a prominent politician and statesman in twentieth-century Ireland. His political career spanned over half a century, from 1917 to 1973; he served several terms as head of government and head of state, as taoiseach (prime minister; 1932–48, 1951–54, 1957–59) and president (1959–73) of Ireland. (various)

59. "Dies __" : IRAE.

60. Array of options : MENU.

61. Urban air problem : SMAZE. No thanks, this all sminks to me.

62. Reposed : LAIN.

63. Rear deck : POOP. Is that why we call...oh never mind.

64. Blush-inducing H.S. class : SEX-ED.

65. House meas. : SQ FT. Why are square feet not square? Why not call them SQUEET?

Down:

1. Judicial seat : BANC. Literally bench in French (take that Owen and Moe!)

2. Smoothie fruit : ACAI. Ah  I See

3. Cola named for its intended effect : JOLT. A Louisiana slant.

4. Football squad in white jerseys, typically : AWAY TEAM. Why? Television I bet. LINK.

5. Lagging : BEHIND.

6. Time change? : EDIT. huh?

7. Turbaned Punjabi : SIKH.

8. Selective Service classification : ONE-A.

9. Blue Devils' rival : TARHEELS. Duke University and U. of North Carolina. ETYMOLOGY.

10. Homeowner's account, perhaps : ESCROW. Most financial institutions require borrowers to pay into such an account every month to insure money is available to pay taxes and insurance on property. It also is where we hold deposits until closing.

11. Kind of sandwich or soda : CLUB. Or something I can hit you with, or deal to you.

12. Tiller opening? : ROTO. Want to know how to BUY one?

13. Taxi alternative : UBER. How many of you have used Uber or Lyft?

21. Unlike new clothes : WORN. Most of my new clothes get worn...

22. Indian tourist mecca : AGRA. Want to book a TOUR?

25. Like some pond growth : ALGAL. I know it is probably legit but all I see is
The POEM.

26. Blacksmith's need : FORGE.

27. Copper? : THIEF. A nice reversal here, as the copper is not the cop but the one who cops what is not his.

28. Like Wrigley Field's walls : IVIED.

29. Many a flower girl : NIECE. Mine was a granddaughter.

30. Acknowledge, in a way : NOD TO.

31. "It'd be a dream come true" : I WISH.

32. Judd matriarch : NAOMI.

33. Legally prohibit : ESTOP. We also obtain estoppel letters from Condo associations etc.

38. One of Disney's official eleven : PRINCESS.  As of 2015, the eleven characters considered part of the franchise are Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel and Merida.

39. Perfume staples : ROSE OILS.

41. Forum infinitive : ESSE. Latin to be.

42. Yokum cartoonist : CAPP. Alfred Gerald Caplin, better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist best known for the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner, which he created in 1934 and continued writing and drawing until 1977. Wiki.

44. Garage service : TUNE-UP.

45. Agitated : FANNED. Fanning the fire? Again, not me.

48. Where much tie-dyeing takes place : CAMP. Really?

49. Kitchen bar : OLEO.

50. Prohibition : NO NO.

51. Tone down : TAME.

52. Camera that uses 70mm film : IMAX.

53. Move like honey : OOZE.

54. Modern-day Mesopotamia : IRAQ. Iran is Persia.

55. Newbie : NAIF. The same root as Naive.

56. Commonly anchored shelter : TENT.

Well it is time for me to fold my tent and rest my weary legs. Lucky 13 to all,  thanks and come talk Bart. Lemonade out.

Thursday, January 12th 2017 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: C.C. and E's Letter addition to the four theme entries to create a new phrase.

17A. Miss America runner-up? : SILVER BELLE. The Silver Bell is a pretty tree from the south-east USA. "Silver Bells" is the movie, and doesn't work with the letter addition.

36A. Passage for the birds? : AVIAN FLUE.  Avian flu usually is not transmitted to humans, the virus needs to go through a number of mutations before it becomes a threat.

42A. Little Jack Horner's dream? : LIFE OF PIE. "Life of Pi" was a wonderful book, I didn't see the movie, I couldn't imagine how it could match up to the text.

62A. Emulating the writing style of "The Quiet American"? : GOING GREENE. Kermit's favorite environmental initiative; Graham Greene wrote some of my favorite books.

Here comes C.C. with a letter-addition theme. Simple idea, but the theme entries are fun and it's not easy to find a set of these which don't make you groan. There's a couple of her "trademark" long downs and some solid blocks throughout which make the fill flow. Let's see what else jumps out:

Across:

1. Buccaneers' home : TAMPA. The Bucs haven't exactly lit up the NFL since they won the Superbowl in 2002. They last topped their division in 2007.

6. Silly bird : GOOSE

11. Revolting word? : ICK!

14. Plane read : E-BOOK. I take real books along, but I do have some e-books on my iPad as a backup.

15. Large grouping : ARRAY

16. Pen user : CON. Convict. Penitentiary. I had to stare this one down before the lightbulb clicked on. Very nice.

19. Part of a royal flush : ACE. TEN at the other end of the flush, so wait for a cross.

20. Anastasia __, "Fifty Shades of Grey" character : STEELE. When this book first went viral, it was amazing to see how many people (women!) were reading a book with the front cover removed on the plane.

21. Emergency signal : SOS

22. Frosted flakes : SNOW

23. Called up : RANG

25. "Unsafe at Any Speed" author : NADER

27. Put in order : SORT

30. Fab alternative : ERA. Detergents. Would the FAB ERA be the 1960's?

32. Special Forces trademarks : BERETS. There are Green Berets in both the US and British armies. The British wearers are commandos. The Red Beret is usually worn by airborne forces.

35. Legendary horse tale setting : TROY. The Y was my last fill in the puzzle. I couldn't see past TRON for absolutely no good reason. Sanity prevailed. Those dastardly Greeks, hiding in plain horse.

38. Gold, in Granada : ORO

39. "My bad" : SO SORRY

41. Wartime prez : ABE. The civil war. Sneaky, I was expecting FDR or HST.

44. Proofreading mark : STET. The dots indicate what needs to stay after first being DELE'd

45. Overwhelm : ENGULF

46. Biological building block : DNA

48. Flight-related prefix : AERO-. Cue -Run DMC featuring -smith.

49. Emerged : AROSE

51. Carrier that doesn't fly on the Sabbath : EL AL

53. Order with tzatziki sauce : GYRO. Food! I was getting hungry. I love gyros. The Mad Greek truck stop in Baker on the I-15 between Las Vegas and Barstow has one of the best I've eaten.

55. Some Samsung TVs : HDS

57. "Yay, me!" : I DID IT! Crossword-solvers' cry everywhere.

61. Fishing __ : ROD

64. Weaken, perhaps : AGE

65. Jack's links rival : ARNIE. Nicklaus and Palmer. Along with Gary Player and agent Mark McCormack, they were instrumental in developing the commercial success of the sport.

66. Start a correction process : ERASE.

67. Secret competitor : BAN. Deodorants this time.

68. Bounded : LEAPT

69. Ice cream purchases : PINTS. Way down my list of what I'd be buying in pints.

Down:

1. Hardy heroine : TESS. Cracking read. Here's the Vale of Blackmore where the novel is set.

2. Minimally : A BIT

3. Lawn disruption : MOLE. I went with MOSS first as I had MO__ . That didn't work out so well.

4. "The parent of revolution and crime": Aristotle : POVERTY. I wasn't familiar with this assertion, but it makes perfect sense.

5. Cub Scout leader : AKELA. I was a Cub Scout way back when. "Akela, we will do our best". The significance of the all the "dybbing" and "dobbing" went straight over my head until I went to look it up two minutes ago. Now I find that we were text-speaking in 1965. DYB - Do Your Best. DOB - Do Our Best. Who knew?

6. Yak : GAB

7. Miner matters : ORES

8. DuPont acrylic : ORLON

9. Mexican buffet feature : SALSA BAR. I went to a very different salsa bar when I was in Hong Kong - a great bar in Lan Kwai Fong where the music was all Latin ballroom. There were some great dancers among the customers. I was not one of them, but that did not deter me. It was July 4th, and there was drink taken, in my defense.

10. Contact's spot : EYE

11. "Tell me about it" : I CAN RELATE

12. Nickname for late-night host O'Brien : COCO. New to me. Giving Ms. Chanel the day off cluing duty.

13. Didn't just think : KNEW

18. Russo of "The Intern" : RENE

22. Feudal grunt : SERF. Low man on the totem pole in Medieval England.

24. Comprehend : GRASP

26. Shoot down : DENY. As rumors.

27. Ripped off : STOLE

28. Longtime Utah senator Hatch : ORRIN

29. Area for urban growth : ROOF GARDEN. Nice.

31. Get around : AVOID

33. Potato, e.g. : TUBER. If you go green, you'll be growing these in your roof garden.

34. Look after : SEE TO

37. Goddess of peace : IRENE. I need to file this away for future recall. I must have seen this before but it was crosses all the way for me today.

39. Red cup brand : SOLO. Those ubiquitous party cups.

40. Like some oil rigs : OFFSHORE

43. Mark's successor : EURO. German (and Austrian) currency.

44. "Amadeus" narrator : SALIERI

47. Eccentric Sacha Baron Cohen persona : ALI G. This was his original alter ego, and his best as he was completely unknown at the time.

50. Twin Cities suburb that hosted the 2008 U.S. Women's Open : EDINA. In C.C's neighborhood.

52. Madison Ave. agent : AD REP

53. Snatch : GRAB

54. Discipline with poses : YOGA

56. Cut : SNIP

58. Big man on campus : DEAN

59. Caltech, e.g.: Abbr. : INST.

60. Golf tournament souvenirs : TEES. Tees like this?

or like these?

62. Country miss : GAL. She may belong to FarmersOnly.com, a website which I was convinced was a hoax when it first started airing ads.

63. Comprehend : GET. Got it!

And I think I've run out of runway, so that's it from me. Here's the grid!

Steve

Wednesday, January 11, 2017, Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: METAPHORICAL MOOLAH

Robert has taken some euphemisms for money (many of which we see in our puzzles) and suggested them as payment for services rendered in units associated with the trade mentioned in the cluing. 

Robert's pinwheel construction and theme fill is shown below:

Husker Gary here, let's review the theme answers Robert chose for this fun Humpday offering:

16. Newspaper reporter's compensation? : DAILY BREAD - Also redeemable at Pannera's?

38. Chiropractor's compensation? : BACK PAY - Does she get her money UPFRONT for working on a BACK?

61. Comedian's compensation? : FUNNY MONEY - One way to detect it

10. Landscaper's compensation? : HEDGE FUNDS - Clearly the coin of their realm

27. Domino's delivery driver's compensation? : PIZZA DOUGH - My idea for Christmas cash for the grandkids  this year!

Across

1. Bowling alley button : RESET - Before they were needed

                         

6. European cheese town : EDAM

10. Puddle jumper trip : HOP

13. Wedding figure : USHER

14. ChapStick container : TUBE

15. Fix up : REDO

18. Big star : IDOL

19. "I'm with ya" : YUP

20. Threatening words : OR ELSE

21. Farming prefix : AGRO

22. "Wheel of Fortune" buy : AN E - He had all his E's but look at what he guessed

23. Smooth, as transitions : SEAMLESS

25. Wise : SAPIENT - S A _ I E N T - "How 'bout an L Pat!"  "Sorry, Gary. There is no L."

29. DOJ bureau : ATF

30. Dry as dust : ARID

31. Speaker's spot : DAIS

34. Get out of bed : ROUSE - I had to ROUST a lot of teenagers out of bed on field trips to Orlando when they couldn't ROUSE themselves.

37. "__ who?" : SEZ

40. N.L. player whose home games include a President's Race : NAT - Between innings entertainment at Washington NATional's games

41. Brownish-green : HAZEL - Many here will realize the irony of the fact that Shirley Booth had HAZEL colored eyes

43. Greenish-blue : TEAL

44. Some prosecutors: Abbr. : ADAS - Law and Order had some attractive ones!

45. "Selma" director DuVernay : AVA - Ms. Gardner's day off

46. Drops in : STOPS BY

48. Medical emergency alert : CODE BLUE - A Japanese TV show

53. Baby fox : KIT

54. Soon, to a bard : ANON

55. Kibbutz setting : ISRAEL

57. Actress Thurman : UMA - My favorite memory of UMA. The guy's she's dancing with did pretty well too.

60. Cooling meas. : BTU'S

63. Bass' red triangle, e.g. : LOGO

64. Moran of "Happy Days" : ERIN

65. Flared dress : A-LINE

66. New Testament bk. : EPH - Ephesians

67. German battleship Graf __ : SPEE - Named for WWI hero Admiral Maximilian Reichsgraf von SPEE

68. Connection point : NEXUS


Down

1. Former NYC mayor Giuliani : RUDY - "America's mayor" after 9/11

2. Seesaw sitter of tongue twisters : ESAU - I saw ESAU sittin' on a see saw...

3. Send in a box : SHIP

4. Sushi selection : EEL - Ungai (Japanese for EEL) sushi

5. "Taste this" : TRY ONE

6. French I verb : ETRE

7. Stereotypical dawn challenges : DUELS - Burr and Hamilton DUELED at 7:00 am on July, 11 1804. Uh, Hamilton was the runner-up.

8. Take down a peg : ABASE

9. Scorned lover of Jason : MEDEA

11. Aromas : ODORS - Certain ODORS on a farm would never be called Aromas

12. Shirts named for a sport : POLOS

15. Theater district : RIALTO - Venice's fabulous RIALTO Bridge leads to the city's RIALTO  District 

17. Lee who was the top-charting female soloist of the '60s : BRENDA - I love BRENDA'S music so much I'll forgive her for Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

22. Helping hand : AID

24. Painter Cassatt : MARY

25. Over-the-shoulder band : SASH

26. Square statistic : AREA

28. Diplomatic skill : TACT

32. '50s prez : IKE

33. Health resorts : SPAS

35. Swedish automaker : SAAB

36. Internet crafts marketplace : ETSY

38. Spill the beans : BLAB

39. PC feature only used in combinations : ALT KEY - Used to get ¡ ™ £ ¢ ∞ § ¶ • å ∫ ç ∂ ´ ƒ ©...

42. "All the same ... " : EVEN SO

44. Fitting : APT

47. TV's J.R. Ewing, e.g. : OIL MAN - The man America loved to hate!

48. Part of CNN : CABLE

49. Winning : ON TOP

50. "__ Been Good": Joe Walsh hit : LIFE'S

51. Take over : USURP - "What do I put on top of my grits?"

52. Bath-loving Muppet : ERNIE

56. Novelist Rice : ANNE

57. Windows alternative : UNIX

58. Drop-down list : MENU - A Drop-down MENU and HTML codes on the template I look at every morning to write my posts

59. Yes votes : AYES

62. Chihuahua cheer : OLE

And now I look forward to your "on the money" comments:

Tuesday, January 10, 2017 Janice Luttrell

Theme: Three letter scramble - Janice OPTed to Stir the POT, not Spin the TOP.

17A. Dice roller's exhortation: COME TO PAPA

40A. Actor with near-synonymous first and last names: RIP TORN

11D. Pretty darn simple: IDIOT PROOF

25D. Toaster snack: POP TART

29D. Verses by Allen Ginsberg, e.g.: BEAT POETRY

61A. Cause trouble ... and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: STIR THE POT

Argyle here. Puzzle has both 90- and 180-degree crossword symmetry. I'm not sure what that means; I just cut and paste what they tell me. Not having circles shouldn't have been much of a detriment to the solve.

Across:

1. Doofus: DOLT

5. Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant: K-CARS. Trivia - First Chrysler car to be produced in the metric system with metric screw threads and components.

10. Smack on the mouth: KISS

14. Letter-shaped support piece: I-BAR. The real deal, 46D. Steel girders: I-BEAMS

15. "For real!": "NO LIE!"

16. Pop singer Brickell: EDIE. Easy listening.

19. Scrabble piece: TILE

20. TV preview: TEASER

21. Taken as a whole: ALL TOLD

23. Satchel feature: STRAP

26. Margarita glass rim coating: SALT. Where is my lost shaker of salt?

27. Curved sword: SABER and CW sword of choice, 57D. Weapon with a tip guard: EPEE

30. Application info: Abbr.: DOB. (date of birth)

32. Pool measure: DEPTH

35. What soccer shootouts resolve: TIES

36. Peaceful state: REPOSE

38. P-like Greek letter: RHO

39. Actress Thurman: UMA

41. Museum hanging: OIL

42. Amount after costs: NET

43. Suitcase attachments: ID TAGS

44. Yuletide: NOEL

45. Not so hot?: TEPID

47. __ Lanka: SRI. Was there a bridge to Sri Lanka? Link

48. Swollen: PUFFY

49. Upper, in Ulm: OBER. Ulm is a German city on the River Danube.

51. Male voice range: TENOR

53. "Toodle-oo!": "CHEERIO!"

56. Evaluate for tax purposes: ASSESS

60. Wee bit: IOTA

64. Time in office: TERM

65. Emulate Vesuvius: ERUPT

66. Scarlet letter of fiction: RED 'A'

67. Slow Churned ice cream brand: EDY'S

68. Hagar of Van Halen: SAMMY. Funny video.

69. Wine bottle number: YEAR

Down:

1. Random House vol.: DICTionary

2. Woodwind instrument: OBOE

3. Dalai __: LAMA

4. Locks on heads: TRESSES

5. Soup mix brand: KNORR

6. "Blue Bloods" extra: COP. Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan, New York City Police Commissioner.

7. Pie-mode connection: À LA

8. TV host Kelly: RIPA. With hubby.

9. Applies weatherstripping to: SEALS

10. Stovetop whistler: KETTLE

12. Housecat's perch: SILL

13. Watermelon eater's discard: SEED

18. Four: Pref.: TETR. From the Greek word for four.

22. Saddled (with): LADEN

24. People with skill: ADEPTS

27. Publicity ploy: STUNT

28. Evangelist __ Semple McPherson: AIMEE. Maybe this clip will help me remember her but I doubt it.

31. Shake it on the dance floor: BOOGIE

33. Burglar: THIEF

34. "Deck the Halls" greenery: HOLLY

36. Free (of): RID

37. Yearbook gp.: SRs. (seniors)

40. One on horseback: RIDER

44. Room with a crib: NURSERY

48. Luxurious: POSH

50. Greets the judge: RISES

52. Well-dressed: NATTY

53. Mention in a footnote: CITE

54. Broke up some clods: HOED

55. Senorita's "other": OTRA

58. Scotch go-with: SODA. Ironic; a manhattan singing about a scotch

59. Walk of Fame figure: STAR

62. Periodic table suffix: IUM. lol, where'd that come from? I didn't see it when solving.

63. Turntable no.: RPM. (revolutions per minute)

Argyle

Monday, January 9, 2017 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Theme: Limited-time retail offer - Save some moola maybe.

38A. Big sale, where you can find the starts of 18-, 23-, 49- and 60-Across: SHOPPER'S DELIGHT

18A. "Just handle the problem!": DEAL WITH IT

23A. Upstage one's co-stars: STEAL A SCENE

49A. Employ stalling tactics: BUY SOME TIME

60A. Take into account: BARGAIN FOR

Argyle here with GG&BV. Not much to say (except brrr). A nice grid-spanning reveal.

Across:

1. Rides for hire: CABs

5. Rapids transports: RAFTs

10. Toothed tonsorial tool: COMB. Fun alliteration.

14. Treaty partner: ALLY

15. Open courtyards: ATRIA

16. "So that's what you mean": "I SEE"

17. Shakespearean king: LEAR

20. Jam session jammer: MUSICIAN

22. Signs of sadness: TEARS

26. Tavern brew: ALE

27. Some motorcycles and pianos: YAMAHAs. Logo History.

32. Lawn-wrecking pests: MOLEs

36. Sewn edge: HEM

37. __ president: VICE

42. Mongolian desert: GOBI

43. No-frills sleeper: COT

44. Fire pit particles: ASHES

45. '70s-'80s band with a steering wheel on their debut album cover: THE CARS

47. Google success: HIT

55. Pro on camera: ACTOR

59. Like some rays outside the visible spectrum: INFRARED

63. Fill fully: SATE

64. Qatari ruler: EMIR

65. British unit of length: METRE

66. Hall of Famer Musial: STAN.(baseball)

67. Relaxed gait: LOPE

68. Old West search party: POSSE. "Head 'em off at the pass!"

69. Narrow-bodied swimmers: EELs

Down:

1. Brings peace to: CALMS

2. Native Alaskan: ALEUT

3. Having a been-there-done-that attitude: BLASÉ

4. War-torn country since 2011: SYRIA

5. Goodyear offering: RADIAL

6. "Relax, soldier": "AT EASE"

7. Pre-euro Metz money: FRANC

8. Up to, in ads: TIL. Limited-time offer. But if you call in the nexzt five ....

9. Got a look at: SAW

10. Use as a reference: CITE

11. Workplace standards org.: OSHA. (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

12. Israel's Golda: MEIR

13. Puts money (on): BETS

19. To-do list entry: ITEM

21. Envelope fastener: CLASP

24. Looked at closely: EYED

25. Birth certificate datum: NAME

28. "We Try Harder" car rental chain: AVIS

29. Air conditioner setting: HIGH. My air conditioner setting is in the closet.

30. Suffer from overexertion: ACHE

31. Goes below the horizon: SETS. The latest sunrise is for the next few days.

32. Senior NCO: MSGT. (master sergeant)

33. "Oops!": "OH-OH!"

34. Place for an earring: LOBE

35. Grand-scale poem: EPIC

36. Pres. between FDR and DDE: HST. Franklin Delano Roosevelt / Harry S. Truman / Dwight David Eisenhower

39. Sandy shade: ECRU. Slight misdirection.

40. Flushed, as cheeks: ROSY

41. Down the road: LATER

46. Magician's syllables: ABRA. "Abracadabra!"

47. Pays tribute to: HONORS

48. "My schedule is wide open": "I'M FREE"

50. Works with flour: SIFTS

51. Cup for café or thé: TASSE. Le thé is French for tea. Tasse à café - coffee cup / Tasse à thé - teacup

52. Blowing one's top: IRATE

53. Lead or zinc: METAL

54. Blissful regions: EDENS

55. Cain's victim: ABEL

56. Commando garb: CAMO. (Camouflage)

57. Stumble: TRIP

58. Kiddie lit monster: OGRE

61. Mischief-maker: IMP

62. Modernist's prefix: NEO

Argyle