Friday, December 21, 2012, Jack McInturff

Theme: Get the "H" out of here!

Each of the 5 theme answers has the last word which is a CH word, recast with NO  H, (as in the hint) to create a new and visually entertaining new phrase. Jack is an old pro whose work I have had the pleasure of blogging before, though this had more than its share of little known proper names. I can hear Kazie groaning out there. There also are so many great clues/fill like SBARRO, BOBSLEDS, EAR TO EAR, BELTS IT OUT, I really enjoyed cracking this code. How many other CH words would work?  Well with no further ado....

18A. Jazz-loving surfer? : ONLINE CHAT.(9).  A 50's reference to when all who loved Jazz were hep cats, taken by removing the H from our modern online dialogue.

20A. Fort Knox transport? : BAR CHART.(7) A simple from of graphing becomes a nice picture of a cart loaded with gold bullion, like in this SCENE. (4:31).

39A. Farm job for Perry Mason? : WILD GOOSE CHASE (13) A book about a man who is arrested for running around and goosing all the women on a farm in Kentucky? Erle Stanley Gardner, who was a real judge and defender of the innocent named each of his Perry Mason books : The Case of..." For our crowd, maybe this case.

58A. USDA inspector, at times? : PORK CHOP.(7) My favorite for all the layers, police as pigs, as well picture of the meat inspectors.

60A. Insignificant woodpile? : MINOR CHORD.(9) A cord being a small amount of wood (relatively speaking, and JzB will explain the major vs. minor chords.

And a last minute hint,

62D. Kabuki native, and a hint to five puns in this puzzle : NOH, parsed NO H, but none of you needed the hint, right?


Across:

1. Ease up : ABATE. A nice A word to start.

6. Culture sites : LABS. Oh, that kind of culture.

10. Method for deciding : FLIP. An accepted brief form of flipping a coin, though you will see the sight gag of someone doing a somersault when challenged to "flip for it."

14. Recognition of achievement : MEDAL. Olympics anyone?

15. "The doctor will be ___ ten" : IN AT.

16. Red inside : RARE. What a nice simple visual clue.

17. Most of its strains are harmless : E. COLI. Interesting FACTS.

22. "Dies ___" : IRAE.

23. Zion Church letters : AME. AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL church. LINK.

24. Alien-seeking gp. : SETI. Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, phone home anyone?

26. Stromboli seller : SBARRO. What a great letter progression; who does not think they screwed up seeing SB start a word.

30. Novi Sad citizen : SERB. Immediately followed by SerB. A pretty obscure clue, though the 2nd largest city there. We have a new attorney in the office who is Serbian. Havla Bogu!

32. "Out Her on My Own" musical : FAME. Classic IRENE CARA.(3:28).

34. "Was ___ I saw yesterday...?" : IT YOU. No, I was not there. I was in Paris getting a drink. Or was it in...

35. Nice quencher : EAU. Do you still forget your French water?

37. Racers on a run : BOBSLEDS. Fine clue, as the place where bobsleds race is called a run.

42. Grin scope : EAR TO EAR.Not to be corny, but I think this is a wonderful clue.

43. Negatives : NOS. Yes, again simple.

44. Like clear winter air : CRISP.

45. Old railway operator's hat : KEPI. Also the French foreign legion, Charles DeGaulle..Not,  59D. "All day soft. All day smooth" lotion : KERI.

47. Labels : TAGS.

51. Like many audits : ON SITE. Generally done by your external auditors, but in truth it is hard to audit other than on site.

53. Lavish affection (on) : DOTE. Okay, I am ready.

55. French vineyard : CRU. The TEST is in the morning. Lots of French today.

56. Limited worker : TEMP.

64. Supervisory serf, in Chaucer : REEVE. A nice oldtimey word for the guy who enforces order among the Anglo-Saxons.

65. Last name of three related All-Stars : ALOU. Felipe, Matty and Jesus.

66. Words spoken before the Senate : ET TU. A brutal way to clue this old saw.

67. Burger and fries, say : ORDER. Often said in line, not on line.

68. 100 satang : BAHT. Wow, we get our Southeast Asian money, as this is from Thailand and next door we have 70A. Cambodian cabbage? : RIELS. Takes about 130 to get a Baht.

69. One-time Sinclair rival : ESSO. The old company with the Dinosaur and Exxon before it grew up.

Down:

1. Simple life forms : AMEBAS. Not only are we missing an H or five, but the O is gone!

2. Morphed into : BECAME. Again. good simple clue.

3. Worshiper : ADORER. A good word for this time of year.

4. Soft rock : TALC. Softest on the MOHS.

5. Walt Disney's father : ELIAS. Obscure dear old DAD.

6. "The River Murders" co-star : LIOTTA. Do not know this movie but love this SCENE. (0:17) Warning do not watch if you are squeamish.

7. Gloucester's cape : ANN.

8. Hope-Crosby road movie : BALI.

9. Affects emotionally : STIRS.

10. Noted dream-ending words : FREE AT LAST.  This DREAM.(2:51).

11. Varnish ingredient : LAC. For REAL.

12. It may be rolled over, briefly : IRA. and its counterpart in the acronym world, 61. Pier gp. : ILA. We get these longshoremen often.

13. Fondle : PET. Be careful, girls do NOT like being fondled like you do your puppy.

19. Snack company with a triangular logo : NABISCO. This clue was as sweet as an Oreo.

21. Wildlife protection area : REFUGE.

25. [Yawn] : I'M BORED. Damn, well better get yourselves up because we have more work to do.

27. Deli supply : RYES. breads, and the home of LSD.

28. Pestered without letup : RODE. The teacher rode Johnny all class.

29. Danger conclusion? : OUS. Dangerous.

31. Sings with gusto : BELTS IT OUT. Who better

33. Aurora's Greek counterpart : EOS. It took a while for this answer to dawn on me.

36. Many a parent : ADOPTER. All perps.

38. Legendary bridge expert Garozzo : BENITO. I remembered the great Italian Blue team, but not one of its MEMBERS.

39. Give notice : WARN.

40. Pupil's place : IRIS. Eye love this clue.

41. Tree with yellow ribbons, in song : OAK.

42. "Foucault's Pendulum" author : ECO. Did not know the book, apparently it is for a different audience than I. LINK.

46. Simon and Garfunkel, e.g. : POP DUO. Duo was easy but the POP was slow; is that good?

48. Submit : ACCEDE.

49. Submit shamelessly : GROVEL.

50. Building managers : SUPERS. They used to be superintendents, but they became just plain super.

52. Host : EMCEE. A variation of MC, Master of Ceremonies.

54. Overthrow, often : ERROR. A baseball clue, not a government coup.

57. Plant holders : POTS.

60. Folklore fairy queen : MAB. I love me a Shakespeare reference, thanks Mercutio.

63. Some are inalienable: Abbr. : RTS. OO, they tell you it is an abbr.  Our constitutional rights. 

Okay class, that is it from Professor Jack and I, have a wonderful holiday and do not get stuck in any chimneys, eat too many cookies or drive after drinking. I want you all back here for next week's final 2012 Friday, if the Mayan calendar is wrong.

Lemonade

Thursday, December 20, 2012 Jeff Stillman

Theme: "Like a Rolling Stone," the final theme entry words get all messed up. Each one is an anagram of "stone."

20A. Reason for detention, perhaps : PASSING NOTES.

36A. Unexpected attack, as of dizziness : SUDDEN ONSET.

43A. Melodious sounds : DULCET TONES.

57. Publication since 1967, and a hint to the end of 20-, 36- and 43-Across : ROLLING STONE.

I found this one to be much easier than last Friday's anagram puzzle. Only eight 3-letter words, so some chances for longer fresh fill. Let's see what's on the plate today.

Across:

1. Canaanite god : BAAL. Deity of agriculture and life.

5. Humiliate : ABASH. I always hesitate between ABASH and "abase."

10. Speed-of-sound ratio : MACH.

14. Play the siren : LURE. Fun clue!  I was in a police car somewhere (figuratively, not literally!)

15. Mombasa's country : KENYA. Its largest city.

16. Flash, perhaps : IDEA. Flash of "inspiration," that is. I had one, once...

17. Red states? : IRES. Another cute clue.

18. Hotel room amenities : IRONS. Wow, they provide golf clubs?!?

19. Convinced : SOLD. OK, I'm sold!

23. Fore-and-aft rigged ship : SLOOP.

24. Samson's betrayer : DELILAH.

28. "I am Fortune's fool" speaker : ROMEO. Act 3, Scene 1. Romeo has just killed Tybalt, and realizes that no matter what he does from now on, he is no longer in charge of his own destiny.

32. Dough : MOOLA.

33. Intel collector : SPY. With the short "intel," I was looking for an abbr. like CIA or FBI...then we have 54-Down. Whom to trust, per a 33-Across : NO ONE.

39. Srs.' income sources : IRAs. Now we get the abbr. in the clue, so Individual Retirement Accounts made sense to me.

41. Pedro's lucky number? : SIETE. The extent of my Spanish is counting from one to ten. Thank goodness they weren't looking for unlucky 13!!

42. Masters champ between Craig and Ben : SEVE. Craig Stadler (1982), Ben Crenshaw (1984) and Seve Ballesteros (1983.) He also won it in 1980.

46. Like Mars, apparently : RED. I dunno, what do you think?

47. Pioneering computer : ENIAC. A team of six women did most of the programming, but their role was historically downplayed.

48. Tennis great with 11 Grand Slam singles titles : NADAL. Did not know this guy. Impressive.

50. Frat party recyclable : BEER CAN. Hesitated between "keg" or CAN...perps to the rescue!

53. ___ code : PENAL.

61. Where to find a hero : DELI. Great clue!

64. Icy cold : GELID.

65. Floor plan division : ROOM.

66. Hubristic : VAIN. From the ancient Greek ύβρις, meaning extreme pride or arrogance.

67. "Hunger Games" battle setting : ARENA. I still haven't seen the movie. Am I the only one?

68. Prefix with European : INDO.

69. Put under : DRUG. Hard to suss this one.

70. Lamb creation : ESSAY. Charles Lamb, best known for his "Essays of Elia."

71. Hammer part : PEEN. More than you ever needed to know...

Down:

1. Control tower spots : BLIPS. "Beyond the Blips" article. Scary!

2. Ear-related : AURAL.

3. Playground retort : ARE SO. Now, now - play nice!

4. Rent collector : LESSOR.

5. Similar : AKIN. Not to be confused with a certain Missouri ex-Representative.

6. Cold water hazard : BERG. Do you remember the difference between a berg and a floe? Yellowrocks can remind you!

7. Before thou know'st : ANON. Cute.

8. Church council : SYNOD.

9. Cause of many a mistake : HASTE...makes waste.

10. Religious enterprises : MISSIONS. What's your position?

11. Busy goings-on : ADO.

12. Disney collectible : CEL. Short for celluloid, and now mostly abandoned as a medium since computer animation has taken over the field.

13. Hornswoggled : HAD. "I been had!"

21. NASDAQ debuts : IPOs. Initial Public Offerings.

22. Saint with a fire : ELMO. How would you like flying in this, Dudley? 0:41

25. Short-straw drawer : LOSER.

26. Anti-inflammatory brand : ALEVE. My go-to drug of choice...

27. Abominable : HATED. Aw, I can't hate this guy!

29. It's not optional : MUST.

30. Polish language : EDIT. Nice misdirection.

31. Ancient Greek theater : ODEON.

33. Hit back? : SIDE B. Nice misdirection.

34. Trim, as a tree : PRUNE. Anyone else want "adorn" at this time of year?

35. Singer in the Whiffenpoofs : YALIE. 2012 version here. 4:05

37. Italian peak : ETNA.

38. Sine qua non : NEED. Literally Latin "without which there"...is nothing.

40. Permanently marking : SCARRING. For life.

44. Danish shoe company : ECCO. This week we had UGG. Now ECCO. But neither one holds a candle to these.

45. Weakens : SAPS.

49. Deliver, as a rant : LET RIP.

51. Aquatic plant life : ALGAE. Like this. 0:31

52. Phils, e.g. : NLERS. Philadelphia Phillies, National Leagu(ers) of baseball.

55. Positive pole, perhaps : ANODE.

56. Fruit high in vitamin C : LEMON.ade, our own Friday blogger!

58. Places in la mer : ILES. French for "The Sea" and "islands." 9:29 and 9:14 (Hey, I try to do equal times here. Debussy and King Crimson.)

59. One of a historic seagoing trio : NINA. Pinta and Santa Maria were the other two ships...

60. Howdy from Adelaide : G'DAY.

61. Pirate's booty? : DVD. Like the spoils of this 92 Y.O. bada**.

62. Teacup handle : EAR. In MA, we have "teacup handle" turns at some traffic lights. You have to go right, in order to turn left. They are also called "Jug handle" turns in NJ and other northeastern states.

63. C.W. Post is its largest campus : LIU. Long Island University. Thursday level clue for early week movie actress Lucy. I believe this campus is close to Splynter.

That's all for this week!

Hugs,
Marti

Wednesday, December 19 2012 Kurt Mengel & Jan-Michele Gianette

Theme:  Meanwhile, back at the ranch  .  .  .   or, Mammas, don't let this happen.  Four long theme answers are common phrases related to a cowboy's typical activities, but with figurative meanings.  Two of these are grid spanning, and the other two only miss by 1 letter, so the themeage is pretty rich.

17A. Lay a trip on, cowboy-style? : SADDLE WITH GUILT.  This one baffled me until I had enough perp help to suss it out.  Pretty clever, now that I get it.  Someone can try to lay a guilt trip on you, the way a cowboy burdens his horse with a saddle.  But, unlike the horse, you don't have to accept it.

 27A. Motivate, cowboy-style? : SPUR INTO ACTION.   This is a pretty literal image, since a cowboy kicks his spurs into the horse to get it going.  A variation on the kick-start idea, maybe.

43A. Control spending, cowboy-style? : REIN IN THE COSTS.  And this is equally and oppositely  literal, since our intrepid western hero pulls on the reins to get his horse to stop running.

 56A. Hang in there, cowboy-style? : RIDE OUT THE STORM.  Cowboy's do ride, but this is the only theme answer that evokes a nautical rather than an old west image.   Does this detract from the coherence of the theme?  I can't decide.  Anyway, for another grid-spanner, it's worth it.

Hi gang, it's jazzbumpa.  C'mon, pards, let's ride on out and see what we can lasso.

Across:

1. "__ Comes Mary": Association hit : ALONG.  They don't write songs like that anymore.

6. Black-clad subculturist : GOTH.  A post-punk splinter group with influence on music and fashion.  Whatever turns you on, I guess.

10. "Famous" snack maker : AMOS.  Famous for his cookies.

14. Fracas : MELEE.  A confused struggle, possibly involving hand to hand combat.  A brawl.

15. Finis : OVER.   Done.  Stick a fork in it.  Like the Lions, frex.

16. Logan of "60 Minutes" : LARA.  This EMMY-winning CBS news correspondent was brutalized by a mob while covering the Egyptian uprising of 2011.

20. Hockey legend : ORR.  Bobby, No. 4 of the Boston Bruins, finished his career with the Chicago Blackhawks.

21. Breezed through : ACED.  Thus spoken of schools exams and unreturnable tennis serves.

22. Tony's cousins : EMMYS.  Television production awards. 

23. Nobelist Hahn et al. : OTTOS.   This German chemist won the  Nobel prize in chemistry for discovering nuclear fission. During WW I he developed poison gas.  I'm speechless.

25. City on the Rhine : BONN.  On a happier German note, they have a monument to Beethoven there.

32. Decathlon gold medalist Ashton __ : EATON.  No clue.

33. Minor quibbles : NITS.  I've had a few.

34. Chest protector : BIB.  Protection from vagrant food residue, worn by babies and lobster eating adults.

36. __ rain : ACID.  Just what is sounds like - rain with a high acid content [low pH.] It can result from natural phenomena such as volcanoes and lightning, or from pollution resulting from human activity.

37. Selassie worshipper : RASTA.  RASTAfarians believe that Ethiopian emperor Haile Sellassie [ruled 1930-74] is the reincarnation of Jesus.

39. One-time teammate of 20-Across, familiarly : ESPO.  Tony ESPOsito had a long and illustrious career playing goalie for the Blackhawks.  But the nick-name refers to his brother Phil, who had a long and illustrious career playing forward for the Blackhawks, Bruins and Rangers.  Tony's first NHL start was a 2-2 tie with the Bruins, in which he made 33 saves and his brother Phil scored both goals on him.

40. Guys : MEN.

41. Actress Skye : IONE. Her film career started in 1986, and in addition to Say Anything and  Wayne's World is a long list of movies I've never heard of.  Anyone here a fan of Girls in Prison or One Night Stand?

42. Winner of 82 PGA Tour tournaments : SNEAD.  Slammin' Sammie.

47. WWII battle site : ST LO. It was almost totally destroyed in WW II during the battle of Normandy.

48. Out of whack : AMISS.  Why is nothing ever in whack when it's going well?

49. Town __ : CRIER.  An official whose duty is to make public announcements.  A bit passé these days, but several municipalities in North America, Australia and New Zealand still have Town CRIERS.  Should I be disturbed that the first answer I thought of was DRUNK?  It fits.

52. Acquisitions in a certain race : ARMS.  Weapons of greater or lesser degrees of destruction.

53. Treat, as a bruise : ICE.  Here, ICE is a verb, meaning to place an ice bag [or equivalent] on the afflicted region.  Actually, a bag of frozen peas works really well.

60. Sheryl Crow's "__ Wanna Do" : ALL I Wanna Do is have a little fun before I die.  Seems like a modest enough goal.

61. Baby's word : MAMA.  Often baby's first word, and sound meaning "mother" in many languages around the world

62. "... but it could be otherwise" : OR NOT.   Only maybe.

63. Swimming contest : MEET.  Or a foot race contest. 

64. Needy : POOR.  Two reasons why we don't need the word "indigent."

65. Carpenters' tools : RASPS.  Rough files used for shaping.  Also great for scraping knuckles.

Down:

1. Playground retort : AM SO.  Are not  .  .  .

2. King with three daughters : LEAR.  It's hard to have much sympathy for a guy who would name his daughter Goneril.  How is she ever going to get a date?

3. Thing to break free of, perhaps : OLD ROUTINE.  If you are in a rut.

4. Folk hero Kelly : NED. Or cold-blooded murderer.  Who you gonna believe? He was an Irish-Australian bushranger, and bankrobber.  Eventually, he was hanged.

5. Glue base : GELATIN.  This is animal protein glue, though I never think of GELATIN in this context.

6. Greeley's advice : GO WEST.  Horace was a newspaper editor, abolitionist, vegetarian, and socialist.  Probably wouldn't do Jello shots.

7. Exiled Roman poet : OVID.  In 8 AD he was exiled by emperor Augustus from Rome to Tomis (now Constanţa, Romania), on the shores of the Black Sea, for reasons unknown.  At that time Tomis was a remote outpost at the edge of civilization, for Siberia had not yet been invented.  Maybe some of his pithy poetry pithed off old Augie.

8. Asian holiday : TET.   "Tết Nguyên Đán" is the Vietnamese New Year.  Why is Viet Nam so often conflated with all of Asia?   Or is this just another NIT?

9. Royal title: Abbr. : HRH.  Her Royal Highness.

10. Grads : ALUMNI.  Originates from the Latin alere, "to nourish or be nourished."

11. Hurt badly : MAIM.  Likely causing permanent damage.

12. Paris airport : ORLY.  Located 8 miles south of Paris, the 2nd busiest airport in France.

13. H.S. hurdles : S.A.T.'S.  Scholastic Assessment Tests. 

18. MBA's course : ECON.  I had Finance and Accounting classes in my MBA program, but no ECONomics. 

19. Classy guys : GENTS.  Abrv. for GENTlemen.

24. Walked : TROD. 

25. Worms, e.g. : BAIT.  For some reason, this was elusive.

26. Prefix with -gon : OCTA.  Could have been POLY, HEXA, DECA  .  .  .

27. Jeans joint : SEAM.  I tried KNEE, then SEAT.  Neither SEAMed quite right.

28. '70s AMC compact : PACER.  A genuinely ugly vehicle, with none of the Edsel's piquant charm.

29. Beginning : ONSET.

30. More than just desires : OBSESSIONS.  I took "desires" to be a verb, and entered LUSTS AFTER.  Hey - it fits, in more ways than one.

31. Try to bite, puppy-style : NIP AT.  Oh, my.

35. Spa displays? : BODS.  BODies, that is.  Could be, I guess.

37. Stir up : ROIL.  Am I stirring things up too much?

38. __ Domini : ANNO.  The year of our Lord, Roman calendar convention.

39. Grandson of Eve : ENOS.  The son of Seth, Adam and Eve's third son. Also a very forgettable Dukes of Hazard spin-off.

41. Brief opening : INTRO.  Brief meaning abrvtd.

42. Cut : SCISSOR.  Here, SCISSOR is a verb. I'm having some problems with parts of speech.

44. Response to "Look!" : I SEE IT.

45. Sarcastic laugh : HAR-HAR.

46. Palindromic fashion model : EMME. A plus size-model, and 22A homophone.

 

49. Squeeze (in) : CRAM.  Just the sound of the word makes it sound like a struggle.

50. Annoy : RILE.  And a near sound-alike to 37A.  Are these fleckos?

51. Vegging out : IDLE. 

52. Sphere starter : ATMO -  Meh!  The layer of air surrounding the earth.

54. Harvesting target : CROP.

55. Paramedics, briefly : E.M.T.'S Emergency Medical Technicians

57. Diamond caller : UMP.  Used to be the UMPire calling balls and strikes incorrectly at the old ball game, but the short form now seems pretty standard.

58. Eastern path : TAO.  The Chinese word for path, route or way.  Laozi's metaphysical concept that is the basis for Confucianism and Zen Buddhism.

59. Song syllable : TRA.  Usually travels with La.

That's it, fellow travelers.  Overall a beefy and enjoyable puzzle, though I did round up a few stray NITS.

Cool regards!

JzB

Note from C.C.:

Here are two great pictures of Jazzbumpa (Ron) at the Schoolcraft Winter Wonders Concert on Dec 17, 2012. Everything seems to be perfectly IN WHACK! Love his festive tie. Nothing is more cool than seeing a trombonist at work.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012 Ki Lee

 Theme: Today - This day of the week is the theme and four words that can precede it.

17A. "Syndrome" that causes smartphone typos : FAT FINGER. "Mardi Gras"

24A. Dorothy clicked their heels to return to Kansas : RUBY SLIPPERS. "Ruby Tuesday"(3:18)

39A. Word that can follow the first words of 17-, 24-, 50- and 62-Across : TUESDAY

50A. Biker jacket material : BLACK LEATHER. "Black Tuesday"

62A. Evil genius's foe : SUPER HERO. "Super Tuesday"

Argyle Tuesday here. What other day of the week could get this treatment, I wonder. We have three actual days and one song as themes but with two great descending fill I can't quibble(especially with my shout out in the corner). In fact, all the fill seems sparkly to me. Ki Lee's two previous puzzles were well received.

Across:

1. Butts (into) : RAMS

5. Zodiac transition point : CUSP. related 60A. First of 12 : ARIES

9. Ambition : DRIVE

14. "On the Waterfront" director Kazan : ELIA

15. "A Death in the Family" author James : AGEE

16. Big name in real estate : RE/MAX. They seem to be nationwide.

19. Dangerous bacteria : E COLI

20. Unbroken : INTACT

21. "What's the __?": "Same thing" : DIF. Shortened form of DIFference.

23. Trying to break an NFL tie : IN OT. (OverTime)

27. "Understood!" : "YES, I SEE!"

30. "Milk's favorite cookie" : OREO

31. Vittles : EATS

32. Setting for many King novels : MAINE. His house in Bangor.

35. Big Pharma regulator : FDA. Pharma is an abbreviation for the pharmaceutical industry/ Food and Drug Administration.

38. Big gun lobby: Abbr. : NRA. (National Rifle Association)

41. Casual greetings : YOs

42. Devious : SLY

43. "Tomorrow" musical : "ANNIE". Broadway biggie opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years.

44. Tries to win : WOOs

45. Math subj. : CALC. (calculus)

47. Temporary visit : SOJOURN. Nice word.

54. Campus military prog. : ROTC

55. PC key : ESC

56. Tyrant : DESPOT

64. Range : SCOPE

65. Boy or girl lead-in : ATTA

66. Agenda unit : ITEM

67. He's coming to town soon : SANTA. Or going to town, depending on your perspective.

68. Four quarters : YEAR

69. Overtake : PASS

Down:

1. Loan adjustment, for short : REFI

2. Arkin of "Argo" : ALAN. Good film?

3. Baseball glove : MITT

4. Jungle adventures : SAFARIs

5. "Impossible!" : "CAN'T BE!"

6. Sheepskin boots trademark : UGG. Still trendy?

7. Garden plantings : SEEDS

8. Danger : PERIL

9. Dr. of rap : DRE. The doctor is back in the house. Haven't seen him in a while.

10. Cooking instructions : RECIPE

11. Politician's "We have the same goals" : "I'M ONE OF YOU". Yeah, no matter who you are.

12. Bravery : VALOR

13. Departures : EXITS

18. Critical hosp. areas : ICU's. (Intensive Care Unit)

22. Apple on iTunes? : FIONA. (singer-songwriter and pianist)

25. Oman neighbor : YEMEN

26. Game to go after : PREY

27. Hankerings : YENS

28. British peer : EARL

29. Time off spent at home : STAYCATION. Great word.

33. "Just __ figured!" : AS I

34. Latin clarifier : ID EST

36. Departure point : DOOR

37. Homeowners' gp., e.g. : ASSN.

39. Discuss it : TALK

40. Mom's brother : UNCLE. or Dad's.

44. Church activity : WORSHIP

46. Receive willingly : ACCEPT

48. "Mercy me!" : "OH DEAR!"

49. Heckle : JEER

50. Military bigwigs : BRASS

51. "Bodas de Sangre" playwright García __ : LORCA. Help!

52. College application part : ESSAY

53. Like some angles : ACUTE

57. Anti-fur org. : PETA. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)

58. Loads from lodes : OREs

59. Alley prowlers : TOMs Cats.

61. The Red or the Black : SEA

63. Mom-and-pop gp. : PTA

Argyle

Notes from C.C.:



Here is a beautiful picture of Kazie and her husband Barry at their wedding 40 years ago. She made her own dress! Love her hair.

Monday, December 17, 2012 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: J.D. - People with those initials.

44A. Law school grads, briefly, and an apt title for this puzzle : JD's (Juris Doctor)

16A. "Shakespeare in Love" Oscar winner : JUDI DENCH

24A. "Pirates of the Caribbean" series star : JOHNNY DEPP

34A. The Yankee Clipper : JOE DIMAGGIO

47A. "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" author : JOAN DIDION

56A. "East of Eden" co-star : JAMES DEAN

Argyle here. I don't feel this was aimed to be a Monday puzzle but here it is. Just Do It. (Four strong corners, which is only fitting for our Crossword Corner maven.)

Across:

1. Mop & __: cleaning brand : GLO

4. "Fiddler on the Roof" dairyman : TEVYE. I prefer him to Andre Rieu.

9. Hannibal crossed them : ALPS

13. Author Fleming : IAN

14. On __: counting calories : A DIET

15. Cathedral topper : SPIRE

18. Ann __, Michigan : ARBOR

19. Sporting site : ARENA

20. "Brian's Song" actor James : CAAN. IMDb. A real tear jerker. (The movie, that is.)

22. Johannesburg's land: Abbr. : RSA. (Republic of South Africa)

23. Part of a bottle : NECK

27. Moose relative : ELK

28. Cousin of edu : .COM

29. Perfectly : TO A TEE

30. Venus, e.g. : PLANET

33. USPS pieces : LTRS. (United States Postal Service/LETTERS)

37. 'Vette roof option : T-TOP

39. Cooks over boiling water : STEAMS

40. Sea west of Greece : IONIAN. Map.

43. Drill insert : BIT to go along with 38D. Gift for a handyman : TOOL SET

50. Song for two : DUET. from the 80's Duets.

51. Final: Abbr. : ULT. (ultimate)

52. Nerve cell part : AXON

53. "It's Not About the Bike" author Armstrong : LANCE. Ironically, so true.

54. Pale : ASHEN

59. "Cool beans!" : "NEATO!"

60. Eye-fooling pictures : OP ART

61. First of a Latin threesome : AMO amas amat

62. Periodic table fig. : AT. NO. (atomic number)

63. Uses a swizzle stick : STIRS. Not for Tinbeni, just a gentle swirl will do.

64. Good times : UPS. A shout out to Splynter?

Down:

1. Demi Moore military movie : "GI JANE". IMDb.

2. Hardy's comedy partner : LAUREL

3. Next to bat : ON DECK

4. "I did it!" : "TADA!"

5. Suffix with stamp : EDE

6. Wine, on le menu : VIN

7. "That's gross!" : "YECCH!"

8. Revolutionary Allen : ETHAN. The Amtrak train, Ethan Allen Express, runs from New York City to Rutland, Vermont, busy with skiers soon.

9. Showery mo. : APR. (April)

10. Opera text : LIBRETTO. The libretto contains all the words and stage directions; helpful when I go to the opera, not!

11. Flourish : PROSPER

12. Colorful shawls : SERAPES. Fun word.

15. Japanese electronics giant : SANYO

17. Squid's squirt : INK

21. Formicarium insect : ANT. A formicarium is a fancy name for an ant farm. Ants are of the family Formicidae.

24. "The Grapes of Wrath" surname : JOAD

25. Old Dodge hatchbacks : OMNIs

26. Works by Salvador : DALÍs

28. Cavs, on scoreboards : CLE. (Cleveland Cavaliers)

30. Drop by : POP IN

31. CPR specialist : EMT

32. Trendy aerobics regimen : TAE BO. Zumba is the hot ticket around here.

34. Satirist Swift : JONATHAN

35. Narrow the gap : GAIN

36. Prime meridian hrs. : GMT. (Greenwich Mean Time)

37. Mexican border city : TIJUANA

41. Hersey's bell town : ADANO. English Book Trailer: "A Bell for Adano"

42. Say no to : NIX

44. U.S. capital nearest the Arctic Circle : JUNEAU. In Alaska, but you knew that, didn't you?

45. Take down the tents and move on : DECAMP. Then an étape and put them up again.

46. Pool workers : STENOS. From the secretarial pool.

48. Judo schools : DOJOs. From Japanese.

49. Not suited : INAPT

50. Youngster's "play catch" partner : DAD. Fresh cluing.

53. D-Day fleet : LST's. (Landing Ship, Tank)

55. Gen. Eisenhower's arena: Abbr. : ETO. (European Theater of Operations)

57. Month after avril : MAI. French

58. Go down the wrong path : ERR

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

This puzzle was inspired by the beautiful grandma of these three cutest kids. Thanks, JD.

Left to right: Grady, Truman & Cameron

Left to right: Cameron, Grady, Truman, Halloween 2012

 

Sunday Dec 16, 2012 Gareth Bain

Theme: "Less is More" - LESS is attached to the first word of each familiar phrase.

25A. Coward's path? : GUTLESS COURSE. Gut course.

32A. Sleeping watchman, say? : POINTLESS GUARD. Point guard.

44A. Bro who cracks insensitive jokes? : TASTELESS BUD. Taste bud. Are you familiar with W. Kamau Bell?

61A. Chores done altruistically? : SELFLESS CLEANING. Self-cleaning.

93A. Naive Romeo? : ARTLESS LOVER. Art lover. How tall do you think Romeo is? Short men tend to be very artful.

74A. Cruel school assistant? : HEARTLESS MONITOR. Heart monitor.

107A. Pixie whose dust lacks potency? : TOOTHLESS FAIRY. Tooth fairy.

116A. Stairway to heaven? : TOPLESS FLIGHT. Top flight. The answer cracked me up. Dennis would want a different clue!

Very consistent. LESS is added to the end of the first word of each theme entry. Gareth's themes are always tight. Meaty too. No light theme in his grids. He takes no gutless courses.

I mentioned before that gridding always gets tougher when you dedicate over 100 squares to the theme. This one has 110. 

Across:

1. PC core : CPU

4. NYC airport : LGA. Unusual to have the top/bottom divided into 5 parts. Easier to have more abbrs with 3-letter fill.

7. Shia holy man : IMAM

11. Short : CURT

15. Driver's economy meas. : MPG

18. __ Tin Tin : RIN

19. Its "Concise" version has more than 1,700 pgs. : OED

20. Orkan sign-off half : NANU

21. Sailing, say : ASEA

22. Uncommon size : EEE

23. Nine-circles literary locale : INFERNO. Hot spot.

28. Oregon's Douglas fir, e.g. : STATE TREE. Ours is Red Pine.

30. Uncertain : LEERY

31. General __ chicken : TSO'S

35. "Dead parrot" sketch actor : CLEESE (John). Funny episode.

37. London's __ Modern : TATE

38. Secret supply : STASH

39. Roman naturalist : PLINY

40. Letters for a British princess : HRH

42. Tennis legend : ASHE

49. Clumsy types : OAFS

51. Oncle's mate : TANTE. Aunt. J'ai trois tantes on my father's side. All illiterate. My grandparents were too poor to send them to schools. I miss my youngest aunt very much.

53. "Telephone Line" gp. : ELO

54. Vatican masterpiece : PIETA

55. Cute cases : ETUIs

57. Grasp : SEE

58. White hat, in oaters : HERO

60. Skewed : ASLANT

65. Oolong or souchong : TEA. What the heck is "souchong"? Never heard of it. OK, I just googled. Never heard of it.

66. Jam cause, maybe : TOLL

67. Subway opposites : ELs

68. Like much lore : ORAL

71. "That's refreshing!" : AHH

82. Capital affected by typhoons : TAIPEI. Immediately thought of my old haunt Guangzhou, also a capital city, also affected by typhoons. It has the best tea and tea houses in China. No "souchong"!

85. "The Highwayman" daughter : BESS. Was this a gimme to you?

86. Theta preceder : ETA

87. Like a good guess : CLOSE

88. Powerful god : TITAN

89. Classic Pearl Jam album : TEN. Guessed.

90. "Inside the NBA" analyst : O'NEAL (Shaq). Sir Charles too.

92. 'Tis the season : YULE

97. Latin trio word : AMAS

99. Psalm 23 comforter : ROD. This might be Rich's clue. "Thy ROD and thy staff they comfort me."

100. "Under the Redwoods" author : HARTE (Bret)

101. AMD rival : INTEL

103. Kitten's plaything : YARN

105. Playground retort : ARE TOO

112. Cub with records : SOSA (Sammy). With *records.

113. Necklace gem : PEARL

115. One-legged ballet pose : ARABESQUE

120. Is connected : HAS PULL

121. Old MGM rival : RKO

122. Meat : GIST. Hard clue for me.

123. Put a handle on : NAME

124. Vague time frame indicator : ERE. Poetically.

125. Sargasso swimmer : EEL

126. German sunrise direction : OST. East.

127. Small bills : ONEs

128. Beethoven's nine: Abbr. : SYMS. Alright, symphonies.

129. First name in comics villains : LEX (Luthor)

130. QB's coups : TDS
        

Down:

1. Like fresh lettuce : CRISP

2. Patchy horse : PINTO

3. Not true : UNFAITHFUL. This "Ai Du" was featured in the movie "Unfaithful". Melissa Bee likes Ari Farka Touré.

4. Sissy's Oscar-winning role : LORETTA

5. Least violent : GENTLEST

6. Love : ADORE. I've been thinking of that "60 Minutes" Korean prisoner a lot. My family, specifically my mom, suffered tremendously during Cultural Revolution. But I never hated Chairman Mao. I was deeply brainwashed and I believed (I still do) many things I was taught.

7. Put away : INGEST

8. Egyptian __: spotted cat : MAU. Hi, cutie, do you know CrossEyedDave?

9. Army unit : ANT

10. Muslim theologians : MULLAHS

11. Examined, as a joint : CASED

12. 1979 Afghanistan invader: Abbr. : USSR. They failed, of course.

13. Use color-coded cans, say : RECYCLE

14. Lao Tzu principle : TAO

15. British Invasion genre named for Liverpool's river : MERSEY BEAT. River Mersey. Unknown fact to me.

16. Mexican change : PESOS

17. Honkers : GEESE. Lots lots of honkers in our neighborhood.

24. Sicilian high point : ETNA

26. Ballad's end? : EER. Balladeer.

27. Spork, for one : UTENSIL. I'm thinking of buying a garlic press. Do you all use it?

29. Reputed Dead Sea Scrolls transcribers : ESSENES. This word used to stump me.

33. Concert receipts : GATE

34. Ryder Cup team : USA. The 2016 Ryder Cup will be held here in MN.

36. Imitates Daffy : LISPS. Reminds me of Marti's "Going Daffy".

39. Arafat's org. until 2004 : PLO. Arafat died in 2004.

40. Breaks ground : HOES. Nice clue.

41. Assign stars to : RATE

43. Annoyance : HASSLE

45. Bird that migrates from the Arctic to Antarctica : TERN. That's interesting.

46. Sci-fi people : ELOI

47. __ Reader: eclectic magazine : UTNE

48. Facts and figures : DATA

50. Baker's verb : SIFT

52. Noir hero : TEC. Detective.

56. City NW of Santa Barbara, to locals : SLO. San Luis Obispo. New to me. Makes sense.

58. "__ Kitchen": Gordon Ramsay show : HELL'S. This guy is so hot-tempered.

59. No trouble at all : EASE

60. Farming prefix : AGRO

62. Comprehensive, gradewise : EL-HI. Let's accept it and move on.

63. "Shall we?" reply : LET'S

64. Polite reply : NO MA'AM

69. RSA ruling party : ANC (African National Congress). Gareth lives there, in case you're new to this blog.

70. Showy bloom : LILY

71. "__ girl!" : ATTA

72. "What a Piece of Work Is Man" musical : HAIR

73. Fulfill an urgent desire : HIT THE SPOT. Nice long entry.

75. Explorer Tasman : ABEL. Oh, the guy who discovered Tasmania.

76. Nevada casino city : RENO

77. Cong. member : SEN

78. Rickey Henderson, notably : STEALER. Henderson holds the records for most stolen bases.

79. Ambulance bandage : TOURNIQUET. Also new word to me.

80. 1952 Olympics city : OSLO

81. Oboe component : REED

83. Like tongue-against-roof-of-the-mouth consonants : PALATAL. Wish I had proper education on how to speak English.

84. Febrero preceder : ENERO. January/February.

89. Mao __-tung : TSE

90. Surg. branch : ORTH. Orthopedic.

91. Exposes : LAYS BARE

94. Makes a call : STOPS IN

95. Orchestra section : VIOLINS. Remember that time when Joshua Bell played incognito at a Washington subway station? From Wiki: "The experiment was videotaped on hidden camera; of the 1,097 people who passed by, only seven stopped to listen to him, and only one recognized him. For his nearly 45-minute performance, Bell collected $32.17 from 27 passersby (excluding $20 from the passerby who recognized him.")

96. Foe of Saruman, in Tolkien : ENT

98. Controversial high school health lesson : SAFE SEX

102. Makes happy : ELATES

104. Throaty sound : RASP

105. Space age toon dog : ASTRO. On "The Jetsons".

106. Corner pieces : ROOKS

107. First family before the Wilsons : TAFTS

108. Magic, on scoreboards : ORL (Orlando)

109. Saharan region : SAHEL. Arabic for "shore, coast". "describing the appearance of the vegetation of the Sahel as a coastline delimiting the sand of the Sahara."

110. Held power : RULED

111. Cheerleaders' repertoire : YELLS

114. In __: truly : ESSE

117. Group decision-making challenge : EGO

118. In high spirits : GAY

119. "Let me think ..." : HMM

C.C.