Tuesday, July 12, 2011 Bill Thompson

Theme: Brew - The last word of the first four theme entries can follow(chase) BEER.

17A. Type of government spending typified by the Bridge to Nowhere : PORK BARREL. Beer barrel.

25A. "Two Tickets to Paradise" singer : EDDIE MONEY. Clip.(3:56) BEER MONEY - Some extra money not needed for essential payments, which is available for spending on luxuries, hobbies, or simply going out for a beer. It is like "pin money".

37A. (At) maximum capacity : FULL BLAST. BEER BLAST - A large, usually boisterous party at which beer is the sole or principal beverage and is consumed in large quantities.

51A. Classic candy bean : JELLY BELLY. Beer belly

62A. Brew after a shot (and, in a way, what the end of 17-, 25-, 37-, or 51-Across can be) : BEER CHASER

Argyle here. Not as impressive as yesterday's but ok. Very similar lay-outs.

Across:

1. Detective Pinkerton : ALLAN. Maybe C.C.has some insight on this gentleman.

6. Bug-eyed with excitement : AGOG

10. Formally give up : CEDE

14. Let, as a flat : LEASE

15. Place for doves, not hawks : COTE. A small shelter for pigeons, sheep, etc

16. x or y line : AXIS

19. Tach measures: Abbr. : RPMs

20. Very old: Abbr. : ANC.ient

21. More furtive : SLIER

22. Disco __ : ERA

23. Unlike Wabash College : CO-ED. One of the few remaining liberal arts colleges for men only. Crawfordsville, IN, northwest of Indianapolis.

29. "Gunsmoke" star James : ARNESS. Here with his brother, Peter Graves.

31. "We're outta here!" : "LET'S GO!". See 25-Across.

32. Doctor's request : SAY, "AH"

33. Studio warning : ON AIR

36. Long, long time : EON

40. "Because I said so!" elicitor : "WHY?"

43. Bad time for a procrastinator : TODAY. "Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow." Then repeat.

44. Planet's path : ORBIT

48. Big honey brand : SUE BEE. Image.

50. Fishing line tangles : SNARLS

55. Michelle of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" : YEOH. Image.

56. 57-Across brand : LEE

57. Casual pants : JEANS

59. Bird: Prefix : AVI

60. Flat-topped rise : MESA

64. Poet Khayy�m : OMAR

65. Beige shade : ECRU

66. Absorb a loss, slangily : EAT IT

67. Responsibility : DUTY

68. Eyelid affliction : STYE

69. Spars on board : MASTS. No, not a shipboard donnybrook.

Down:

1. Llama relatives : ALPACAs. "Are you lookin' at me?"

2. "Il Trovatore" soprano : LEONORA. The character's name.

3. Grand or petit crime : LARCENY

4. Look for answers : ASK

5. Birds' bills : NEBS

6. Pungent : ACRID

7. Injured in the bullring : GORED. Film at 11:00, you don't want to see this at breakfast.

8. "SNL" alum Cheri : OTERI. Cheri Oteri Pictures.

9. Hair-holding goo : GEL

10. Metaphorical incentive : CARROT. Image. Maybe a new hat would be a better incentive.

11. Broad area : EXPANSE

12. Lower, as lights : DIM

13. Twisting shape : ESS

18. Quaffs in tankards : ALES

22. Rock music's __, Lake & Palmer : EMERSON

24. Unwilling to listen : DEAF

26. "Splendor in the Grass" director Kazan : ELIA. 1961 film.

27. Self-esteem : EGO

28. Over there, to Milton : YON

30. Sleep, informally : SHUT-EYE

33. Like the hills? : OLDer than the hills.

34. Miami Heat gp. : NBA. Basketball

35. Prince __ Khan : ALY

38. Leopold's co-defendant : LOEB. Killers. Do you notice a dark tone to this puzzle?

39. Butler's carrying aid : TRAY

40. N.Y. financial paper : WSJ. The Wall Street Journal.

41. Color : HUE

42. Bawls out : YELLS AT

45. Chicken choices : BREASTS. This should bring out Dennis and/or Lois.

46. "That's perfect as is!" : "I LOVE IT!"

47. Casual tops : T-SHIRTS

49. Clouded, as vision : BLEARY

50. Harmony : SYNC

52. Unique button in 007's Aston Martin : EJECT. One way to get rid of pesky passengers.

53. Suspicious : LEERY. What you should be if James Bond offers you a ride.

54. Oater star Lash : LARUE. Popular western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. He had exceptional skill with the bullwhip.

58. Noah's firstborn : SHEM

60. Stylish, in the '60s : MOD

61. Outback runner : EMU

62. Teachers' degs. : BEs. Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.)

63. Little battery : AAA

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy 81st Birthday to dear Sallie!

Thursday, Jun 23, 2011, Bill Thompson

Theme: Spot a bomb in a bull: Hidden snowmen.

20A. When to say night-night: BEDDY BYE TIME.

28A. Ohio Stadium purchase: BUCKEYE TICKETS. Why would anyone pick this for their team mascot name? The tree species Aesculus glabra is commonly known as Ohio buckeye, American buckeye, or fetid buckeye. It derives its unflattering common name from the disagreeable odor generated from the flowers, crushed leaves, broken twigs, or bruised bark.

42A. Advance sale teaser line: NOT YET IN STORES.

47A. Dubious Himalayan headline and phenomenon in 20-, 28- and 42-Across: YETI SIGHTING.

Hi all, Al here, time is kind of tight, so I'll have to be brief...

ACROSS:

1. Improvise at the jazz club: VAMP. From revamp, to fix or make over. A vamp is the part of a stocking that covers the foot and ankle, so revamping originally meant meant mending socks.

5. Butt (in): HORN. Cowboy slang, comparison to buffalo behavior.

9. Oncle's spouse: TANTE. French: Uncle, Aunt.

14. River to the Fulda: EDER.

15. Its French name means "high wood": OBOE. Hautbois.

16. Sun Valley locale: IDAHO. Scenic.

17. Move, briefly: RELOcate.

18. Monument Valley sight: MESA. Also very scenic.

19. Many a Justin Bieber fan: TWEEN. Know your audience, I guess...

23. Former Mideast org.: UAR. United Arab Republic, Egypt + Syria.

24. Author of the Yiddish memoir "And the World Remained Silent": WIESEL. A common crossword clue, turned into an answer (ELIE).

33. Swiss Guard charges: POPES. Why would there be a Swiss Guard in the middle of Rome, Italy?

34. Quick: AGILE. Almost directly from Latin: agilis, nimble or quick.

35. Chinese tea: CHA.

36. Prunes: LOPS. Verb use to cut, not dried plums.

37. Georgia of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show": ENGEL.

38. "Cinque, dieci, venti, trenta" in "The Marriage of Figaro," e.g.: DUET. Five, ten, twenty, thirty.  Figaro is measuring the space where the bridal bed will fit while Susanna is trying on her wedding bonnet in front of the mirror.

39. Yellowfin tuna: AHI. A sushi staple.

40. Estate home: MANOR. The main house.

41. Sounds content: PURRS.

45. "I love what you do for me" automaker: TOYOTA. Anagrams to: Hey! You motivated a fool or two.

46. Big-house link: AS A.

54. Peer in a box: JUROR. Peer as an equal (from Latin "par"), not "to look" as with "appear".

57. Relinquish: CEDE.

58. Golfer Aoki: ISAO. He only plays with golf balls marked with the number 5. That number is pronounced "Go" in Japanese, and his goal is to never shoot higher than that on a hole.

59. Japanese art genre: ANIME.  Animation (cartoons) often expanded from Manga (comic books).

60. Oregon Trail team: OXEN.

61. Sommelier's prefix: OENO. Wine.

62. Lose it: GO MAD.

63. Distance swimmer Diana: NYAD. At the age of 61, this summer she will attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida (103 miles) without a shark cage.

64. Pont __: Paris bridge: NEUF. The name means "new bridge", but is the oldest bridge across the Seine. It connects the Rive Droit (right bank) with the Rive Gauche (left bank).  Now I have an urge to get my guitar out and re-learn this...

DOWN:

1. 3-Down, e.g.: VERB. Ah, yes, the referential clue mixed with a literal meaning.  It's definitely Thursday.

2. "Zip-__-Doo-Dah": A-DEE. From Song of the South, sung by Uncle Remus (James Baskett).

3. Blend: MELD. Related word: meddle.

4. Yields: PRODUCES.

5. Man of La Mancha: HOMBRE. Spanish man.

6. Mind: OBEY. A strange associative progression from the word mind, originally meaning memory, or remembering: "Mind your Manners", "Never you mind about that". Those kinds of phrases were commands, which instilled the sense of needing to obey: mind your elders.

7. See 12-Down: ROSE. 12D. With 7-Down, Bette Midler classic: THE. A lot of people seem to like Bette, and they are allowed to, but she's not really my cup of tea.  Feel free to provide your own links in the comments.

8. Bourbon order: NEAT. Unadulterated, free from impurities (like water from melting ice).

9. They may be tufted: TITMICE. Having a cardinal's peak.

10. Magazine that highlights Clio winners: ADWEEK. A magazine about advertising.  In other words, a magazine.

11. "Sorry, laddie": NAE. Scottish.

13. Quite a span: EON. Time, not distance.

21. Goes on and on: YAKS. What I do sometimes.

22. Volunteer's offer: I WILL.

25. Like an encrypted transmission, in theory: SECURE.

26. Old anesthetics: ETHERS.

27. Future J.D.s' exams: LSATS. Law School Admission Tests. Juris Doctor, the first professional graduate degree in law.

28. Melodramatic cry: BOO HOO.

29. Haughty: UPPITY.

30. Greek New Ager: YANNI. I'll spare you the music link.

31. Goad: EGG ON. This sense of egg comes from "edge".

32. Feature of some fancy cakes: TIERS. Related words: tirade and attire.

33. Magician's secret cohort: PLANT. A ringer.

37. Really worry: EAT AT.

38. Term: DURATION. Latin durare, to harden (endure).

40. Like some mail: METERED. Postage is printed on instead of applying individual stamps, allowing for automation and time savings.

41. Sumptuous: POSH. Long explanation for this, but it does NOT mean port out starboard home, that is a backronym from people trying to retrofit a meaning.

43. He has a cello named Petunia: YO YO MA. He was doing a class in Salt Lake City, and a high school student asked if he had a nickname for his cello. he said, "No, but if I play for you, will you name it?" She chose Petunia, and it stuck.

44. Remnant: TAG END.

48. Tiny trash can, e.g.: ICON. On your PC desktop.

49. Hot: SEXY.

50. Thought: IDEA.

51. "Mm-hmm": I SEE.

52. Half a sitcom sign-off: NANU. Mork & Mindy.

53. Flub: GOOF. A gaffe.

54. Spree: JAG. A period of unrestrained activity.

55. The loneliest numero?: UNO. A play on Three Dog Night's first hit "One", written by Harry Nilsson.

56. Drum edge: RIM. Ba-dump Tish. And that's the end.

Answer Grid.

Al

Wenesday, May 18, 2011, Bill Thompson

Theme:  RIGHT AS RAIN.  The theme entries start with a word that can describe a kind of SHOWER.  OK - they aren't all the RAIN kind of SHOWER, or even the kind that get you wet, but I'm going to run with it.  It's a great expression meaning "all is well and things are as they should be," dating back to the time when an agrarian society depended on spring and summer rains to get good crop yields.  Then, all was right with the world.

17 A. 1958 Robert Mitchum drama : THUNDER ROAD The story of a Korean War vet who comes home to take over the family moonshine business.  A THUNDER SHOWER is a brief rain storm with a natural light show and sound effects.

26 A. Dorm room snack : COLD PIZZA.  I was a townie, not a dormie, so I never developed this awful-sounding culinary habit.  A COLD SHOWER is simply a self-inflicted deluge of cold water.  It is reported to have numerous health benefits.  You be the judge.

40. '70s-'80s Haitian president, familiarly : BABY  DOC DUVALIER.  Jean-Claude was the son (hence "B�b� Doc") of the previous president, Fran�ois "Papa Doc" DUVALIER.  He continued the family tradition of torture, tyranny and lavish personal life-style, while his subjects languished in bone-crushing poverty.   Odd, odd juxtaposition with BABY SHOWER, a joyful party where an expectant mother is SHOWERED with gifts by her friends.

52 A. Early spring shout : "APRIL FOOL."  The origin of APRIL FOOLERY is lost in the mists of time, but is believed to have started with the change to the Gregorian Calendar, around 1582.  News traveled slowly in those days, so some people didn't catch up with the change and didn't know the proper date.  Others resisted the change.  Both became the butt of practical jokes.  It's believable, I guess.  APRIL SHOWERS are springtime episodes of rain that bring May flowers, and kids cooped up in the house for hours.

Plus the unifier:  65 A. Bath fixtures, and a hint to the starts of 17-, 26-, 40- and 52-Across : SHOWER HEADS.  This is a device that sprays you with water (of any desired temperature.)  And HEAD indicates that the beginning theme words can precede SHOWER.  Pretty clever.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here.  In this tidy theme we have two meteorological events, get all cleaned up, and have a party.  Let's join the fun

Across

1. Frequently change positions : JOB HOP.  Previous generations worked one or two jobs in a life time.  Now, JOB HOPPING is the norm.  Still, I was thinking about tossing and turning.

7. Jury member : PEER.  The Constitution guarantees a trial with a jury of one's peers.  These are people of equal standing, who should be well equipped to render a fair verdict.

11. Patty Hearst's kidnappers: Abbr. : SLA.  The Symbionese Liberation Army.  According to founder Donald DeFreeze, "The name 'symbionese' is taken from the word 'symbiosis' and we define its meaning as a body of dissimilar bodies and organisms living in deep and loving harmony and partnership in the best interest of all within the body."   Sure.  That explains why they engaged in bank robbing, murder and, most famously, kidnapping.

14. Frosted pastry : ECLAIR.  Yum!

15. "The Raven" opener : ONCE upon a midnight dreary / As I pondered, weak and weary / Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore . . 

16. Faddish '90s disc : POG.  I have no idea. 

19. GM had one in Nov. 2010 : IPO.  Initial Public Offering, an issue of new stock

20. Low digits : TOES.  Of course.  Cute.

21. Buddhist sect : ZEN. From Wikipedia:  The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Ch�n (?), which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyana, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state".    But you all knew that.

22. Roofing support : RAFTER.  For some reason I needed a lot of perp help to get this.

24. __ au vin : COQ.   "Rooster in wine" is a French braise of chicken cooked with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic.  (Garlic is an option?!?)  Jeannie . . .

28. Musical with the song "Midway Chase" : BARNUM.  Phineas T. I presume.  Never heard of it, and there is no YouTube vid.

31. Like many eBay items : USED

32. Disco, for one : ERA.  An ERA is "A long and distinct period of history with a particular feature or characteristic."  The disco ERA wasn't really long.  It only seemed that way.

33. Photographer Adams : ANSEL.  Famous for his usually panoramic black and white landscape and nature shots.  Here is a gallery full.

36. Self-titled 1969 jazz album : ELLA.   Can't find any songs from that album on YouTube, so you'll have to settle for Hammerstein-Kern.

44. Film lioness : ELSA.  She was Born Free.

45. Sports : HAS ON.  SPORT as a verb, meaning "wear."  Sport we now our gay apparel.

46. Sup : EAT

47. Clothes line? : SEAM.  Nice misdirection.  Did you find any SEAMS in the SPORTS-wear?

50. Prepare for online publication : WEBIFY.  This is an actual word, correctly used.  News to me.

57. Beat the house : WIN.  Casino games favor the house, e.g. the gambling establishment, without the need for cheating.  It's all about probability.  Gambling is a fool's game in any month, but sometimes a lucky person takes home some spare cash

58. Offshore eyesore, to some : OIL RIG.  Eye of the beholder, I guess.

59. Email forwarder's intro : FYI.  For Your Information.

61. Idiot : TWIT. We all know one or two.

64. Certain artery: Abbr. : RTE.  Route, a transportation artery.

68. Profs' aides : TAS.  Teaching Assistants.

 69. __-kiri : HARA.  Well, this is unpleasant.  HARA kiri is another name for sepukku, a ritual suicide performed by Samurai as punishment for disgrace, or to avoid capture and abasement.  Check Wikipedia if you want more detail.

70. Speedy Gonzales cry : ARRIBA.  Racially insensitive, a bit DF, and catch the last three words.

71. Intractable beast : ASS. 

72. Ex-Yankee Pettitte : ANDY.  Where is he now?

73. Empty __ : NESTER. A parent whose children have grown and moved away.

 Down

1. Rocker Joan : JETT.  She loves Rock 'n' Roll.

2. Cinco y tres : OCHO.  Can you add in Spanish?  Arriba! 5 + 3 = 8.  Numeros de Fibonacci.

3. Chesapeake Bay delicacies : BLUE CRABS.  Callinectes sapidus.  Beautiful swimmer that tastes good.  I am not making this up.

4. "MMMBop" band : HANSON.  Beats me.

5. Meteor tail? : OID.  Meteoroid  - and the infamous "tail" suffix clue.

6. Chief exec : PREZ.  Abbrv for President.

7. Dirty fare : PORNO.  Nothing I can add.

8. Ambient music pioneer : ENO.  Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno.  I think I get him every time.

9. Hallmark.com offerings : E-CARDS.  For the sophisticated and discerning card giver.

10. Orangutan : RED APE. 

11. Norwegian Elkhound, for one : SPITZ

12. "J to tha L-O!" artist : LOPEZ.  "J to tha L-O!" is a remix of Jennifer Lopez's second album J-LO.  I'm learning a lot of stuff that I'm not going to remember.

13. Ancient market : AGORA.  Ancient Greek.

18. __ room : REC.  Home to many a big screen TV.

23. Brother of Ra�l : FIDEL.  Somehow, I never think of FIDEL Castro as Ra�l's hermano.

25. Campus hangout : QUAD.  A typical campus feature is a QUADrangle.  Literally, this is a building that surrounds a courtyard.  More casually, an open area surrounded by four buildings, often dorms.

27. Beauts : LULUS.  Slang terms for some rip-snortin' knockout who is a real doozy, or just the bee's knees.

28. Nixon confidant Rebozo : BEBE.  Charles, our second B�b� of the day, was the youngest son of Cuban immigrants, who moved up from the laundromat business to banking, and somehow made a lot of money along the way.

29. Sea damaged by Soviet irrigation projects : ARAL.  It's drying up and turning into a salt flat.

30. Letters below DEF : MNO.  On your push-button telephone.

34. Jerk : SCHMO.  From Yiddish.   I didn't realize that this is an anatomical reference.

35. Author LeShan : EDA.  She wrote about parent-child issues.

37. Prepare to ambush : LIE IN WAIT.  Because if you tell the truth, it's hard to ambush anyone.

38. Page (through) : LEAF. 

39. Pretentiously showy : ARTY

41. Arafat of the PLO : YASIR.  Rumor has that when he was born, his mother sang this song.

42. Pledge : VOW

43. From the top : ANEW.  Start over, so to speak.

48. Cuthbert of "24" : ELISHA.  Kinda looks like Debby Harry.

49. Knitting project : AFGHAN.  A blanket, wrap or shawl of colored yarn.

51. Black flies, notably : BITERS.  Nasty critters.

52. Major artery : AORTA.  A clecho!  The AORTA is the main blood line from the left ventricle, which supplies oxygenated blood to the entire body.  Crabs must not have one.

53. Deli pockets : PITAS.  Flat bread pockets.  Got any bread in your pocket?

54. Like May through August, in a way : R-LESS.  Refers to their spelling.  Traditionally these are the months when you should avoid eating oysters.  Back in the day, before refrigeration, they would spoil quickly in the warm months.  They also spawn in these months, making them fatty, watery, soft and less flavorful.

55. Right __ : OF WAY.  This has two quite distinct legal meanings.  In property law it is an easement or right to travel over another's property.  In traffic law it is the priority to proceed ahead of other vehicles or pedestrians.

56. Caustic solution : LYE.  Sodium hydroxide, and that's the truth.

60. Ahmadinejad's land : IRAN.  No comment.

62. "__ safe and warm if ...": "California Dreamin'" lyric : I'D BE.  Ah, those Mamas and Papas.

63. Winter Palace resident : TSAR.  Russian Royalty.

66. Old California fort : ORD.  Established in 1917, closed in 1994, for many years home to the 7th Infantry Division.

67. Charlemagne's realm: Abbr. : HRE.  Charles the Great was crowne King of the Franks in 768, and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 800.  Following his death in 814, things went into a bit of a decline.

Answer grid.

Well, there you have it.  A well constructed puzzle with lots of information , a bite of sea food, and a few eeewww moments for spice.  Hope you enjoyed it.

Jazzbumpa