Thursday, July 14, 2011, Jeff Chen

Theme: The Truth Is Out There, revealed in 64A. You can find one in the four longest puzzle answers, even if you don't believe: UFO.

17A. Continental alliance's intl. strategy: EU FOREIGN POLICY. Abbr. European Union, and abbr. international.

25A. Treat thicker than the original: DOUBLE STUF OREO. Extreme oreo.

43A. Toyota RAV4 competitor: SUBARU FORESTER. SUVs.

57A. Complaint after a reluctant act: YOU FORCED MY HAND.

Hi all, Al here as usual on a Thursday, with a hidden word theme. Did you spot the Unidentified Flying Objects split between words in all cases? I hope there wasn't any deep probing needed.

Across:

1. Medea's husband: JASON. Sorceress daughter of King Aeetes, who possessed the golden fleece. Unwilling to give it up, he set a series of impossible tasks for Jason to obtain it. Medea fell in love with Jason and assisted him in return for a promise of marriage.

6. Tarboosh : Arabic :: __ : Turkish: FEZ. The 11th Doctor says Fezzes are cool. (spoilers, his significant other doesn't agree.)

9. When bulls crow?: BOOMS. Bulls make money in the stock market when the economy is expanding (buy low, sell high later). Bears are betting that there will be a downturn or recession on the way (sell high futures, buy back low later).

14. Utah County seat: PROVO.

15. Obit number: AGE. Astaxanthin resveratrol

16. Hamilton of "The Terminator": LINDA. In her prime, except for the fourth pic...

20. Prime meridian hrs.: GMT. Greenwich Mean Time.

21. Drops a pop: ERRS. Baseball. Pop-ups should become easy outs.

22. Otolaryngologist's diagnosis: OTITIS. Inflammation of the middle ear.

23. "Richard III" star McKellen: IAN.

24. E or G, e.g.: NOTE. Music, A through G.

32. Bluesy Waters: ETHEL. I so wanted to fill this with Muddy.

33. Resistance units: OHMS. Named for Georg Ohm, a pioneer in electricity theory.

34. "Outstanding!": RAD. Shortening of radical.

36. Looking displeased: POUTY. Glad it wasn't MOUEY.

37. 50-50, say: TIE. In basketball, perhaps. Possible but unlikely in football, very unlikely in other sports.

38. Covered in goo: GUNKY.

40. Allotment word: PER. Per diem means "for each day".

41. Rabbit's title: BRER. Shortening of brother.

42. Actor Davis: OSSIE.

47. Two-time Indy 500 champ Luyendyk: ARIE.

48. Old boat-steering tool: OAR.

49. Yes or no follower: SIRREE.

52. Askew view: BIAS. True clue.

54. Storm of the '90s: GEO. GM's release of an Izusu.

60. Slop: SWILL. Old English swilian, swillan "to wash, gargle," related to the root word of swallow.

61. Canada's smallest prov.: PEI. Prince Edward Island.

62. Moved like goo: OOZED.

63. Country's Tucker: TANYA. A millionaire by the age of 16, married Glen Campbell (45 at the time) when she was 21. When you look up "wild child" in the dictionary, it has her picture by the definition.

65. Draws closer: NEARS.

Down:

1. File format for pics: JPEG. Joint Photographic Experts Group. A compression format that allows pictures to retain their image, yet not take as much storage (if you choose).

2. __ lily: ARUM. Pretty.

3. Player's piano?: SOFT. The full instrument name, pianoforte, literally means soft-loud.

4. Ab __: from the start: OVO. A reference to one of the twin eggs of Leda and Zeus, disguised as a swan, from which Helen was born. Had Leda not lain the egg, Helen would not have been born, so Paris could not have eloped with her, so there would have been no Trojan War.

5. "Seriously!": NO, REALLY!.

6. Not foul: FAIR. More baseball.

7. Clutch contents: EGGS. A clutch is a "nest" in reference to chickens, from clekken "to hatch" perhaps of imitative origin (cluck).

8. Path to enlightenment: ZEN. from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Ch�n, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state".

9. Smashed: BLOTTO. Soaked.

10. Slicker: OILIER.

11. Taking care of business: ON IT.

12. Year when "Hamlet" is believed to have been completed: MDCI.To believe or not to believe, that is the question...

13. Remarks: SAYS.

18. Beach bird: ERNE. The sea eagle.

19. Vanishing sounds: POOFS. Unless you're trapped in an elevator and can't get away. SBDs are only funny to one person.

23. "Doubtful": I BET.

24. D�gito: NUMERO. Spanish digit, number.

25. He played Dillinger in "Public Enemies" (2009): DEPP. Johnny.

26. Great Plains natives: OTOES.

27. Swahili for "freedom": UHURU. Or, the communications officer of the USS Enterprise.

28. "Got that right!": SO TRUE.

29. One taking things wrong?: THIEF. Nice meta-clue. Did you take it wrong?

30. Dadaist Max: ERNST. Certainly not boring.

31. Jack of "The Great Dictator": OAKIE.

35. Batik artist: DYER. This has appeared enough times to not have to search for it, right?

38. Show leniency toward: GO EASY ON.

39. Red letters?: USSR. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

41. Prickly shrub: BRIER. To go along with Brer Rabbit.

44. Person sometimes 9-Down: BARFLY.

45. Biological ring: AREOLA. Not linking this, even with safe-search on.

46. Gallivant: ROAM. Play the gallant, flirt, gad about.

49. Part of DOS: Abbr.: SYST. Disk Operating System. Why is internal storage a "disk", but a CD-ROM is a "disc"? A disk is magnetic, and a disc is optical (and removable), but that still doesn't explain why...

50. Midwest university with 23 team wrestling championships: IOWA.

51. Bollix up: RUIN.

52. Grievance: BEEF.

53. Peculiar: Pref.: IDIO. Idiosyncratic.

54. Strip under duress?: GAZA. Today' geography lesson.

55. Cabinet dept. since 1977: ENERgy.

56. Numbers on horses: ODDS.

58. PC core: CPU. Central Processing Unit.

59. Soil-moving tool: HOE.

Answer grid.

Al

Monday, June 13, 2011 Jeff Chen

Theme: Small Cup? - The four men used for the theme all have AA in their names and the reveal is about batteries, not bra size, but I'm more DF than that.

17A. Johnny Carson's predecessor : JACK PAAR

21A. "Misery" co-star : JAMES CAAN

36A. "I, Robot" author : ISAAC ASIMOV

55A. Vice president involved in a historic duel : AARON BURR

61A. Common batteries, and a feature of 17-, 21-, 36- and 55-Across : DOUBLE A'S

A newly refurbished Argyle here. Jeff has started our week off with a nice, compact puzzle. I admit if I had started with the reveal, I'd have had a easier time with the spelling of the gentlemen's names.

Across:

1. Frying pan spray : PAM

4. Fanatic's feeling : ZEAL

8. Player on stage : ACTOR

13. Santa __: city SE of Los Angeles : ANA

14. "Joy of Cooking" writer Rombauer : IRMA. Rombauer privately published The Joy of Cooking in 1931.

15. Curvy ski race : SLALOM

19. "I need a hug" : "HOLD ME"

20. Pong producer : ATARI

23. Pat of "The Karate Kid" : MORITA. "wax on, wax off" Image

25. Binary code digit : ONE

26. Animal like new? : GNU

27. "Famous" cookie creator : AMOS

28. Floated upward : ROSE

31. Alternative to leaving a test question blank : GUESS

33. Roget entry: Abbr. : SYN

34. Pulled in different directions : TORN

35. Pasty : WAN

40. "Car Talk" airer : NPR. Although radio stations quiver when the Tappet Brothers say it, "National Public Radio".

41. Front of a clock : FACE

42. LAX approximation : ETA

45. Worry persistently : BROOD

48. Blue state? : FUNK

49. Dab at with a towel, as a spill : BLOT

50. __ Tin Tin : RIN. Early TV dog.

51. NATO part: Abbr. : ATL. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

53. Turn like a chair : SWIVEL

59. Justice Kagan of the Supreme Court : ELENA. Sorry, but she looks more like a homeroom mother.

60. Masonry finish applied when wet : STUCCO

63. Pick up the pace : HASTEN

64. Vaulted recess : APSE

65. Windsor knot neckwear : TIE

66. Clam-digging area : SHORE

67. Blacken on the grill : SEAR

68. Gore and Hirt : ALs

Down:

1. Bedtime garb : PAJAMAS

2. TV's "Grey's __" : ANATOMY

3. Cheese companion : MACARONI

4. "Not another word!" : ZIP IT

5. Prohibition __ : ERA

6. Key with three sharps: Abbr. : A MAJ. Another entry I let the perps take care of.

7. Zhivago's beloved : LARA

8. Pale : ASHEN

9. Nip and tuck contest : CLOSE GAME. I had the brief image of two plastic surgeons going head to head.

10. Skin-soothing powder : TALC

11. Golden years : OLD AGE

12. Friends-countrymen link : ROMANS

16. Lists of computer options : MENUs

18. Singer Kristofferson : KRIS. I expect we will get some more links for KRIS today.

22. Stooge with a bowl haircut : MOE

24. Cacophonous, as a crowd : AROAR

29. "The Lord of the Rings" monster : ORC

30. Major mess : SNAFU

32. Spanish 25-Across : UNO

34. Hoofer, so to speak : TAP DANCER

35. Candle threads : WICKS

37. Commercial prefix with Cone or Ball : SNO

38. Japanese honorific : SAN

39. Kraft cheese spread : VELVEETA

43. Polished part of a piggy? : TOENAIL

44. Books of maps : ATLASES

45. Full of chutzpah : BRASH

46. Rodeo gear : RIATAs

47. Surge : ONRUSH

48. Cause of chills and fever : FLU

49. Tab at a bar : BILL

52. Steak selection : T-BONE

54. Big brand in barbecues : WEBER. I like these two together.

56. Prefix with -pus : OCTO. Or with Mom.

57. Nutrient guidelines, briefly : RDAs

58. Rodeo gear : ROPE

62. Mex. neighbor : USA

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, May 16, 2011 Jeff Chen

Theme: Bravado - The first word of the first four theme entries, together and in order, create a phrase synonymous with the unifier.

16A. Dusk-to-dawn cramming session : ALL-NIGHTER

22A. Training neckwear for noisy dogs : BARK COLLARS

36A. "Definitely!" : "NO DOUBT!"

46A. Suffer defeat : BITE THE DUST

55A. Toothless menace described by the starts of 16-, 22-, 36- and 46-Across : IDLE THREAT

Argyle here. Jeff has provided us with a good start to the week. It would have been nice to have "AND" in the middle but that would have made things unnecessarily complex.

Across:

1. Self-indulgent place for breakfast : BED

4. Complete chaos : HAVOC

9. Opinion column, briefly : OP-ED. It probably bears repeating: Though often mistaken for opinion-editorial, OP-ED, abbreviated from OPposite the EDitorial page, is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board. These are different from editorials, which are usually unsigned and written by editorial board members.

13. Algeria neighbor : MALI. NW Africa, map.

14. "Don't be ___!" : A HERO. Yeah, Billy. Number one song for 2 weeks in June '75. (2:47). Check out their threads, dude.

15. Herr's mate : FRAU. German

18. Top pick, slangily : FAVE. Favorite

19. Bayer : Levitra :: Pfizer : __ : VIAGRA

20. Holy messenger : GABRIEL. One of the archangels.

25. Early Peruvian : INCAN

28. Bond creator Fleming : IAN

29. Bordeaux buddy : AMI. French.

30. Sharp to the taste : TART

31. HST predecessor : FDR. Our 32nd and 33rd Presidents.

32. Quaking trees : ASPENS

35. __ Balls: Hostess snacks : SNO

38. John or Jane, anonymously : DOE

39. Materialistic thirtysomething : YUPPIE

41. The Trojans of the NCAA : USC. University of Southern California.

42. Bank offer : LOAN

43. Like some rights and engrs. : CIV. Civil.

44. Opposite of NNW : SSE

45. Digit on a "Magic" ball : EIGHT. Quite a story behind the old Magic 8 Ball.

49. Longtime "20/20" co-host Walters : BARBARA

50. "A Streetcar Named Desire" woman : STELLA. "They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields!"

54. With the bow, in music : ARCO. Italian for bow.

58. "Kiss my grits" TV diner : MEL'S. The waitress named Flo's favorite saying.

59. Mary Tyler __ : MOORE

60. Assistant : AIDE

61. Summer quaffs : ADEs

62. Weapon for Zorro : SWORD. The Fox. "This bold renegade - Carves a "Z" with his blade, - A "Z" that stands for Zorro."

63. Place, as bricks : LAY

Down:

1. Vacation island south of Borneo : BALI. Map. Going by the names down there, I'd say they must grow a lot of coffee.

2. Jazz great Fitzgerald : ELLA. Ella singing about Black Coffee.

3. Archie's pet insult for Edith : DINGBAT

4. Comics Viking : HAGAR. the Horrible.

5. Sound at a sauna : "AHH!"

6. Doggie doc : VET

7. Crater Lake's locale : OREGON

8. Salmonesque color : CORAL

9. Turnpike exit : OFF RAMP

10. Great Plains burrower : PRAIRIE DOG

11. Hangover locales? : EAVES. Get it?

12. Hamilton vs. Burr, e.g. : DUEL

13. Big D hoopster : MAV. Dallas Mavericks

17. Shah's domain, once : IRAN

21. Turn way up, as radio volume : BLAST

23. Captain hanged for piracy in 1701 : KIDD

24. Go on a bender : CAROUSE

25. Teensy : ITSY

26. Half of Mork's farewell : NANU

27. Agricultural phenomenon sometimes linked to UFOs : CROP CIRCLE. Perhaps made by Orkian space ships, looking for Mork.

31. Antagonist : FOE

32. "Easy as" letters : ABC

33. Ark-itect? : NOAH. Get it?

34. Shipped : SENT

36. Skin care giant : NIVEA. Nivea products.

37. Like hand-me-downs : USED

40. Vegas supervisor : PIT BOSS. A casino pit is an area of a casino which typically contains tables for Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, and other games. The PIT BOSS is the person who looks after the employees who work in the pit.

42. Nonmetaphorical : LITERAL. For real, dude.

44. It lengthens toward evening : SHADOW

45. O.T. book before Job : ESTH. Esther.

46. Revealed : BARED

47. Minimal haircuts : TRIMS. I am due for my annual "trim".

48. "�C�mo est� __?" : USTED. How are you?

49. Crimson Tide, to fans : 'BAMA. The University of Alabama.

51. "Star Wars" princess : LEIA

52. Lord's mate : LADY

53. Absorbed, as costs : ATE

56. Bath bathroom : LOO. Bath the spa town in England.

57. Flub the shot, say : ERR

Answer grid.

Here is a wonderful picture of Jazzbumpa (Ron) standing outside Jazz Showcase on May 5, 2011, the day when his Schoolcraft Jazz Band opened  for Harold Mabern, a "a very cool guy who cannot read music". They also performed "Blues for Nate", a special piece Ron wrote for his grandson Nate, who was born blue and had to go through an open heart surgery when he was only one week old. Ron said "He'll be 9 in August, and he's doing great".

Argyle