Sunday November 17, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

 Theme: "Logical Connections" - ERGO is hidden in the middle of each theme entry.

 

24A. Imaginary kids' author : MOTHER GOOSE

31A. NFL commissioner since 2006 : ROGER GOODELL. The most powerful man in sports. 

49A. Zeus or Thor : THUNDER GOD

52A. Job interview subject : CAREER GOAL

 

87A. Sport with orange balls, perhaps : WINTER GOLF. Argyle gave me this clue. Golf is his passion.

89A. Lynne Cheney's predecessor : TIPPER GORE

103A. Hand-crafted belts, e.g. : LEATHER GOODS

114A. Vision-distorting condition caused by a few too many cold ones, slangily : BEER GOGGLES

And reveal entry:

122A. Logical connection hidden in eight puzzle answers : ERGO

C.C. here. 

This puzzle title is Rich's. Most of the clues are his too. You can click here to see my original submitted clues.

I initially had ERGO placed as the last Across entry, but it resulted in a pair of dupes:

1) SEES FIT (35A) &  SEE NO (107D)

2) ELSA (48D) & ELSIE  (113A)

So I moved ERGO one row up. Little 3-word dupes are tricky on Sundays, esp for fill like EAT/ATE.

  

Initial Lower Right Corner

Across:

1. Like Narcissus : VAIN

5. Tiny tiff : SPAT

9. The pyramids, for 28-Across : TOMBS. And 28. Pyramid figures : PHARAOHS. Too close not to be cross-referenced.

14. Yawn : GAPE

18. Two-time Italian prime minister Moro : ALDO.
He stumped me last time. He was kidnapped and killed.  Wiki said this:
When Moro was abducted, the government immediately took a hard line
position: the "State must not bend" on "terrorist demands".

19. Zero __ : HOUR

20. Troubled greatly : ATE AT

21. Affected : ARTSY

22. Rewards for Fido : PATS

23. Kitchen add-on? : ETTE. Kitchenette.

26. Missouri River city : OMAHA

30. Flies into a rage : ERUPTS

33. [Like that!] : SNAP

34. Scrub : SCOUR. I like scouring my pots and pans. Therapeutic.

35. Deems proper : SEES FIT

38. "The Newsroom" channel : HBO. Created by Aaron Sorkin, the guy behind "You can't handle the truth!"

41. "Oh no!" : ACK

44. Miss the mark : ERR

45. Bob and bun : DOs

46. Cold cube in Cologne : EIS. Just ice.

47. Sign of life : PULSE

54. Bausch & Lomb brand : RENU

55. Bitty bites : NIPS

56. End of time? : SILENT E. Rich's clue.

57. Calendar rows: Abbr. : WKS

58. Prank : ANTIC

60. Gave a darn? : SEWED

62. Indulge, with "on" : DOTE

63. Lamb's lament : BAA

64. Bitty bits : ATOMS

67. Utter : SHEER. The sheer meanness of some anonymous posts on our
blog! So glad our regulars don't engage them. They don't deserve our attention.

69. "Toy Story" composer Newman : RANDY. Very impressive career.

71. Water__: dental gadget : PIK

73. Us, in Cannes : NOUS.  Every girl was reading "Entre Nous" a few years ago.

75. Relevant, to lawyers : AD REM

77. Unlit? : SOBER. Also Rich's clue.

80. 1996 Olympic torch lighter : ALI

81. Short-range weapons : MORTARS

83. Too colorful : LOUD

86. Pure delight : GLEE. My feeling after watching Spitzboov's Guangzhou clip last week. Want to see the historical sites in my hometown Xi'An?

91. Kept under wraps : SAT ON

92. U.K. record label : EMI

93. Paper Mate rival : BIC

94. "Eww, spare me the details!" : TMI

95. Panda Express cooker : WOK. Boomer prefers the Super Grand Buffet here in MN.

96. California's Marina __ Rey : DEL. Five miles north of where Bill G lives. This photo is exactly 1-year-old. Jordan is now 9.

Bill G & his grandson Jordan

97. Toaster treat : POP TART

99. Henchmen : THUGS

101. Interpol home, locally : LYON. We add S, we also add S to Marseille. I don't know why.

108. Grocery load : ARMFUL

111. "Carmen" aria : HABANERA

113. Kama __ : SUTRA

116. Close link : BOND

118. Baseball feature : SEAM

119. Small part : CAMEO. I had a trivia for this one.

120. Square one : START

121. Being aired : ON TV

123. Wild plum : SLOE

124. Support staff: Abbr. : ASSTS

125. Unwanted sprout : WEED. And 56D. Sprouts-to-be : SEEDS

126. Slugger who hit his first home run off Clemens : SOSA. Did you know this trivia, TTP & Husker Gary?

Down:

1. Steam, e.g. : VAPOR

2. Texas landmark : ALAMO

3. Luggage clip-on : ID TAG

4. Bites : NOSHES

5. Every other hurricane : SHE

6. Mishmash : POTPOURRI

7. Name on a spine : AUTHOR. Book spine.

8. Tire pattern : TREAD

9. They may be hot : TAMALES. Lucina, do you prepare tamales for Thanksgiving also?

10. "Lawrence of Arabia" star : O'TOOLE

11. John Wesley's relig. : METH

12. Words of disgust : BAHs

13. Holy mlle. : STE

14. Occasionally awkward show of affection : GROUP HUG. I'm sure Dave and Manac will find the awkward ones.

15. Perching on : ATOP

16. Hushed "Hey!" : PSST

17. Spud's buds : EYES

21. Bhopal Shatabdi Express stop : AGRA. Easily guessable, right? It's hard to come up with fresh clues for AGRA or OREO.

25. Flat rate? : RENT

27. Like most golf shots : ARCED

29. Patch, as a lawn : RE-SOD

32. Bridge immortal : GOREN

33. Assent showing respeto : SI, SENOR. Respect.

36. Close tight : SEAL

37. Let go : FIRED

39. Detailed : BLOW BY BLOW

40. Yodo River city : OSAKA. Never head of Yodo River.

41. Razor handle : ATRA

42. "Big Brother" host Julie : CHEN

43. Gambian-born "Roots" character : KUNTA KINTE. I learned about slavery from watching "Roots".

45. Teaspoons, maybe : DOSES

47. Fusses in front of a mirror, say : PREENS

48. Model/actress Pataky : ELSA. She dated Adrien Brody for a few years.

50. Nantes night : NUIT

51. Rte. finder : GPS

52. Apple product : CIDER. Not iSomething. How do you like your Mac so far, D-Otto?

53. Jazz legend James : ETTA

59. Scam artists : CON MEN

61. Berth place : WHARF

65. Keep from drifting away : MOOR

66. Operation VIP : SURGEON

68. Dig find : RELIC

70. Big name in rap : DOGG. Snoop (Lion now) or Nate.

71. Bear hands : PAWS

72. Trojan War epic : ILIAD

74. Jazz dance : STOMP

76. Swabbing need : MOP

78. Gateway Arch designer Saarinen : EERO

79. Smell bad : REEK

82. Made a touchdown : ALIT

84. Play for higher stakes : UP THE ANTE

85. Beg to differ : DEMUR

88. Like most customer support numbers : TOLL-FREE

89. Powerful deity : TITAN

90. Mid-'40s World No. 1 tennis pro Bobby : RIGGS

93. Chicken servings : BREASTS

97. Sport with horses : POLO. I've got to link Nacho Figueras, the face of Polo.

98. Nobelist Camus : ALBERT

99. High chair : THRONE

100. Barflies : SOUSES

102. '80s-'90s Serbian auto import : YUGO

104. Quarterback known for kneeling : TEBOW (Tim). I thought he'd be another Tom Brady.

105. Alamogordo's county : OTERO

106. Party poopers : DRAGS

107. Island group near Fiji : SAMOA

108. Early lessons : ABCs

109. Bona fide : REAL

110. Staff note : MEMO

111. 5'4" and 6'2": Abbr. : HGTS. That's mine and Boomer's.

112. "Poor me!" : ALAS

115. Govt. property agency : GSA

117. Redbox rental : DVD

C.C.

Monday, November 11, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Highest Rating - 5-Star

64A. Headliner, or symbol associated with 20-, 28-, 37-, 42- and 50-Across : STAR

20A. Five-time Super Bowl winners : DALLAS COWBOYS

28A. "It's all about the beer" Dutch brewer : HEINEKEN

37A. "Miracle on 34th Street" store : MACY'S

42A. Big name in sneakers : CONVERSE

50A. Standard flown in Ho Chi Minh City : FLAG OF VIETNAM

Argyle here. C.C. on Monday; could that mean Marti on Tuesday? We should be so lucky.

Definitely needed the unifier today to make the connection between the entries.

Across:

1. Dinner for Mister Ed : OATS. Mr. Ed is a horse, of course.

5. On-the-job extras : PERKS. A short form of the word perquisite.

10. Cave feedback : ECHO

14. Snow remover : PLOW

15. Ice show site : ARENA. C'mon, snow and ice! Pushing the season a little.

16. D'back or Met : NLer

17. "East of Eden" director Kazan : ELIA. 1955 film with James Dean in his first major screen role.

18. Popular half of a 45, usually : SIDE A

19. Time division on a map : ZONE

23. Do a librarian's chore : SHELVE. (the books)

24. Last Greek letter : OMEGA

27. Pipeline product : OIL

31. Tweezer targets : BROWS

34. Club for the supersmart : MENSA. I hope Dennis survived yesterday. 60A. 34-Across member : BRAIN

35. Soccer goal : NET

36. Weight training units : REPS

38. Stand up : RISE

39. Make the most of : USE

40. Obama daughter whose Secret Service code name is "Rosebud" : SASHA. and 48D. Obama daughter whose Secret Service code name is "Radiance" : MALIA. Grew up in front of our eyes.

41. Parcels (out) : METES

44. Droop in the middle : SAG

45. Ford flop : EDSEL

46. Insurance filings : CLAIMS

55. Thug's knife : SHIV

57. Snow-block home : IGLOO

58. Prefix with cast : TELE

59. Not contaminated : PURE

61. Soprano's solo : ARIA

62. Shoe inserts : FEET

63. Road curves : BENDS

Down:

1. Opinion pieces : OP-EDs

2. God of Islam : ALLAH

3. Fabric often decorated with pastoral scenes : TOILE

4. Gulps down : SWALLOWS

5. Whole bunch : PASSEL

6. Guitarist Clapton : ERIC

7. Start all over : REDO

8. Felt in one's bones : KNEW

9. Swedish automaker : SAAB. Not exactly Swedish anymore. National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, abbreviated as NEVS, purchased Saab Automobile's bankruptcy estate. By early 2014, NEVS plans to introduce its first electric vehicle based on the Saab 9-3.

10. Digestive protein : ENZYME

11. Tight, as families : CLOSE-KNIT

12. Lady lobster : HEN. Male lobster is a cock.

13. Find at the mine : ORE

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

22. Chaplin granddaughter named for her grandmother : OONA

25. V-formation birds : GEESE

26. Gets in the poker game : ANTES

28. Anne of "Donnie Brasco" : HECHE

29. One-named "Orinoco Flow" singer : ENYA. LINK

30. Mag. edition : ISS. (issue)

31. Groundbreaking comic Lenny : BRUCE

32. Put down new grass sections : RESOD

33. Starts to shoot : OPENS FIRE

34. The "m" in E = mc² : MASS. Energy is equal to Mass times the speed of light((c) squared.

37. Make a dent in, say : MAR

38. Rowing races : REGATTAs. Word Origin & History: 1652, name of a boat race among gondoliers held on the Grand Canal in Venice, from It. (Venetian dialect) regatta, lit. "contention for mastery," from regattare "to compete, haggle, sell at retail," possibly from recatare. The general meaning of "boat race, yacht race" is usually considered to have begun with a race on the Thames by that name June 23, 1775 (cf. OED), but there is evidence that it was used as early as 1768.  Per Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

40. Actress Ward : SELA. She has become a crossword staple.

41. Gander or gobbler : MALE. Goose or turkey.

43. Soft-pile fabric : VELVET. Used to paint Elvis on.

44. Offshoots : SCIONS

47. Like neon and xenon : INERT

49. Mascara mishap : SMEAR

51. The Bee Gees' "Gee" : GIBB. Brothers Gibb.

52. Beast of fables : OGRE

53. Spanish dessert : FLAN. But the word isn't derived from Spanish.

54. Partner of null : VOID

55. Coppertone letters : SPF. (sun protection factor)

56. Shade of color : HUE

Argyle

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: 'Tis the Season - Three green leafy substances and where to find them.

17A. Reuters or Bloomberg : NEWS AGENCY

30A. Nutritionist's recommendation : HEALTHY MEAL

44A. "My goose is cooked!" : "I'M IN TROUBLE!"

61A. Aromatic plot, and where to find three different plants hidden in 17-, 30- and 44-Across : HERB GARDEN

Argyle here. How sweet it is!

Across:

1. Sleeps out under the stars : CAMPS

6. NYC gambling outlets closed in 2010 : OTBs. (off-track betting)

10. Transcript figs. : GPAs. (grade point average)

14. Cookies in some pie crusts : OREOs

15. Gather in a field : REAP

16. Latin for "elbow" : ULNA

19. Geological age : AEON

20. Los Angeles-to-San Bernardino direction : EAST

21. Sausage unit : LINK

22. Produce seller's kiosk : STAND

23. Macho man : STUD

25. Chips in a chip : ANTEs

27. Top USN rank : ADMiral

34. Wedding party : BRIDE. The bride would have to be a party to the wedding for it to occur.

36. Popeye's Olive : OYL

37. "Alas!" : "AH, ME!"

38. At full speed : AMAIN. Asea.

39. Basic biological molecule : RNA

40. Skier's spot : SLOPE. "Look! There goes Marti."

41. Food __: listlessness after a large meal : COMA. Thanksgiving is coming.

42. Cranberry source : BOG. Ditto.

43. Lost color : PALED

48. Cavity filler's deg. : DDS. (doctor of dental science)

49. Not skilled in : BAD AT. Not what you want the practitioner above to be.

50. Lends a hand : AIDS

52. Boldly states : AVERs

54. Hay holder : BARN

56. County of the Blarney Stone : CORK

60. Parting word with an air kiss, perhaps : CIAO

63. SASEs, e.g. : ENCs. (self-addressed stamped envelope/enclosure)

64. Dancer Kelly : GENE. One of the best.

65. Tour leader : GUIDE

66. Homer Simpson outbursts : D'OHs

67. Home run gait : TROT

68. More than rotund : OBESE

Down:

1. Ice cream holder : CONE

2. Length times width : AREA

3. Kitten calls : MEWS

4. Updates a wiki page, say : POSTS. Have you ever?

5. Org. that issues about 5.5 million new numbers annually : SSA. (Social Security Administration)

6. Zesty Twirls maker : ORE-IDA

7. Graceland's st. : TENN. 3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, TN

8. Informal "Likewise" : BACK AT YA'

9. Cloak-and-dagger type : SPY

10. Honduras neighbor : GUATEMALA

11. "Kindly stay on the line" : "PLEASE HOLD". "Your call is important to us" click!

12. In a bit, old-style : ANON

13. Golf bunker filler : SAND

18. Epoxy, e.g. : GLUE

22. Hog home : STY

24. "What happened next?" : "THEN?"

26. Stanley Cup org. : NHL. (National Hockey League)

27. Chinese counters : ABACI

28. Sick kid's TLC giver : DR. MOM

29. Southern Florida coastal resort city : MIAMI BEACH

31. Sound in "cube" but not "cub" : LONG U

32. Like electric guitars : AMPED

33. West Yorkshire's largest city : LEEDS. Former Coat of Arms.

35. Dorothy portrayer in the film "The Wiz" : DIANA ROSS

39. Sassafras soda : ROOT BEER

40. Drove too fast : SPED

42. Push-up top : BRA. No time for research. Hello Dennis.

45. QB scores : TDs. (touchdown)

46. Wager over darts, e.g. : BAR BET

47. Former "The View" co-host Lisa : LING

                                LINK

51. Cancel at NASA : SCRUB

52. Served to perfection? : ACED. Think tennis.

53. Ristorante glassful : VINO

55. River of Pisa : ARNO

57. Comics dog : ODIE

58. Cherry and ruby : REDS. Not vino today.

59. "Oh! Susanna" joint : KNEE. A strange and disturbing video by Neil Young & Crazy Horse: LINK

61. Alt. : HGT. (altitude/height)

62. In the past : AGO

Argyle