Wedneday, Nov 2, 2011 David W. Cromer

Theme: SACK IT TO ME! you bet your bippy, all the theme clues are homophones (words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings and spelled differently in today's case).

17A. Sachs : GOLDMAN'S PARTNER. goldman-sachs. not a lot of fans these days.

27A. Sacks : FIRES FROM THE JOB. wonder if this will ever happen to anyone from 17a.

48A. Saks : NEW YORK RETAILER. the image below is of his and hers saks fifth avenue stores on opposite sides of the street in chicago's magnificent mile.

64A. Sax : WOODWIND IN A BAND. mindi abair (6:16 - long and worth it). that's what i call a blowjob.

there's a brilliant bonus, that may or may not be intentional:

37A. "Awakenings" actress : MEARA. anne meara portrayed miriam in the movie awakenings, which was inspired by oliver sacks' book by the same name. sacks is a well-known neurologist and author, who suffers from face blindness. there is an interesting episode of wnyc's radiolab (download or stream) about face blindness, with guests oliver sacks and chuck close, an artist who paints faces.

mr. cromer, if you're out there, do drop in and let us know.

melissa here. four beautiful grid-spanners make for a very tidy puzzle. seemed like a perfect wednesday difficulty level to me.

across:

1. Nice forecast : FAIR. lucky us in california, spectacular weather right now.

5. Blatant promotion : PLUG

9. Entertain : AMUSE

14. Shoppe modifier : OLDE

15. Hoosier city : GARY. indiana. according to wikipedia, there doesn't seem to be much consensus about the origin of the word hoosier.

16. Kitchen gadget : PARER. or peeler.

20. Texas longhorn, for one : STEER

a cacophony of noisy entries today:

21. Shocked reaction : GASP. 67. Audibly : ALOUD, 69. "Yikes!" : EGAD, and 70. Sounds from pounds : YELPS. dog pounds.

22. 45-Down et al. : ISP'S. internet service providers, and 45d. Buddy List co. : AOL. in aol, your buddy list consists of the friends in your instant messenger window.

23. Hai or oui : YES. hai (はい) = japanese; oui = french.

25. Atop : UPON

35. Detours, e.g.: Abbr. : RTES. routes. appropriately misleading (detour).

36. Kitty : POT. a pool of money in some gambling card games.

38. Start to sing? : ESS. sing.

39. Fawned over, with "on" : DOTED

42. Uncertain word : MAY

43. Warren Buffett's city : OMAHA. didn't know this fact.

46. JFK listing : ETA. jfk airport, estimated time of arrival.

47. Matchmaker.com connection : DATE. never heard of matchmaker site, only match.

52. __ bargain : PLEA

53. Crunch targets : ABS

54. Uffizi offering : ARTE. museum in florence, italy. so beautiful. anyone here ever been there?

57. Couples with clubs : FRED. Fred Couples. and 5d. Couples's org. : PGA

60. Comic pianist Victor : BORGE

68. Taj Mahal site : AGRA.

71. Maintain : KEEP

72. Conifers with elastic wood : YEWS. lovely bending branches, used in archery bows.

down:

1. Turns opaque, with "up" : FOGS. sometimes the golden gate does that. definitely worth a GASP.

2. Loads : A LOT

3. Run in place : IDLE

4. Late-night flights : RED-EYES

6. Clubber __, nemesis in "Rocky III" : LANG. obscure for me, never saw the movie.

7. Bear in the sky : URSA

8. Plaster of Paris component : GYPSUM

9. Financing letters : APR. annual percentage rate.

10. Daytime fare : MATINEE. one definition for fare is offering.

11. Coffee hour sights : URNS

12. Ooze : SEEP

13. Misses the mark : ERRS

18. GI rations : MRE'S. meal ready to eat. i had some during search and rescue training - not terrible.

19. Date with an MD : APPT. not that kind of date.

24. Dirty Harry's org. : SFPD. san francisco police department.

26. Resistance unit : OHM

27. Refrigerant gas : FREON

28. Announcement at the door : IT'S ME. according to grammar girl: "fortunately, most grammarians forgive you for saying 'it's me,' and the 'it is I' construction is almost extinct."

29. Took in again : RE-SAW. i can hear the groans from here.

30. Pal of Tigger : ROO

31. Playful aquatic critter : OTTER

32. Actor Malcolm-__ Warner : JAMAL

33. Speak with style : ORATE

34. Tylenol alternative : BAYER. both are brand names. tylenol is acetaminophen, bayer is aspirin.

40. Summer on the Seine : ETE. french. pronounced ay-tay.

41. Computer fodder : DATA

44. Really enthused : HYPED UP

47. Act rebelliously : DISOBEY. like him.

49. Homeowner's option, in brief : REFI. re-finance.

50. Ancient Egyptian temple complex : KARNAK. this, but who didn't think of carnac?

51. "Fernando" quartet : ABBA

54. Sports schedule column : AWAY. home and away games. sharks play the next six games at home.

55. Audition aim : ROLE. or sometimes just a roll.

56. Word with box or belt : TOOL

58. On __: nervous : EDGE

59. Calamitous : DIRE.

61. Storm : RAGE. twenty years ago this week, the andrea gail and her six man crew, subject of the book and movie 'the perfect storm,' were lost at sea. riveting book.

62. Eat away : GNAW

63. Actor Byrnes and announcer Hall : EDDS

65. OED entries : WDS oxford english dictionary entries are words.

66. Suede feature : NAP

answer grid.

melissa

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 Todd Gross

Theme: "Tennis, anyone?" Scores at a tennis match, from LOVE(zero) to GAME.

18A. Missing someone special : LOVE-SICK

23A. Start of a fictional sea shanty : FIFTEEN MEN

34A. '80s-'90s ABC drama : "THIRTY SOMETHING"

49A. Quick nap : FORTY WINKS

54A. Competitive look : GAME FACE

65A. Where one hears the starts of 18-, 23-, 34-, 49- and 54-Across : TENNIS

Some bonus entries: 64A. Divisions in 65-Across : SETS and 43D. Court figures : JUDGES. The tennis line judge gets yelled at sometimes. We're missing a crossword favorite though, AD IN.

Argyle here. Anchored with a grid-spanner in the middle and the reveal in the lower right, a neat looking grid. Almost like a tennis doubles set up. This is Todd's second LAT puzzle and is quite similar to the first.

Across:

1. Held, as a protest : STAGED

7. Beggar's request : ALMS

11. T-shirt sizes, for short : S M L Small, Medium, Large.

14. Bow user : ARCHER

15. Homebuyer's request : LOAN

16. "Bali __" : HAI. From South Pacific.

17. "Great" Russian emperor : PETER I

20. Modern recording device : TIVO

22. "Now, listen to me ..." : "SEE HERE"

27. Flair : ELAN

28. "Was __ forward?" : I TOO

29. Have on : WEAR

30. Enjoys the shallows : WADES

31. Duke U.'s conference : ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference.

32. Jib or spinnaker : SAIL. On the chance Jeannie is watching, "Is Lo-Li-Ta out of the water yet?"

33. Flab : FAT

40. Time workers, briefly : EDs. Time, the magazine; their EDitors.

41. Topsoil : DIRT

42. Not worth a __ : SOU. Sou is used as slang for a small coin of little value, as in sans le sou. "I'm broke", "without money".

43. Doorposts : JAMBS

46. Male swine : BOAR

47. Poetic black : EBON

48. Layer between the sclera and retina : UVEA. A good image.

51. Interrupt : DISTURB

53. Adam's second : ABEL

56. Black Sea port : ODESSA. I used this map because it shows the Sea of Azov.

60. Before, in an ode : ERE

61. Country south of Iran : OMAN. Map.

62. Discrimination based on years : AGEISM. See 21-Down.

63. Damascus is its cap. : SYR. SYRia. See the map at 61-Across.

Down:

1. Oozy tree output : SAP

2. Italian trio : TRE

3. Performance : ACT

4. Inner city area : GHETTO

5. Weird : EERIE. Anybody see some great costumes last night?

6. Garage entrances : DRIVEWAYS

7. More than most : ALL

8. Not so tight : LOOSER. Like this?(1:31)

9. Expert : MAVEN

10. Bygone knife : SNEE. SnickerSNEE.

11. Protection against spears : SHIELD

12. Gordon of "Oklahoma!" (1955) : MACRAE. Clip.(3:24)

13. Notes similarities (to) : LIKENS

19. Blade cover : SHEATH

21. "__ the loneliest number": old song lyric : ONE IS. Hey, who said OLD; I smell AGEISM here. Here, hear the clip.(2:56)

23. Italian automaker : FIAT. In a filing dated 22 July 2011, Chrysler reported that Fiat held 53.5% interest.

24. Skin irritation : ITCH

25. Centers of attention : FOCI. Not sure what the following means.

Cluster analysis of gaze points determined empirical foci of attention. The comparison between these foci and model-generated saliency centres based on ...

26. Unpleasant smell : MALODOR

30. Measure of power : WATT

32. Conventions, for short : STDs. That's short for STANDARDS. You MIGHT get the other STD at a convention. (My bad!)

33. Interisland transport : FERRY BOAT

35. Dealer's incentive : REBATE. Incentive to sell these Fiats or the following.

36. Sporty Mazda : MIATA. The model was introduced in 1989 at the Chicago Auto Show.

37. Literary ID : ISBN. International Standard Book Number. Ha! There are 9, 10, and now 13 numbered ISBN's.

38. Barnes & Noble e-book reader : NOOK. This. Anybody used one?

39. Six-shooters : GUNS. “I know what you’re thinking: 'Did he fire six shots, or only five?' Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?” from Dirty Harry.

44. Zoo section : AVIARY

45. German physician from whose name a spellbinding word evolved : MESMER. Mesmerize - to spellbind; fascinate.

46. Black-spotted feline : BOBCAT, Here, kitty, kitty.

47. Brennan of "Private Benjamin" : EILEEN. She portrayed Capt. Doreen Lewis in this 1980 film. She was Goldie Hawn's nemesis. Pic.

49. Oil holder : FRAME. Tricky. Oil painting.

50. Golfer's lofted iron : WEDGE

52. Sci-fi subjects : UFOs

55. One-point Scrabble letters : ENs

57. It can be carnal or cardinal : SIN

58. Govt. assistance program : SSI. Supplemental Security Income.

59. Trans __: certain Pontiacs : AMs. The Trans Am was a specialty package for the Firebird, 1969–2002.

Now that you've had your breakfast, here is Fifteen Men(on a dead man's chest) with lyrics.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to Carol and happy 41st wedding anniversary also.

2) Here is a nice photo from our always entertaining & amusing Husker Gary, taken on his last day as a full-time teacher.