Tom Sawyer's bucketful / MON 7-7-14 / Beach town that's home to Cape Cod's...
Constructor: Lynn LempelRelative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (*for a Monday*)THEME: BEAUTY / PARLOR (22D: With 33-Down, where to go for the ends of 16-, 20-, 40-, 56- and 62-Across):Theme...
View ArticleColonnaded entrance / TUE 7-8-14 / Duettist with Elton John on 1976's Don't...
Constructor: Bruce Venzke and Gail GrabowskiRelative difficulty: Easy-MediumTHEME: BARS (67A: Signs of cell service … or a word that can follow both parts of 18-, 23-, 36-, 52- and 58-Across):Theme...
View ArticleTitle island of 2005 DreamWorks animated film / WED 7-9-14 / Hip-hop's Racist...
Constructor: Bruce HaightRelative difficulty: Easy-MediumTHEME: STAR-STUDDED (60A: Like the Oscars … or the answers to this puzzle's seven asterisked clues?) — letter string "STAR" appears in seven...
View ArticleJules Massenet opéra comique / THU 7-10-14 / Fangorn denizens / Cousin of cor...
Constructor: John GuzzettaRelative difficulty: Easy-MediumTHEME: SILENT— "Silent" must be imagined as a preceding word in six answers. First letters of all six theme answers are themselves "silent" in...
View ArticleWiener Frauen composer / FRI 7-11-14 / Like 1938 Andrew Jackson stamp / What...
Constructor: Victor Fleming and Sam EzerskyRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME: noneWord of the Day: BARÇA (49A: Spanish soccer club, for short) — Futbol Club Barcelona (Catalan pronunciation: [fubˈbɔɫ...
View ArticleSight-singing technique / SAT 7-12-14 / Banker/philanthropist Solomon /...
Constructor: Tim Croce and Alex VratsanosRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: noneWord of the Day: SPANG (45A: Squarely, informally) — adv. InformalPrecisely; squarely: fell spang into the middle of the...
View ArticleFood often with pentagonal cross sections / SUN 7-13-14 / World's largest...
Constructor: Tom McCoyRelative difficulty: CHILD'S PLAY!!! THEME:"We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident"— things that are the things that they are, like the thing that is the thing that is clockwise...
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Constructor: MARYELLEN UTHLAUTRelative difficulty: EASYTHEME: UFO SIGHTING— The word "UFO" appears in all of the theme answersWord of the Day: D'oh!"D'oh" (typically represented in the show's script as...
View ArticleWorld's biggest private employer / TUE 7-15-14 / Obama's veep / Italian...
Constructor: Zhouqin (C.C.) BurnikelRelative difficulty: Easy-Medium, depending on how good you are at reading cross-referenced cluesTHEME: Founders— Four entrepreneurs cross the companies they...
View Article1936 opponent of Franklin D. / WED 7-16-14 / The symbol for the Roman god...
Constructor: Daniel RaymonRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: Triangles — Geometry throwback! Three sets of circles, each set forming a different kind of triangle, the circled letters spell TRI ANG...
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Constructor: Alan ArbesfeldRelative difficulty: Easyish (4:46 for rusty old me)THEME: Baby got BACK — Literally, each theme answer that normally contains the word BACK has the word preceding BACK...
View ArticleBlue-flowered Mediterranean herb / FRI 7-18-14 / 1994 memoir with chapter on...
Constructor: Ian LivengoodRelative difficulty: FridayishTHEME: No theme Word of the Day: BORAGE (49A: Blue-flowered Mediterranean herb) — Borage/ˈbɒr.ɪdʒ/ (Borago officinalis), also known as a...
View Article1965 Yardbirds hit / SAT 7-19-14 / Cap'n 1904 novel / Company with the King...
Constructor: Barry C. SilkRelative difficulty: SaturdayishTHEME: No themeWord of the Day: ERI [54D - "Cap'n ___"(1904 novel)] — The Golden Boys is a romantic comedy, set on Cape Cod in 1905, about...
View ArticleSUN 7-20-14 / Most hip / Low numero / Swaddles, e.g.
Constructor: Eric Berlin (whose amusing blog is here)Relative difficulty: a little tougher than average for a SundayTHEME:"A LITTLE GIVE AND TAKE" -- bigrams spelling that central theme entry are given...
View ArticleNew England cookout / MON-JUL-21 / Dumb ox / Delhi dress
Constructor: Matt FuchsRelative difficulty: So EasyTHEME: PRIVATE PARTS -- theme entries begin with a word meaning "private"Word of the Day: CREOLE (Louisiana language) — Louisiana Creole (Kréyol La...
View ArticleScreenwriter Sorkin / TUE-22-JUL / Making a bundle / Many Snapchat users
Constructor: Joel FaglianoRelative difficulty: on point for a TuesdayTHEME: — "either way, it makes sense" -- seven pairs of words cross in the grid and are clued to the two words/phrases they form...
View ArticleTalkative bird / WED-23-JUL /Tater tots maker / Mekong Valley native
Constructor: Howard BarkinRelative difficulty: pretty easy for a WednesdayTHEME:"___ check"— Each of the six words used in the theme entries precedes "check" in a phraseWord of the Day: TOCCATA (38A:...
View ArticleHelmet part / THU-24-JUL / Outwit, in a way / Big bang maker
Constructor: David PhillipsRelative difficulty: toughish for a Thursday, until you get the trickTHEME:"Paint It, Black"— put the word IT into four different pairs of black squaresWord of the Day: PETER...
View ArticleAnnihilate, arcade-style / FRI-25-JUL / Tudor who lost her head / Like God
Constructor: Peter A. CollinsRelative difficulty: not too tough for a FridayTHEME: none, freestyle gridWord of the Day: TOLEDO, OHIO (29A: The Glass Capital of the World)— Toledo (/təˈliːdoʊ/) is the...
View ArticleZigzag ribbon / SAT 7-26-14 / Resort town near Piz Bernina / Airline...
Constructor: Julian LimRelative difficulty: Easy-MediumTHEME: none, or maybe "JERSEY SHORE," since there's a lot of Italian stuff in the grid like JOE PESCI and LAZIO and AL ITALIA, and WOW FACTOR kind...
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