F R I D A Y October 29, 2010 Jonathan Porat

Theme: Hold the Mayo — Four familiar phrases are transformed into wacky phrases by adding a letter at the beginning. The added letters spell out MAYO.


Theme answers:

• 19A: Designed for ancient sorcerers? (MAGE-SPECIFIC).
• 27A: Pranks at the Bohr Institute? (ATOM FOOLERY).
• 46A: Genesis baking ingredient? (YEAST OF EDEN).
• 54A: Banning CFC production, e.g.? (OZONE DEFENSE).
• 35A: Sandwich request, and a literal hint to how the answers at 19-, 27-, 46- and 54-Across are formed (EXTRA MAYO).

Holy crap, how did it get to be Friday already?!? I still have a ton of things to do to get ready for my weekend guests, the Parkers. We'll be down at the National Mall tomorrow doing our part to restore sanity and/or fear. If you're interested in the event, I'm pretty sure we'll both be tweeting about it, so follow us! [Follow Rex Parker] [Follow PuzzleGirl]

Oh, and one more thing before we get to the puzzle. Patrick Blindauer, who I'm sure some of you know as one of the most creative puzzle constructors in the business, has put together a puzzle contest that's sure to be a ton of fun. The contest consists of a suite of 10 puzzles that you'll solve in order to come up with a "final answer." Patrick says the puzzles will have a difficulty level of about a Tuesday/Wednesday New York Times, which certainly makes them accessible to readers of this blog! The puzzle entry fee is only $9.99 and you can find all the details at Patrick's website. I've already ordered my puzzles and can't wait for them to be delivered on Monday. I hope you all will check it out too.

So. Today's puzzle. The theme was pretty tricky. I solved a little more deliberately than I usually do, not trying to fly through it as fast as possible, but instead plugging away section by section and trying to grok the theme. When I read the reveal clue, I assumed the theme had something to do with MAYO because the first theme answer started with MA. So, even though it didn't fit, "hold the mayo" came to mind and I thought maybe the phrases all started with MA and ended with YO. Of course, that doesn't really make sense because that wouldn't be holding the mayo, that would be the mayo holding it, but I was just thinking it through is what I'm saying. When I got the second theme answer — ATOM FOOLERY — it all clicked into place.

Bullets:

• 16A: Blanket-toting toon (LINUS). I put this in, took it out, put it back in.
• 17A: Met notable (OPERA STAR). Tricky cluing during the World Series. I know I was thinking baseball's New York Mets and not "The Met."

• 23A: Sonoma prefix (OEN-). I guess Sonoma is in wine country. We usually see this prefix as OENO-.
• 42A: "C'mon, man!" ("DUDE!"). Anyone see Jon Stewart call President Obama "dude" the other night? Classic.
• 64A: George of "Cheers" (WENDT). Noooorm!
• 12D: It helps prevent stumbling (CUE CARD). Also a teleprompter. Unless there's a typo.



• 28D: Rubble creator (TNT). You wanted this to be about the Flintstones, didn't you?
• 35D: What can turn one into many? (ESS). The letter S (ESS) added to the word "one" makes the word "ones," which can mean "many."

• 41D: Rookie's initiation (RAZZING). Have you all heard about this rookie golfer who's doing his own RAZZING? On December 10, Jon Gidney will play a round of golf in a skirt to raise money for breast cancer research. Seems like he's having a lot of fun with this. And for a good cause.
• 48D: Single (ONE). I was very surprised to see this answer after thinking so much about the word "one" in a previous clue (35D).
• 63D: Amer. capital (USD). The old capital = money trick. In this case, U.S. Dollars.

Crosswordese 101 Round-up:

• 1A: Type of pigment used in artists' paints (AZO).
• 26A: Western treaty gp. (OAS).
• 52A: Co-producer of U2's "Achtung Baby" (ENO).
• 29D: First NHL defenseman to score 40 goals in a season (ORR).
• 37D: Product at a stand (ADE).
• 44D: Scary magazine holder (UZI).
• 56D: Atlantic flier (ERNE).
• 59D: It's a loch (NESS).

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Everything Else — 4A: Cul-__ (DE-SAC); 9A: Panic button (EJECT); 14A: 1989 Peace Prize winner (DALAI LAMA); 18A: One often working on Sun. (NFL'ER); 21A: Digs (CRIB); 24A: Batman after Michael (VAL); 32A: Late party attire (PJ'S); 33A: Dealing with (IN RE); 34A: "The Neverending Story" author (ENDE); 39A: USN officers (CDRS.); 43A: Do a little math (SUM); 50A: Soda bottle meas. (OZS.); 51A: Former Vietnam area mostly S. of the 17th parallel (DMZ); 53A: Exile of 1979 (AMIN); 60A: Stadium entrance (STILE); 61A: Like some windows (DRIVE-THRU); 65A: Foresees (ENVISIONS); 66A: Beats 1-0, say (EDGES); 67A: Film holders (REELS); 68A: Mess of dough (WAD); 1D: Trouble (ADO); 2D: Cook with waves (ZAP); 3D: Oxford campus (OLE MISS); 4D: TV screen meas. (DIAG.); 5D: Ultimatum end (ELSE); 6D: Concerns for jrs. and srs. (SAT'S); 7D: "... draw you __?" (A MAP); 8D: Package directive (CARE OF); 9D: Sea change with far-reaching effects (EL NIÑO); 10D: Two shakes, with "a" (JIFF); 11D: Pep up (ENLIVEN); 13D: Original Dungeons & Dragons co. (TSR); 15D: Kaffiyeh wearer (ARAB); 20D: Corp. boss (CEO); 21D: One on a beat (COP); 22D: "The Big Bang Theory" character from India (RAJ); 25D: Soap component (LYE); 27D: __-en-Provence (AIX); 30D: Maryland's Fort __ (MEADE); 31D: Sign of summer (LEO); 36D: Campaign weaponry? (MUD); 38D: Nikkei 225 unit (YEN); 39D: Actress Charisse (CYD); 40D: Taken down a notch (DEMOTED); 43D: By doing whatever it takes (SOMEHOW); 45D: Explorer initials (MSN).

47D: Beliefs (TENETS); 49D: Raw material (FODDER); 53D: Piedmont product (ASTI); 55D: Merrie __ England (OLDE); 57D: What musicians take between sets? (FIVE); 58D: Austin Powers' nemesis Dr. __ (EVIL); 60D: Northern Eur. land (SWE.); 62D: Cellular messenger (RNA).