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