Thursday, November 27 – 19:58

I didn’t understand the theme of this puzzle until after I had finished it (and looked in Orange’s blog).  Can I blame lack of sleep for not getting something so obvious in retrospect?  Note that half the letters in each theme answer (the ones in the second half of the answer) are circled in the grid.

3D, Digestive system parts with recycling? – INTESTINES
5D, Most promising options with recycling? -  BESTBETS
7D, Took a risk with recycling? - STUCKONESNECKOUT
10D, Come back with recycling? – REAPPEAR
33D, Livery blacksmith with recycling? – HORSESHOER
41D, Imposition on drinking with recycling? – LEGALAGE
43D, Sports colleague with recycling? -  TEAMMATE

The meaning of all the “with recycling”s?  The letters in the second half of the answers are the same letters in the first half, anagrammed.

Wednesday, November 26 – 7:20

The theme of this puzzle is given by the fourth theme answer.  See if you can guess what it is before you read the answer to 49A.

20A, “Zounds!” – HOLYGUACAMOLE
30A, Eight-time Best Actor nominee – PETEROTOOLE
39A, Boneless entree – FILETOFSOLE
49A, 1958 Spencer Tracy film…and a hint to 20-, 30-, and 39-Across – THELASTHURRAH 

Tuesday, November 25 – 7:27

Today’s theme is punny two-word phrases which consist of two words.  Each word contains two vowels, and the second word in every phrase is the first word with the two vowels swapped.

17A, Trial jury? – PENALPANEL
23A, Wine telemarketer? – CELLARCALLER
30A, Lone Star State duties? – TEXASTAXES
40A, Late-night talk show host’s principles? – CONANCANON
49A, Slyly popping a breath mint, e.g? – TICTACTACTIC
61A, Sammy’s backup singers? –  DAVISDIVAS

Monday, November 24 – 5:28

Nice theme – names of fingers.

17A, Gardener’s gift – GREENTHUMB
24A, Measure of the national economic health – MISERYINDEX
39A, Come to a compromise – MEETINTHEMIDDLE
51A, “Call sometime” – GIVEMEARING
64A, Rhyming word game – HINKYPINKY 

Sunday, November 23 – 37:23

Oh boy, I’m way behind – Thanks a lot, Thanksgiving!  Starting my catch-up…

The title is “Picture This”, and it’s by David J. Kahn.  All the theme answers relate to Henri Matisse and a painting of his:

23A, Leader of the Fauvist Movement – HENRIMATISSE
25A, Title of a work by 23-Across – LEBATEAU
120A, 25-Across, e.g. – PAINTING
122A, 23-Across, e.g. – FRENCHARTIST
6D, N.Y.C. cultural event – MOMAEXHIBITION
41D, How 25-Across appeared at a 6-Down in 1961 – UPSIDEDOWN
46D, Styles of 25-Across and the like – WATERMEDIA
55D, How long 25-Across was 41-Down before being noticed and fixed – FORTYSEVENDAYS

Saturday, November 22 – 50:44

Aiiii!  This was a hard hard Saturday.  It was a vast plain of white squares with hardly a way to get a solid block of letters.  I went to sleep last night with only a handful of answers, partial answers, and guesses filled in, and 25 minutes on the clock.  I came back to it tonight though and after five or ten minutes, it started to give, and after another 15, I had everything except 41A, 48A, 36D, and 37D.  I cheated a bit getting that last little bit, and even with the correct answers, I would never have known 36D and 37D.  41A and 48A were just tricky clues that stumped me (especially 41A).

1A, Vis-a-vis – COMPAREDAGAINST
21A, Crime scene evidence, often – HAIRS
31A, Fix things – SOLVETHEPROBLEM
35A, A firefighter at work may be in it – IMMEDIATEDANGER
58A, Idolizes – SETSONAPEDESTAL
1D, Fast-food restaurant packets – CATSUPS
21D, They may break open cases – HOTTIPS
25D, Cobbler alternative – STRUDEL
35D, Swelling reducers – ICEBAGS
40D, Give a face-lift – REMODEL 

Friday, November 21 – 22:43

A medium-hard Friday, not too bad.  

1A, Paid, with “up” – PONIED
 7A, Garden pests in Harry Potter books – GNOMES
29A, Scottish dog breed – SKYETERRIER
31A, “Go ahead with your proposal” – IMLISTENING
33A, Unmentionable – PANTYGIRDLE
35D, Moved with authority – STRODE
39D, Civics, e.g. – SEDANS 

Thursday, November 20 – 27:31

This one tripped me up for quite a while.   The first line of the quote had me stumped and the 59A/21A pair as well.  It was a breakthrough at 8D, which I had the first two and last two letters of, which finally gave me the opening that I needed to complete the rest of the puzzle.

17A, Start of a quote by economist Allan Meltzer – CAPITALISM
23A, Quote, part 2 – WITHOUTFAILURE
47A, Quote, part 3 – ISLIKERELIGION
54A, End of the quote – WITHOUTSIN 

Wednesday, November 19 – 16:34

This was a sports-themed puzzle, which is probably why it took me so long to complete.  The theme answers were all anagrams of sports teams:

23A, Jacket material for a mixed-up North Carolina athlete? – LEATHER
37A, Oenophile, as a mixed-up Michigan athlete? – WINELOVER (WOLVERINE)
56A, Flew by, as a mixed-up Michigan State athlete? – RANPAST (SPARTAN) 
10D, Jargon from a mixed-up Florida athlete? – ARGOT (GATOR)
55D, Apply to the skin, as on a mixed-up U.C.L.A. athlete? – RUBIN (BRUIN)

No, I don’t know what 23A is an anagram of.  I had to start with the anagrams on all of these and work backwards to the team names.

Tuesday, November 18 – 8:28

Nice theme, poor time.  All the theme answers are compound words, each of which can be combined with HOUSE, as indicated by 59A, “What [the theme answers] are each composed of” – TWOHOUSES.

17A, Police stop – ROADBLOCK
23A, Remedy for failed courses, maybe – SUMMERSCHOOL
34A, Cardinal, vis-a-vis Illinois, Indiana, or Ohio – STATEBIRD
40A, Military capability – FIREPOWER
47A, Wheeled toy – DOLLCARRIAGE