Theme: It is a Punderful Presidential Friday. Each of the theme answers is a sound alike pun, clued with the continuing clecho of “Presidential” replacing a word or two in a common phrase with the last name of a president, to make for a silly and humorous new phrase. Interestingly, all but Madison were Republican presidents. I guess in honor of the impending President's Day holiday, we have gone from Presidential Pets to Presidential Puns, put on your seat belts because here we go.

18. Presidential putdown? : GRANT SLAM. (Ulysses S. Grant, our 18th) from the baseball term GRAND SLAM, a bases loaded home run.

23. Presidential advisers?: MADISON CABINET. (James Madison, number 4 and our shortest at 5'4") MEDICINE CABINET.

32. Presidential ATM sign?: FORD DEPOSIT ONLY. (Gerald Ford, number 38) FOR DEPOSIT ONLY, which is what I put on my checks; I never sign them in case they are lost.

48. Presidential university?: COOLIDGE CAMPUS. (Calvin Coolidge, number 30) COLLEGE CAMPUS.

53. Presidential belt-tightening?: NIXON CUTS.
(Richard Nixon, number 37) NICKS AND CUTS.

Happy Friday all, Lemonade here, and I WAS RIGHT, a NADDOR for me and a quintessential example of his wit and skill. We have his recognizable humor, heavy themeage, and fixation with deception both in cluing and using multi word fill; look for the number by each example.
Across:

1. Timeworn observation: ADAGE. Direct from the Latin adagium, meaning proverb.

6. "Pronto!": ASAP.

10. Party person: HOST. C.C, is our party person.

14. Paganini's birthplace: GENOA. I wonder if this reference was deliberate, as the pioneer of the modern style of playing the violin, had at one time as his patron, Mary Louise, Bonaparte's second wife. He was very conceited about his music and wrote his compositions to perform himself; I would say he was a ham, but Jerome would probably threaten me with a salami.

15. One of an historic seagoing trio: NINA. Along with the PINTA and the SANTA MARIA>

16. Not deceived by: ON TO. (1)

17. Los __: city near San Jose: ALTOS. Los Altos a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California

20. 1926 channel swimmer: EDERLE. GERTRUDE was the first woman to swim the English channel, after only five men had accomplished the feat, and she did it 2 hours faster than any man up to that time.

22. Bernardo's girl in "West Side Story": ANITA. Brilliantly played by RITA MORENO in the movie version.

26. Trademark cousins: PATENTS. Names rather than processes.

27. Trains on supports: ELS. ELevated trains, still popular in Chicago.

28. "Discreet Music" composer: ENO. Brian is my recurring theme this week, as he and his Airport Music were in my recent blog.

29. Movie beekeeper: ULEE. Peter Fonda's gold.

30. People person?: CELEB. Very fun, PEOPLE magazine.

39. "Contact" author: SAGAN. Carl was a very popular scientist who did all he could to bring science to the masses with his books and his Cosmos TV show. He also was involved in SETI. Seeking extra-terrestrial intelligence.

40. "Uh-uh": NOPE.

41. Ex-Saudi ruler __ Saud: IBN. Son of like, Ben.

44. Managed: RAN.

45. Onetime California gubernatorial candidate Huffington: ARIANNA. She is now selling out, by letting AOL purchase her HUFFINGTON POST .

51. Biblical words before and after "for": AN EYE. AN EYE FOR AN EYE, kind of eerie considering my current situation, and the ever present need to atone. (2)

52. Title subject of a G.B. Shaw play: ST JOAN. Jean D'Arc, our favorite military martyr. (3)

56. Blitz attachment: KRIEG. The massive German all out attacks of World War II. Literally lightening war.

59. Prefix with "Language" in a 1993 comedy best-seller: SEIN. Jerry Seinfeld at his best. For example, the number one fear people have is public speaking, with death the number two fear. That means if you are a funeral it is easier to be the corpse than to deliver a eulogy.

60. Gaston's god: DIEU. Oh goody, my Frech lesson, Mon Dieu, that was easy.

61. Perform penance: ATONE. Man, you think because I get this word every time, a higher power is telling me it is time to admit my sins, and change? Nah.

62. Scraps: ORTS.

63. U. of Maryland athlete: TERP. Short for Terrapin.

64. Streisand title role: YENTL. A rare public performance by Barbra at the Grammys.

DOWN. DOWN we go:

1. Turkish honorific: AGA. Not to be confused with the cooker so popular in Europe.

2. Wilmington's st.: DEL. Delaware, the type of Indians near Staten Island, as well.

3. Lover of armies?: ANTEATER. Really fun was to clue the army of ants.

4. Acts of kindness: GOOD DEEDS. (4)

5. Enter cautiously: EASE IN. (5)

6. Americans in Paris, e.g.: ANGLOS. I do not recall hearing this expression from any of my relatives, but hey, maybe because I spoke French with them they were nice.

7. Femme fatale: SIREN. We had SIREN as Vixen recently.

8. Book collector's suffix: ANA. This is used denote a collection of writing by a single author or a single topic, like AMERICANA, or DICKENSIANA. Not a collector like Dennis, but one who puts things together in a single volume.

9. Put down in writing?: PAN. The critics often Pan the blog for too many links.

10. Mubarak of Egypt: HOSNI. Isn’t amazing Dan used fill so current even though this puzzle was written more than one year ago; here is one perception of MUBARAK .

11. Surfing without a board, maybe: ON LINE. Web surfing. (6)

12. New York's __ Island: STATEN. The smallest population of the five boroughs of New York city, this was named Staaten Eylandt (literally "State Island") by Henry Hudson, sailing on behalf of the Dutch government.

13. T in a sandwich: TOMATO. The "T" in BLT.

19. Typewriter feature: TAB SET. (7)

21. Queue after Q: RST. An innovative play on words to spice up the letter string Q R S T.

23. Opposite of bueno: MALO. BUENO=Good, MALO=Bad in Spanish.

24. Psychic couple?: CEES. A new variation, as there are two "C"s in the word.

25. "That's __ ask": ALL I. Yeah right, beware when anyone ever says this to you. (8)

26. Sta-__: fabric softener: PUF. Have not heard of this brand in awhile. Maybe it will be the new Ipana.

30. Hoodwink: CON. From the CONFIDENCE MEN who gain that frompeople and then bilk them.

31. Ruling family name in 19th-century Europe: BONAPARTE. If you want more, I provide this LINK .

33. Connecticut coastal town near Stamford: DARIEN. One of the many small town near Manhattan which attracted the successful New Yorkers looking to escape from the city. The opposite end of the state in every sense from where I grew up.

34. "Yikes!": EGAD. Veddy British, in preparation for RAJ, I guess.

35. Qualm: PANG. Pangs of guilt.

36. Like some workers in an open shop: NON UNION. So Wisconsin people, what do you think of the teacher union stuff? (9)

37. HMO employees: LPNS. Licensed Practical Nurses; one level below Registered Nurses. Sort of like an AA degree compared to a BA.

38. Thumbs-up vote: YEA. Or nay.

41. Response to a doubting Thomas: I CAN SO. (10)

42. More scrawny: BONIER.How many of you thought of this SONG .

43. Prohibitive door sign: NO EXIT. (11)

45. Misbehaves: ACTS UP. (12)

46. British rule in India: RAJ. From this period of BRITISH RULE as we can see from the comments of our now anonymous friend Vidwan, there remain bad feelings among Indian and Pakistani citizens. On a happier note, I strongly recommend the book MAJOR PETTIGREW’S LAST STAND .

47. Post-fall reassurance: I'M OKAY. Not fall autumn, but faw down and go boom fall. (13)

49. Interpol headquarters: LYONS. I was getting psyched for my second French dispute with Dan of the puzzle, when I read the town of LYON (French name, pronounced lee ohn)was anglicized to Lyons. International Police, now with 188 countries signed on.

50. Glyceride, e.g.: ESTER. Organic chemistry was impossible for my limited vision; my professor wrote with one hand and erased with the other.

54. Setting on the Mississippi: Abbr.: CDT. Your clock setting, Central Daylight Time. A toughie in February.

55. A lost driver may hang one, briefly: UIE. We have debated the spelling of a U Turn before.

57. M.D.'s specialty: ENT. No, the Doctors do not work on animated trees from Tolkien, but Ear Nose and Throat.

58. Styling stuff: GEL. Hair styling; I am just too lazy.

Well, it has been an up and down week, but it was great to finish with me and Dan trying to entertain. have a great week end, especially those who get President's day off.

Friday Feb 11, 2011, James Sajdak

Theme: "D" mand you do better than a D PLUS; the letter "D" is attached at the beginning of the first word of a grid spanning phrase to create a new and humorous new phrase which is signaled with a "?" to let the solver know a play on words is involved. In the 4th theme answer, the first word and the third word are the same word, so both have the D added.

17. Soundly defeat by cheating?: DRUB THE WRONG WAY. A drubbing is a beating, and likely comes from an Arabic word that transliterates as DARB. No one would ever accuse our Dfettes of rubbing the wrong way.

24. Gloomy Cuban?: DOUR MAN IN HAVANA. What is particularly intriguing about this clue is the Graham Greene novel, and subsequent MOVIE starring among others Alec Guiness and the incomparable Ernie Kovacs, is a dark comedy poking fun at British Intelligence/ Green was a member of MI5, the place from whence James Bond was born. The movie was also filmed in Cuba, with the approval of then newly empowered Fidel Castro.

46. Discerning pub competitor ?: DART CONNOISSEUR. More little javelins, this week, and a word with Latin, cognoscere "to know, to become well_acquainted with, and some French history.

59. What loving couples exchange?: DEAR TO DEAR GRINS. Certainly a more romantic concept than xxxx eating grins.

And the unifier,
37. Grade that describes this puzzle’s theme: D PLUS. Well, it is almost a C-

An ambitious use of 4 grid spanning entries, tied together solely by the added "D." The sound of the theme is very entertaining, and there are some nice entries, but overall, I found myself lost in places. Maybe it is just me, as this has been a very hard week.

Well lets look at what has been wrought.


Across
1. Part of the deal: HAND. We begin with some nice misdirection, as a hand of cards is part of what is dealt.

5. Little pieces, idiomatically: DRABS. Dribs and drabs is the full phrase, with the speculation it was created for the sound, like helter skelter or hurly burly. DRIBS likely comes from DRIPS.

10. Benevolent group: ELKS. BPOE, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks; not to be confused with the Moose Lodge.

14. Great Plains tribe: OTOE. This Siouxan tribe was part of the buffalo hunting nomadic Indians of Missouri and Oklahoma. And, 41A. Iroquois enemies: ERIES.

15. Amazing!: OH WOW.

16. House leader during Bill’s presidency: NEWT. Mr. Gingrich is back politicking to be president. He has written 23 books, and overcome being known as NEWT.

20. Henri’s health: SANTE. An alliterative introduction to our French lesson, A votre sante, is the common French toast, "to your health."

21.Critical: DO OR DIE. One of those odd combination of letters which must be parsed as more than one word, or you just sit and stare at the gird. This also brings to mind the Tennyson POEM .

22. Lummox: OAF.

24. Maker of the LX 150 scooter: VESPA. I know no other scooter maker, so this had to be easy.

32.Photo finish?: OPS. Another word play, and what every politician wants.

33. Birthplace of seven presidents: OHIO. Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, McKinley, Taft, Harding; second only to Virginia’s 8 presidents

34. Drive off: REPEL. So many meanings, from warding off, to going down the mountain side.

35. Ardor: ZEAL. Who is your favorite Zealot in history?

40. "James and the Giant Peach" writer: DAHL. Roald, one bizarre mind.

43. Start of Durante refrain: INKA. Fine childhood memories of listening to this SONG .

45. Olympics participant since 1992, to the IOC: CRO. Croatia after the break up of the slavic countries.

50.Cheerios: TA TAS. Just for Nice Cuppa, we have a little British wordplay on departing; not to be confused with TATAS, or any cereal products.

51 Music store section: POP. Nuff said.

52. Martyred first Bishop of Paris: ST. DENIS. A complete unknown HISTORY .

55. Notable early student of Bela: NADIA. Nadia Comaneci and Bela Karolyi, the wonderful Romanian gymnastic student and teacher.

63. ___ à feu: ARME. Literally a firearm.

64. Carnival dance: SAMBA. Not the one with cotton candy, but from Brazil, with passion. You too can learn to DANCE .

65. Unite after a break, in a way: KNIT. When a bone breaks, it heals by knitting itself back together.

66. Caring: KIND. Very literal.

67. Magazine for horse owners: EQUUS. Latin for Horse.

68. Sherpa sighting: YETI. The famous mountain guides see a little abominable snow man?

Time to go down:

Down:
1. Mortar carriers HODS. They actually are used to carry the bricks and the mortar.

2. Handle for a little shaver?: ATRA. Handle meaning name, cute clue.

3. Animal, vegetable or mineral: NOUN. We had this clue before.

4. Unsettled one?: DEBTOR. People are said to settle their debts when they resolve them.

5. Head-slapper’s cry: DOH. Most of us at one time or another and Homer.

6. Scoreboard initials: RHE. Runs, hits and errors at a baseball game. This was a clue in the first puzzle I blogged.

7. How adorable!: AWW. Exactly how a feel baout new grand nephew and niece.

8. Big name in Dairy: BORDEN. I do not believe the company was named after Lizzie.

9. Sports logs since 1972: SWOOSH. The Nike logo, made famous by Mr. Jordan.

10. Like cameos: ENGRAVED. I had a hard time with this one, as I was thinking about brief appearance in a film, not the jewelry. I am not sure all cameos are engraved.

11. Lascivious: LEWD. In the law these two words go together.

12. Title river in a 1957 film that won 7 Oscars: KWAI. Love the MOVIE . Once again Alec Guiness performs.

13. Eyelid malady: STYE. Yes, those of us with eye problems wish all we had to deal with were
styes, or hordeolum, small bumps that can appear on the outside or inside of the eyelid.

18. Latin lover’s declaration: TE AMO. Real Latin, not Hispanic, I love you.

19. Stock term: NO PAR. We have had this many times, it just means the stock has no intrinsic value.

23. Saudi royal name: FAHD. The son of the founder of the country who ruled until his death in 2005; also another Arabic word, meaning courageous, fierce.

24. Talking Heads song, "Sax and ____": VIOLINS. Another SONG .

25. Missed out maybe: DOZED. I never saw this clue, but I guess it personifies if you snooze, you lose.

26. Met tragedy, perhaps?: OPERA. The question mark tells you it is the Metropolitan Opera, many of which are tragedies like OTELLO.

27.It merged with Piedmont in 1989: US AIR. Deregulation leads to consolidation. Not to ne confused with 58D. Piedmont wine region: ASTI. Where Italian sparkling wine is made.

28. Playful bite: NIP. Many puppies and a few babies I know.

29. Swiftly: APACE. The dreaded "A" word.

30. Jacket style popular with 60's rockers: NEHRU. The man, and his influence.

31. Words that lead to nothing: ALL OR. Very cute, all or nothing.

36. Educated: LETTERED. The original studies were of letters.

38. Game based on crazy eights: UNO. Once again, this game in my blog, and once again, we played SkipBo to please Ma Grand-Mère. And 39D. Card in 38-down: SKIP.

42. Meager: SCANT. For our Norwegian contingent, from Old Norse SKAMPT.

44. Words after play or for: A SONG. No money, just some singing.

47. Idle: OTIOSE. Our five dollar word of the day, taken directly from the Latin otiosis. American IDLE, where the OTIOSE become OBESE.

48. Where GOOG is traded: NASDAQ.GOOG is the stock symbol for GOOGLE, which is traded on the Over the Counter Market, National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations" controlled neither by the New York nor American Stock Exchange. It is now the largest market of listed companies.

49. Canine mascot of the National Fire Protection Society: SPARKY. A post Smokey rip off, but you gotta love a dog in a yellow slicker IMAGE .

52. Badlands Natl. Park site: S DAK. The abbreviation of NATL tells you the answer will be an abbreviation also.

53. Dustin’s "Tootsies"co-star: TERI. These puzzles haunt me, as dear Teri Garr appears again on my blog day.

54. Denounce: DAMN. Another reminder of Rhett and Scarlett.

56. Wine partner: DINE. The old dating tradition of wining and dining, to replaced with the post honeymoon whining and shopping.

57. Down but not out: IN IT. If you are not out, you are in.

60. Bird in the bush: EMU. A call out to our transplant from OZ, Kazie, where these flightless but low in cholesterol birds roam.

61. ___Dhabi: ABU. Part of the UAE and home for a new golf course and golf tournament, owned by Martin Kaymer.

62. ___Tafari: RAS. Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned Haile Selassie I, the 225th Monarch of the Solomonic Dynasty in Ethiopia in November of 1930. He also was the prophet of the RASTAFARIAN movement which emerged in Jamaica. He claimed to be a direct descendent of King Solomon, and therefore of Moses.


Well, that was fun, and next week, I should be back to whatever normal is for me; bec areful out there especially on Valentine's Day; thanks Mr. Sajdak and all the corner.

Theme: T party; the letter "T" is inserted into the the first word of a common two word phrase to create a new and humorous new phrase. Each of the first words begin with "S." There is no unifier and no other relationship among the theme answers, but some of the images are creative and amusing.

17. "Oklahoma!" prop?: STAGE BRUSH. Oklahoma is one of the earliest and most successful American Musicals, and I guess there may be a BRUSH used on stage at some point; and SAGEBRUSH (also sage brush) is a shrub which grows freely in the Western US, including Oklahoma, and Canada, but should not be confused with tumbleweed.

21. Time off spent with Rover?: STICK DAY. A SICK DAY is a day off, and playing STICK (also known as Fetch) with your dog can pass the time.

34. Undercover operations where agents can bring guests?: STING ALONGS. We all known SING ALONGS, but if you turn them into a trap for someone where you invite a guest...Did anyone else think of Mitch Miller?

42. Dance for louses?: STINKER BALL. A SINKER BALL is a type of pitch used in baseball to induce a ground ball, and a BALL for STINKERS sounds pretty silly.

52. Taser switch?: STUN DIAL. My favorite of the theme, SUN DIAL becomes the controls to a taser. Don't tase me bro!

61. Fancy shoes for the campaign trail?: STUMP PUMPS. A SUMP PUMP is a common electric pump used to drain basements or other low lying areas. I think it comes from the German SUMPF, which means swamp. The picture of a politician in nice FM Pumps is an appealing image.

Happy Friday, all. Lemonade here and lets go on with the rest of the story.

Across

1. In development, as software: BETA. BETA testing comes after ALPHA testing; seriously, the testing of SOFTWARE is very important in our computer driven world.

5. Ancient meeting place: AGORA. The Greek open assembly areas which became the marketplace, and it is the root word for AGORAPHOBIA, the fear of leaving your home.

10. Bloke: CHAP. The first four letters of last name are CHAP, so in the puzzle I work on and never finish, 1 across is always CHAP, with the last 4 letters the answer to 65 across.

14. School since 1440: ETON. I seem to get this school almost every week; Harrowing.

15. Really enjoy: LAP UP. Which is what Rover does with the attention he gets on Stick Day.

16. Symbolic ring: HALO. This comes from the Latin word for the ring that appears around the sun, which became symbolic of the aura of majesty or glory surrounding a person or thing that is regarded with reverence. Or a very popular video game. Which leads perfectly to 19. Heavenly bodies: ORBS, which is also is from the Latin used to describe the sun and other celestial bodies.

20. Subject of a 2009 national tournament cheating scandal: SUDOKU. I missed this SCANDAL but it dates back to a cheater at a chess tournament.

23. Star car: LIMO. Is anyone else watching the new Showtime series Episodes? I think it is really cute.

25. Downsizing event?: DIET. I am getting used to Mr. Sessa's cluing; he uses many visual misdirections like this where he makes you think about work cuts, and 28A. Fingers: IDS, where you need to relate to the word as verb not a noun. .

26. Extend across: SPAN. Remins me of the old ABC Wild World of Sports, "Spanning the Globe..."

31. Fumble (for): GROPE. Two images, young man encountering a bra, and old man looking for his glasses in the night. The cycle of life. I am sure carol and Lois have different groping images.

37. Tampa NFLer: BUC. A mini-shout out for our left-coast Floridians.

38. Jobs, idiomatically: HATS. This one was tricky, as the phrase "Wearing Many Hats" has gone the way of people actually wearing hats. IMAGE .

39. Tesla, by birth: CROAT. Our friend is back; he was born an ethnic Serb in the village of Smiljan (now part of Gospić), of the Austrian Empire (modern-day Croatia). Tesla was a subject of the Austrian Empire by birth, so this answer while correct is also misleading.

40. Sol lead-in: AERO. Spray cans, and bad for the ozone layer.

41. Creative output: ART.

44. "Beau __": Gary Cooper film: GESTE. The phrase "beau geste" is from the French, meaning "a gracious (or fine) gesture, and the protagonist's name is a foreshadowing of his fate. This movie has been remade many times, first with Ronald Colman, then Gary cooper, with the last one a parody by Mel Brooks starring the incomparable Marty Feldman, who played IGOR in Young Frankenstein.
, which segues to 63. "Young Frankenstein" lab assistant: INGA, who was played by TERRI GARR who should not be confused with
6D. Needle-nosed fish: GAR.

46. Head of government?: GEE. Another, sleight of hand, Government begins with the letter "G."

47. Body shop figs.: ESTS. Estimates, and abbr like figs.

48. Close connection: BOND. Not to be confused with James Bond.

50. Water carrier: DUCT. Another Latin concept, DUCTS are the anatomical descriptions of the channels of the body through which much passes, like tear ducts, lactiferous ducts with the Roman creation of the AQUEDUCT to transport water to allow the irrigation of dry lands, one their greatest achievements.

56. Mickey's "The Wrestler" co-star: MARISA. This was a wonderful MOVIE in which the 40+ Ms. Tomei plays a stripper.

60. "Young" reformer: TURK. There was an actual early 20th century reformer in the Ottoman Empire known as Young Turk.

64. Small thicket: COPSE. If you threw some crackers in the bushes, would you say "Cheese It, the Copse!"

65. Lollipop, for one: SHIP. Some images are FOREVER .

66. Cheers: RAHS. Very literal.

67. Exhaust: SPEND. Not the first word that came to mind, but when you have exhausted your resources, they are spent.

68. A long, long time: EONS. Crosswordese, with or without the A.

Okay, relax , we are getting down now.

Down:

1. "Summertime" singer: BESS. From the Gershwin opera PORGY & BESS .

2. Caeserian rebuke: ET TU. Brute. I love the miniseries Rome on HBO.

3. Warty hopper: TOAD.

4. Luanda natives: ANGOLANS. Luanda is the capital city of Angola, and has been since the Portuguese settled the area in the 1500's, and was the center of the slave trade to Brazil, the largest Portugese colony.

5. Rock collection?: ALBUM. Fooled me again, as I collected rocks as child, polished them and made jewelry.

7. Numbered piece: OPUS. Well, last Friday I linked to the cartoon, so I am not sure why this word is here again, but it is.

8. Sign of age: RUST. Interesting visual, though why people are said to be rusty, which comes from oxidation not age, I do not know.

9. Garden pest: APHID. If I had a nickel for every aphid I plucked from my father's flowers as a child, I would be a nickelonaire.

10. Round jewelry item: CHOKER. How about a nice Heart NECKLACE for V-Day.

11. Not easily topped: HARD TO BEAT.

12. Jessica of "Sin City": ALBA. We seem to have a mini-theme of STRIPPERS ; no nudity, I promise.

13. Bridal accessory: POSY. A different word for bouquet.

18. Scratching (out): EKING. We cannot go two days without some version of this crossword staple, I am ready to scream EEEEEKKKK.

22. Butts: CIGS. With smoking on the decline this will become a difficult clue one day.

24. Deepwater Horizon, for one: OIL RIG. This was the name of the ill fated rig which was the BP Oil spill. It was built in in South Korea by Hyundai.

26. Disconcerting look: STARE. Well sometimes, stares are nice.

27. Penguins' home: PITTSBURGH. The hockey team lead now by Sidney Crosby.

29. Blackmore heiress: DOONE.Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor was an early historical romance.

30. Took a sinuous path: SNAKED. And, 59D. Slithery threats: ASPS.

32. Knitting stitches: PURLS. When I was little I heard a joke where the punch line was Knit 1, Purl 2 and there was an old song, but no one ever explained either, but I think it has to do with reversing the knitting action.

33. Sci. concerned with biodiversity: ECOL. Ecology,

34. Thick carpet: SHAG. Does anyone have any left in their homes? I wonder if this pair was an homage to Austin Powers who loved to SHAG , and to tell people to 35D. Behave: ACT.

36. Co. that merged into Verizon: GTE. General Telephone and Electric, one of the baby bells.

40. Clear as mud: ABSTRUSE. Oh what a wonderful word, also from Latin.

42. Texting button: SEND.

43. Newscast segment: RECAP.

45. Mighty Dump Trucks, e.g.: TONKAS. Hasbro's biggest seller still, trucks and trains.

49. Saucers and such: DISCS. Yes, especially the flying kind of UFOs.

51. Made lots of calls, in a way: UMPED. Tricky, an umpire calls balls and strikes, safe or out; I told you Ed using visual deception.

52. Mix: STIR.

53. Hip Charlie, in ads: TUNA. Who does not love a wise guy talking FISH .

54. At the peak of: ATOP. On top of old smokie...

55. "Kick, Push" rapper __ Fiasco: LUPE. No clue, don't listen if you are offended by these LYRICS .

57. "As I see it," online: IMHO. In My Humble Opinion, really why humble? not likely.

58. Go a few rounds?: SPIN. The wheels on the bus go round and round...

62. Co. with a butterfly logo: MSN. Micro Soft Network; they want to take over the world.