Sun., 4/26 Gagliardo & Burnikel

[magus]

THEME:   A tee sound is added to an ordinary phrase creating an odd one: Title:  TEA TIME   
      
GOOD ONES:       
Sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees?   MIGHTY MISTAKE ["my mistake"]      
Babe's home   STY [the pig, Babe]      
Ideal chaser?   ISM      
Arabian pop   SIRE [mix of the exotic and mundane --- and "pop" can mean several things]      
December number   NOEL [rather incongruous to refer to a specialty song by the mundane "number"]      
More work   UTOPIA [More, the writer]      
Esthetic and egis, for example   VARIANTS [they can be spelt with A's: spelt is also a variant]      
Dog star's first name?   RIN [Rin Tin Tin, not the heavenly body]      
Digs in the snow?   IGLOO      
Tongue site   SHOE [I thought palette and deli]      
Car starter?   ECO      
      
BTW:      
Covered in ink   TATTED [kind of a neologism; it used to mean "knitted" which is kind of obsolete]      
      
LAP cat may be found on some web list, but I'm not buying it; is it like a lapdog?      
      
Sulky state   SNIT [denotatively yes, but a snit connotes agitation --- opposite of a "sulky state"]      
      
RATING:       
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun      

[Thomps2525]

The story of Rin Tin Tin is a fascinating tale. He was one of a litter of puppies who an American soldier had rescued from a French kennel which had been severly damaged during the first World War. The original Rin Tin Tin appeared in 27 movies. There have been several generations of Rin Tin Tins. There was a Rin Tin Tin tv series (1954-59).....and, of course, a biography:

http://www.amazon.com/Rin-Tin-The-Life-Legend/dp/1439190143

[Thomps2525]

When I saw that Merl Reagle's Sunday crossword was titled "On a Scale of 1 to 8" I assumed that each of the eight theme answers would include one of those eight numbers. I was wrong. The "scale" is a musical scale and each theme answer has a musical note added: DO, RE, MI, FA, SOL, LA, TI and DO. (Cue the Sound of Music soundtrack!)

Among the answers:

Roy Bean? REPROBATEJUDGE
Answer to "How long has it been, compadre?" MANYYEARSAMIGO
What easy mazes and gourmet cheeses may lead to? SPOILEDLABRATS
Bringin' up a kid who constantly mumbles? RAISINBRANDO
Why my dad owns five copies of Amahl & the Night Visitors? HELOVESMENOTTI

This is one of the mostest cleverestest crosswords I've ever seen! And it didn't even include ALE, ARENA, EDAM, ERE, EVE, IRA, IRE, LEI, ODE, ONO or SST.