google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday

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Showing posts with label Sunday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunday. Show all posts

Jul 12, 2009

Sunday July 12, 2009 David Levinson Wilk

Theme: Take a Letter - Theme answers are literal descriptions of the clue letter positions.

23A: S: HEAD OF STATE - Letter S is the first letter (head) of the word STATE.

29A: A: END OF AN ERA - A is at the end of ERA.

34A: C: MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE - C is in the middle of MALCOLM.

56A: P: LEADER OF THE PACK - P leads PACK.

66A: V: CENTER OF GRAVITY - V is at the center of GRAVITY.

85A: E: FOREGONE CONCLUSION - E concludes FOREGONE.

94A: F: FALSE START. F starts FALSE

104A: D: GRAND FINALE. D ends GRAND.

I figured out what those clue letters stand for after I got FALSE START. Such an innovative theme.

MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE is an odd choice, all the other theme answers are familiar phrases.

I had trouble all over the place, despite my perfect start with BRATZ (1A: Popular fashion doll series). Very seldom is 1A a gimme to me. All those BRATZ dolls have Angelina Jolie style lips.

My favorite clue today is SEN (81D: Boxer, e.g.: Abbr.). The "Abbr." clue did not prevent me from thinking of dog. Senator Barbara Boxer (CA) can sure bark and bite. Very acid tongue sometimes. Her daughter was married to Hillary Clinton's brother.

Across:

6A: Helps (out): BAIL. Paul Krugman wants more stimulus package.

11A: Immunity agent: T CELL

16A: Use a wet napkin on, perhaps: DAB

20A: "Aunt __ Cope Book": ERMA'S. Here is the book cover. Unknown to me. It's written by Erma Bombeck.

21A: Braga of "Moon Over Parador": SONIA. She looks familiar. I must have googled her before.

22A: Have a balance: OWE

25A: Opposite of full: UNFED. Wrote down EMPTY.

26A: Turn abruptly: ZAG

28A: "I'll do whatever you need": USE ME. Not a familiar utterance to me.

31A: Eponymous 1902 physics Nobelist Pieter: ZEEMAN. Stranger to me. I've never heard of ZEEMAN Effect either.

32A: Heavy hammer: MAUL. Wow, I really have no idea that MAUL is a heavy hammer. It's used to drive stakes or wedges.

33A: Third-day creation: EDEN. Got D quickly, then I decided it's ADAM.

41A: Lures, Pied Piper style: TWEEDLES

42A: Not out of running: IN IT. I am used to INIT clue, you know, initial.

43A: Large sea ducks: EIDERS

47A: More farinaceous: MEALIER. Knew farina, not farinaceous. Insane amount of vowels.

48A: Time, metaphorically: SANDS. The SANDS of time.

50A: Delta follower: EPSILON. Before zeta.

52A: Empire State, e.g.: Abbr.: BLDG

53A: Like LAX: INTL (International). Lots of abbreviations in this grid.

54A: "Characters welcome" network: USA. Have never heard of this tagline. Don't watch USA.

55A: Crazed: MANIC

62A: "The Information" author Martin: AMIS. Son of Kingsley AMIS.

63A: New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival city: KEENE. Our fellow LAT solver Hatoolah mentioned this trivia last time when we had KEENE (clued as New Hampshire city). But I forgot.

65A: Nebraska City's county: OTOE. Did not know OTOE is a county name as well.

69A: Belief system: CREED. Mine was TENET.

70A: Terrific service: ACE. Tennis.

73A: Work on antimacassar, perhaps: TAT. I did not know the meaning of antimacassar.

74A: Last line of some riddles: WHAT AM I

78A: Organ parts with cones: RETINAS. Cones are cone-shaped cells in the retina of the eye, sensitive to color and intensity of light, according to dictionary. New to me also.

82A: Israeli, e.g.: SEMITE. "Arab, e.g." as well.

83A: Gross income source?: PORN. Intersects PG RATED (83D: Like many family film). Huge stumper for me. CORN yes. PORN, too much for me. Is PORN really gross?

84A: Dash indicator: OIL GAUGE

92A: They may be graphic: ARTS. Nice clue.

93A: Orioles' gp.: AL EAST (American League East)

97A: Golden, in Guanajuato: DE ORO. I only know ORO means gold.

98A: Turkey toucher: IRAQ. D'oh, IRAQ touches (borders) Turkey.

102A: The Wildcats of the Big 12 Conf.: KSU (Kansas State University). I got the answer from Down fills.

103A: Try: TASTE. Do any of you have persimmon tree in your yard?

106A: Uncle to Jeanna and Barbara: JEB. JEB Bush.

107A: Energetic risk-taking type, so it's said: ARIES. Oh, I was unaware of this fact.

108A: Altercation: SET-TO

109A: Conductor whose name is spelled with two musical syllables: SOLTI (Georg). Interesting observation. He was a long time music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1969-1991).

111A: Godiva rival: LINDT. The Swiss chocolate maker.

113A: Zhou__: EN LAI. Our first premier.

Down:

1D: __ Men: "Who let the Dogs Out" band: BAHA. Here is the clip. They are from Bahamas.

2D: Sorry type: RUER

3D: Economist Smith: ADAM. The laissez-faire economics guy.

6D: Man of steel?: BESSEMER. Wanted Superman. I've never heard of Henry BESSEMER.

7D: Apollo's sister: ARTEMIS. Apollo's twin sister. Goddess of moon.

8D: "Today __": bar mitzvah boy's announcement: I'M A MAN. I thought he would say "Today I'am thirteen".

9D: Hidden: LATENT

10D: Milwaukee-to-Gary di.: SSE

11D: Scary waves: TSUNAMIS. Japanese origin. TSU = Harbor. NAMI = "wave".

12D: Passage: CONDUIT

13D: Hug: ENFOLD. I could only think of embrace.

14D: Willingly: LIEF. Learned from doing Xword.

15D: Russian auto: LADA. Absolutely no idea. LADA sounds like a lady's name.

16D: Dropped off: DOZED

18D: Got the ball rolling: BEGAN

17D: Hip: AWARE. I was thinking of the "cool" hip.

24D: Gassed up the Jaguar, say: FUELLED

29D: Make change to, as copy: EMEND

30D: "___ go on?": NEED I

31D: Collection of signs: ZODIAC. I was picturing these signs. I can never tell whether they are original or remake.

34D: "Lou Grant" production co.: MTM. Oh, I did not know MTM stands for Mary Tyler Moore.

36D: Broadway actress Salonga: LEA. Unknown to me. LEA Salonga is from the Philippines, best known for originating the role of Kim in Miss Saigon, according to Wikipedia.

37D: Orchestra member whose instrument rests on the floor: CELLIST. Yo-Yo Ma. He was born in Paris.

38D: Depend (on): HINGE

39D: Low points: DEPTHS. They are not synonymous to me. I wanted NADIRS.

40D: Hosiery thread: LISLE. Named after LISLE (now Lille), France.

44D: Solution created by dissolving: ELUATE. The verb is elute. Both new to me.

45D: "Black Like Me" actor __ Lee Browne: ROSCOE. Nope. He looks like a church minister. Dictionary says ROSCOE is an old slang a revolver or pistol.

46D: Twisted and turned: SNAKED

48D: Bonk or conk, e.g.: SLANG. I like the rhyming clue.

48D: Dangerous snake: ADDER. Wrote down COBRA.

50D: Diary bit: ENTRY

52D: Gripes: BEEFS

55D: Showy parrots: MACAWS

56D: Don of "Cocoon": AMECHE. Not familiar with the movie "Cocoon". It's directed by Ron Howard.

57D: When many a "Closed" sign is flipped: NINE AM

58D: Actress Téa: LEONI. David Duchovyn's wife. I wonder why her parents named her Téa,

59D: Cut loose: REVEL. New definition of "cut loose" to me.

61D: "The quality of mercy" is not strain'ed" speaker: PORTIAS. From Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice".

63D: "Seinfeld" klutz: KRAMER. Not fun to watch him after the racist rants.

67D: Versifier's Muse: ERATO. The Muse of Poetry.

69D: It can make a racket: CATGUT. Strange name considering the racket is not really made of cat's intestines.

73D: Describes: TELLS OF

75D: Spats: TIFFS

76D: Where sleeping dog lie?: FOOTREST. Dogs is slang for feet. I was misled again. Fool me twice, shame on you me.

77D: Young's accounting partner: ERNST

78D: Mertz neighbors of '50 TV: RICARDOS. "I Love Lucy".

79D: Rapa __: NUI. The Easter Island. Literally "Big Rapa".

80D: Word after long: AGO. Long AGO.

84D: SUNY college town: ONEONTA. How can I remember this name? Strange spelling.

86D: Has leftovers, say: EATS IN

87D: Military training groups: CADRES

88D: Soap ester: OLEATE. Last time it's clued as "Olive oil component".

89D: '60 White House resident, familiarly: JFK JR. John-John. Nice scrabbly fill.

91D: Errors: FLUBS

95D: "too many to list" abbr.: ET AL

96D: It's a wrap: SARI. It's a good clue. I don't mind seeing the repetition again.

96D: A party to: IN ON

99D: Political cartoonist Ted: RALL. Alien to me also. Our Star Tribune has its own editorial cartoonist.

100D: Utah ski resort: ALTA

101D: Cunard flagship for 35 yrs.: QEII (Queen Elizabeth II). Strange to see QE 2 as QEII.

104D: Atlanta sch.: GSU (Georgia State University)

105D: British verb ending: ISE. I like our ize.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Jul 5, 2009

Sunday July 5, 2009 Richard Silvestri

Theme: Heard Down Under

23A: Cookie made with Chianti instead of figs? WINE NEWTON (Wayne Newton)

25A: Wood for sashes?: WINDOW PINE (Windowpane)

34A: Blue Danube relative: PURPLE RHINE (Purple Rain)

50A: Discovery of the mother lode?: MINE EVENT (Main Event)

76A: Put an "X" where you want to cut the cord?: MARK TWINE (Mark Twain)

90A: Female chiropractor?: LADY OF SPINE (Lady of Spain)

105A: Squall at sea?: BRINE STORM (Brainstorm)

107A: "I never forget a face," e. g.: MEMORY LINE (Memory Lane)

Hmm, the Aussie/Kiwi (Down Under) long A pronunciation does sound long I, doesn't it?

LADY OF SPINE is my favorite theme entry. I thought of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Su Ki. She is a real LADY OF SPINE.

Lots of interesting clues in today's puzzle. I had several V-8 moments. Normally I am not fond of ALER (American Leaguer) or NLER (National Leaguer), but today's clue (48A: Ray or Jay) is outstanding. Tampa Bay Rays & Toronto Blue Jays. Nice rhyme.

I was also happy to see MINN (11D: Gopher's home?) again. Golden Gophers is the sports team for the University of Minnesota. I collect those adorable Goldy bobbleheads.

Across:

1A: Titanic obstacle: BERG. The last known Titanic survivor just died last month. She's 2-month old when she boarded Titanic.

9A: Opening frames: JAMBS. I need a "door" hint in the clue.

14A: Try: STAB. Have a try/STAB.

18A: 19th century tale of South Seas travel: OMOO. One more letter, the answer would be TYPEE/MARDI.

19A: Reach via radio: RAISE. Dictionary defines RAISE as "Make contact with by radio", then it gives an example: couldn't RAISE control tower after midnight. New meaning to me.

21A: Girl George?: ELIOT. George ELIOT, who's a "girl". Playing on Boy George. I suppose you can clue SAND as "Girl George" too.

22A: Lobby for: URGE

27A: Like some pens: ERASABLE. Have never used one.

28A: Collect little by little: GLEAN

30A: Snack maker's gizmo: POPPER. Popcorn POPPER.

32A: Samples from a doctor: PILLS

33A: Atheistic: GODLESS. I hope there is a God.

40A: Symbol of penance: ASHES. Oh, that's how we have Ash Wednesday.

41A: Dismayed cry: OY VEY

42A: Carpenter who sang: KAREN. I like her "We've Only Just Begun".

46A: Vientiane native: LAO. It's literally "old" in Chinese. LAO Tzu is literally "old master".

47A: Highest in order: UPMOST. Only knew uppermost.

49A: Scout outing: HIKE

53A: Malt drier: OAST

55A: Yankees' captain: JETER (Derek). I have his rookie card.

56A: Small biological cavities: AREOLES. Why "cavities"? They are just nipple rings.

57A: "I'll say": AND HOW

60D: Had right to: CLAIMED

63A: Unit of work: MAN-HOUR. Normally the answer is ERG.

65A: "My cousin Vinny" Oscar winner: TOMEI (Marisa).

68A: To boot: NO LESS. Why? They are not synonymous to me.

70A: Abates: EASES UP

74A: Hot spots: OVENS. Nice clue. I was thinking of North Korea/Iran.

75A: Money maker: MINT

78A: Buck, for one: MALE. "Tom, for one" too.

81A: Eats into: ERODES

83A: UV index monitor: EPA

84A: Letters on a lunch menu: BLT. Also PBJ. This bento lunch box looks so inviting.

85A: Woolly, perhaps: OVINE. Stumped. Hope ewe got it.

86A: Brilliance: ECLAT

87A: Jellied garnish: ASPIC. Why "garnish"? My grandma always made us ASPIC during Chinese Spring Festival.

89A: Incline: SLANT

92A: Thanksgiving activity: BASTING

95A: Inn group: MAIDS. Great clue.

97A: Troop troupe sponsor, briefly: USO

98A: Frequently traded, in the stock market: ACTIVE. Like the stupid GE stock.

99A: Ballet with a hoedown: RODEO. No idea. It refers to Copland's ballet RODEO I suppose.

100A: Create financial trouble for: STRAITEN. New word to me.

109A: Tartan wraparound: KILT

112A: Work in the cutting room: EDIT

114A: German seaport: EMDEN. See upperleft? North Sea port. I've never heard of it.

116A: Carmine's family?: REDS. Had to check dictionary for "carmine".

Down:

1D: He beat Holyfield twice: BOWE (Riddick). No idea. Have never heard of this boxer. I only remembered Tyson bit Holyfield's ear.

2D: Islamic title: EMIR

3D: Columnist Barnett: RONA. Or Author Jaffe.

4D: Completely loses it: GOES APE

5D: High range: TREBLE. Guessed.

6D: Ketch kin: YAWL. Both two-masted sailboats.

7D: Toy with a tail: KITE

8D: Paul Anka's "__ Beso (That Kiss): ESO. Literally "that".

9D: Lapidary's product: JEWEL. Did not know the meaning of "lapidary".

10D: Item on a forged document, perhaps: ALIAS

12D: Physique: BOD. Needs "slangily", right?

13D: Brief visit: STOPOVER

14D: Price factor: SUPPLY. Plenty of corn & soy in the market this year.

16D: Hooey: TRIPE. To some, it's a delicacy.

16D: David Copperfield's second wife: AGNES. No idea. Have never read "David Copperfield". Thought of Claudia Schiffer, ex-girlfriend of David Copperfield.

17D: Round at the bar: BEERS

20D: Fire trucks: ENGINES

24D: They're at your fingertip: NAILS. My favorite clue.

26D: God for whom Wednesday was named: WODEN. Always thought Wednesday is named after Odin. Dictionary says WODEN is "Anglo-Saxon god identified with Odin."

29D: 2001 U.S. Open champ Hewitt: LLEYTON. I could picture his face. His name escaped me.

32D: Turn on one foot: PIVOT

33D: "Earth in the Balance": GORE. Wikipedia says his "An Inconvenient Truth" is based on this book.

34D: Balearic Islands capital: PALMA. Sigh, both the clue and the answer mean nothing to me. Ibiza is wild.

35D: Carrier that merged with Piedmont in 1989: USAIR. Not familiar with the Piedmont Airlines.

36D: River through the Lake of Geneva: RHONE

37D: Entices: ROPES IN

38D Choir offering: HYMN

39D: '80 Bond portrayer: DALTON (Timothy). Love the current 007 Daniel Craig.

42D: Buckwheat dish: KASHA. I tried buckwheat porridge once. Terrible taste. Cold buckwheat soba noodle is delicious.

43D: Sharp quality: BITE

44D: Strings of islands?: UKES. Nice clue too.

47D: Optic layer: UVEA. Latin for "grape".

49D: Talmud tongue: HEBREW. Talmud is literally "instruction".

51D: Tertiary Period epoch: EOCENE. I forgot. EO is prefix for "early". EOCENE is characterized by the advent of the modern mammalian orders, says the dictionary. And it occurred from 55 to 40 million years ago.

52D: "American Psycho" author: ELLIS. No idea. The book sounds horrifying.

54D: USN VIPS: ADMS (Admirals)

55D: Knight game: JOUST

57D: Arabian Sea's Gulf of __: ADEN

58D: Hack's question: WHERE TO. Hack is taxi driver.

61D: Point in time: MOMENT

62D: Slur over: ELIDE

64D: Symbols of might: OAKS

65D: Crypt: TOMB

66D: Kind of round: OVAL. Indeed.

67D: Get all gooey: MELT. Reminds me of Dali's "The Persistence of Memory".

69D: Metal playing marble: STEELIE

71D: Basso Cesare: SIEPI. No, no, nope. Total stranger to me.

73D: Word spoken with a two-fingered sign: PEACE

76D: Gets into shape: MOLDS

77D: Forever partner?: A DAY. Forever and A DAY.

79D: Fade away: EVANESCE. Another new word to me.

80D: Double checker?: KING. Checkers. Here is Embien's explanation: You make a "king" in checkers by putting another piece on top, thus a "double checker" (the checker piece).

82D: Colts' home before Lucas Oil Stadium: RCA DOME (1984-2007). I guessed. Wikipedia says it's similar in design and appearance to Twins' Metrodome.

85D: Oil source: OLIVE. I was in the crude oil direction.

87D: Ore analysis: ASSAY

88D: Third-party candidate, perhaps: SPOILER

89D: Is frugal: STINTS

91D: Like many mammals: FURRED

92D: Spongy cake: BABKA. The cake with raisins and rum. Diminutive of baba, Polish for "grandmother".

93D: Bitter: ACRID

94D: Underground gate: STILE. Subway turnstile.

95D: "What has God wrought?" sender: MORSE

96D: Commercial developers: AD MEN. Excellent clue.

99D: Route for Bob and Bing: ROAD. ROAD to....

101D: It's a drag: TOKE. OK, TOKE is "a puff of a marijuana cigarette".

102D: Phenomenon measured by a marigraph: TIDE. Had to check the meaning of marigraph: a device that automatically registers the rise and fall of the TIDE.

103D: Oklahoma city: ENID

104D: Trawling gear: NETS

108D: Costar of Teri, Felicity, et al.: EVA (Longoria). From "Desperate Housewives"

Answer grid.

Happy Birthday, Linda, wherever you are!

C.C.

Jun 28, 2009

Sunday June 28, 2009 David W. Cromer

Theme: End of the Road

23A: Device using pulleys: BLOCK AND TACKLE (Roadblock)

39A: 1957 novel with the working title "The Strike": ATLAS SHRUGGED (Road Atlas)

47A: Plan likely to fail: HOUSE OF CARDS (Roadhouse)

64A: Dance, facetiously: TRIP THE LIGHT FANTASTIC (Road Trip)

83A: Break in: SHOW THE ROPE (Roadshow)

90A: Though not yet in force, one was adopted by the UN in 1996: TEST BAN TREATY (Road-test)

112A: One who's halfway home?: RUNNER ON SECOND (Roadrunner)

Nice theme title. I thought of roadkill, road rage & roadwork. What else can you think of?

The name BLOCK AND TACKLE is new to me, though I did know the device itself. Have never heard of TRIP THE LIGHT FANTASTIC. Wikipedia says the phrase means "to dance nimbly or lightly, or to move in a pattern to musical accompaniment."

Harder than last Sunday's puzzle, but very enjoyable. Some of the clues are so refreshing. Some are tricky. Plenty of V-8 moments for me.

Across:

1A: Window treatment: DRAPE

6A: Beat walkers: COPS. And ARRESTS (51A: Takes in) & TASE (69D: Stun, as a perp). I like multiple references in a puzzle.

10A: Pen pal?: PIG. "Pen" here refers to pigpen, the sty.

19A: Causing goose bumps: EERIE

20A: Came down: ALIT

21A: Tide alternative: ALL. Not familiar with ALL detergent. We use Tide.

22A: 1959 Steiger title role: CAPONE. The answer revealed itself.

26A: Self-conscious question: IS IT ME

27A: Carrere of "Wayne's World": TIA. New name to me. Wikipedia says she was born in Hawaii. Of Filipino descent.

28A: Cuarenta winks: SIESTA. "Guarenta" means "forty" in Spanish. I did not know that.

31A: Tale spinner: LIAR. Nice clue.

32A: Like most light bulbs: SCREW-IN

35A: Peruvian pack animal: LLAMA

37A: Publisher __ Nast: CONDE. I like Vogue the most.

38A: Ming 2-Down: VASE. And RELIC (2D: Artifact).

42A: Arid Israeli area: NEGEV. Wikipedia says NEGEV is from the Hebrew root denoting "dry". In the Bible the word NEGEV is also used for the direction "south".

45A: Windblown soil: LOESS. Loamy deposit.

46A: Crew tool: OAR. Crew on a ship/boat.

55A: Net grazer: LET. Tennis term. Also ILIE (66D: First name among '70s netmen) Nastase & TENNIS (95D: Court sport).

57A: Like some boots: STEEL TOED

59A: Film involving stage scenes: OATER. Struggled with this answer.

71A: Log variety: YULE. And DEC (59D: 71-Across mo.)

72A: Preminger et al: OTTOS

73A: Averse: LOATH. The verb is LOATHE.

74A: Puts dividends to work: REINVESTS. Good strategy. I prefer to have a higher stock price than a higher dividend.

79A: Previously: AGO

82A: Takes umbrage at: RESENTS

88A: Actress Davis: GEENA. She is a Mensa member.

89A: Lies next to: ABUTS. I was thinking of cuddling & spooning.

97A: They're not behind you: ANTIS. My favorite clue.

98A: Pie __: CHART. Wrote down CRUST.

99A: Pushes back, as a deadline: EXTENDS

103A: Hair line: PART

104A: Like a good loser? THIN. Lose weight. Excellent clue.

105A: Fuel rating: OCTANE

108A: Yves' yes: OUI. OUI, mon chéri, je t'aime.

110A: Actor Estevez: EMILIO. Son of Martin Sheen.

116A: Evangelist's admonition: REPENT

118A: '70s pinup name: LONI. LONI Anderson? She does not look that pretty.

119A: Jousting pole: LANCE. And STEED (123A: Jouster's ride).

120A: Two-handed hammer: SLEDGE

121A: Driver's gadget: TEE. Golf.

Down:

1D: Possible result of big losses: DEBTS. Financial loss. I thought of UPSET in sports.

3D: Like heavy surf: AROAR

4D: Photo: PIC

5D: "A mouse!": EEK

6D: Mutt, e.g.: CANINE

7D: __ English Bulldogge: OLDE. Not familiar with this breed of dog at all.

8D: Refueling places: PITS

9D: ASAP relative: STAT. Doctor's ASAP.

10D: Ind. neighbor: PAK. India. I was thinking of Indiana.

11D: "No thanks": I'LL PASS

12D: Ocular signs of planning?: GLEAMS. Why?

15D: Final words: EPILOG. Final word in a book.

16D: Overly attentive: DOTING

25D: Sent (for): CALLED

30D: City SSE of Islamabad: LAHORE. The second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi.

34D: Signaled from across the room, say: WAVED AT

36D: Colleen: LASS. Colleen is from an Irish word meaning "girl".

37D: Big name in skin care products: CUREL. I use Olay.

40D: Rocky peak: TOR. Pure crossword word.

41D: Hardly well done: RARE

42D: Red Wings' org.: NHL. Hmm, no tribute to the Penguins?

43D: Want ad letters: EOE (Equal-Opportunity Employer). Never know when to put EOE and when to put EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity)

44D: Kind of feeling: GUT

48D: Inaugural event: OATH. Ha ha, I wrote down GALA.

49D: Head for the hills: FLEE. Not familiar with the phrase "Head for the hills". Thought of WHIP, kind of head for the Capitol Hill.

50D: Tire-kicking areas: CAR LOTS

51D: Took advantage of the buffet: ATE A LOT. Mine was OVERATE.

53D: Suit basis: TORT. Law suit.

54D: Org. probing for outer-space life: SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence)

57D: Copperstone abbr.: SPF

59D: Starts the bidding: OPENS

60A: U.S. Army E-5: SGT. And STRIPE (92D: Indication of rank).

61D: Funny Margaret: CHO

64D: Norse god of war: TYR. Tuesday is named after him. Thursday is named after Thor, god of thunder.

68D: Role in the musical "Two by Two": NOAH. Well, who else could it be?

70D: Draw: ATTRACT

75D: Words of action: VERBS. So simple. I was stymied.

76D: Grammy-winning New Ager: ENYA. Have not seen ENYA for a long time.

77D: Big stink: STENCH

78D: Musical place, briefly: B'WAY. The OBIE (OB) Award is for Off-Broadway shows.

79D: "The Simpsons" Kwik-E-Mart operator: APU. Learned from doing Xword.

81D: CIA forerunner: OSS (Office of Strategic Services). 1942-1945.

83D: Ball user, maybe: SEER. D'oh, crystal ball.

84D: Patricia of "Everybody Loves Raymond": HEATON. She looks amazing. It's exciting to go bra-less once in a while.

85D: Hudson Bay prov.: ONT

86D: An orchestra tunes to one: OBOE. Oh, I thought orchestra tunes to piano.

88D: Fine particle: GRANULE

90D: Gets to the point: TAPERS. Great clue.

91D: Painter's choice: ENAMEL

93D: Having status, in a way: TITLED. Like the British Sir I suppose.

94D: Desire: THIRST

96D: Lets go: AXES

100D: Dismal turnout?: NO ONE. Dismal indeed.

101D: Blockhead: DUNCE

102D: Threw in (with): SIDED. They are not synonymous to me.

104D: Shopper's convenience: TOTE

106D: Texting device: CELL. We call cell phone "mobile phone" in China.

107D: Where Helen was taken: TROY. Helen of TROY.

108D: Top-shelf: A ONE. I still can't believe the word tops is an adjective.

111D: __ Direct: online bank: ING. I like this new clue. Tired of "Gerund's end".

113D: Science guy Bill: NYE. "Bill NYE, the Science Guy".

114D: High trains: ELS. In Chicago. Poor Ernie ELS. Missed the Masters & US Open cut, and now is deserted by David W. Cromer.

115D: Jazz fan: CAT. I miss Ed Bradley. He was a real cool CAT.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Jun 21, 2009

Sunday June 21, 2009 Fred Piscop

Theme: Unknown Endings (Letter X is added to a familiar phrase)

23A: Rodriguez upset with negative publicity?: BITTER ALEX (Bitter Ale)

25A: Film timepiece seen briefly?: CAMEO ROLEX (Cameo Role)

43A: Instability of sterotypical BMW drivers?: YUPPIE FLUX (Yuppie Flu)

64A: World's most perplexing problem?: GRAND CRUX (Grand Cru)

87A: Buckingham Palace add-on: QUEEN ANNEX (Queen Anne)

107A: Rubber bedsheets? SLEEP LATEX (Sleep Late)

109A: Cat on steroids?: MUSCLE MANX (Muscle Man)

36D: Encrypted Scriptures? SECRET CODEX (Secret Code)

39D: Highest point in North Africa? BARBARY APEX (Barbary Ape)

I was aware of the chronic fatigue syndrome. Did not know its alternative name Yuppie Flu though. Barbary Ape is a new name to me also. Messed up 23A with BITTER A-ROD.

Easiest LAT Sunday since our switch. Most of the clues are very straightforward. I might have aced this puzzle if I had more time.

Thought it might be a pangram. But I could not find letters V & J.

Across:

1A: Hand-dyeing method: BATIK. Using wax as a dye repellent.

10A: Carpenter's groove: DADO. Can never remember the name for the groove.

14A: Philanthropist Brooke: ASTOR

20A: Tropical tuber: TARO. I miss Cantonese TARO cakes.

21A: Prep school for some princes: ETON. Both Prince William and Harry attended ETON.

27A: Team with the most Super Bowl victories: STEELERS. Total 6.

28A: Oil source: SHALE. I was thinking of the real crude oil.

31A: Seventh day activity: REST. Saturday or Sunday?

32A: Reside: DWELL. Wrote down ABODE, which is actually a noun.

33A: Ramadan practice: FAST. No food, no drink from dawn til dusk, then some dates.

34A: Perp subduer: TASER

37A: Char: SEAR. And BURNT (55A: Well done, then some).

38A: Not permanent, as dye: RINSABLE. Had trouble getting this answer.

47A: The kinkajou has a prehensible one: TAIL. "Prehensible" gives away the answer. I don't know what a kinkajou is.

53A: "V for Vendetta" actor: REA (Stephen). No idea. Have never seen the movie.

56A: __ 1: speed of sound: MACH. Named after the Austrian physicist Ernst MACH.

57A: Contest award: RIBBON

59A: Radium discoverer born in Warsaw, Pol: MME CURIE. MME is short for Madame.

61A: Hebrides isle: IONA. Skye is a "Hebrides isle" too. Might be the origin of actress Ione Skye's name.

62A: Chunnel terminus: ENGLAND. Chunnel is Channel & Tunnel.

63A: Short or long measure: TON. UK uses long TON. Ours is short TON. I penned in TEE.

67A: Isl. south of Corsica: SAR. Sardinia. Unknown to me. See this map. SAR is often clued as "Patriotic org."

71A: Gen. Robt. __: E LEE. I prefer "Gen. Robert __". The Gen. abbreviation is enough.

72A: 1989 undersea thriller: THE ABYSS. Nope. Have never heard of this movie. It's directed by the "Titanic" guy James Cameron.

76A: Crease maker, at times: IRONER

77A: Indian honorifics: SRIS

78A: Unfair treatment, with "the": SHAFT

80A: He "does not throw dice": Einstein: GOD. Nice clue.

81A: Vitamin in liver: NIACIN. New name to me. It's a component of Vitamin -B complex.

83A: __ Mattress: DIAL-A. Have never heard of this brand before.

84A: Laundry concern: SPOT

85A: "Mockingbird" singer Foxx: INEZ. Just clued as "Don Juan's mother" yesterday.

89A: Prompter start?: TELE. Teleprompter.

90A: Bathroom dispenser item: DIXIE CUP. Why "Bathroom"?

94A: __ out: peaked: MAXED

98A: Bug-eyed: AGOG

102A: In coils: SNAKY

103A: Ivory tower milieu: ACADEMIA

111A: Chat room chatters: USERS. Internet chat room.

115A: Man with a code: MORSE

117A: Moon buggy org.: NASA. NASA just launched a rocket to the moon a few days ago.

Down:

2D: Plugging away: AT IT

3D: Pledge drive giveaway: TOTE. More used to the full TOTE bag.

4D: Bond payment: INTEREST

5D: Baseball Hall of Famer Willie: KEELER. Got his name from Down fills. And I don't feel bad not knowing him. He died in 1923. Could only think of the Say Hey Kid Willie Mays.

6D: Square one: START

7D: Ones to hang with: PALS. Shouldn't the clue be "Ones to hang out with"?

8D: Bard's preposition: ERE. Before.

9D: Crew's control: COXSWAIN

10D: Modeling accessory: DECAL. Oh, I was in the wrong model direction.

12D: Kremlin feature: DOME

13D: Number on a driver: ONE. Golf clubs have numbers marked at the sole for easy identification. Who do you think will win US Open? Ricky Barnes looks good.

14D: Puzzle direction: ACROSS

15D: Try to hit: SHOOT AT. Gun? Would be SWING AT if it's golf/baseball.

16D: Pinball no-no: TILT

17D: Works of Sappho: ODES.

18D: Latin king: REX. And RES (24D: Latin thing). I like the consecutive order.

26D: African port: ORAN. In Algeria.

29D: "Take one": HERE. Ha ha, so simple in retrospect.

32D: Redcap's place: DEPOT

33D: Prix __: FIXE. Vs. a la carte.

35D: Chili rating unit: ALARM. The Scoville scale.

37D: Brent who played Data on"Star Trek: T.N.G.": SPINER. Could only picture his face. Don't know his name.

38D: Compensate for oversleeping: RUSH

40D: Rest atop: LIE ON. I was imagining a bird resting atop a branch.

41D: Dik-dik cousin: ELAND. Had to check the dictionary for dik-dik. Strange name.

43D: Part of MYOB: YOUR. Wrote down MIND first.

44D: Removes gear from: UNRIGS. As a ship.

45D: Nancy's home: FRANCE. The French city Nancy.

46D: Old compact from 45-Down: LE CAR

52D: Roots around in: DIGS AT. New meaning of "root" to me.

55D: Eponymous burner designer: BUNSEN (Robert). Saw this clue somewhere before.

56D: Statistical figures: MODES. I don't understand. How can MODES be "figures"?

58D: Ruin the surprise: BLAB

60D: Hard cash?: COIN

62D: Show relief, in a way: EXHALE

65D: Lofty home: AERIE

66D: '60s United Nations leader: U THANT. U means "Mister".

69D: Product suffix suggesting noodles: ARONI. New to me. As in macaroni I suppose.

73D: www transmission: E-FAX. Had trouble getting the answer.

77D: Atlantic food fish: SCUP. Barry Silk clued it as "Type of Porgy" last time.

82D: Marine hue: AQUA

83D: Many Wisconsin farmers: DAIRY MEN

84D: Show biz parent: STAGE MOM. Like Lindsay Lohan's mom.

86D: Closers of a kind: ZIPPERS

88D: Site of North Amer.'s geographical midpoint: N DAK. I knew this trivia.

92D: Room in a big house?: CELL. "Big house" is slang for prison.

94D: Ford classic: MODEL A. Introduced in 1928. I thought of MODEL T, which was actually discontinued in 1927.

97D: Campaign issue: TAXES

98D: Ghana's capital: ACCRA

104D: N.Y. Giants' founder and longtime owner Tim: MARA. I got the answer from Across fills. Wiki says his grandson John Mara is the current Giants' president.

106D: Things to grind: AXE

107D: Bottom line: SUM

Answer grid.

Happy Father's Day!

C.C.

Jun 14, 2009

Sunday June 14, 2009 Will Nediger

Theme: "Watch the Birdie" - ONE UNDER PAR (69A: Birdie that's hidden literally in 10 pairs of puzzle answers). ONE is placed under PAR in 10 different places. See this grid. I've circled all the PARs and ONEs.

20A: Fortified: RAMPARTED

23A: Cather novel set in Nebraska: O PIONEERS!

21A: Convey: IMPART

24A: __ Tunes: LOONEY

36A: Not up to stuff: SUBPAR

43A: Nary a soul: NO ONE

44A: Peeled strip: PARING

50A: Year in Augustus's reign: ONE BC

61A: Cowpoke's pal: PARD

61A: Birdie that's hidden literally in 10 pairs of puzzle answers: ONE UNDER PAR

76A: Skye of "Say Anything": IONE

88A: Like some stock: NO-PAR

93A: Philosopher __ de Beauvoir: SIMONE

94A: Arctic garb: PARKA

99A: Tip of Massachusetts: ONEILL

115A: Ancient Athens rival: SPARTA

120A: Complexion aides: TONERS

117A: California shrubland: CHAPARRAL

121A: Time long past: BYGONE ERA

I watch Chris Matthews's "Hardball" every day, yet I missed O'NEILL earlier. Chris was a long time aide to Tip O'NEIL and he speaks of his name often.

Very creative theme. I liked how the constructor placed ONE UNDER PAR in the very middle of the grid and paralleled two more theme answers at each end. Total 19 theme answers, heavy!

Quality non-theme fills also. Some are quite scrabbly. Some are very clever. Below are my favorite:

55A: HI and OK: STS (States)

72A: Priceless? FREE

16D: Delivery notice?: IT'S A BOY

5D: High point of a European vacation?: ALP

Unfortunately I had a triple-bogey round. I actually teed off very nicely, then I lost my ball. The rough was not that tough, but I did not have enough clubs in my bag.

Across:

1A: Hardly a knockout: PLAIN JANE. And STARES (123A: Knockouts attract them). Nice "knockout" pair.

10A: Imported roadsters: MIATAS. Wrote down MAZDAS.

16A: Schools of thought: ISMS

22A: Via, to Burns: THRO. Poetic "through". Mine was THRU.

26A: Mind the store: VEND. Kept trying TEND. But the intersecting PROVE (1D: Leave no doubt) says no.

27A: Large currency unit?: WAD. Nice clue.

28D: Ancient France: GAUL. Adjective Gallic. Not to be confused with Gaelic.

31A: Bev Bevan's band, briefly: ELO. Easy guess.

32A: "The Life Aquatic with Steve __": Bill Murray film: ZISSOU. Nope. Not familiar with this movie. Bill Murray loves golf. He is in "Caddyshack".

34A: Dr. Mom's remedy: TLC

38D: Pickup trick: LINE. Pickup LINE.

39A: "Great Expectations" hero: PIP. Unknown figure to me.

41A: Iowa's state tree: OAK

47A: Chilling order? SEDATIVE. I was thinking of torture.

51A: Three-part European union: BENELUX. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The union began on January 1, 1948.

52A: Houston-to-Dallas dir.: NNW

56A: "Come Back, Little Sheba" playwright: INGE. Also the playwright for "Picnic" & "Bus Stop".

57A: Further shorten: RE-EDIT

58A: Cybercommerce: E-TAIL

60A: "Hud" Oscar winner: NEAL (Patricia). She won best actress for the movie.

62A: Brings home: NETS

64A: Brno-born people: CZECHS. Last time CZECH was clued as "Brno native". See this map of Brno. It's to the southeast of Prague.

68A: Starbucks order: TALL

73A: Scandalous stuff: SLEAZE

75A: Plant reproduction prefix: SPOR. For spore.

77A: Stretch: TERM. Noun. I was thinking of verb.

78A: Development sites: WOMBS. Couldn't get LABS out of my mind.

80A: Kid's shooter: POP GUN

82A: Burlap source: HEMP

86A: Boo Boo, in Barcelona?: OSO. Spanish for bear. Boo Boo & Yogi Bear.

87A: Sorrow: REMORSE

89A: Net grazers: LETS. Tennis.

91A: Judgment Day hymn: DIES IRAE

96A: Small wrapper?: ELF. Santa's little helper. I thought of the awful ASP.

97A: One whose tickets are often expensive: COP. I liked this clue too.

98A: Hit the sauce: TOPE. Sauce is slang for liquor.

101A: Big cat sign: LEO

103A: Dig discoveries: Var.: SHERDS. Variant of SHARDS.

108A: Most of Uruguay: PAMPAS

110A: Hayseed: RUBE

113A: Either director of "No Country for Old Men": COEN. The Coen brothers.

114A: Capitale south of San Marino: ROMA. See this map.

119A: They may be pale: ALES. Pale ALE.

122A: Clunkhead: JERK

124A: Didn't worry a bit: SLEPT EASY

Down:

2D: Carnation locale: LAPEL

4D: Nano or shuffle: IPOD. Mine is classic.

5D: Pita look-like: NAN. I have not eaten any NAN for ages.

6D: TV shooting victim of 3/21/1980: J.R. EWING. I was picturing John Lennon then Ronald Reagan, completely ignoring the clue "TV".

7D: Far from frenzied: AT EASE

9D: MS. fixers: EDS (Editors). They fix the manuscripts (MS).

10D: "__ 18" (Uris novel): MILA. Here is the book cover. I learned the title from doing Xword.

11D: "Too rich for my blood": I'M OUT. Had trouble with this one. I did not know the meaning of "Too rich for my blood".

12D: Lunar Module test mission: APOLLO IX. Interesting trivia: Wikipidia says Alan Shepard hit two golf balls on the lunar surface during Apollo 14.

13D: One of two Crayola colors with the shortest name: TAN. The other is RED?

14D: Bellicose god: ARES. Roman Mars. The Norse equivalent is THOR, correct?

17D: Garnier products: SHAMPOOS. Not a Garnier fan.

18D: Monocled food mascot: MR. PEANUT

19D: 2009 Rihanna hit: SOS. Not familiar with the song. What a poignant title, considering how she was beat up by her boyfriend.

32D: Mineral in oysters: ZINC. Oh, I did not know oysters contain ZINC.

33D: Bared one's soul: OPENED UP

35D: LeBron James, e.g., briefly: CAV(Cavalier)

37D: Cabs on the table: REDS. Wine.

38D: Attorney's specialty: LIBEL LAW

40D: The same either way: PALINDROMIC. Toughie.

42D: Lane partner: KENT. "Superman".

44D: APB part: POINTS

45D: Temper: ANNEAL. Verb.

46D: Lavishly entertain: REGALE

47D: Cassandra, for one: SEERESS. But nobody believes in Cassandra's prophecy. Apollo is a vengeful guy. He put such curse on Cassandra when she did not return his love.

48D: Private pupil: TUTEE. You would think the word is TUTOREE, as tutor is the verb.

51D: Breakfast staple: BRAN. Rice for me.

53D: Abalone product: NACRE. Mother-of-pearl.

54D: Virtuoso: WIZ. No abbreviation hint?

58D: Adopt, as a cause: ESPOUSE

59D: Moved out: LEFT HOME

61D: Pope's work: POEMS. Alexander Pope. Nice clue.

63D: Three letters forming a single sound: TRIGRAPH. New word to me. Dictionary gives an example: eau in beau.

65D: Obnoxious sort, in slang: CREEPO

66D: Jazzman Woody: HERMAN. No idea. He does not look like a jazzman. I thought of Woody Allen.

67D: Throughout, in music: SEMPRE. No idea. Same root as Marine's "Semper Fi" motto I suppose.

71D: Either of two Henry VIII wives: ANNE. I only know ANNE Boleyn.

74D: Moat site: ZOO

79D: Presage: BODE

81D: Like pumice: Var.: POROSE. No idea. Variant of porous I guess.

83D: Classic Chunky brand: ALPO. I thought of chunky peanut butter.

84D: Ecotomorph: BEANPOLE. Did not know the meaning of ecotomorph. It sounds like a verb.

85D: Newlyweds' car decoration: STREAMER

87D: Doctor, at times: REFERRER

88D: Barely beats: NIPS. New meaning of NIP to me.

90D: Holdup cover-up: SKI MASK

92D: Peaked: ILL. Not familiar with this definition of "peaked".

93D: Fountain drink: SODA POP

98D: Army medic's system: TRIAGE

100D: Doesn't die out: LASTS

102D: Eccentric: OUTRE

104D: Type of alcohol: ETHYL

105D: Jazz pianist Chick: COREA. Him I know.

107D: Driller's filling: INLAY

109D: Obsession for Lady Macbeth: SPOT. I got the answer from Across fills.

111D: Doo-wop group anchor: BASS. Strung this answer together from Across fills as well.

113D: Hudson Bay tribe: CREE. Canadian tribe answer is always CREE.

114D: British rule in India: RAJ

116D: TV wheel spinner's purchase: AN A. "Wheel of Fortune". AN E, AN I, AN O all can be clued as "TV wheel spinner's purchase".

117D: "Criminal Minds" network: CBS. Easy guess.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Jun 7, 2009

Sunday June 7, 2009 Mike Peluso

Theme: Taking The Bite Out of the Dog

23A: About to land in northern Ohio?: (GR)OVER CLEVELAND

31A: Incredible hole-in-one?: AMAZING (GR)ACE

53A: Debts?: (GR)OWING CONCERN

76A: Traditional ghost stories?: (GR)EEK MYTHOLOGY

93A: Aristocratic Machu Picchu women: (GR)ANDES DAMES

106A: WWII intelligence oversights?: (GR)OSS NEGLIGENCE

37D: Angry gorillas?: (GR)APES OF WRATH

40D: Little queen in the library?: RESEARCH (GR)ANT

I glommed onto the theme immediately after I obtained AMAZING ACE. My favorite theme entry is APES OF WRATH, very evocative. I like how it crosses ORANG (80A: Malaysian ape). I am also fond of OSS NEGLIGENCE too. OSS is often clued as "CIA forerunner".

Very clever theme. Also neat to have three "Pay" in the following clues:

29A: Pay: SALARY. Wrote down AWARD first. Two letters fit.

38A: Not pay, as taxes: EVADE.

8D: Pay dirt: ORE

Several tricky clues today. I dodged a few. But struggled mightily with OPIATE (60A: Dentist's number?). Only realized a few minutes ago that I have to parse number as numb-er, stuff that numb me.

I still don't understand the cluing for NAS (105D: __ in November). Why? Is it related to the rapper NAS somehow?

Across:

1A: Photographer's buy: TRIPOD. And RIMS (82A: Lens holders)

7A: Maker of Infiniti hairstyling irons: CONAIR. Also the name of a Nicolas Cage movie.

13A: It precedes Blue Jays' home games: O CANADA. I got it immediately.

20A: Actress Swank: HILARY. Loved her "Million Dollar Baby".

21A: Defoe title surname: CRUSOE

22D: Rhine siren: LORELEI. This has become a gimme. Sirens are sea nymphs.

25A: Starry-eyed type: DREAMER. Life is too realistic to be a DREAMER now.

26D: 1931 Garbo role: MATA HARI. Unknown to me. I don't think I've watched any Garbo movie. MATA HARI was executed in 1917.

27A: Binding words: I DO. Sweet clue.

39A: Word in proof: ERGO

40A: Some NFL linemen: RGS (Right Guards). Not a football fan. Wanted RTS. Are right tackles linemen also?

43A: They're found under long hair: NAPES. D'oh. Of course.

44A: Douglas Aircraft jets used in Nam: F- TENS. No idea. I also did not know GIRO (75A: Old rotorcraft, for short). It's short for autogiro.

47A: Iowa college town: AMES

48A: Rice-: A-RONI. My husband loves their Spanish Rice.

51A: Follow: ENSUE

52A: Matter of law: RES. Latin thing.

56A: Spacemate of Michael and Buzz: NEIL (Armstrong). Aboard Apollo 11. The Moon Walk.

57A: "Strange Magic" gp.: ELO. Easy guess.

58A: Thing to go through: PHASE. Great clue. I kept thinking of LISTS.

59A: Twist, as floorboards: WARP

62A: Smooth style: FLAIR. Got the answer with Down help.

64A: PB &J cousin: BLT. I like peanut butter and honey combination.

65A: Kitchen gadget: CORER. Thought of PEELER immediately. I peel everything.

66A: In addition: AS WELL

68A: "Leaving Las Vegas" costar: SHUE (Elizabeth). Nice picture. I wrote down the other costar CAGE first.

70A: Time between mediodía y seis: TARDE. Spanish for afternoon. Between noon (mediodía) and six (seis). Stumper for me.

72A: USN rank: CPO (Chief Petty Officer). Another stumper.

79A: Throne letters: HRH. His/Her Royal Highness.

83A: Materialized: AROSE

84A: Reagan secretary of state: HAIG (Alexander). I remember his "I'm in control here".

85A: Facetious suggestion to public kissers: GET A ROOM. Funny.

87A: Layers: PLIES

88A: Mozart's "__ Alla Turca": RONDO. Here is a clip. I was stymied.

89A: __Kosh B'Gosh: OSH. New brand to me. What a strange name!

90A: "Same Time, Next Year" actor: ALDA. Not familiar with the movie.

91A: Badgers, in "Jabberwocky": TOVES. Anything "Jabberwocky' is beyond me.

92A: Softened by love: MELTED. Sweet clue too.

95A: Eternities: EONS. Wrote down EVER first.

99A: Ring floorings: KOS (Knockouts). Needs "briefly" for hint, doesn't it?

100A: Church challengers: HERETICS

104A: Qom inhabitant: IRANIAN. Wikipedia says Qom is the largest center for Shi'a scholarship in the world. Very close to Tehran.

110A: South African liberator: MANDELA

111A: Show contrition: REPENT

112A: More to the point: TERSER

114A: Lists of candidates: SLATES. Our governor Tim Pawlenty just announced that he wouldn't seek for a third term. I am certain that he is aiming at the GOP presidential nominee.

115A: Prosecutorial staff member: Abbr.: ASST DA. Have watched so many "Law & Order" reruns, yet I still had trouble obtaining this answer.

Down:

1D: Shoe retailer McAn: THOM

2D: 1972 Derby winner __ Ridge: RIVA. No idea. Wikipedia says he won 1972 Belmont Stakes as well. Very exciting race yesterday. Calvin Borel almost pulled it off.

4D: "The Prodigal Son" and others: PARABLES. I did not know what "The Prodigal Son" is about. Thought it might be a novel.

5D: 14-Down flowers: ORCHIDS. And CORSAGE (14D: Gift for a big date). DIAMOND came to my mind when I read "Gift for a big date".

6D: Songwriters Bob and Jakob: DYLANS. Only know the father Bob DYLAN.

7D: MXXX ÷ V: CCVI. 1030/5=206.

9D: Match __: tie game, in Bordeaux: NUL. New term to me. NUL is French for "void".

11D: Give a charge to: IONIZE

12D: __wip: REDDI. I forgot this brand again. Only use Cool Whip.

15D: Seattle's 206, e.g.: AREA CODE. Stumped. I only know Seattle's #51. My first ever baseball card is a Topps' Ichiro.

16D: 1960 Wimbledon champ Fraser: NEALE. No idea. He is an Aussie. Hope Roger Federer realizes his Grand Slam dream this time.

18D: Forest bounders: DEER. Nice clue.

24D: Fraction of a joule: ERG

28D: Like the simplest process: ONE STEP

32D: Out of control: MANIC. AMOK is one letter short.

33D: Spots: ADS

34D: Garson of "Mrs. Miniver": GREER

38D: Detachable collars: ETONS

41D: Astronaut's garb: G-SUIT. Oh, I did not know they are called G-SUITS.

42D: "O Rare Ben Johnson" is engraved (in error) on one: STELE. My answer was STONE. The correct name should be Ben Jonson, a contemporary of Shakespeare.

44D: Brother in a hood?: FRIAR. Superb clue. I was thinking of those street gangs.

46D: Navel phenomenon: INNIE

49D: Camping pest: GNAT. And NOODGE (55D: Pest), a word I quickly forgot after it appeared in our puzzle last time.

50D: Unlike this ans.: ACR (Across). This answer (50D) is Down, not Across. I got it right away.

63D: Hotelier Helmsley: LEONA. The Queen of Mean.

64D: Believes: BUYS. Did not come to me readily.

65D: Angry: CROSS. IRKED popped into my mind.

66D: Disco era phrase: A GO GO. No idea.

68D: Protection for a bank job: SKI MASK. The robbery. I was imagining those surveillance cameras in the bank.

69D: "Let me think about that": HMM

70D: Whig opponents: TORIES. The parties in the UK?

73D: Fall preceder: PRIDE. I wanted Summer.

74D: "Lordy": OH GOD

77D: Weaken, as confidence: ERODE. Calvin Borel probably jinxed himself by talking too confidently.

78D: Cut a sandwich, say: HALVE

84D: Piece keepers?: HOLSTERS. I did not know a pistol is also called a piece Nice play on peace keepers then.

86D: Savvy sailor: OLD SALT

87D: Lap dog, for short: POM. The real dog. I was in the figurative direction.

88D: Commits an act of betrayal, maybe: RENEGES. Don't promise what you can't deliver.

91D: Mortarboard hanger: TASSEL

92D: Pat of "The Karate Kid": MORITA

93D: "Intervention" airer: A AND E. The answer emerged itself. I've never heard of "Intervention".

94D: Concerns of the god Janus: DOORS. January is named after him.

96D: Tucson is its county seats: PIMA. got the answer from Across fills.

98D: Tilted position: CANT. New definition to me.

100d: Alts.: HGTS. Altitudes & Heights.

101D: Technical sch.: INST

103D: Antitoxins: SERA

107D: Luxurious getaway: SPA

108D: Nothing but __: perfect hoops shot: NET. Ha ha, I thought it's Nothing but DUNK. I don't follow NBA.

109D: Charlotte-to-Raleigh dir.: ENE.

Answer grid.

C.C.

PS: For those who are not familiar with today's constructor Mike Peluso, here is his interview again.