Friday July 11, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: ROOM (59A: Word that can follow 18A, 39A, 60A, 3D and 31D)

18A: Seasonal theater: SUMMER STOCK

39A: Foul-shooter's miss: AIR BALL

60A: City near Norfolk: NEWPORT NEWS

3D: Forecaster, of sorts: OUIJA BOARD

31D: Non-swimmer's hangout: WADING POOL

Hmm, room, MUSHroom... Is MOREL season over yet? Hard, hard puzzle! The letter "Z" of HERZOG and METZ intersection simply refused to crumble, the same with the K from ONKP/KAYE crossing.

Sub-theme: "I am Woman"

28A: "Hedda__": GABLER. Ibsen's play. New to me.

38A: Ms. Thurman: UMA

42A: "Ninotchka" star: GARBO (Greta)

66A: Lennon's love: ONO

4D: Glasgow girl: LASSIE

6D: "La ___ Nikita": FEMME. I like Peta Wilson's "La FEMME Nikita".

7D: Salinger girl: ESME. "For ESME with Love and Squalor" heroine.

45D: Caron title role: GIGI. Colette's work. Pretty good. "Love, my dear GIGI, is a thing of beauty like a work of art, and like a work of art it is created by ARTISTS (10D: Monet and Manet)."

53D: Deborah of "Quo Vadis": KERR. Not familiar with this film at all. "Quo Vadis" is Latin for "Where are you going". Japanese probably know this move movie very well.

54D: Org. founded in 1858: YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association)

I suppose A-LINE (48A: Dress shapes) should be added to the above list too. The clue for DEGAS (33D: "Women Drying Her Feet") is a very interesting & deliberate choice. Is there any hidden BATHroom concept here?

Feels like this constructor likes impressionist painting. I wonder why he did not clue "Mary Cassatt, e.g." for ARTISTS (18A), it would add more feminine touch to the puzzle.

Boy, it would be so easy for him (if he has not) to create another similiar *ROOM themed puzzle with some simple yet sensual words like BED, ELBOW, LEG & WIGGLE. All he needs to do is to spend 10 minutes looking at Renoir's various "After BATH" paintings.

Across:

1A: Blood-typing letters: ABO

8A: Acted as a leader: HEADED

16A: Nobelist Fermi: ENRICO. Nuclear Physicist. Nobel winner 1938. Been clued 2 since Jan 21.

17A: Israeli gun: UZI

20A: Voodoo charms: MOJOS. Do you carry a lucky charm? If so, what is it?

22A: City near Nancy: METZ. Here is a map. I see METZ, but Bill, where is Nancy?

26A: "Bonanza" role: HOSS. No idea. Which one is HOSS?

30A: Pennypincher: TIGHTWAD. New word to me.

45A: Sphinx location: GIZA. The Great Sphinx of GIZA.

51A: Coach Amos Alonzo ___: STAGG. Foreign to me. I am not into college football at all. Sounds like a very accomplished renaissance sports man, a perfect model for Twins' catcher Joe Mauer.

52A: Terrier breed: SKYE. It's clued as "Scottish terrier" on March 25.

55A: Per unit: A POP

57A: Pickled-peppers picker Peter: PIPER. Pure guess. I thought PIPER has something to do with rats.

65A: Comic Danny: KAYE. No idea. Wikipedia says he was the original owner of Seattle Mariners.

67A: Talked to God: PRAYED. And 11D: God of Spain: DIOS. And 27D: Synagogue: SHUL. A slight undercurrent of religiosity here.

69A: Quick getaway: LAM. And meet Karena LAM, the incredibly talented actress from Hongkong. FYI, LAM is a very common surname in Cantonese speaking regions. It's a variant of Mandarin Chinese LIN meaning forest.

DOWN:

2D: Knucklehead: BOZO

8D: Director Werner: HERZOG. No, no, I've never heard of this "German New Wave Movement" director. HERZOG means "duke" in German, according to Wikipedia.

9D: Nixon has two: ENS. 2 letter N's in his name.

12D: Behold, Nero!: ECCE. I like how ECCE intersects I SEE (23A: Got it).

13D: Okey-_: DOKE. I always thought it's "Okey-DOKEY".

19D: Part of PETA: ETHICAL

21D: Capital on the Aker: OSLO. And 29D: Capital on the Jabbok: AMMAN. Wild guess. I have no idea that Jabbok is a river in Jordan. I like the consistent cluing pattern of these 2 answers.

28D: Overcharge: GOUGE. One of these days, the crude oil will drop $25/barrel.

30D: Roman river: TIBER

32D: Transfixed: AGAZE

36D: Prevent by anticipatory action: PREEMPT

43D: Standard salary: BASE PAY

47D: Equipped: GEARED

49D: Ran out: LAPSED

56D: Working in a mess?: ON KP (Kitchen Police). Toughie for me. Not familiar with this GI term.

58D: Old lab burner: ETNA. I've never heard of it. Does it look like this?

C.C.

Wednesday July 2, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: Vowel Movement

17A: Gung-ho guy: BALL OF FIRE

26A: Quasimodo, for one: BELL RINGER

36A: "I Spy" co-star: BILL COSBY

50A: Cotton-grower's bane: BOLL WEEVIL

60A: Wall Street upsurge: BULL MARKET

Haven't we done a similar vowel progression themed puzzle before? Let me check....OK, here it is. Hmm, it's not entirely the same. I don't think I like this double-consonant ending B?LL****** rolling. Besides, the answer for the theme entry 36A has only 9 letters while the others all have 10, though the symmetry is still perfectly fine. I think I like Wiseman's better, all of his theme entries have 15 letters running through whole grid.

"Lust" came to my mind immediately after I spot the them, LAST, LEST, LIST, LOST, LUST would make a similar themed puzzle, so would MASS, MESS, MISS, MOSS, MUSS & PACK, PECK, PICK, POCK, Puck. What else can you think of?

It's a very thorny puzzle for me today, too many unknown singers. Had to ask google for help.

ACROSS:

1A: Hawaiian island: LANA'I. Lovely pineapple field in LANA'I (The Pineapple Island).

2A:Minute amt. of time: NSEC (Nanosecond)

14A: Concorde, e.g.: AVION (Plane). And another French word: ECOLE (28A: Nice schools)

16A: Novelist Hoag: TAMI. Unknown to me. One of her novels is titled "The ALIBI (25D: Mystery excuse?) Man".

19A: "Outside the Lines" shower: ESPN. Very misleading show-er, esp if you are not familiar with "Outside the Lines". "Baseball Tonight" shower would be much easier to obtain.

24A: Bonet or Alther: LISA. I know neither of them. Are they very famous?

39A: "La Boheme" heroine: MIMI. Foreign to me. Is it a gimme to you? I only know this MIMI (Tom Cruise's ex). And basso EZIO (63A: Pinza of opera). Always confuse his name with poet EZRA Pound.

42A: Patron saint of Norway: OLAV

43A: "The Zoo Story" dramatist: ALBEE (Edward). He also wrote "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

48A: Egg: pref.: OVI. And 64A: Bone: pref. OSTE

54A: Hair-removal brand name: NEET. It was clued as "Nair competitor" before. And another brand LYSOL (51D: Disinfectant brand).

55A: Violent killer: SLAYER

65A: NH city: KEENE. Unknown to me. I pieced it together from the down clues. The NH in the clue should not be abbreviated.

67A: Brewers' manager Ned: YOST. Hmm, Robin YOUNT yesterday, Ned YOST today, are we expecting Ben SHEETS tomorrow? What's behind this Brewers' promotion?

DOWN:

3D: "Everybody's talking" singer: NILSSON (Harry). I've never heard of his name nor the song. Wikipedia says "Without You" is one of his best-known songs. I always thought Maria Carey was the original singer. "Everybody's been a-talking" is the first line of Robert Plant & Alison Krauss's "Stick with me Baby".

6D: Type of checking: NO FEE

7D: Skiing mishap: SPILL. No idea. Is it Bode Miller style skiing mishap or what?

8D: Cochlea site: EAR. I had no idea what "Cochlea" is. Flyingears only mentioned the three bones last time: INCUS (the Anvil), Malleus (the hammer) and Stapes (Stirrup).

9D: Cereal brand: CHEERIOS. The company (General Mills) is based here in MN. It's one of the major corporate donors to the GOP convention (RNC) this year. We have a bunch of Fortune 500 companies (3M, Best Buy, Cargill, etc) here, so it's much much easier to raise money for the conventions in Mpls/St. Paul than in Denver (DNC).

10D: Hard-as-nail: STERN. I suspect the original clue is "Violinist Isaac" since this constructor seems to have a wide range of music interest.

11D: Layered pasta dish: LASAGNA. Want some? Go to epicurious.com for the recipe.

12D: Indistinct number: UMPTEEN

17D: Mosque tower: MINARET. Alien to me. This is a Mosque with a MINARET.

27D: State's number-2 job: LT. GOV. (Lieutenant Governor)

35D: Bridge support: PYLON. Another unknown. Look at this picture.

37D: "Working for the Weekend" outfit: LOVERBOY. No idea. I am not familiar with the song or the rock band. I thought "Working for the Weekend" was a movie, and the answer was some kind of special clothes.

39D: Tony Soprano, for one: MOBSTER

40D: Place on a pedestal: IDOLIZE

41D: "Brand New Key" singer: MELANIE. No idea. Here is "Brand New Key".

44D: More unpromising: BLEAKER. I kept reading the clue as "More uncompromising".

45D: Honda model: ELEMENT

49D: Supermodel Heidi: KLUM. OK, let's continue this SongFest. This is Heidi KLUM's "Wonderland". What are inside those Tiffany blue boxes?

C.C.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: It's Just a Fling

17A: Extremely dark: PITCH BLACK

59A: Billy Bob Thornton film: SLING BLADE

10D: Sleep restlessly: TOSS AND TURN

24D: Invite some friends over: THROW A PARTY

And a non-themed vigorous PELT (62A: Animal hide). Look at what centers the grid: PIVOT (38A: Turning point). It conjures up a VIVID (29D: Intense, as color) picture of someone hurling in motion, doesn't it?

I adore this puzzle. I love those scrabbly Z's & X'es. The intersections of PARTY & TRAY (65A: Cafeteria tote), and ADZE & BLADE are just brilliant.

Quite a few new words/names to me today, but I was able to fill in the unknown blanks with the crossing references. Had to google the dog food brand Bil-JAC (4D), as I could not get that expensive letter "J" from the across. MUTANT was clued as "Teenage __ NINJA Turtles" on the May 11 TMS puzzle, and I remember I checked the meaning of NINJA. But I did not fully digest it and assimilate into my brain.

A great Tuesday puzzle.

ACROSS:

1A: Japanese warrior: NINJA. All I could think of is "Samurai". NIN is "Endure", JA is "person". NINJA has a Chinese root. In fact, its Japanese Kanji writings (忍者) are identical to Chinese characters. There is a NBA/MLB player has 忍 tattooed on his arm. I cannot remember his name though.

14A: Trojan War story: ILIAD. And ILLID setting TROY (24A: Ex-QB Aikman). The clue for TROY is flawed here. QB should not be abbreviated. "Ex Cowboys QB" should be OK, or simply "1993 Super Bowl M.V.P.".

21A: __ May Clampett: ELLY. "The Beverly Hillbillies"

22A: Cash-register key: NO SALE

31A: Trademark DOS: UNIX. Developed by the Bell Labs.

43A: Fan mag.: ZINE

49A: Fastener attacher: STAPLER

53A: Union units: LOCALS. Does this refer to the Labor Union?

64A: Tenor Mario: LANZA. Unknown to me. I got his name from the down clues. He died so young (38 years old).

66A: Thwack: SWAT. Wish I were born earlier so I could see "The Sultan of SWAT" PITCH, TOSS, THROW, SLING, and have FLINGS in/off the ballpark.

67A: Surpass others: EXCEL

DOWN:

3D: Silents star Naldi: NITA. Learned her name from doing Xword. I've never seen any of her movies.

5D: Stick fast: ADHERE

9D: Kentucky loc.: FT. KNOX. I got this one easily due to the intersecting SERF (6A: By gone peasant). I dislike the clue though. Doe "loc." stand for location or what?

11D: WWII sub: U-BOAT

12D: Zora ___ Hurston: NEALE. Not familiar with her name. Have heard of "Their Eyes Were Watching God" though.

13D: Co-star in "Dr. Kildare" movies: AYRES. 60D: First name of 13D: LEW. No idea. Wikipedia said he was married to Ginger Rogers for six years. And Jane Wyman fell in love with him during the filming of "Johnny Belinda" and "left her husband Ronald Reagan for him, albeit unsuccessfully".

18D: Explode: BLOW UP. This brings to my mind the SCORIA (Volcanic rock ejecta) and the "Lava/Lois Bomb".

28D: Arcade game name: SEGA. Not familiar with this Nintendo rival. Would have not got it without the adjacent fills.

32D: "My life in Court" writer: NIZER (Louis). No idea. Easily gettable though. Wikepedia says "After the assassination of John F. Kennedy, he authored the foreword to the Warren Commission report that investigated JFK's murder and the conspiracy theories that still surround it." I've read the Warren Commission report, but I don't remember seeing his foreword.

39D: Sack of leaves: TEA BAG. Sack? Really? That coarse? Let me check.... OK, you are right. TEA BAG is explained as "a small porous sack holding enough tea leaves to make an individual serving of tea" by American Heritage Dictionary.

51D: Amtrak's bullet train: ACELA. Not familiar to me. Pieced it together from the across fills. Interesting "Acceleration" word though. China started running first bullet trains in April 2007. Eurostar seat is a bit tight.

54D: Monster of the Mojave: GILA. I only knew GILA River. Have never heard of this GILA Monster lizard.

55D: Judge's seat: BANC. No idea. Only knew BANC is French for "bench".

56D: Wood-shaping tool: ADZE. Gimme. My favorite Scrabble word. This ADZE needs to be sharpened.

C.C.

Monday June 16, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: Rip Off

17A: "A Few Good Men" director: ROB REINER

64A: Exit furtively: STEAL AWAY

10D: Common Florida tree: THATCH PALM

31D: Pool table position: SIDE POCKET

So close to a pangram (J & Q missing)! Lots of K words today:

5A: Champagne musicmaker: WELK (Lawrence). Unknown to me. Sewed together his name from down clues. Wikipedia says he loved playing golf, and he was a regular at Bob Hope Desert Classics. His autobiography is titled "Wunnerful, Wunnerful!"

26A: Razz: HECKLE. Even the clue is very scrabbly, isn't it? Wunnerful!

42A: Army vehicles: TANKS

57A: Pop choice: COKE. Pepsi please, for those who think young!

61A: Spirit of a screwdriver: VODKA. "Spirit of Black Russian" too.

8D: Mini race car: KART

27D: Pottery oven: KILN

28D: Plumbing woe: LEAK

31D: Pool table position: SIDE POCKET

44D: Difficult journey: TREK

This is my favorite Monday puzzle after John Underwood's "Chess Mate" in April. Can you feel that the quality of our puzzles is getting better lately? I don't seem to groan and gripe as much as I did before. And no clue makes me cringe today. I like it. I like the direction where we are heading.

ACROSS:

1A: Knight's aide: PAGE. BethPAGE Black will host US Open next year. This sign makes me laugh.

9A: NJ military post: FT DIX. Unfamiliar to me. The abbreviation of FT (FORT) always tricked me.

14A: Latin I word: AMAT. I like how it intersects ETRE (4D: French 101 verb).

16A: Windy City airport: O'HARE

19A: Goes ballistic: RAGES. And 50D: Angry rant: TIRADE. This reminds me of Chris Matthews and his frequent tongue-lashing. He was noticeably absent in "Meet the Press" special tribute to Tim Russert yesterday though.

20A: Opts for: SELECTS

21A: Negotiator's need: TACT. Love "The Negotiator". Speaking of "Negotiate", this "Battle Royale" between Rocco MEDIATE and Tiger Woods today brings to my mind 2000 PGA Valhalla. The result might be the same too.

23A: U.K. honor: OBE (Order of the British Empire). J. K. Rowling was awarded OBE in 2000.

24A: Catherine __-Jones: ZETA. This is the sexiest Greek letter clue I've seen in TMS puzzle.

30A: Former Egyptian leader: NASSER. I am truly tired of this clue though. Here is another beautiful picture of Lake NASSER.

32A: Wall St. debut: IPO (Initial Public Offering). No need for Cargill to go public, obviously.

34A: Tore out: HIED. I've never used this word "HIED" before.

35A: Brenda Lee hit: I'M SORRY. Not familiar with this song.

37A: Broadway presentation: PLAY

38A: Miata maker: MAZDA. It's headquartered in Hiroshima.

41A: Day-__ paint: GLO. I wish J. Lo. would name her perfume G.LO.

43A: "Dies ___": IRAE

44A: Petty: TRIVIAL

46A: Bygone cosmonaut's insignia: CCCP. Russian (Cyrillic alphabet) for USSR. New to me.

48A: P. Lorre character: MR. MOTO. Unknown to me. Only knew he was in Casablanca.

52A: On land: ASHORE

54A: Speaker of Cooperstown: TRIS. Boring clue. Try something else to excite me, like OMEGA diamond watch, "Tris of Diamond"?

59A: Display piece: ÉTAGÈRE. This corner ÉTAGÈRE looks neat.

66A: Against a thing, in law: IN REM. Unknown to me. Only knew "REM" is thing in Latin. (Update: I was wrong. RES is thing in Latin)

67A: Part of MVP: MOST. And 61D: B. M. O. C.: VIP. B.M.O.C. is Big Man on Campus.

68A: Whipped up: MADE

69A: Hangs one's lip: POUTS. No wonder, I need to learn how to hang my lip.

71A: Observed: EYED

DOWN:

1D: Minister: PARSON

3D: Some roof ends: GABLES. Saw this clue before. Forgot promptly. Here are GABLES. Here is the GABLE that I am familiar with.

6D: Surrealist Max: ERNST This is his famous "The Elephant Celebes".

9D: Strong-arm: FORCE

11D: Diplomat Hammarskjold: DAG. This is probably the only good news we've heard from the UN chief lately.

13D: Marks on ballots: XES

18D: Itchy skin condition: ECZEMA. Would not have got it without the across clues. I can never seem to remember this word.

22D: Mariner's greeting: AHOY. Hmmm, Chips AHOY.

25D: 1948-1949 flights to Berlin: AIR LIFT

29D: Ice cream brand: EDY'S. I don't believe there is any EDY'S in China, Häagen-Dazs yes.

33D: B. C. or P. E. I.: PROV. O Canada.

38D: Isinglass: MICA

40D: Braff of "Scrubs": ZACH. Unknown to me. Only know ZACH Johnson, who regrettably missed the cut on Friday.

42D: Ankle-related: TARSAL

45D: Act just like: IMITATE

49D: Type of street: ONE WAY. Or Another.

51D: Did as told to: OBEYED

58D: Salinger lass: ESME

63D: "Red River" co-star Joanne: DRU. Foreign to me. Got her name from across clues.

65D: Lid: TOP. Why not clue it as "Zenith" to make the puzzle more scrabbly? Here is Take My Breath Away from the "TOP Gun". Enjoy!

C.C.

Saturday June 14, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Themeless

Strange journey to the "Land of Oz" today. Too sudden a landing at the Munchkins' country I suppose. Had no idea who was "Mothers of Invention Inventor", could only think of Plato, who originated this "Necessity is the Mother of Invention"idiom. Did not know Ringo's oldest son ZAK, could only think of Julian, John Lennon's oldest son. ZANZIBAR was simply impossible for me, and ALYDAR was also completely foreign to me.

But I found my yellow brick road quickly, and conquered upper right corner after some mild struggle. Was not familiar with COLONNADE, had never heard of IDENTI-KIT, but ELAINE, INI and OSKAR helped.

The easiest part for me was the ALOE VERA corner. There was absolutely no IMPEDANCE (33D: Electrical resistance) there at all. With all those Blackwater shooting scandal talks last year, HESSIANS (Redux) came to me immediately.

The lower left also crumbled quickly, but I really dislike the clue for KAN (61D: Alternative to KS). Very lazy cluing. Would be very happy if it's reworded as Dorothy and " The Wizard of Oz" related, or simply "Neb. neighbor".

Then I went back to the thorny upper left corner, still could not get much done, and finally succumbed to Google. But hey, I arrived at the "Emerald City" and saw the great "Wizard of Oz".

I really like the below "?" clues today:

15A: Start of a number?: AREA CODE

27A: How much above?: A CUT

31A: Weapon of mass offense?: STINK BOMB. I wish its parallel ARMS (37A: Jacket parts) were clued as weaponry related.

44D: Shrinking flowers?: VIOLETS

Ready to tee off? Let's go!

Front nine:

1A: Island off Tanzania: ZANZIBAR. Here is the map. Wikipedia says the word "ZANZIBAR" probably derives from the Persian word "zangi-bar", meaning "Cost of the Blacks". And its main industries are spices, raffia and tourism. I like this zippy name.

I like country names with letter Z in them: Belize, Brazil, Czech Republic, Kazkhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mozambique, New Zealand, Switzerland, Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Zambia & Zimbabwe. Mozambique looks very intriguing, with Z & Q.

9A: Scruples: ETHICS. No "Moral standards" any more?

16A: Fill with false hope: LEAD ON

17A: Glimpsed surreptitiously: PEEKED AT

18A: San ___, Texas: ANGELO. ANGELO is also the villain in Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure".

19A: Foot: suff: PED, as in "Biped" and "Moped", according to Dennis. "PEDI"or "PEDO" are prefixes for foot.

20A: Type of scheme: PYRAMID. I am not familiar with this stock scheme. Only know the "Ponzi Scheme". Here is definition from the dictionary: "A fraudulent moneymaking scheme in which people are recruited to make payments to others above them in a hierarchy while expecting to receive payments from people recruited below them. Eventually the number of new recruits fails to sustain the payment structure, and the scheme collapses with most people losing the money they paid in."

22A: Three-time runner-up to Affirmed in 1978 Triple Crown: ALYDAR. Who remembers those runner-ups? Exotic name though. Here is Belmont Stakes ALYDAR vs. Affirmed clip, very exciting finish. ALYDAR is in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame now.

30A: Kamoze of reggae fame: INI. This is his "Here Comes the Hotstepper". I think this constructor Allan E. Parrish loves reggae music also. Last time he clued another reggae singer MAXI Priest ("Close to you") in his puzzle.

36A: Actor Werner: OSKAR. Weren't you here yesterday?

38A: Follow obsessively: STALK

40A: Cover up: HIDE

41A: Like Batman and Robin: CAPED

43A: Tires out: ENERVATES

46A: City st. : AVE. Thought it would be better to clue it as "___, Caesar!" to pair with 62D: Caesar's seven: VII.

48A: Spinnaker, e.g.: SAIL. I forgot what a spinnaker is. Pieced "SAIL" together from down clue.

49A: Clampett patriarch: JED. Ah Uncle JED to to Jethro. Everything I know, I learned from doing crossword.

57A: Braided hairdo: PIGTAIL. Here is Chatty Cathy in PIGGTAIL hairdo. Is she original?

59A: Small deer: ROE. This ROE topped Canapé looks delicious, is it rosemary sprig on the top?

60A: Signaled subtly: WINKED

62A: Soothing plant: ALOE VERA

64A: Box up: ENCASE

67A: Mercenary soldiers: HESSIANS

Back nine:

1D: Mothers of Invention inventor: ZAPPA (Frank). Is this a gimme to you? Here is more information about "The Mothers of Invention" band. Why is "the" omitted in the clue?

2D: Staggering: AREEL

3D: Disadvantaged: NEEDY

4D: Ringo's oldest son: ZAK (Starkey). I am not familiar with him or "The Who" band.

5D: Frozen floating mass: ICE PACK. Does this clue sound OK to you?

6D: Training room offerings: BODY RUBS. Wherever you say!

7D: Hebrew month: ADAR. It's the Purim's month. Here are the 12 months in Jewish calendar: Tishri, Heshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar, Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, and Elul. So, there are total three 4-letter months in the calendar, I think I saw ELUL clued in a TMS puzzle before, not Iyar. I bet every one of those names has an unique origin, just like our calendar.

10D: Adjust, as margins: RETAB

9D: "Seinfeld" character: ELAINE. NEWMAN next time!

11D: Old crone: HAG

12D: Composite pic maker: IDENTI- KIT

13D: Portico: COLONNADE. "Colonne" is French for "Column", "Ade" is a simply a noun forming suffix.

14D: Alternative to chains: SNOW TIRES

21D: Talks indistinctly: MUMBLES

24D: Saint-Saëns' "___ Macabre": DANSE. Saw this clue in a Feb TMS puzzle. Here is Matisse's "La DANSE".

28D: Satchel's cousin: TOTE BAG

31D: Lewis and Clark's guide: SACAJAWEA. And 32D: On a tour: TRAVELING. Great parallel.

33D: Electrical resistance: IMPEDANCE. The symbol is Z. Not familiar with this electricity term. But "IMPEDANCE" is easily inferable.

34D: Playing piece: MAN. I don't get this one. What playing piece?

36D: Commandment word: SHALT

39D: WWII word: K RATIONS

42D: Most profound: DEEPEST

47D: Dracula's conquests: BRIDES. Isn't Dracula also CAPED?

51D: Hoard away: STASH

54D: "Two women" Oscar winner: LOREN (Sophie)

55D: Makes tight: SEALS. And Sealed it with a Kiss. Wow, what kind of dance is that?

I am just so sad that Tim Russert is gone. My Sundays will never be the same. I will miss him tomorrow, and next Sunday, and the Sunday after, and every Sunday... I will remember you, Tim Russert, always.

C.C.

Monday May 26, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: LEISURE TIME (Rhyme)

20A: An easy crossword puzzle, say: SIMPLE PLEASURE

36A: After-school detention, e.g.: REMEDIAL MEASURE

57A: X on a map, perhaps: BURIED TREASURE

Isn't PLEASURE a MEASURE of our TREASURE? Can money buy us PLEASURE?

This is a very interesting puzzle. I am sure it's pure coincidence, but I do like the slight Cannes Film Festival tilt in the grid.

Let's start with 65A: French classful: ÉLÈVES (Update later: ÉLÈVES is French for students). French film The Class (ENTRE les Murs) won the Palme d'Or yesterday. All the cast are real teachers and ÉLÈVES. Very authentic yet artfully done docudrama. The best actor went to Benicio del Toro, who played the title role in Steven Soderberg's CHE (27A: Fidel's comrade). And the best director was awarded to a Turkish guy for his Three Monkeys (TRE: 19A: Uno e due). Very surprised to see audience & critics DERIDE (68A: Ridicule) and hiss La Frontiere De L'Aube though.

I did not finish the puzzle. I simply forgot ARTURO & BARRIO, and I could not hit the slope at 27D: SCHUSS. I've never heard of ASSE the fox either.

ACROSS:

1A: Writer Dinesen: ISAK. Out of Africa author.

5A: Soft stroke: CARESS

11A: "Washboard" muscles: ABS. Go to the gym if you want these Abs!

14A: Moon goddness: LUNA And 15A: Female grad.: ALUMNA. I like the feminine touch in this puzzle.

17A: __'acte (intermission): ENTR. ENTRE Less Murs literally is "Between the Walls", hence The Class.

18A: TV classic, "___ Room": ROMPER. Unknown to me. Inferable.

23A: Bundle of grain: SHEAF

24A: Brandy letters: VSO (Very Special Old)

25A: Temporary money: SCRIP

29A: Attention-getting shouts: YOO-HOOS

31A: "Undercover Angel" singer: O'DAY (Alan). Sorry about Anita Day mistake earlier. (Thanks, Melissa Bee)

33A: Altar constellation: ARA. I would not have gotten this one if not for ALB (34D: Priest's vestment). I only know coach ARA Parseghian.

35A: A/C measure: BTU (British thermal unit)

45A: Side by side: ABREAST

51A: Barge puller: TUG

53A: Esq. affixer: ATT. Why affixer instead of affix?

61A: Record keepers: NOTERS

62A: Skedaddles: GITS. Didn't I just see you yesterday?

66A: "___" Baltimore: HOT L. Nailed it this time.

69A: "South Park" co-creator Parker: TREY. Here is more information about him. He is a stranger to me. I only know low card.

DOWN:

2D: Parasol, e. g. : SUNSHADE. Here is Monet's Lady with a Parasol.

3D: 1862 battlefield: ANTIETAM. Is it very famous?

4D: Destiny: KARMA

5D: Sagan or Perkins: CARL. I know neither of them. Pieced the name together from across clues.

6D: Medicinal houseplant: ALOE VERA

7D: Hindquarters: RUMPS

10D: Circus Hall of Fame location: SARASOTA. This appeared on a March TMS puzzle.

11D: Conductor Toscanini: ARTURO. Wikipedia says he was one of the greatest conductor of all times, renowned for "his brilliant intensity, his restless perfectionism, his phenomenal ear for orchestral detail and sonority..."

12D: Latino quarter: BARRIO. Ugh, how can I remember this word? I only know bodega.

13D: Ratings' week: SWEEPS

21D: USA rank: PFC (Private First Class). Thank you for the service. And to those who died fighting for this country, to those who returned home safely, and to those who are still standing in harm's way, thank you.

22D: Hit the slope: SCHUSS. Have to commit this word to my memory.

23D: Restaurateur Toots: SHOR. Have not seen him for a while.

32D: Man of Sana'a: YEMENI

37D: Soundproofed: DEADENED

38D: Gathered, as volunteers: MUSTERED

39D: Like some motives: ULTERIOR

40D: Casino game: ROULETTE

41D: Faberge collectibles: EGGS

46D: Sultanate on Borneo: BRUNEI. I am so proud I got BRUNEI this morning. Lots of oil there I suppose.

50D: British sports cars: MGS. MG came from "Morris Garages", a dealer for Morris cars according to Wikipedia. I am not familiar with this at all. MGS appeared on a TMS Jan 31 puzzle.

54D: Fountain of coins: TREVI. The three-coin fountain.

56D: Anything whatever: AUGHT. It means nothing to me.

59D: African fox: ASSE. Cape Fox. It "inhabits dry areas of southern Africa and has large pointed ears, silvery gray coat, and a bushy tail with a black tip". Look at here. It's also called bat-eared fox. Have you heard of it before?

63D: Slightly shifty: SLY. Good alliteration.

C.C.

Monday, May 19, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: An ODD NUMBER of Songs (Thanks, Crockett1947)

20A: Blondie number: ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

41A: Commodores number: THREE TIMES A LADY

59A: Vogues number: FIVE O'CLOCK WORLD

A couple of things first:

1) For your information, the record for letter S appearing in a 15*15 NY Times' grid is 35, so Michael T. William's Saturday snaky puzzle (28 S's) is not too wild.

2) As you probably already know, besides Josiah Breward, our editor Wayne Robert R. Williams' other alias name is Willy A. Wiseman. It's an anagram of "i.e. Wayne Williams".

Quite a few unknown words/names in today's puzzle. I've never heard of ZEREX, AKIM. GOMER & ACTH. But I am just so smitten with those expensive & scrabbly letters (Z, X, K, Y, and V) in the grid. And I LOVE (15A: Adoration) the "songs with numbers in the title" theme entries. Ravishing!

ACROSS:

14A: Pituitary hormone: ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic Hormone). Too complicated for me to understand.

16A: "The Age of Anxiety" poet: AUDEN (Wystan Hugh Auden). The poem won him a Pulitzer prize in 1948.

17A: Wolf in Oaxaca: LOBO. Spanish for wolf.

23A: Sandberg of baseball: RYNE. He was inducted into Baseball HOF in 2005.

24A: Bobbsey twin: NAN. I am so tired of this clue. If you don't like Indian bread NAN, try Talese NAN then.

28A: Apothecary's amount: DRAM

33A: Astrologer Sydney: OMARR. Got him today.

37A: Tracy Marrow's stage name: ICE T. One of a few rappers that I know of.

46A: Pyle of classic TV: GOMER. A complete stranger to me.

55A: Certain fraternity letters: XIS.

65A: Actor Bridges: LLOYD. I don't know him. Lucky guess.

67A: Comic canine: ODIE. Garfield comic strip.

71A: Hallmark product: CARDS. Wow, I had no idea that the plural form of product is still product.

72A: Miniature race car: KART. I really like the 2 K's in today's puzzle.

73A: Formerly, once: ERST. He is back!!

DOWN:

3D: Swiss rescue breed: ST. BERNARD. Nana (Peter Pan) is one.

4D: Ostentatious: SHOWY

5D: Assassin: SLAYER. Buffy is one.

12D: Prestone rival: ZEREX. What is it?

27D: "As I see it" in chatroom shorthand: IMHO (In My Humble Opinion). JMO next time please!

29D: Actor Tamiroff: AKIM. Nope, not familiar to me. Would've not got it without the across clues.

38D: Portable audio-video device: CAMCORDER

39D: German river: EDER. Or ELBE sometimes. EGER is also a river in Germany, isn't it?

40D: Neophyte: TYRO. Can be spelled as TIRO as well.

48D: Mass departure: EXODUS

50D: Like broken promises: UNKEPT

52D: Company with a spokeduck: AFLAC. Love those Yogi Berra commercials.

53D: Cohort of Jane and Laraine: GILDA. Unknown to me. I got it from across clues.

54D: French auxiliary verb: AVOIR. Only 2 auxiliary verbs in French: AVOIR and ÊTRE.

56D: Loose: SLACK

58D: Boxer Archie: MOORE. Unknown to me. Only know Demi __ , Michael __ and Roger __.

64D: Artful: DEFT

Sorry about my flip-flop on theme summary today. But White Rose Movement's Love is a Number immediately popped into my head after I got all the songs with numbers and spotted LOVE on the upper middle corner.

C.C.

Monday, May 12, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: BANNING Rhymes (Famous people whose last names end with ANNING)

20A: "The Cat in the Hat" star: DAKOTA FANNING

37A: "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" singer: CAROL CHANNING

54A" Super Bowl XLI MVP: PEYTON MANNING

Happy Limerick Day everyone! I love today's puzzle, despite my ING phobia. Here are my reasons:

1) ANNING is Chinese for CALM, and CALM is clued as Tranquil (5A) in this puzzle.

2) I am happy to see NASDAQ & XANAX in one gird. Very scrabbly, though I've never heard of XANAX.

3) I like how COLONIAL intersects with CUP. Quite a few sports events are named as "COLONIAL CUP". I also like the intersections of URGENT and WHEN, NABS and BOOKED, TOGO and SOMALI.

4) The appearance of TETON and OGLER in one grid makes me laugh (TETON is a French slang for... hmm... "Milk Source").

There are also 2 computer abbreviations in today's puzzle: ISP and URL. And 2 rivals: RAGU (18A: Prega rival) and SAAB (59A: Volvo rival). And 2 racing related fills: 30D: ELLIOTT (30D: Auto racer Sadler) & LAP (31: Track circuit). And 2 Jamaica connections: KINGSTON (11D: Jamaica's largest city), ALLSPICE (38D: Jamaica pepper). Oh, by the way, MAXI Priest is of Jamaican descent too. That's how he got reggae talent in his blood I suppose. Don't you just love Bob Marley? "No woman no cry!"

ACROSS:

9A: Douglas and Ditka: MIKES. Know Douglas, not Ditka.

14A: Buck's tail: AROO. Buckaroo. Buck is always chased by AROO. For everything else, it's EROO (Switch, Smack, Smash, etc).

17A: Stirling man: SCOT. Stirling is in Central Scotland. I like this name Stir-ling.

19A: Alphrazolam brand name: XANAX. Completely unknown to me. Very intimidating clue, isn't it? I've never heard of alphrazolam. It's a drug for anxiety disorder. Why do they pick up XANAX for their trade name? This word is full of anxiety.

23A: Ms. Rogers St. Johns: ADELA. Got her today.

24A: Wings: Lat.: ALAE

28A: Proof letter: QED (Quod Erat Démōnstrandum). It was on yesterday's puzzle too.

29A: Soak flax: RET

35A: Pad: NOTEBOOK

40A: Early American style: COLONIAL. Sergio Garcia finally ended his drought yesterday at the Players' Championship. His first PGA win at COLONIAL (May 21, 2001) had a profound impact on my life. It's the first golf tournament I've ever watched.

45A: Actor Gulager: CLU. I don't know him. Pieced his name by the down clues.

60A: Entr'__: ACTE. You would not believe it, but I did fill in NOUS first. I boarded the train of Coupe de Foudre (Entre Nous) without looking carefully at the destination. What an INANE (10D: Really silly) mistake!

DOWN:

1D: Stock exchange: NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations). Shouldn't there be some words with the clue to indicate an abbreviated answer?

4D: Chihuahua drink: SOTOL. I've never heard of it. Here is a SOTOL plant. It's also called "Desert Spoon". Wikipedia says this plant "takes approximately 15 years to mature, and creates only one bottle of Sotol per plant".

5D: Irene of "Fame": CARA. Not familiar with her. I got her name from across clues.

6D: Bygone PLO Leader: ARAFAT (Yasser). What a historical opportunity he squandered at Camp David! This guy played double games all his life. Ridiculous!

8D: Hawaiian volcano: MAUNA LOA. Great to see its full name.

9D: "Close to You" singer Priest: MAXI. I don't like his "Close to you". I got an instant crush on his "That Girl" though.

21D: Florida fishes: TARPONS. Fishes? Not fish? Unknown to me. It's "a large, powerful game fish inhabiting the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean, having a compressed body and large, silvery scales." Here is a picture.

22D: Fastidious one: NEATNIK

26D: Syst. of instructions: PROG (Program). Is it an accepted abbreviation?

32D: Retiree's cash: PENSION. Goodbye Tension, Hello PENSION.

35D: Org. of Flames: NHL (National Hockey League). Good clue. And we are all WILD here in MN.

36D: Marceau character: BIP. No idea. Have never heard of "BIP the clown".

39D: Real cars: CABOOSES

47D: Foreigner hit: URGENT. I've heard of the band, not the song.

49D: Grand __ National Park: TETON. Have never been there before. But what a great name to lure visitors!

C.C.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

THEME: TV DAD (X-RATED)

17A: Robert Reed role: MIKE BRADY

61A: John Goodman role: DAN CONNER

10D: Reed Foxx role: FRED SANFORD

25D: Hugh Beaumont role: WARD CLEAVER

26D: Ed O'Neill role: AL BUNDY

The SUSPENSE: X

21A: One Ritter: TEX

36A: PlaysStation competitor: XBOX

64A: Nasal spray brand: SINEX

6D: Trojan War hero: AJAX

23D: "Das Kapital" writer: MARX

28D: Wheel shaft: AXLE

46D: Response to "Who's up?": I'M NEXT

RATE:

11D: Be worthy of : RATE

15A: Shipping box: CRATE

29A: Not for kids: R RATED

The REASONS:

14A: Reach rival: ORAL B

41D: Gary Lewis's backup: PLAYBOYS

26A: Diarist Nin: ANAÏS (Erotica author)

52D: Boredom: ENNUI. L'ENNUI (An erotic French film about sexual obsession)

53D: Lustful look: LEERS

Is this the fruit that rots on the tree? Are these trees that every day leaf anew? Oh poor sorry Devil, forget what I said yesterday, I am NOT going to sell my soul, not even for one day. I don't desire this kind of useless knowledge. Bring me back my OMEGA watch and my HERMÈS Birkin.

The difficulty of this puzzle will put USGA to shame! Omigod, so many unknown hazards and traps, so intimidating a rough, so narrow a fairway. I've never played a golf course as tough as this one. I've never seen any green with such breaks and slopes. I could not even see the tee boxes, let alone the doglegs. What a Titanic struggle! Except OMAR Sharif, I know none of those actors and their TV roles.

Heavy flirting with Google this morning, and it's not an enjoyable experience. Fun to see YOU'RE and ET TU, I'M NEXT in the same puzzle. Again, I like how XBOX anchors the whole grid.

ACROSS:

1A: "Moll Flanders" writer: DEFOE (Daniel). Not an easy name to fish out of my brain. He wrote "Robinson Crusoe".

6A: Abbr. for Edwards or Andrews: AFB (Air Force Base)

9A: Zimbalist, Jr. of "The F. B. I.": EFREM. No, I've never heard of the actor or the TV series.

15A: Shake up: JAR. Hmm, I like how the clue sounds.

19A: Riga populace: LETTS. Ugh, I only knew LATVIAN.

22A: Mozart movie: AMADEUS. Oscar best picture 1984.

24A: Beagle passenger: DARWIN. DARWIN's ship is HMS Beagle.

27A: What to make with Monty?: A DEAL. No idea. Have never heard of Monty Hall or "Let's Make a Deal".

33A: Extra: SPARE

38A: __ contendere: NOLO

40A: Abner's old-time-radio pal: LUM. No, I've never heard of this radio show.

41A: Actress Jo Ann: PFLUG. No, no, no. What a strange name!

43A: Sofer of soaps: RENA. Vaguely remember her name.

44A: Kicks back: LOLLS. Really? Is it the same?

45A: Soccer position: GOALIE

47A: Bleak, to Blake: DREAR

49A: Clear out: EMPTY

51A: "Wild one" singer: RYDELL (Bobby). Unknown to me. Is the song good? Is it wild?

55A: Winter Palace name: ROMANOV. They ruled until 1917.

59A: Marshal under Bonaparte: NEY (Michel). "The bravest of the brave". Nailed it this time.

65A: "___ So Vain": YOU'RE. Who on earth are you singing about?

67A: Centerpiece: HEART. Will miracle happen if you love something/someone with all your heart?

69A: Holey cheese: SWISS

DOWN:

1D: Like some stadium: DOMED

2D: Actress Slezak: ERIKA. Total stranger to me.

3D: Sick-day abuser: FAKER

5D: Oceanic flows: EBB TIDES

8D: William Jennings __: BRYAN. No, I've never heard of him.

9D: French pastry: ÉCLAIR. Want some? Like the coffee ÉCLAIR? That cherry macaroon looks so delicious.

31D: Hebrew month: ELUL. The 12th month of the Jewish calendar. The others are: Tishri, Heshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar, Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, and Av.

33D: Smelting waste: SLAG

43D: Bank take-back: REPO

44D: Village Voice award: OBIE

48D: Actor Stoltz: ERIC. Unknown to me.

55D: Impulsive: RASH

57D: Poet Van Duyn: MONA. Is this a gimme for you?

C.C.

Friday, April 18, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: CONTAINERS

7A: Stunt pilot's maneuver: BARREL ROLL

61A: Jersey add-on: CHEST PATCH

11D: Louella Parsons' rival: HEDDA HOPPER

25D: Roe v. Wade, notably: FEDERAL CASE

26D: Fight with feet: KICKBOX

A few things first:

1) As I replied to the whoo in yesterday's comment, this blog has about 3,000 visitors every day (Record: 5,750 on April 7). So, on average, about 1% of the solvers leaves comment.

Many of you still prefer to send me emails, and I am grateful for you kind words and I am happy that you are willing to share with me your daily solving experience. But please do not feel ignored if you've received no response from me. I simply do not have enough time. I do, however, read every one of your email. And I believe that I've replied to all the emails with a crossword-related question in them.

I really hope you guys will join us at the Comment section, it's only 2 clicks away. And it's so much fun there. Besides, your question will be addressed more quickly and expertly. Dennis, Dick and Drdad all check in regularly during the daytime.

You've also been watching me blundering my way out of this crossword labyrinth every morning, and you've been seeing me asking all kinds of questions. Some might sound silly to others, but honestly they are TERRA INCOGNITA to me, and I am not afraid to ask. I hope you will do the same if you are baffled by certain clues/cluing. Remember, no question, as long as it's crossword related, will ever be deemed silly or dumb here in my blog. And to quote Will Rogers, "Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects"

2) To those whose local newspapers only carry Monday-Friday TMS puzzle: You can always go to Chicago Tribune's Crossword website for Saturday puzzle. It's always themeless and quite fun to solve sometimes.

Now, back to today's mammoth headache. Oh what a nightmarish puzzle! Stupid CERF/PARI section! CERF appeared on last Sunday's puzzle, and irked me greatly as I had never heard of his name before (there were 7 authors' names in that brutal puzzle). So I googled, whined in my blog, then I promptly forgot.

I also could not remember Parimutuel and XKE, both of them appeared in this constructor's Feb 1, puzzle. Did not know that BARRIO is Spanish for neighborhood. Vaguely heard of Hedda Hopper, but I could not retrieve her surname out of my brain. So, a total quagmire there.

MOHS, HILLEL, EMILO, KEMP, AMECHE are all my Muqtada al-Sadr this morning. So formidble and hard to catch. I simply do not have enough ammo or strategy to fight them. The only thing that made me happy was to see NIC Robertson intersecting KICKBOX. I adore NIC.

Boy, it's been such a sluggish week for me. I guess I was distracted by something Philadephia related. Could be Obama's anemic off-performance, or Hillary's begrudging "Yes, Yes, Yes" comment, or I was simply bothered by Chris Coste, Ryan Howard and their fans. Twins suck!!

Across entries:

1A: Big name in book publishing: KNOPF. Gimme for me. Carl Bernstein's "A Woman in Charge" (Hillary Clinton)'s publisher. It also published Clinton's "My Life". KNOPT is now owned by Random House.

6A: Minerals scale: MOHS. No idea. Mineral hardness measure scale, named after German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. Now, how I can remember such a forgettable name?

10A: Cut with an ax: CHOP

14A: Actress Garson: GREER. Ha ha, got her this time.

15A: Reebok rival: AVIA. Curious about the history of Adias and Puma? And a bit Nike? Read this book (Three Strips Verus Puma). English version is now available.

19A: Deuce follower, perhaps: AD IN

21A: Puzo book, with "The": LAST DON. Since "Godfather" and "Sicilian" do not fit. He also wrote "Omerta" of course. I've read all of them, in Chinese naturalmente.

23A: IRS payout: REFUND

26A: Dole's 1996 slate-mate: KEMP (Jack). I am not familiar with American politics in the '90s. I've only lived under one president, the current occupant of the White House!

28A: Courtroom declaration: PLEA. Really? I thought you declare "guilty" or "not guilty" in the courtroom. I wanted OYEZ.

29A: Actor Estevez: EMILIO. Forgot. He has to change his name in Sheen for me remember him.

31A: "__ Jude": HEY

32A: Anti -DUI org.: MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)

33A: Roberson of CNN: NIC

38A: Classic Jaguar: XKE

40A: Actress Hedren: TIPPI. Wow, she is Melanie Griffith's mom, did not know that before. She was in "The Bird"? That's one scary movie.

43A: Vitamin-bottle data, briefly: RDAS (Recommended Dietary Allowance). Why do they make the vitamin pills so big? It's so hard for me to swallow.

45A: _ humbug!: BAH. Hmm, Scrooge is thy name Mr. Williams!

47A: Straddle: SPAN. Astraddle is also a word, like yesterday's astride.

50A: Leon lady: SENORA. Did not know where Leon was. But SENORA was easily inferable. Leon is in north Spain by the way. I love the movie LÉON a lot.

52A: Bennett of Random House: CERF. Founder of Random House.

53A: Bad French: MAL. Pas MAL a clue at all. In fact, I like it a lot. Much better than "_ de mer".

54A: Kentucky fort: KNOX

55A: Spanish neighborhood: BARRIO. No idea.

57A: Makes allowances for: EXCUSES

59A: What cons do: TIME. Good clue. Too bad I tanked this one.

60A: Quahog, e. g.: CLAM. Nailed it this time.

66A: Padlock partner: HASP

67A: Prefix for spaces: AERO

68A: Sadat of Egypt: ANWAR. He succeeded Nasser, then Mubarak succeeded him. He and Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace prize. He was indeed a visionary who dared.

69A: Merino mamas: EWES

71A: Bacterial infection: STAPH (Staphylococcus). No idea.

Down entries:

2D: Gun Lobby: NRA. Needs an "Org." in the clue to indicate an abbreviation.

4D: Won over: PERSUADED

5D: Refrigerant gas: FREON. All right, "FRE" stands for "refrigerant", and "-on" is suffix for inert gas.

6D: Slugger McGwire: MARK. Too bad, he screwed up his HOF chance. McGwire is also a scratch golfer, very powerful swing.

7D: Lacto - __ vegetarian: OVO. "Lacto" is milk, "ovo" is egg. Basically it's Vegan + Egg + Milk. I have discipline problem, so I can only be a flexitarianist at best!

8D: Ancient Jewish rabbi: HILLEL. No idea. It's "Palestinian rabbi who greatly influenced the interpretation of Judaic law". Literally the word means "he praised" in Hebrew.

9D: Seasoned sausages: SALAMIS

12D: Bobolink's cousin: ORIOLE. Not a bird person, did not know what was a bobolink. Would've got it had it clued as "Baltimore ball player" or "Cal Ripken Jr. is one".

13D: J. C. follower: PENNEY

18D: Heavily burdened: LADEN

22D: Gush forth: SPOUT

23D: Turning figs.: RPMS (Revolutions Per Minute)

24D: Israel's airline: EL AL

26D: Fight with feet: KICKBOX. Let me show you how.

30D: Shuffle: MIX

35D: Wrongdoer: MISCREANT. I suppose this word is too harsh to describe Jeff Immelt. But can I say his mind-boggling behavior is "MISCREANT"? Crazy, if you could not deliver, why would you promise? Would things changed that dramatically in a month? Time to leave!!

37D: To-do list stuff: TASKS

41D: __-mutuel: PARI. What can I say? I have a picky brain. It just refuses to remember certain things.

42D: Skinny, sort of: INFO. If I were the constructor, I would clue it as "Skinny, short".

44D: Five Nations tribe members: SENECAS. Nope. I totally forgot this word 5 seconds after I met him last time. SENECA is "a members of the largest tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy of North American Indians, formerly inhabiting western New York and being conspicuous in the wars south and west of Lake Erie."

46D: Convent attire: HABIT

48D: "Cocoon" star: AMECHE (Don). No, total stranger to me.

49D: Accountant's concern: TAX LAW

51D: Snacks: NOSHES

56D: Oscar org.: AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Flirted with ASCAP until PATCH (61A) came along.

63D: Hughes' airline: TWA (Trans World Airlines)

64D: Tooth topper: CAP

65D: Monarch's letters: HRH (His/Her Royal Highness)

C.C.