Sunday, March 16, 2009 Annabel Michaels

Theme: Oral Exam

25A: Molar collector?: TOOTH FAIRY

67A: Alien language: FOREIGN TONGUE

114A: Car accident rescue device: JAWS OF LIFE

6D: Murderous: CUT THROAT

37D: Pecans, pumpkin, etc.: PIE FILLINGS

40D: Harmonicas: MOUTH ORGANS

82D: Dimple: CONCAVITY

Wow, what a laborious & harrowing solving experience! I struggled hard. The Socio/Ethno/Flenses/Cresset portion of the puzzle was simple too formidable for me. I did not even get the complete theme entries until I read others' comments. I spent 1 1/2 hours on this puzzle. Had 2 big high-carb breakfasts & 1 apple & 1 banana to compensate my rigorous mental workout.

Oh, I have a question for you, what time do you normally get your Sunday paper? Our weekend paper guy is really driving me nuts. He is always unapologetically and unabashedly late. This morning he threw the paper so hard at our garage door that he woke up my husband.

Across entries:

1A: Rite spot: ALTAR

10A: Of people: pref: SOCIO. I flirted with the senseless LOCIO for over 1 hour.

15A: Long nail: CLAW

19A: "Aida" composer: VERDI. "Aida" is the only Verdi piece I know.

20A: Component piece: UNIT

21A: Of a people: pref: ETHNO. I like the way ETHNO parallels with SOCIO.

22A: Scottish lake: LOCH. I am very fond of this crossword clue: Loch without a key: NESS

23A: Objects of devotion: IDOLS

30A: Auberjonois and Descartes: RENES. TMS crossword stalwart.

31A: Hindu priestly caste: BRAHMAN. Not a familiar word to me. I guess I've heard of Brahma, the Creator in Hinduism (Vishu is the preserver and Shiva is the destroyer. Hindu Trinity). My dictionary explains Brahman as the highest of Hindu priestly caste.

33A: Strips blubber: FLENSES. Unknown. Is this a whaler's lingo?

35A: Angel dust: abbr: PCP (Phencyclidine). I wonder who first called this awful drug "Angel dust?" Maybe he experienced some hallucination and delusions from dosing on this drug and saw angels?

38A: Divest: STRIP

39A: Relative of a flambeau: CRESSET. I did not know the meaning of flambeau, and I've never heard of cresset. I just learned that flambeau derived from old French flambe (flame). I think that's where we get this word flamboyant.

40A: Brit. electees: MPS (Members of Parliament). I just finished Josephine Hart's Damage, in which an upcoming brilliant British MP had a steamy affair with his son's girlfriend. I don't know where I got this notion that MP stood for Minister of Parliament. Louis Malle made this into a film, starring Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche. It's pretty good.

43A: Explorer Ericson: LEIF. Here is more information about him. Have never heard of him before.

45A: Hawaiian acacia: KOA. Acacia koa. Unknown to me.

49A: South Pacific region: OCEANIA. Does it include Australia?

51A: Censor's inserts: BLEEPS

54A: Safe: SECURE

55A: Boldly resisting: DEFIANT. That's the oddball lunatic Kim Jong-Il.

56A: Bitingly cold: RAW

57A: Social follower?: ITE. My first instinct was ism, or ist.

59A: Number stamper: DATER. What?

61A: Wife of a rajah: RANI. Rani = Ranee; Rajah = Raja.

62A: Word with prayer and throw: RUGS

64A: Afterwards: THEN. I put SOON first.

65A: Actor Linden: HAL. He is a stranger to me.

71A: Keats verse: ODE

74A: Part of NLCS: NATL (National League Champions Series). Twins belong to the ALC.

75A: Practical jokes: GAGS

76A: Rabbit's title: BR'ER. My husband helped me with this one.

78A: Top social category: A LIST

80A: __ de mer: MAL. French for seasickness.

81A: Wildebeest: GNU. Wildebeest is not listed in my Webster's dictionary.

82A: Informing: CUING.

85A: Hindu mystic writings: TANTRA. Tantra, mantra, both Hinduism terms.

87A: Admonish: REBUKE

89A: While performing: ON STAGE

90A: Cleanliness: HYGIENE

92A: Tumor: suff.: OMA. Fibroma, Melanoma.

93A: Tropical cuckoo: ANI. Learned this bird from doing crossword.

96A: Feudal tenants: VASSALS. Big stumper. I only knew ESNE.

99A: One hundred: pref.: HECTO. I simply forgot.

101A: AARP members: SRS

102A: Tex and Thelma: RITTERS. Complete strangers to me.

103A: Part of the Arctic Ocean: KARA SEA. On the east of Barents Sea. Look at this map.

105A: One more time: AGAIN

108A: QED part: ERAT. I am tired of this cluing.

109A: Norwegian king: OLAV

110A: Makes insensitive: NUMBS

116A: High: pref: ALTI. Altitude or what?

117A: Window on a corbel: ORIEL. It looks like this.

118A: Hog-wild: AMOK. Can also be spelled as amuck.

119A: Of an arm bone: ULNAR

120A: Spoils taken: LOOT

121A: Cooper's Bumppo: NATTY. No idea.

124A: Skewed: AWRY

125A: __ Park, CO: ESTES

Down entries:

1D: Rara __: AVIS. A rare bird, Latin. That's Sade. Don't know where she is now. Sade and her sister used to frequent a bar in Southern Spain operated by my ex-boss.

2D: Mother of Castor and Pollux: LEDA. The Swan Lady.

3D: Walked (on): TROD

4D: Impromptu: AD LIB. The impressive Mike Huckabee! He is so good at ad lib.

5D: Staircase elements: RISERS

7D: Blood deficiency: ANAEMIA. I always spell it as Anemia. Don't eschew the R word, W, this economy is anemic.

8D: Irregular stone foundation: RIPRAP. Here is a picture for you.

9D: Drinking vessel: STEIN

10D: Looses: SETS FREE. I penned in LETS FREE, thus could not get SOCIO for 10A.

11D: "My fair Year" star: O'TOOLE. Never saw this movie.

12D: Routine duties: CHORES

13D: Deeply felt: INTENSE

14D: La-la lead-in: OOH. I put in TRA first.

15D: Sculptor Oldenburg: CLAES. Another stranger.

18D: Reasons: WHYS

26D: Worried: FRETTED

32D: Rowan, a.k.a. Mr. Bean: ATKINSON. Poor guy. He will always be Mr. Bean.

34D: Earthly seven: SEAS. I loathe the clue.

35D: Proceed slowly but surely: PLOD

36D: Gospel singer Winans: CECE

39D: Wrigley's and Doublemint: CHEWING GUMS

41D: Liquefied: PUREED. Don't like anything pureed either. I need to see clearly what I am eating.

42D: "Tristram Shandy" author: STERNE. Have never read the book, do not know the author either.

48D: Beat it: SCAT

50D: Childlike person: NAIF

52D: dugout canoe: PIROGUE. I want to be in this boat.

53D: Knocks for a loop: STUNS

58D: Coop item: EGG. Have you ever taken a fresh warm egg from a coop?

61D: Make road repairs: RETAR

63D: Minor divisions: SUBUNITS. This word posed quite a bit of problem for me.

68D: Battering device: RAM. It's in last Sunday's puzzle.

69D: 31-syllable Japanese poem: TANKA. I only know Haiku.

70D: Greek goddess of discord: ERIS. She is the sister of Ares (God of War). Troubled siblings.

73D: Italian wine center: ASTI

77D: Ways in: abbr.: ENTS. Entries I suppose?

79D: Golfer from El Paso: TREVINO (Lee). Great guy. Very funny too. But I was actually thinking of Crenshaw (Ben). I did not know that Trevino is from Texas. Golfer Justin Leonard is from Texas too.

83D: Borodin's prince: IGOR

88D: Long, narrow cushions: BOLSTERS

91D: Actress Parson: ESTELLE. Nope. Have never heard of her.

93D: Aquarium requirement: AERATOR. My husband filled this for me.

97D: Old World finches: SERINS

98D: Former PLO leader: ARAFAT

99D: Revere: HALLOW. I think Abe Lincoln used "hallow" as a verb twice in his Gettysburg Address.

100D: Wife of Paris: OENONE. Only knew Helen.

103D: Australian marsupial: KOALA

104D: Invisible emanations: AURA

106D: Willing: GAME. I don't think I am game for another Sunday puzzle, this is too tough for me.

107D: Gone GI: AWOL

112D: __ noire (bugbear): BETE

C. C.

Saturday, March 1, 2008 Annabel Michaels

Theme: NO

My worst Saturday ever! Thorns everywhere.

If not for good old BOB DOLE (54A, One Soldier's Story author), I would've been struck out in every corner. So many unknown names, places and new words.

I surrendered very quickly, after 20 minutes of muddling around. Then I tired out Mr. Google.

Across entries:

1A: Exploitation: OVERUSE

8A: School filmstrip grp.: AVS (Application Visualization System). Unknown to me.

11A: Quartermaster: RSO (Regimental Signals Officer). Another stranger.

14A: Inventors' exclusive rights: PATENTS

15A: At the ready: SET

16A: UFO pilots: ETS

17A: Temporary expedient: STOPGAP

18A: Play about Capote: TRU. Brought a Tony for Robert Morse in 1990.

19A: Demure, in London: MIM. Dictionary says it's a British dialect, the origin could be a mixture of "mum" or "prim".

20A: Actor Alejandro: REY. I forgot his name.

21A: John Wayne movie: THE ALAMO. Never saw it. It's the first movie "Duke" ever directed.

23A: Tearjerkers, of a sort: ONIONS

26A: Retirement title: EMERITUS

27A: Jai alai ball: PELOTA. No idea. But I am happy to learn this new word. Kind of tired of Jai _ clue.

28A: Chanted hymn: CANTICLE

29A: Before takeoff: PREFLIGHT

31A: Howdy-does: HIS

32A: Gypsum crystals: SELENITES. Unknown to me. They are often transparent and colorless. Here is more information: "Selenite, satin spar, desert rose, and gypsum flower are the four crystalline varieties of gypsum."

36A: Actress Arthur: BEA

39A: Historic Site in Kansas: NICODEMUS. Never heard of this place. It's "the only remaining western community established by African Americans after the civil war."

43A: Widely prevalent: EPIDEMIC

47A: Desert blooms: YUCCAS

48A: Circus Hall of Fame location: SARASOTA. Never knew that there's even a circus Hall of Fame in existence. OK, more information for you, the International Circus Hall of Fame in based in Peru, Indiana.

49A Ranges: SCOPES. I put Stoves first.

50A: Run away: TURN TAIL. Never heard of this expression.

51A: Khaki shade: TAN

52A: Can or cup ending?: OLA (Canola and Cupola). I got this one.

53A: Ltr. holder: ENV (Envelope)

54A: "One Soldier's Story" author: BOB DOLE

58A: Chinese Dynasty: WEI. "Any of several imperial dynasties of China ruling from 220 to 265 and from 386 to 556." OK, I found more information for you. If the clue is 3-letter Chinese Dynasty, it's either Han or Wei. If it's 4-letter Chinese dynasty, then the answers are Ming, Tang, Chin, Tsin or Sung.

60A: Dahl and Francis: ARLENES. Unknown to me. If it's clued as Senator Spector, I would have nailed it. (Update: I was wrong about Senator Spector's given name. It's ARLEN, not ARLENE, sorry Senator.)

61A: Universal meas.: STD (Standard)

62A: Some ER staffers: MDS. Is it an abbreviation of medical doctor or doctor of medicine?

63A: Prescient woman: SEERESS. Easily got this one.

Down entries:

1D: Wife of Saturn: OPS (Greek equivalent is Rhea). She is also the mother of Jupiter. Man, I had no idea that Saturn even had a wife. I've got to find a way to remember the names of those Roman/Greek Gods/Goddesses. They are killing me very time they appear.

2D: Industrial container: VAT

3D: Ike's command: ETO (European Theater of Operations). Got this one.

4D: Admonitions: REPROOFS. I put Reproves first, and it fit perfectly, too bad it's a verb.

5D: Rough and rude: UNGENTLE. I tried to put Ungainly, which did not really match the clue, but I've never heard anyone use the word "ungentle".

6D: Triangular wind-catcher: STAYSAIL. Never heard of it. Sailing terms tend to trip me all the time.

7D: Mind reading: ESP

8D: Of a respiratory disease: ASTHMATIC

9D: Dancer Ben: VEREEN. Never heard of him. He is the Godfather of R&B Singer Usher. Interesting, he also starred in the Broadway Musical Wicked as the Wizard.

10D: Dollar bill artist: STUART (Woods). My ignorance knows no limit.

11D: Chance to get even: REMATCH. "Revenge" came to my mind immediately.

12D: Incentives: STIMULI. One of the first words I filled in.

13D: Diffusions: OSMOSES. One of the last words I filled in.

21D: Specialized: TECHNICAL. I was thinking of a verb ended with a past tense. I like the clue though.

22D: IV x XIII: LII (4 x13 = 52)

23D: Antithesis: abbr.: OPP (opposite)

24D: Saul's uncle: NER. Did not know this one.

25D: __ du Diable: ILE. Devil's Island.

30D: Some prepositional phrases: GENITIVES. Is this a gimme for you?

33D: F.A. O. Schwartz, e.g.: TOY STORE. A rare gimme for me today.

34D: Capable of being taught: EDUCABLE. A tiny bit of Bushism: "Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?"

35D: Motion supporter: SECONDER. OK, I second your motion, does that make me a seconder?

36D: Confers: BESTOWS

37D: Shoulder decoration: EPAULET. Unknown to me.

38D: Bombardment: AIR RAID

40D: Women's Lib opponent, for short: MCP (Male Chauvinist Pig). I was pissed off beyond comfort at this point of my solving.

41D: Abu Dhabi loc.: UAE. Another rare gimme for me.

42D: Draft letters: SSS (Selective Service System)

44D: Quayle or Marino: DAN. I wonder how much NutriSystem paid Dan Marino and Don Shula to pitch for their diet.

45D: High regard: ESTEEM

46D: Lamented loudly: MOANED

54D: __ - relief: BAS. Low relief. See this picture. Here is an image of high relief (Alto-relievo).

55D: Single unit: ONE

56D: Paul of guitars: LES. Learned his name from doing crossword.

57D: Snaky letter: ESS. Repeat offender.

Have a good weekend.

C. C.

Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 Annabel Michaels

Theme: 1/23/2008

17A: ONE TWO THREE
11D: ZERO EIGHT
60A: TWENTY THIRD
33D: OF JANUARY

I spent an insane amount of time trying to figure out the left down corner. I put in BEEP for 55D: Signal with a horn, but then I was not so sure of PLY for 65A: Double Over. In fact, I thought "Double Over" means spy. And, I was not certain of BOUDOIR for 55A: Woman's sitting room. I kept imagining a separated, white-walled, Persian rug decorated room those Muslim women live in Saudi Arabia, or Kuwait.

24A: Golfer's Porter: CADDIE. Steve Williams is probably the coolest (and the richest) porter in the golf world.

41A: Enjoin Solemnly: ADJURE. Another new word for me. It has nothing to do with join.

49A: Spooned: NECKED. Never heard of this expression.

63A: Dyer: TINTER. Only knew tint, never used tinter in any sense before.

42D: Soft Italian cheese: RICOTTA. I heard of this cheese before, from Rachel Ray. Yummo for her. No No for me.

50D: Fuzzy Fruits: KIWIS. Somehow I wanted to fill in UGLI, which is not fuzzy.

I don't understand why 35D: Shirtsleeves is ARMS. Did I make a mistake? It means not wearing a jacket according to this dictionary.

I also tend to confuse AVER and AVOW a lot. See 12D: Declare as true: AVOW. (Update: I don't think the clue of the Star Tribune is correct. Declare as true should be AVER.)

C. C.