Wednesday September 30, 2009 Chuck Deodene

Theme: MUSTACHE (64A: Each answer to a starred clue is a type of this)

17A. *Evil Asian doctor in Sax Rohmer novels: FU MANCHU. It extends downward past the lips, as sported by Baseball Hall of Famer Goose Gossage.

11D. *Scooter feature: HANDLEBAR. It has long, curved and upward pointing ends, resembling the handlebars of a bicycle, as sported by President Taft.

22D. *Tusked mammal: WALRUS. It's thick and bushy, hanging down over the lips, often entirely covering the mouth, as sported by Nietzsche. PGA's Craig Stadler is nicknamed "The Walrus" because of his mustache.

35D. *Trotter's footwear item: HORSESHOE. It's U-shaped, with vertical extensions from the corners of the lips down to the jawline, as sported by Hulk Hogan.

36D. *Eyebrow cosmetic applicator: PENCIL. It's narrow, straight and thin like a pencil, as sported by Brad Pitt.

What do you call Dennis's style? I was not familiar with the last term PENCIL MUSTACHE.

Adorable puzzle. I loved how the constructor placed MUSTACHE in the grid and clued all the theme answers in a non-MUSTACHE way. Think how boring it would be if he clued them simply as "Mustache type".

Across:

1. Used a spade: DUG. Nice echo with its symmetrical partner SOD (71A: Lay down the lawn).

8. Accident: MISHAP

14. Fertility lab eggs: OVA. Plural of ovum, Latin for "eggs".

16. Francia neighbor: ESPANA. Spanish for Spain/France.

21. "There oughta be __": A LAW

24. Second largest planet: SATURN. The ringed planet. Also the Roman god of Agriculture. See AGRI (58D: Prefix with culture).

26. Scalawag: RASCAL. Scalawag is a new word to me.

29. Category: ILK. I am used to "Sort" clue.

30. Polish Nobelist Walesa: LECH. Nobel Peace, to be exact (1983).

36. "We'll always have __": Rick, to Ilsa, in "Casablanca": PARIS. Love this line.

39. Satisfied laugh: CHORTLE. Portmanteau word. Chuckle + Snort.

41. Transfers to a central computer: UPLOAD. Crossing another computer term CODE (31. Programmer's output).

43. Whisperer's target: EAR

46. Wetlands bird: EGRET. The white-feathered bird.

49. Sheet on the road, perhaps: ICE

51. Like steamy prose: EROTIC. Most of Anaïs Nin's work are EROTIC.

53. Ogden native: UTAHAN. Have faintly heard of Ogden, the city to the north of Salt Lake City.

57. Alexander of "Seinfeld": JASON. He is the annoying George.

59. Truth stretcher: LIAR. George stretches truth often.

61. Daffy: LOCO. Fred clued it as "Nuts or crackers?" last time.

62. Thunderstruck: AGHAST. Did not come to me readily.

66. Wall Street worker: BROKER

67. Yemen coastal city: ADEN. It's the capital city of Yemen before 1990.

68. "__-Tiki": KON. I forgot. Norwegian balsa raft.

69. Tijuana snooze: SIESTA

70. Lean to one side, at sea: LIST. Thought of TILT first.

Down:

1. Tips in a gentlemanly manner: DOFF. Oh, tip the hat. Good clue.

2. Soft palate dangler: UVULA. Tonsil neighbor.

3. Full range: GAMUT. No A TO Z today.

4. Main element in pewter: TIN. Thought it's lead.

5. Mysterious: ARCANE. I always associate ARCANE with "obscure" rather than "Mysterious".

6. Wonka's creator: DAHL (Roald). Someone mentioned last time that DAHL is a common Norwegian surname, meaning "valley". Roald DAHL was of Norwegian root.

7. Sea-life displays: AQUARIA. Plural of aquarium.

8. Queens ballplayer: MET. Shea is gone. Mets now play in Citifield. They've won 2 World Series, the same as the Twins. Go Twins! Tame the Tigers!

18. Maligning sort: ABUSER

27. Hop along happily: SKIP

34. Indian spiced tea: CHAI. Rooted in Chinese word for tea CHA.

37. Hard rain?: SLEET

40. Café lightener: LAIT. French for milk. Café au LAIT et croissant. Yum!

42. Dakota Native American: OGLALA. Literally "to scatter one's own" in Lakota language. Crazy Horse was an OGLALA.

45. Point in math class?: DECIMAL. Before the fraction.

50. Foiled villain's shout: CURSES. How come the clue is singular? Also, Jerome/Fred, should I say most of the fills or fill in this puzzle are solid? Singular or plural?

54. Pawns: HOCKS. Just learned this meaning a few months ago.

56. Incessantly: NO END. I like how END ends the grid.

57. Setup punches: JABS. Got the answer from Across fill. Boxing term?

60. Bavaria-based automaker: AUDI. Easy guess. Was unaware that AUDI is based in Bavaria, largest state of Germany. Its capital city is Munich.

65. "The Closer" TV station: TNT. Did not like the clue, as the T stands for TV. "The Closer" channel is better.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday July 14, 2009 Chuck Deodene

Theme: Vowel Progression

20A: Christmas service: MIDNIGHT MASS

23A: With "A", 1986 Ted Danson film: FINE MESS

38A: The Rebels of the Southeastern Conference, familiarly: OLE MISS

52A: Waifish supermodel from Britain: KATE MOSS

54A: Easy to use, in adspeak: NO FUSS, NO MUSS

I am not familiar with the Ted Danson/Howie Mandel film "A FINE MESS". The poster looks quite intense.

Great to see OLE MISS in the puzzle. We often have OLE alone, sometimes clued as " __ Miss". I did not know their sports teams are The Rebels.

NO FUSS, NO MUSS is the only theme entry with two USS, maybe the constructor could not find another *MUSS ending phrase. Dennis often describes his Monday/Tuesday solving experiences as "No muss, no fuss".

I often wonder how the constructors position their theme entries. Is overlapping more desirable? Is it hard to carry out? The first two and the last two theme answers overlap in this grid.

Not fond of the clue for IMPULSE (42D: Sudden urge) as URGE is the answer for 64A: Craving. Come to the Comments section if you have a better clue for IMPULSE.

Across:

1A: "Now we're in for it": UH OH

5A: Whopper of a meal: FEAST. Maybe we can all "eat less and live longer". But animals display testy/irritable behaviors when they are on calorie restriction. They are just not happy.

10A: Tattooist's surface: SKIN. And ANKLE (63A: Popular tattoo site). "Tramp stamps" sound so harsh for lower back tattoos.

14A: Fan mag: ZINE

15A: Developing egg: OVULE. How is it different from ovum?

17A: Worshiped carving: IDOL

18A: Gave false hope to: LED ON

26A: At ease with: USED TO. I am USED TO the Minnesota winter, but I am not really "at ease with" it.

27A: Web forum user's self-image: AVATAR. I love Sallie's AVATAR (Sally Lightfoot Crab).

28A: Red giant or white dwarf: STARS. Nice "colorful" clue.

30A: Down Under gem: OPAL. More than 90% of the world's OPAL is supplied by Australia. It's their national gemstone.

37A: California Santa __ River: ANA. Easy guess. Have never heard of Santa ANA River. Santa ANA Winds, yes.

41A: Tongue of Tiberius: LATIN. Alliteration again. And ID EST (12D: "That is,", in 41-Across), often seen as i.e.

44A: Soft cheese: BRIE

47A: Brought a smile to: AMUSED

49A: More's perfect place: UTOPIA. Thomas More. He coined UTOPIA.

57A: Claim as one's own: CO-OPT

58A: Carry out: OBEY. OK, "Carry out" an order, OBEY an order.

62A: Harbor pushers: TUGS. Lots of S'es in the puzzle. Total 22.

66A: Spanish sovereigns: REYES. REY is Spanish for "king". REYES is the plural.

67A: Cornet note: TOOT. Woodwind instruments all TOOT, right?

Down:

1D: Six-Day War weapon: UZI

4D: Batters' protection: HELMETS. No S for protection?

5D: Poppycock: FOLDEROL. Or falderal. New "nonsense" to me.

6D: Two, four, six, etc.: EVENS

7D: German wheels: AUDIS. Oh well, can't really see the four-ring logo of her AUDI.

8D: Trudge, as through mud: SLOG

9D: Opposite of "At ease": TEN-HUT. I still feel attention is easier to pronounce.

10D: Vacation times: SUMMERS

11D: Work on sore muscles: KNEAD. I don't enjoy massage, do you?

21D: "__ bad boy!" Lou Costello: I'M A. "Who's On First?" is all I know about Abbott and Costello.

23D: Like some mistakes: FATAL. Do you confuse venal and venial also?

24D: The first Mrs. Trump: IVANA. The second is Marla. The current one is Melanie. I like that baby doll shirt.

25D: Pester persistently: NAG AT

31D: Home to many llamas: PERU. "Home to lima beans" as well.

34D: Left-hand page: VERSO. "Right-hand page" is recto.

38D: "__ the loneliest number": '60s song lyric: ONE IS. No idea. I've never heard of Three Dog Night either.

39D: Law book contents: STATUTES. Three T's in this word.

44D: Saddens, slangily: BUMS OUT. I felt so bad that Cristie Kerr faltered during the final round of U.S. Open. She is very pretty.

46D: Daytona 500 org.: NASCAR

48D: Enero or mayo: MES. Spanish for month. So what's the plural for MES then?

50D: Figure, as a sum: TOT UP. Figure is a verb here.

51D: No longer a minor: OF AGE

52D: Wild and crazy: KOOKY. I thought KOOKY means strange/weird, not wild.

59D: 'Hood buddy: BRO

60D: Word before booster or tripper: EGO. EGO-tripper is new to me. Only familiar with ego trip the noun.

61D: "Is it soup __?": YET. Nope. Totally unaware of this phrase. I've never had Lipton/Campbell's soup. I make my own.

Answer grid.

C.C.