Wednesday July 21, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: OFF TO A FAST START (59A. First out of the gate, and what 17-, 22-, 38- and 51-Across all get) - Each theme begins with a word meaning FAST.

17A. It may be drawn without thinking: HASTY CONCLUSION.

22A. Sylvester Pussycat nemesis: SPEEDY GONZALES. A little undercurrent of cartoons in today's effort, including a second appearance for 60D. Sylvester, to Tweety: TAT.

38A. Dubious diet ad promise: RAPID WEIGHT LOSS. Three grid-spanners, occupying a total of 73 theme squares. Heavy themage!

51A. Mentally agile: QUICK ON THE DRAW. One of my favorites QUICK DRAW .

Happy hump to you all; Lemonade here with my second Dan Naddor.

It has been more than 6 months since his passing, and it does not get easier. His theme answer are all unique and long, while not too difficult, they show his creativity. He also uses most of the tough letters in the alphabet, missing only J, V and X.

Across:

1. Turkish title: AGHA.

5. Kind of appetizer platter: PUPU. I believe this is an Hawaiian word that means appetizer; help me out here our Hawaiian contingent.

9. Refs throw them: FLAGS.

14. Nobleman's mistress: COURTESAN.

16. Artist Neiman: LEROY. The best sports artist ever, you can go and see his work at ORIGINALS .

19. In the know: HIP. With 8D. Not 19-Across: UNCOOL.

20. Buck's partner: DOE. Did you ever think that a Buck is a dollar, and Dough (DOE) is also money? No? Oh well, I did.

21. Emergency PC key: ESC.

27. A/C unit: BTU. British Thermal Units. I know they say Brits are cold, is that why they named the A/C measurer after them?

28. Paul's "Exodus" role: ARI. Paul Newman, and amazing book and MOVIE , which was produced by MGM. which coincidentally (?) is next. 29A. MGM co-founder: LOEW. His story was interesting, MARCUS LOEW . And then we have, 64D. Early MGM rival: RKO.

30. Fridge or freezer: Abbr.: APPL. It is amazing how clues are seen in bunches.

32. Pollution-policing org.: EPA.

34. Fountain orders: SODAS. The days of soda fountains are long gone....

42. Record needles: STYLI. Is your clue "Record players"? Read Rich Norris' note at the end of my write-up. Now we know the rest of the story on Monday 42A D.O.A. boo boo.

43. Response of feigned innocence: MOI. Of course you must think of HER .

44. Spill the beans: SING. Often done by criminals, who are also known as CONS....

45. Con: ANTI.

48. Powder parter: SKI. Alliteration and trickery all wrapped into one clue, wonderful. "Powder snow".

50. Asian occasion: TET. Followed by a wonderful rhyme, even if the reference is offensive to some (Dennis?).

56. Network absorbed by The CW: UPN.

57. Long-jawed fish: GAR.

58. ICU test: EEG.

66. Synagogue scroll: TORAH.

67. First felony conviction, in some states: ONE STRIKE. More alliteration.

68. Poet's Muse: ERATO. A real crosswordese, we all should have this one down.

69. Certain squad member: GEEK. Some say Best Buy has spent all the money on ads, and not training for their MEMBERS , I am prejudiced because my nephew is one.

70. "__ off?": ON OR. Dan really liked the word strings as answers.

Down:

1. German cry: ACH. This is for you Windhover, SING A LONG .

2. ___ few rounds: GO A.

3. Item in a fried side with catfish: HUSH PUPPY. Was the fried necessary?

4. "The Sopranos" chef Bucco: ARTIE. Did anyone remember his last name, which in hindsight sound like OSSO BUCO.

5. Delt neighbor: PEC. Muscles, shoulder and chest...

6. GI entertainers: USO. Gee, we can get Jayne Mansfield again with BOB HOPE .

7. Co. that has sponsored many soaps: P AND G. Proctor and Gamble; I wonder if I will ever do the "AND" words easily.

9. __ shot: FLU.

10. Guitarist Paul: LES. Just BEAUTIFUL .

11. The Little Mermaid: ARIEL. MB, Jeannie, ladies, is she a role model?

12. Ninny: GOOSE. Or just a silly...

13. Matches audio to video, say: SYNCS.

15. Aggressive sort: TYPE A.

18. He preceded and followed O'Brien: LENO.

22. March VIP: ST PAT.

23. Attracted: DREW. This ONE?.

24. "Holy Toledo!": YIPE.

25. Energy: ZEST.

26. Mil. truants: AWOLS.

27. Ivory units?: BARS. Loved this ones, could not figure out how to squeeze tusks in here.

31. The purple one is New Hampshire's state flower: LILAC.

33. Fire preceder?: AIM. Another Naddor left fielder. "Ready, AIM, fire!"

35. "Encore!": DO IT AGAIN.

36. Good __: repaired: AS NEW.

37. USMC rank: SSGT.

39. Drop shot, in tennis: DINK. Like this MEMORY .

40. "No kidding!": GOSH.

41. Increase: HIKE. Another one that took a while to see.

46. Frat party attire: TOGA.

47. Dazed: IN A FOG.

49. Latin clarifier: ID EST.

51. Bit of term paper color: QUOTE. Okay he fooled me again.

52. Enthusiastic about: UP FOR.

53. Prefix with structure: INFRA.

54. Big name in air conditioning: TRANE. They used my friends' SONG .

55. In once more: RETRO.

61. "So that's your game!": O HO.

62. "What'd I tell ya?": SEE.

63. "That wasn't nice!": TSK.

65. Three times, in Rx's: TER. I actually remember TID.

Answer grid.

All in all a fun Wednesday, that perhaps was softened by the editor. Keep the cards and letters coming, especially you newbies, tell us what you think.

Your humble servant Lemonade

Rich Norris' email to C.C. yesterday:

"... and I'm pretty sure I figured out what happened. Tomorrow's 42A clue is supposed to be changed to [Record needles]. I suspect it will show up in the paper as [Record players], which isn't totally wrong, maybe just a bit ambitious, since the answer items need help to play records. Evidently, whoever made clue changes at Tribune changed the 42A clue on the wrong day, resulting in yesterday's error. The online puzzle is handled separately; the error doesn't appear there. My apologies to the confused newspaper solvers. "

Thursday July 8, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: SHOOT (50D. What you can do to the last words of the answers to starred clues, with "the")

18A. *Second most populous city in Michigan: GRAND RAPIDS. Shoot the rapids. Whitewater rafting, for example.

24A. *1980 biopic about boxer Jake La Motta: RAGING BULL. Shoot the bull. Discussion of experiences in perhaps not an entirely truthful manner, in a testosterone-laden contest of one-upsmanship.

35A. *Beachgoer's relief, perhaps: OCEAN BREEZE. Shoot the breeze. Light airy conversation with no directed purpose.

48A. *Studio co-founded by Spielberg: DREAMWORKS. Shoot the works. Let it ride. Bet everything, holding nothing in reserve.

54A. *Phenomenon near the autumnal equinox: HARVEST MOON. Shoot the moon. A bid in several card games, such as Smear, Euchre, Hearts or others, meaning that you will attempt to take all tricks, points, etc, in some cases without the help of your partner.

Even though this was a Naddor Thursday, it didn't seem as difficult to me as the last couple weeks, or maybe I'm just on his wavelength finally.

Hi all, Al here on a very rainy night. For about an hour, I was actually the owner of riverfront property. Water entirely covered the road curb to curb and beyond, and it had quite a current. The poor guy down at the lowest spot in the neighborhood wound up with a basement full of water; it was almost waist-deep near the storm drain there. Luckily I'm located high enough, but my sump pump is still running almost continuously. Oh well, since I'm not going anywhere for a while, on to the puzzle.

Across:

1. Indian title of respect: SRI. Sanskrit for beauty, and as a honorific prefix for kings, heroes, etc. Related to proto-indo-european "kreie" which gives: Kyrie, for Lord. Kyrie eleison means Lord, have mercy.

4. "My Life on the D-List" comic Griffin: KATHY. Brash comedian, she cleans up well.

9. Bowler's challenge: SPLIT. Any two non-adjacent pins with a gap between, as long as the headpin is not standing.

14. P.I.: TEC. A deTECtive, but not part of a police force. A Private eye (I).

15. Refrain from singing about a farm?: EIEIO. A musical refrain, not to suppress an urge. The noun refrain comes from French words meaning "repeat" and "break off", that is, a repeated interruption before a return to the main melody.

16. Low-budget prefix: ECONO. Economy, bigger, faster, cheaper.

17. Draft pick: ALE. Wasn't fooled. "Draft beer, not boys" is one of the slogans used to oppose war involvement, but it could have been a sports team draft.

20. Not follow a fixed route: ROAM. These kinds of charges are costly on a cellphone.

22. Consider: DEEM.

23. Bro counterpart: SIS.

28. Storm sound: CLAP. Of thunder.

29. Wreck, in a way: DERAIL. That would do it all right. In a big way.

30. Callas, for one: SOPRANO. Maria If you look up "diva" in a dictionary, you will find her picture. Had an affair with Ari Onassis.

32. Prenatal test, for short: AMNIO.centesis. Amniotic fluid is checked for chromosomal abnormalities, infections, and Rh blood type incompatibilities.

34. Stampeded toward: RAN AT.

38. Eyes: OCULI. Latin.

40. Kid's sandwich staple: JELLY. I prefer my sandwiches folded, not stapled.

41. Baseman's misplay, maybe: LATE TAG. Baseball, too slow.

44. Deliberately ignoring: DEAF TO. (hands over ears) I'm not listening, la la la la la la la.

47. Rights: DIBS. Children's word to express a claim on something, originally U.S., apparently a contraction of dibstone "a knucklebone or jack in a children's game", of unknown origin.

51. Laura Bush's alma mater: Abbr.: SMU. Southern Methodist University.

52. Hoodwink: FOOL. Literally to blindfold someone.

53. Ill-considered: RASH. German rasch (quick, fast), Old English ræsc (a bolt of lightning)

59. AFL partner: CIO. American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

60. Beginning: ONSET.

61. "Fiddler on the Roof" dairyman: TEVYE.

62. "Where did __ wrong?": I GO. Or the word for the game of GO, IGO in Japan,WeiQi in China, Baduk in Korea.

63. Big name in cosmetics: ESTEE. Lauder.

64. Floss brand: ORAL-B.

65. QB's stat: INT. Interception. One of the many records that Brett Favre holds.

Down:

1. Whitewater figure: STARR. Kenneth.

2. Prepare for more pictures: RELOAD. Camera memory cards and batteries now instead of film.

3. More than just a cold snap: ICE AGE. Scratt. The saber tooth squirrel.

4. Beer holder: KEG. Temporarily fooled into using MUG at first.

5. Broadcast: AIR.

6. Earl Grey, e.g.: TEA. A black tea with bergamot added, a type of orange, closer in taste to a lemon. Bergamot essential oil has been found to reduce excitotoxic damage (aspartame, MSG) to cultured human neuronal cells in vitro and may therefore have neuroprotective properties.

7. Caste member: HINDU.

8. Peak calls?: YODELS. Swiss, Austrian Alps.

9. Line of pants?: SEAM. This type of misdirection used to hoodwink me when I started doing x-words. Not any more.

10. Angel dust, for short: PCP. PhenylCyclohexylPiperidine

11. Frequently imperiled reporter: LOIS LANE. Anyone who hadn't the sense to recognize someone whose only disguise was removing a pair of glasses was bound to wind up in risky spots.

12. Notre Dame's locale: INDIANA. The city of Notre Dame, Indiana actually has three colleges. The University of Notre Dame (Fighting Irish), Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. The Notre Dame Cathedral is in Paris, France.

13. Hooch hound: TOSSPOT. Found in the closing song of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Beer/ale used to be served in ceramic "pots". Current use is as a British insult similar to "wanker" or "tosser".

19. Move, in Realtor-speak: RELO. Relocate.

21. The virgin birth and others: MIRACLES.

25. "Your call": NAME IT. Whatever you want, it's yours.

26. Actress Lollobrigida: GINA. A "pneumatic" brunette bombshell.

27. Crêpe-like Russian food: BLIN. Crepes do not use yeast. Blins are allowed to.

28. Gaga over: CRAZY FOR. I wonder how long ago Dan did this puzzle... Crazy and GaGa are certainly synonymous in music today. Actually, if you close you eyes and just listen, her music is kind of catchy...

31. Future attorney's study: PRE-LAW.

33. Vb. target: OBJ. Andy ate oranges. Ate is the verb, oranges, the object.

35. Courtroom interruption: OUTBURST.

36. Mark of Prynne's sin: RED A. The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, Adulteress.

37. Preteens' sch.: ELEM. Elementary, my dear Watson.

38. Part of a comfort simile: OLD SHOE.

39. Alligator relatives: CAIMANS. Scary teeth.

42. Hoo-has: ADOS. Isn't hooha slang for something else entirely?

43. Cave: GROTTO. From Italian grotta, from Latin crypta. Related: grotesque.

45. Gillette razor brand: TRAC II. Is it just me, or does it seem like Dan did a lot of puzzle creation while shaving?

46. Thumbs-up: OK SIGN. The Romans didn't turn their hands upside down, they merely hid or extended their thumb for down or up.

49. Whom Bugs bugs: ELMER. Bunny, Fudd.

52. Gala: FETE. Fest, feast. French en gala, in festive clothing.

55. A quarter of five?: VEE. The letter "V" is one of the four letters of the word "five". A quarter = 1/4.

56. In vitro cells: OVA. Latin eggs, in a lab setting. Literally "in glass".

57. Very thin Olive: OYL.

58. Colo. neighbor: NEB. Nebraska is the only state with a unicameral (one chamber) legislature. Colorado has spent the last century battling Wyoming for the coveted title of "Most Rectangular State".

Answer grid.

Al

Wednesday June 23, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: ESSES - The second word of each two-word phrase contains a pair of consecutive letter S.

20A. Confident: SELF- POSSESSED. Or maybe when a Demon invades his own body?

26A. Second-counter's opening: ONE MISSISSIPPI. My first thought was wondering who was the first counter.

41A. Evaluation by co-workers: PEER ASSESSMENT.

47A. Professional hitter?: HIRED ASSASSIN. Did anyone go for baseball? I thought of the wonderful series of books about Keller a hit man created by Lawrence Block, who has many series characters, all of which are quite flawed, but the books are fun.

And the unifier:

61A. Each of the four longest puzzle answers has two pairs of them: ESSES.

And as a little bonus, a half answer, 16A. Essence: SOUL.

Lemonade here, and getting to blog a Dan Naddor, I was so excited, but I found this to be an unusually easy puzzle from Dan, with flashes of brilliance but it went too quickly…well, let’s get right to work.

Across:

1A. "Stay" singer Lisa: LOEB Reality Bites she met Ethan Hawke, and gave him a demo, he then played the song for Ben Stiller, who was directing the film, and it ended up playing during the credits, and becoming a #1 hit, without ever being released anywhere else.

5A. DeMille with an Oscar: CECIL B., the original movie mogul.

10A. Short pans?: UGHS. This is classic Dan Naddor, not only do you have to recognize the pun (PANS – PANTS) but you have interpret PAN to mean to be critical of, then you can get the answer.

14A. The Dixie Chicks, e.g.: TRIO. There were three of them, but I think they broke up.

15A. Wet, in a way: RAINY.

17A. Bell sound: DONG. Well the bell is rung, and I bet this inspires our DF ladies to read this puzzle more carefully.

18A. Make a delivery?: ORATE.

19A. Salinger title girl: ESME. This is our fifth visit from this character this year.

23A. "In a sec": NOT YET. This took some perp work.

25A. Sierra Club founder John et al.: MUIRS. I guess this is better than the Ghost and Mrs._______.

31A. Inventor Howe: ELIAS. My grandfather was a tailor, so I had this one sewed up.

32A. Bonehead: IDIOT. This word is a favorite of baseball announcers when describing poor decisions by players.

33A. Fontanne of Broadway: LYNN. Along with her husband Alfred Lun she was a dominating force on Broadway for many years, still working into the 70’s.

34A. Mix: BLEND. My fist thought was TOM.

35A. High-quality cotton: PIMA. There, now you know everything.

39A. Son of Sarah: ISAAC. We had the discussion of ISHMAEL, and ISAAC, ABRAHAM’s first two sons.

40A. Cream dispensers: TUBES. I thought of coffee.

45A. Cut into slices: CARVE. Made me think of peanuts.

46A. Materialize: APPEAR.

52A. Ahmadinejad's land: IRAN. Not a nice man.

53A. Nut-yielding tree: BEECH. Ah the memories, Beech Nut.

54A. Perlman of "Cheers": RHEA. Married to Danny DeVito for many years.

57A. Telescope part: LENS.

58A. Carpenter's machine: LATHE.

59A. Rows: OARS. OAR, OAR your boat, gently down the stream…

60A. "__ Anything": "Oliver!" song: I’D DO. I like this one better.

62A. Fargo's st.: N. Dak.. To balance or SDAK.

Yay, let’s get down tonight, I did some work for KC in the 80’s.

Down:

1D. Inc., in London: LTD. Abbreviation for Limited, popular in many countries.

2D. What Pizarro sought: ORO. Gee, we just saw OAR; anyway, a double dipper, you have to know the explorer, that he sought gold, and the Spanish word for gold. This is not the old White Sox left hander, Juan Pizarro.

3D. Brain: EINSTEIN.

4D. Under-the-bed hider: BOGEY MAN. What plagued Tiger and Phil down the stretch at the Open.

5D. Partner of Seals: CROFTS. We had a beautiful Summer Breeze by my place tonight.

6D. Tombstone lawman: EARP. They were still in Kansas, Toto.

7D. "Later!": CIAO. Rhymes with HAO NAO BRAON CAO.

8D. QB's misthrows: INTS. Since QB is abbreviated, so is the answer.

9D. Cleaning compounds: LYES. You do not buy them in packs.

10D. Exhausts: USES UP. I thought of fumes.

11D. Dirt: GOSSIP. Makes sense when you are reading the Enquirer while you wait in line at the grocery store.

12D. Scapulae-to-ulnae bones: HUMERI. There must be punch line here somewhere.

13D. Mushers' vehicles: SLEDS.

21D. Luau souvenirs: LEIS. Ah, the good old days when we had a Hawaiian contingent.

22D. Discharge: EMIT. Honey, DISCHARGE on the VISA is way too much.

23D. Christmas air: NOEL. Air?

24D. Without siblings: ONLY. How many of our midst are only children? I am the third of three boys.

27D. Marner of fiction: SILAS, where were the Spark Notes in my day? A book by a woman named George; I was confused. He was a nasty miser, but he wasn’t, geeze.

28D. Think tank output: IDEAS.

29D. Subsequently: SINCE.

30D. Landscaper's supply: SOD. I love the British use, SOD ALL…

34D. Jamboree gp.: BSA. Boy Scouts of America.

35D. Lift weights: PUMPING IRON . I wonder what Arnold will do now.

36D. Sting victim's wail: I BEEN HAD. Sounds kinda Arabic.

37D. Actress Suvari: MENA. Cute, what did you all think of American Beauty?

38D. Galileo's sci.: ASTR. Astronomy.

39D. Burned up: IRED. I get the concept, of IRE, but I cannot find it in a dictionary.

40D. Recipe amts.: TSPS. Always this or TBSP.

41D. Like socks, hopefully: PAIRED.

42D. Trip to the bank, say: ERRAND.

43D. Nonetheless: EVEN SO.

44D. Pane holders: SASHES. Windows, the old kind you look through.

45D. Common cook-off dish: CHILI. CHILI today, Hot TAMALE.

48D. Skilled: ABLE.

49D. Neptune's realm: SEAS.

50D. Match makers?: SETS. very tricky, in honor of the Wimbledon Fortnight, Tennis matches.

51D. Hurt: ACHE.

55D. Procter & Gamble detergent: ERA. Well, at least it avoids any political discussion of equal rights.

56D. "Shoot!": ASK.

Answer grid.

That’s all folks. I wish you each a very happy and hurricane free summer.

Lemonade714

Thursday June 10, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: SILENCE IS GOLDEN (65A. Proverb for overwrought parents, and a hint to both ends of 17-, 23-, 47- and 56-Across) - Each answer begins with a N sound, preceded by a different silent consonant, and ends with a silent vowel (E).

17A. Rustic furniture material: KNOTTY PINE. Walls, too.

23A. Jogging technique? MNEMONIC DEVICE. A memory or learning aid to jog the memory. Example: The Great Lakes, from west to east: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior = HOMES.

47A. Pressure-sensitive control mechanism: PNEUMATIC VALVE. Pneumatics is the use of pressurized gas to affect mechanical motion. (I just learned that the iron lung is a pneumatic device.)

56A. "Totally tubular, man!": GNARLY, DUDE. Gnarly sunrise in the Grand Canyon.

Beautifully constructed with grid-spanning theme answer perfectly placed in the center. What an honor to blog another Dan Naddor construction. He did have a knack for designing subtly brilliant puzzles.

melissa bee here.

Across:

1. It may be scrutinized on a carousel: ID TAG. Luggage - clever.

6. Raison d'__: ETRE

10. Skeptic's grain? SALT. Take it with a grain of salt.

14. Old Indian leader: NEHRU

15. Picture of health? X-RAY. Great clue.

16. Simple rhyme scheme: A-B-A-B

19. Mother of Artemis: LETO. Also mother of Apollo, goddess of motherhood, and bride of Zeus.

20. Elton John, e.g.: SIR. Gay activist wedding singer performs at Rush Limbaugh's wedding to his fourth wife this past Wednesday for $1 million. Can't make this stuff up.

21. Mil. leader: GEN(eral)

22. Split apart: RIVEN. Past tense of rive. who knew?

28. Hardly Mr. Cool: NERD

29. Tried, with "at": HAD A GO

30. Lake Volta's country: GHANA. New to me, Volta is the largest reservoir by surface area in the world.

33. Coal holders: BINS

34. 'Umble place: 'OME. No extra charge for this bonus clue/answer. Cockney accent makes the H's silent, with silent E on the end. Genius. Famous lyrics by John Howard Payne: 'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.'

40. Braves' home: Abbr.: ATL(anta)

41. Little hopper: TOAD.

42. Closes in on: NEARS

43. Salad jellies: ASPICS

45. Already, in Arles: DEJA. French.

51. Fred's first partner: ADELE. Fred Astaire's sister.

52. Skater Babilonia: TAI. Engaged to comedian David Brenner.

53. Include: ADD

55. Hindu titles: SRIS

60. Sushi staple: TUNA

61. Accomplished: ABLE

62. Where to see Leonardo's "The Last Supper": MILAN

63. Caltech sr.'s goal, often: ENGR

64. Honduras native: MAYA

65. Fidgeting: ANTSY

Down:

1. Writing supplies: INKS

2. Casual fabric: DENIM

3. Sticker: THORN. I was picturing a bumper sticker.

4. Emerson's "jealous mistress": ART. Ralph Waldo Emerson quote: "Art is a jealous mistress, and, if a man have a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture, or philosophy, he makes a bad husband, and an ill provider."

5. Instinctive, as a feeling: GUT

6. Shell out: EXPEND

7. Singer Lopez: TRINI

8. Campaigned: RAN. Timely entry.

9. Check out: EYE

10. Digestive aid: SALIVA

11. He played Fish on "Barney Miller": ABE VIGODA

12. Theater annoyance, perhaps: LATECOMER

13. Strip steak alternative: T-BONE. I prefer rib-eye.

18. Bela's "Son of Frankenstein" role: YGOR

22. 1985 Schwarzenegger film about a sword-and-sorcery heroine: RED SONJA

24. Feminine suffix: ENNE. As in comedienne.

25. Interim: MEANTIME

26. Phi followers: CHI'S

27. "Shoot!": DANG

30. Fed. property overseer: GSA. General Services Administration.

31. Baseball strategy: HIT AND RUN. Play designed to advance base runners and prevent the double play.

32. Like Big Brother in "1984": ALL SEEING

33. Auction action: BID

35. Canned twosome?: ENS. Two n's in canned.

37. Caesar's sidekick: COCA. Sid and Imogene. Before my time.

38. "It is the __, and Juliet is the sun": EAST

39. Sharon of "Boston Public": LEAL. Unknown to me.

44. Seiko brand: PULSAR

45. Silver Spring, Md., is part of it: DC AREA. Tricky answer.

46. Bad: EVIL

47. Cheap jewelry: PASTE

48. Birthplace of the Renaissance: ITALY

49. Event with a horse: VAULT

50. Icelandic sagas: EDDAS. From Wikipedia: "collection of Old Norse poems from the Icelandic medieval manuscript Codex Regius." Alrighty then.

54. Say it isn't so: DENY. Love this clue.

56. Looker's leg: GAM. Nice

57. Wizards' org.: NBA. Washington Wizards.

58. Peruvian singer Sumac: YMA: No idea.

59. Racket: DIN

Answer grid.

melissa

Wednesday May 26, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: WORLD LEADERS or TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER, since the world leader is always who the little green man wants to meet. The first part of each theme entry can also precede "WORLD" to give a different slice of a real or imagined universe.

17A. *Happy-go-lucky: FREE AND EASY - not a care in the world - any of the worlds. FREE WORLD - a cold war era term for every place outside the iron and bamboo curtains, i.e. non-communist countries.

26A. *Scandal involving plumbers: WATERGATE - I had forgotten that the Watergate crew was called the plumbers. Their original assignment was to stop leaks to the media during the Nixon administration, but they branched into illegal activities. WATER WORLD - a Kevin Costner movie I never bothered to see. I think it had bad revues.

45A. *Something to touch before getting home?: THIRD BASE - this home is home plate, in baseball. Or is this totally DF? THIRD WORLD - Here's a learning moment. I always thought this was a label generally applied to developing (read poor) nations. Actually, it is a cold war term for those nations who did not align with either the First World of NATO, etc. (aka the FREE WORLD) or the Second World of the SOVIET BLOCK.

5D. *Genuine article: REAL McCOY - does anybody know where this comes from? Could it be the Hatfields and the McCoys? REAL WORLD - what can you say about the real world? It is what it is. Nice pairing with -

11D. *Baseball fan's dream come true: FANTASY CAMP - an opportunity to go through training and play a game with the big leaguers. It's not limited to baseball. One of my friends went to the Red Wings fantasy camp a few years ago. FANTASY WORLD - a place where delights are only limited by your imagination.

25D. *Letter writer, formally: UNDERSIGNED - Formal, indeed: I, the undersigned, do solemnly attest that this is one fine puzzle. UNDERWORLD - this can mean several things: the mythological land of the dead; the criminal sphere of activity from gangster film noir; an actual place, like the London Underground; or a FANTASY WORLD, like the imagined London Underground of Neil Gaiman's novel NEVERWHERE.

35D. *Veterans: OLD TIMERS - they've been there and done that. Maybe even a long time ago. OLD WORLD - regions of the globe known to European and Asian civilizations of the 15 Century, as distinct from the New World revealed by the next century's (give or take a decade) voyages of discovery.

And the unifier:

54A. Summit attendee, and what the first word can be in each answer to a starred clue: WORLD LEADERS. And each theme "leader" can also a world "leader." Pretty tidy.

Hi, gang. It's Jazzbumpa, and I'm delighted to participate in a stellar week of puzzling: wonderful entries by John and Jerome, and now one from our gone, but not forgotten friend Dan. With Dan's puzzles you can count on an outstanding theme, clever clues, lots of long fill, and more names than some of us like. I count 13 entries of 6 or more letters, but you might want to double check me. Also, several fives. Quite a few threes, as well - but that's geometry for you.

Let's embark on a voyage of Dan's WORLDS.

Across:

1. Hook-and-loop fastener: VELCRO. Velcro is made up of tiny fiber hooks and loops that give you something to latch onto.

7. Masterpieces: GEMS. Top notch stuff, like this week's puzzles, or Pictures at an Exhibition.

11. Lucrative: FAT. A highly profitable venture - not including Ponzi schemes, I assume. Yesterday we had FATTEST and OVEREAT.

14. Marvin of boxing: HAGLER. Not a boxing fan, but I came up with his name, eventually. What is he famous for?

15. Carbon compound: ENOL. If it's carbon compound, 4 letters, enter ENOL and move on.

16. Priest's robe: ALB. As an erstwhile Catholic, I knew this one.

19. Sgt., for one: NCO. A non-commissioned officer in the military. Any veterans care to elaborate?

20. Natural emollient: ALOE. The plant based lotion frequently used to smooth out difficult puzzle sections.

21. Use a crib for: CHEAT ON. Ah, back to school days. A "crib" sheet was a piece of paper with the answers to anticipated test question, that could be used for cheating. Alternatively, you could write the answers on your hand. Tattooing on the inside of the eyelids is quite impractical. No DF thoughts, please.

23. __ und Drang: STURM. STURM UND DRANG is German for Storm and Stress (or impulse) - a descriptor for a period of German literature, about 1760 through the 1780's, when subjectivity and emotionalism played a prominent role. This was a reaction (or over-reaction) to rationalism and the enlightenment.

28. Part of BYOB: OWN. Included in an invitation to the kind of party where you Bring Your OWN Booze. More on this later. Yesterday, we needed a deed to OWN something. With booze, I think possesion is adequate. Though you may be asked to pass the bottle.

29. Controversial 2000 election issue: CHADS. These were those little hanging paper thingies on ballots in Florida that prevented the tabulating machines from getting an accurate vote count. Or not. Let us leave this one be.

31. WWII transport: LST. Landing Ship Tank. An amphibious vehicle for depositing GI's, vehicles and supplies onto the shore duirng WWII. Again, our veterans can fill in the blanks.

32. Brandy cocktails: SIDECARS. As the story goes, it was developed for a patron of Harry's bar in Paris, who would arrive in a motorcycle sidecar. A bit inconvenient for a BYOB event, don't you think? Read more.

34. Koala kid: JOEY. Really? Kangaroo kid, sure. Koala kid, too?

36. Oppressive: ONEROUS. For some reason, I really like this word. It feels so heavy on the tongue. or, if someone asks you about a deed held in common you can say:" The owner? Us!"

37. Tightened, as shoes: RELACED. It took me a long time to figure this one out. And I have to do it all the time.

40. Actor John __-Davies: RHYS. Gimli, my favorite non-tossable dwarf.

41. It's undeliverable and unreturnable: DEAD MAIL. I've heard of dead letter. Dead mail is a reasonable extension, but it it in the language?

42. Civil War letters: CSA. Confederate States of America. More about this I shall not say.

43. "I __ born yesterday!": WASN'T. In fact, my half birthday is two Tuesdays hence. I think that's TerraJo's BD. Hi TJ - you out there?

44. Radiology staple, for short: MRI. Magnetic resonance imaging. The LW had an echocardiogram today, which revealed what I always knew - she has a good heart!

48. Louvre Pyramid architect: I.M. PEI. He did a lot in glass besides the Pyramid. I actually walked around on the roof of a structure of his, much like this one. I was not a happy camper.

50. #1 hit for the 4 Seasons: RAG DOLL. Big Girls Don't Cry was more famous. Vivaldi was totally uninvolved.

51. Appoint: NAME. Some appointments have to be confirmed. More than that I shall not say.

53. Bed-and-breakfast: INN. Frequent stop-over for puzzlers, too.

59. Some people lie about theirs: AGE. Not this OLD TIMER.

60. Theater souvenir: STUB. This search for pix came up with "drive in" and "the violent femmes." Make of it what you will.

61. Directions from the brass: ORDERS. Military brass, I'm sure. Orders TO the brass are to not play so damned loud.

62. Directed: LED. The conductor led us with orders to not play so damned loud.

63. Exxon, once: ESSO. Many mergers ago, there was a bee flying around the gas pump . . .

64. Home to online newsgroups: USE NET. Does anyone use USE NET anymore?

Down:

1. TV channels 2-13: VHF. Very high frequencies, the only channels we had when I was a JOEY. UHF is ultra-high frequency. BYOB, and you can get even higher.

2. Pencil holder?: EAR. This got a grin.

3. Bigger than med.: LGE. Abbr fr. large. Nt: Abbrv in Cl and ans. Small, Medium, Large. Who says size doesn't matter?

4. Exonerate: CLEAR. A legality, I presume. Let our legal eagles speak.

6. "Yes __?": OR NO. It that right? I can't decide . . .

7. "How about that!": GEE. Or something to say to THE WIZ.

8. Passes: ENACTS. A law is enacted when it is passed and signed by the Prez.

9. Israel's Dayan: MOSHE. Famous military leader, Foreign Minister and eye-patch wearer.

10. More devious: SLYER. Does sly imply devious? Hmmmm . . .

12. "Little Women" author: ALCOTT. Louisa May Alcott's famous novel was more or less autobiographical.

13. Steakhouse order: T-BONE. Alternatives are Porterhouse, Sirloin, and Rib Eye. Or this.

18. J&B alternative: DEWARS. A couple of rather pedestrian blended Scotches. It's J&B for JzB, if those are the choices. I have a snifter of Lagavulin at my elbow as I write this.

22. Shining: AGLEAM. Like my eyes after a large snifter of Lagavulin. I heard about a guy who was a careless tooth brusher and had that Gleam in his eye. You can't make bad jokes like that about Ipana. Right, Bucky?

23. Ho-hum: SOSO. Bland, second rate. Not like this week's puzzles.

24. Bed in old sitcoms: TWIN. Married couples had to sleep in separate beds in the old days of TV - even if nobody snored. Not exactly REAL WORLD.

27. Much spam: ADS. Yeah. Or notices that I've won a million pounds. Don't open a message that looks like spam. Just delete - it's a lot safer.

30. Fräulein's residence: HAUS. A Fräulein is an unmarried German woman or girl. In German, "house" is HAUS, and "mouse" is MAUSE. I don't know about "grouse" and "louse."

33. Est founder Werner __ : ERHARD. I guess this stood for Erhard Standard Training, a method of empowerment and personal transformation. Or a scam. Not a veteran, so I couldn't say.

34. Composer Sibelius: JEAN. He is most famous for Finlandia, which I have performed a few times. His symphonies are GEMS.

37. React to an e-mail error message, maybe: RESEND. Send it again, please. If you do not resend, I will rescind.

38. The Auld Sod: EIRE. Ireland, briefly. Will it be EIRE or ERIN? Perp help is always required.

39. XCII x VI: DLII. I refuse to do Roman numeral math, and hit the "reveal word" key, which still works, even when the answer isn't a word.

41. Perp prosecutors: DA'S. District Attorneys are prosecutors. If they get their way, I'm stuck with EIRE - ERIN. Very inconvenient.

42. Adapt: CHANGE. Just this morning I adapted my socks.

43. Critter in a John Lennon title: WALRUS. You all know the Beatles.

45. Dry run: TRIAL. Checking something out to see if it will work, before putting it to serious use. Why is it called a dry run? Is the real thing a WET RUN? Why doesn't this TRIAL involve any DA'S? I'm getting confused.

46. Look for water: DOWSE. This involves antics with a forked stick, that presumably leads an adept to UNDERGROUND water. But a Google search gave me this.

47. Dries gently: BLOTS. to pat gently with a towel. Was 45D to 47D a dry run?

49. Gettysburg general: MEADE. Two coordinated Civil War entries are just a coincidence, not a sub-theme.

52. Baseball's Moises: ALOU. A baseball great, along with his brothers. I linked them the last time, I think. Is there a baseball subtheme? I haven't kept count.

55. Wall St. deal: LBO. Leveraged Buyout. Somebody borrows a bunch of money, buys a company on credit, raids the companies cash reserves, bankrupts the company, and relocates to the tax-free Cayman Islands. Not to be confused with a Ponzi Scheme.

56. Barcalounger site: DEN. Barcalounger is a chair that looks like a La-Z-Boy, but isn't. Remember the story of Goldilocks? Papa Bear's Barcalounger was too hard . .. .

57. Prepositional palindrome: ERE. This is good. "ERE" is the central palindrome of the greater palindrome, "Able was I ere I saw Elba." Elba is the den where Napoleon sat on his Barcalounger.

58. Queue after Q: RST. A letter string. A SO-SO finish to an otherwise GEM of a puzzle.

Hope you had as much fun as I did - and in a lot less time. Puzzle - 18 minutes; blog - a little over three hours.

Answer grid.

Cheers!

JzB

Monday, May 10, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Gents - The end of these common phrases are men's names beginning with J (all in plural form).

18A. Ground beef concoctions on buns: SLOPPY JOES. Image

23A. Dried meat sticks: SLIM JIMS. Image

33A. Winter underwear: LONG JOHNS. Image

50A. Toronto ball team: BLUE JAYS. Image

56A. Fruit-and-cinnamon-flavored cereal: APPLE JACKS. Image

Quite low block count for a Monday. And triple stacks of 7 -letter non-theme answers in each Down quadrant. 5 Scabbly Js.

Argyle here. A Naddor on a Monday. Everything seems to be in order.

Across:

1A. The U.S. minimum is $7.25 per hour: WAGE. The statutory minimum wage was first introduced nationally in 1938 at $0.25/hr.

5A. In the phone directory: LISTED.

11A. It can follow poli or precede fi: SCI. (poli sci - political science)(sci-fi - science fiction)

14A. One out of two: HALF.

15A. Break out of jail: ESCAPE. A great movie, The Great Escape.

16A. Refusals: NOs.

17A. Amo, amas, __: AMAT. Latin

20A. Nervous twitch: TIC.

21A. Kitchen cabinet stack: PLATES.

22A. Light beige: ECRU.

25A. War's opposite: PEACE. Together, a very long book.

26A. Apprehension: UNEASE.

27A. Food fish that's often red: SNAPPER. Image Red Snapper with Lemongrass

29A. Quechua-speaking country: PERU. Quechua is the language of the Inca civilization, presently spoken by about 7 million people in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Dictionary.com

30A. Two-time loser to Ike: ADLAI. We may have some discussion about using Dwight David Eisenhower's nick name to clue Adlai Ewing Stevenson II's first name.

32A. Radical '60s org.: SDS. Students for a Democratic Society.

37A. Doofus: ASS.

40A. "Do __ See God?": Jon Agee palindrome book: GEESE. It appears this maybe an entry in his 1991 book, "Go Hang a Salami! I'm a Lasagna Hog! and Other Palindromes".

41A. Meat-inspecting org.: USDA. United States Department of Agriculture

45A. Visibly embarrassed: BEET RED.

47A. Lynx family member: BOBCAT.

49A. Kind of carnival show: RAREE. A peep show, usually "raree-show".

52A. Airline to Ben-Gurion: EL AL. Ben-Gurion airport is located near the city of Lod, southeast of Tel Aviv, Israel. EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd is the flag carrier of the State of Israel.

53A. On the train: ABOARD.

55A. Rockies hrs.: MST. Mountain Standard Time

58A. Samoa's capital: APIA. Samoa Islands.

59A. Go after in court: SUE.

60A. Surgeon's tool: LANCET.

61A. Long race, for short: TEN K. 10 kilometers (6.2 miles)

62A. Military gps.: TPS. Troops?

63A. Military instructions: ORDERS.

64A. Coastal raptor: ERNE. Sea Eagle

Down:

1D. Bugs's question to "Doc": "WHAT'S UP?".

2D. Pooh's creator: A.A. MILNE. Winnie the Pooh.

3D. Ice Age remnant: GLACIER.

4D. Young newt: EFT. "They're so cute when they're young." Image.

5D. Nielsen of "Naked Gun" films: LESLIE. His movies are a farce.

6D. Muslim religion: ISLAM.

7D. Highlanders, e.g.: SCOTS.

8D. Record, á la Nixon: TAPE. Minus the an 18½ minute gap.

9D. Omar of "The Mod Squad" movie: EPPS. The 1999 movie. He is Dr. Eric Foreman on TV's "House".

10D. "L.A. Law" co-star Susan: DEY. Another TeeVee show.

11D. Nestle brand named for its covering of tiny white confection balls: SNO-CAPS. Image.

12D. Strong-armed: COERCED

13D. Publishers, e.g.: ISSUERS.

19D. Cherokee on the road: JEEP.

21D. Jammies: PJs. Pajamas.

24D. Handle roughly: MAUL.

25D. "Royal" annoyance: PAIN.

27D. Gin flavoring: SLOE.

28D. Slangy "No way": "NAH".

30D. Elderly: AGED.

31D. School dance VIPs: DJs. (disc jockey)

34D. Grimm beast: OGRE. (the Brothers Grimm and their fairy tales)

35D. Formerly, in wedding news: NEE.

36D. Math or soc. studies: SUBJ. (subject)

37D. Side by side: ABREAST.

38D. Sea lion newborn: SEAL PUP.

39D. Pancho's ponchos: SERAPES. alliteration

42D. Run playfully: SCAMPER.

43D. Motel with a sunrise in its logo: DAYS INN.

44D. On the line: AT STAKE.

46D. Relate: TELL.

47D. Pops, as a bubble: BURSTS.

48D. Multivolume ref.: OED. (The Oxford English Dictionary) What I would dearly love to have.

50D. Italian bowling game: BOCCE.

51D. Southern California hoopster: LAKER.

53D. Open just a bit: AJAR.

54D. 57-Down, for one: BAND.

57D. "Xanadu" rock gp.: ELO. (Electric Light Orchestra). We don't need to hear "Xanadu" again, do we?

58D. Chowed down: ATE.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Wednesday April 28, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Hungry Celebrities (And you will be too, if you click on all these food links) - Common dishes that happen to contain the first name of a well-known person is humorously reinterpreted and clued as if the dish is what the person wants for the meal.

18A. Response to comic Anderson's "What's for dinner?"?: CRAB LOUIE. Louie Anderson.

21A. Response to Spanish tenor Kraus's "What's for dinner?"?: CHICKEN ALFREDO. Alfredo Kraus. The first two theme answers overlap each other.

37A. Response to Revolutionary Arnold's "What's for breakfast?"?: EGGS BENEDICT. Benedict Arnold.

58A. Response to actress Bracco's "What's for brunch?"?: QUICHE LORRAINE. Lorraine Bracco.

64. Response to jazzman Peterson's "What's for dinner?"?: VEAL OSCAR. Oscar Peterson. The last pair of theme entries also overlap each other.

A special 16*15 grid. The extra column is to accommodate the central even-lettered theme entry EGGS BENEDICT.

Hi, all, Al guesting today, and I was gifted with another Dan Naddor puzzle, thanks C.C. I had mixed feelings about this puzzle. Like the rest of Dan's efforts, I thought it was tricky going at first, especially for a Wednesday, with a lot of unknown names and quite a few three letter answers. I usually try to make all the answer explanations interesting, even when it is a bit challenging. There are quite a few answers today where I just couldn't come up with anything. Maybe it's just the pollen and the late hour. I did manage one pun today.

Across:

1. Hist. or sci.: SUBJ. School subjects, consistent abbreviation in both clue and answer.

5. Penn. crosser: TNPK. Early meaning was a piked road barrier used for defense, from turn + pike (shaft.) The meaning changed to "a horizontal cross of timber, turning on a vertical pin", which was used to bar horses from foot roads. This led to the sense of "barrier to stop passage until a toll is paid"

9. "This is for real!": NO JOKE.

15. Composer Schifrin: LALO. Famous for writing many movie and TV scores, such as the Mission Impossible theme.

16. Noah of "ER": WYLE. Dr. John Carter.

17. Singer Morissette: ALANIS.

20. Forceful, as an argument: COGENT. Necessary, urgent. Borrowed from French.

23. 1861-'89 territory: DAKOTA. It means friendly in the native language. Sometimes translated as "allies".

25. MFA, for one: DEG. Master of Fine Arts or Master of Financial Analysis.

26. Oater okay: YEP. In old westerns on lonely cattle drives, this response from a taciturn cattle hand was sometimes considered to be loquacious. They didn't call him Gabby for nothing.

27. Get ready: PREPARE.

29. Bighorn sheep, at times: RAMMERS. This is what it feels like at work sometimes...

33. What's up?: SKY.

34. Like machine-stamped mail: METERED.

42. Most proximate: NEAREST.

43. Cold and wet: RAW.

46. Flute relative: PICCOLO.

49. Leather source: OSTRICH. A "big sparrow." The Greeks also knew the bird as strouthokamelos "camel-sparrow," for its long neck. Among its proverbial peculiarities are indiscriminate voracity (especially a habit of swallowing iron and stone to aid digestion), want of regard for its eggs, and a tendency to hide its head in the sand when pursued. "Like the Austridge, who hiding her little head, supposeth her great body obscured." Ostriches do put their heads in the sand, but ostrich farmers say they do this in search of something to eat.

53. Tokyo, once: EDO.

54. Sitter's handful: IMP.

57. Sly: CRAFTY.

63. Dump: UNLOAD. The Goldman-Sachs 'Fraud'

67. "Eventually ...": ONE DAY.

68. Nastase of tennis: ILIE.

69. Maestro Klemperer: OTTO. German first name, four letters? This usually works.

70. They're sometimes worn under helmets: DO-RAGS. A colorful large handkerchief worn on the head, usually tied with a tail.

71. Building extensions: ELLS.

72. 1966 Jerry Herman musical: MAME. "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death."

Down:

1. Beehive St. capital: SLC. Salt Lake City, Utah.

2. Old Mideast org.: UAR. United Arab Republic, formerly Egypt and Syria.

3. Mark of shame: BLACK EYE. But you should'a seen the other guy...

4. Change positions often: JOB HOP. You know you're getting old if you remember this as a bad thing. Corporate attitude now is if you stay in a job more than five years, they think you aren't good enough to get hired elsewhere.

5. Like many garages: TWO CAR.

6. Stooges' laugh: NYUK.

7. Practiced, as a trade: PLIED.

8. New Hampshire college town: KEENE.

9. Table salt, to a chemist: NA CL. Sodium (NA stands for Latin: Natrium) Chloride.

10. Swedish statesman __ Palme: OLOF. First Swedish politician to be assassinated.

11. Five-time NHL scoring leader Jaromir: JAGR.

12. Cyclops feature: ONE EYE. Two "EYE"s as fill (See 3D: BLACK EYE). Tsk-tsk!

13. More considerate: KINDER. Or German for "children".

14. Prevents, legally: ESTOPS.

19. __ fire under: LIT A. You know what really burns my butt? A fire about three feet high.

22. Accept: AGREE TO.

23. Infielders' stats: DPS. Double Plays.

24. Indy's pursuit: ARK. Indiana Jones, The Ark of the Covenant. Said to have held the ten commandments.

28. Involve, as in conflict: EMBROIL.

30. Dull finish?: ARD. Suffix added to make the word: dullard. I wanted to squeeze MATTE in there somehow...

31. "Something tells __ goofed": ME I.

32. CLX x X: MDC. 160 times 10 = 1600

35. Wide shoe spec: EEE.

36. Heavy wts.: TNS. Tons.

38. Health food co.: GNC. General Nutrition Centers

39. Former GM division: GEO. Metro, prizm, storm et.al.

40. Actor Mineo: SAL. More famous for who he played opposite of in movies (James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause").

41. Potentially lucrative track bet: TRIFECTA. a parimutuel bet in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third in exact order.

44. Do something: ACT.

45. "Give me a reason": WHY.

46. Ahab's whaler: PEQUOD. From Moby Dick.

47. "Don't ask me!": I DUNNO.

48. Menacing snake: COILER.

50. Libra symbol: SCALES. Libra is why pounds are abbreviated "lbs".

51. Small band: TRIO.

52. Kidnapper's demand: RANSOM. Money demand. Or Oldsmobile's first name, as in REO Speedwagon.

55. Dinner companion?: MOVIE. Dinner and a movie.

56. Head & Shoulders competitor: PRELL. Do they really still make this shampoo?

59. Musical finale: CODA. From Latin cauda, a tail.

60. Den __, Netherlands: HAAG. The Hague: the site of the royal residence and the western capital in the Netherlands.

61. Nestlé ice cream brand: EDY'S. Cheesecake.

62. Track fence: RAIL. When your trifecta loses you can be a rail-bird, stand at the rail, and rail at the rails.

65. PIN requester: ATM. Automated teller machine. Sometimes called an ATM Machine, which must mean a machine that dispenses machines?

Answer grid.

Al