Thursday, October 25, 2012 Elizabeth A. Long

Theme: Two Step. Each theme entry is a combination of two common lady's shoe types, clued in a goofy new way:

20A. Question cads in their cups? : PUMP / HIGH HEELS

28A. Burden beasts of burden? : SADDLE / MULES

47A. Stumble over plumbing gunk? : SLIP ON / CLOGS

58. Proper sort ... or a cry upon solving each of this puzzle's theme answers? : GOODY! TWO SHOES...

(Or, as I would say when I see a certain designer...GOODY, JIMMY CHOO SHOES !!)

Marti here for your Thursday clearance. Let's see what else is in this one...

Across:

1. The grand concert one has 47 strings : HARP

5. Teen hangout : MALL

9. __ poll : STRAW. Ugh, I have had enough polls to last me another 4 years...

14. French possessive : A TOI

15. Chills and fever : AGUE

16. "The Voice" judge Green : CEE LO. Never heard of him...

17. Holdup device? : PROP. Fun clue, had me distracted for a moment.

18. Party person : HOST

19. Communications device : RADIO

23. Response to "Are you serious?" : YES I AM

24. Gardner of old films : AVA.  (Are those Jimmy Choo shoes?)

25. Wow : AWE

32. Western landscape feature : MESA

36. Vessel designation : HER. Ship, that is - they are always female.

37. Weigh station visitors : SEMIS

38. New Testament book : ACTS

39. Variable-yield investment option : I-BOND

42. Passed-down tales : LORE

43. CBS newswoman O'Donnell : NORAH. This lady.

45. Summer baby : LEO

46. Termini : ENDS

51. Brahms's A? : EIN. "German article"

52. View from Marseille : MER. "Sea" in French

53. To-do : HOOPLA

62. Canceled a reservation, maybe : ATE IN

64. Waikiki's whereabouts : OAHU

65. Yankee great, familiarly, with "The" : MICK. AKA, Mickey Mantle. Geez, even I knew this one!

66. Window box bloom : PANSY

67. "Exodus" novelist : URIS. Leon.

68. US Open stadium : ASHE. Named after Arthur, the great tennis player.

69. Post with carvings : TOTEM

70. Passé demo item : TAPE. Now on CD?

71. Scholarship factor : NEED

Down:

1. "Satisfied now?" : HAPPY?

2. "__ friend unbosoms freely ...": Penn : A TRUE. Sounds like a friend of Dennis...

3. Innkeeper's offerings : ROOMS

4. Longstocking of kiddie lit : PIPPI

5. Hawaiian for "very strong" : MAHI MAHI. One of my favorites, grilled.

6. All atwitter : AGOG

7. Thick with vegetation : LUSH

8. Super-harmful : LETHAL

9. Serious argument components : SCREAMS

10. Colorful duck : TEAL. Mmmm...duck again!

11. North Pacific sockeye : RED SALMON. This puzzle is making me hungry...

12. Woodcutter Baba : ALI

13. Seek favor with : WOO...hoo!

21. Feasts on : HAS. (for dinner)...more food!

22. Garden outcast : EVE

26. Strange and then some : WEIRD

27. Pluralizers : ESSES

29. Society honoree : DEB

30. Waggish : DROLL

31. Ubangi tributary : UELE. So-named tribe that lived along the Uele river.

32. Minister's quarters : MANSE

33. Culprit in some food recalls : E. COLI. I just lost my appetite...

34. Severe : STRINGENT

35. "Without delay!" : ASAP. "As soon as possible!"

40. "The Matrix" hero : NEO. Do you know him?

41. Spot for one in disfavor : DOG HOUSE

44. Rebus puzzle staple : HOMONYM

48. Outlaw Kelly : NED

49. Shriek : CRY OUT

50. Brillo alternative : SOS

54. "You've got to be kidding" : OH, MAN

55. Grace : POISE

56. Nourishment for un bebé : LECHE. Milk, in Spanish. I knew it from "La Leche League" of women who breast-feed...

57. Put in a request : ASKED

59. Department of northern France : OISE. Map, in green.

60. Lipinski with a gold medal : TARA. At 15 years old, she won the gold for figure skating.

61. Beat : WHIP

62. Well-put : APT

63. Confucian path : TAO

Until next week, see you!

Hugs,

Marti

Notes from C.C.:

Part II of JD's Italy trip: Verona. JD said:

"On our way to the Dolomite Mts., we stopped in Verona. Shakespeare never went there, so the balcony of Romeo and Juliette is just a balcony... so crowded that I did not take a photo. Verona has white marble sidewalks, many cypress trees and a smaller colosseum, (similar to Rome's arena), and several arched bridges. So pretty!

The Dolomites are spectacular. We had 31 hairpin turns while traveling through the passes."

Click here for more pictures.

Thursday, March 29, 2012 Elizabeth A. Long

Theme: T-boned birds. See this answer grid where the birds are in aqua color. Four pair of birds are linked in a “T” shape in this clever theme. To demonstrate, I will show you the theme graphically. Notice that the crossing birds have exactly the same number of letters on each side of the "T", and each "T" is in a different orientation in the grid:

7D Escapade: LARK (Down). Just on a lark...

4A Get down: SWALLOW. Great clue!

SWALLOW
A

R

K

26D: Golfer's coup: EAGLE (Down). Even better, an "Ace"!

39A Dupe: GULL. "Gull" someone into doing something, or dupe them.

E
A
GULL
L
E

35D "Network" Oscar winner: FINCH (Down). Peter Finch, in the 1976 MGM satire.

43A Simpleton: LOON. Or, crazy one, suggested by it's weird cries.

F
I
LOON
C
H

58D Peacenik: DOVE (Down). Vs. the hawk.

71A Rogers Centre baseballer: BLUEJAY. Rogers Centre is formerly the Skydome, home of Toronto's team.

D
O
V
BLUEJAY

The unifier is found at

31D Ford spanning 50 years, or a hint to the four intersecting pairs of answers to the starred clues: T-BIRD. A classic, and the one reason I wanted my sister's boyfriend. He had one of these:

There were a couple bonus birds in this one:

44A Yeats’s “LEDA and the Swan”

and

34D Penguins may be seen on them: FLOES

Marti here, to see what else we can dig up...

Across:

1. Fool : SAP

11. Test site : LAB

14. Nasty mongrel : CUR

15. "SNL" castmate of Jane and 28-Down : LARAINE. Newman. Remember her?

16. Unfavorable : ILL. 'Tis an ill wind that blows no good...

17. It may be about nothing : ADO. Much ado about nothing.

18. Supervise : OVERSEE

19. Stooge with bangs : MOE

20. Beef with a bone : RIB STEAK. Do you have a bone to pick with this clue?

22. Needled at the dentist's office? : NUMBED. So, the dentist has your number?

24. Minor league rink org. : AHL. American Hockey League. The developmental circuit for the National Hockey League. But eddyB can expand for us!

25. Haagen-Dazs shop choice : CONE. Am I the only person in America who does not like ice cream?

26. Like custard : EGGY

29. Outer: Pref. : ECTO

32. Group of workers : STAFF

36. Baba with an ax : ALI. Remember the woodcutter who stole from thieves on Tuesday?

37. Decorative beer mug : TOBY. Various conjectures for the origin of the name, but probably from the character "Sir Toby Belch", a jovial drunkard in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". Very collectible mugs, like this:

38. "That's ___ can say" : ALL I. (Oh, no....I have lots more to say!!)

41. Descendant : SCION

45. "...___put it bluntly..." : OR TO

46. '70s TV lawman Ramsey : HEC. Starring Richard Boone, it was an old-west forerunner to "CSI".

47. Red-coated cheeses : EDAMS

49. Mideast's Gulf of ___ : ADEN. Geography lesson of the day.

50. Dis : BASH. Slam, put down, back-bite, bad-mouth, decry, vilify....

51. Earth Friendly Products detergent : ECOS. With magnolia & lilies, lavender and lemongrass.

53. Coll. admissions criterion : GPA. Grade Point Average.

55. Thingy : DOODAD. Whatchamacallit...

58. Nuts : DERANGED. (It's all in your point of view. I think I am perfectly normal!)

63. Place with no vacancies, in Luke : INN. The bible, Luke 2:7, "...because there was no room for them in the inn."

64. Takeback agent, familiarly : REPO MAN. "Repossession" man, who takes your car if you don't make the payments on time!

66. Island neckwear : LEI. Combined with the greeting at 33D. South Pacific salutation : ALOHA

67. Messy place : STY. Why do pigs always get BASHed??

68. Brewery containers : ALE VATS.

69. Kind : ILK

70. Shell helmsman : COX. There's more to being the coxswain that yelling "row"! See here for a more complete list of commands and duties.

72. Famous last word? : BYE. Wait! I have more for you - don't leave yet!!

Down:

1. Injury memento : SCAR. OK, let's trade scar stories: Mine is a big slice across the bottom of my chin. I was sliding on an icy hill when I was ten, and came down hard on the front runner when I hit a huge jump. Yours?

2. Truth in Engineering sloganeer : AUDI. No competition for the T-Bird, as far as sex appeal goes!

3. "No ___" : PROB.

4. Upside-down branch hanger : SLOTH. "Bat" didn't fit.

5. Ripples : WAVELETS. Instead of wavelets last week in Florida, I was faced with "Red-flag" rip tide currents for four days. But, that didn't stop me from going in the water!

6. Field of knowledge : AREA.

8. Fleur-de-___ : LIS. My house has fleur-de-lis leaded glass windows on each floor, similar to this one:

9. Brief bridge bid : ONE NO. Usually signifying that the bidder has several high cards in more than two suits. Maybe Spitzboov can enlighten us on what type of hand he would bid with this opening?

10. Bairns : WEE-UNS. A Scottish affectation.

11. Life partner? : LIMB. I would risk life and limb to climb in the Alps, or swim in Florida rip-tides...

12. Natural burn soother : ALOE. I was smart, and used SPF 50 lotion last week, so I did not need the aloe!

13. Serviced, as a radiator : BLED. Many of our southern bloggers would have no clue about this. But believe me, having steam radiators bled in New England involves a hefty service fee!

21. "___ what?" : SAY

23. "Heavy" music : METAL. Black Sabbath comes to mind...

25. Hunter in a pack : COYOTE

27. Attached, in a way : GLUED

28. See 15-Across : GILDA. Radner. So sad to see such a talent die so young of ovarian cancer.

30. Winter beverages : COCOAS. (Um, what planet are you from? My winter beverages are hot toddies, with plenty of rum!)

40. Disabled, as a horse : LAMED

42. Unwelcome : NON GRATA. Like a persona...

48. Egyptian charm : SCARAB. Like this beetle.

50. Forbid : BAN

52. 1961 Newbery Medal winner Scott : O'DELL. He won for "Island of the Blue Dolphins", based on the true story of Juana Maria, a Nicoleno Indian left alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island in the 19th century.

54. Cultivated violet : PANSY

55. Record : DISC. You young 'uns wouldn't know about those old-fashioned things, though. Now, it's all mp3 downloads!

56. Not duped by : ON TO

57. Cameo stone : ONYX

59. Key of the last movement of Mendelssohn's Op. 64 violin concerto : E MAJ. Not quite "heavy metal". For those of more classical tastes, here is the rendition by the great Heifitz, conducted by none other than Toscanini. The concerto starts in E Minor in the first "allegro" movement, switches to C Major in the "andante" second movement, and then a final change to E Major in the third "allegretto" movement.

60. Slick, as a speaker : GLIB

61. Slippery : EELY

62. Legendary Haarlem leaker : DIKE. I was thinking of the Harlem Globe Trotters, DUH!!! This clue refers to the dike that was plugged by the hero of Haarlem, in the story "Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates".

65. Little, in Lille: PEU. Just a little French word to finish off the day's offering!

 

Hugs,

Marti

Note from C.C.:Melissa and her daughter visited NY last month. Here are some wonderful photos from their trip. Click each one to enlarge. Melissa appears in photo 54. Look at photo 27, incredible! But which girl doesn't want to be at Serendipity?

Thursday, Feb 17, 2011 Elizabeth A. Long

Theme: 71, 72, and 73 across: What this puzzle does literally at six different intersections: MAKES ENDS MEET. The word "END" is contained within, and connected to both an across and a down answer, and the placement of all the connections are symmetrical in the grid.

20A. Fancy greens dish: ENDIVE SALAD. Also called Chicory. Grown in the dark to prevent greening, which would make it bitter.

32A. #1 tennis player for much of the '80s: IVAN LENDL.

38A. In reverse position: END FOR END.

50A. Feminist's concern: GENDER GAP.

58A. Bit of modern folklore: URBAN LEGEND. See Snopes.com whenever you hear something that always seems to happen to a friend's friend from work has a relative that heard this story was true. Except it almost never is. Not to be confused with the Darwin Awards, which almost always are true.

1D. Supplementary items: ADDENDA. Added to the END.

26D. Binge: BENDER. Ah, lots of arm curls. College was for far more than just studying.

31D. Corrects, as text: EMENDS. Latin emendare "to free from fault," from ex- "out" + mendum "fault, blemish"

49D. Hanging: PENDENT. As in a cloth banner. Might have been pending as in waiting.

Hi all, Al here.

This is certainly an interesting construction today, but hard to put clearly into words, so a picture may help. Counting the last three across reveals at the END, there are 12 answers that contribute to the theme today. There's nothing that really unifies them other than that in the END, they are merely containers. But you know what they say: the END justifies the means. Unless I counted wrong, there are 63 out of 159 lites, or roughly 40% of the puzzle is theme-related. Solving seemed more like a Tuesday level to me, but that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable.

ACROSS:

1. __ effort: A FOR. I have to believe that this puzzle did take a lot of effort.

5. Without restraint: AMOK. This word has origins in Malay, meaning attacking furiously. Portuguese amuco for "a frenzied Malay".

9. "__ luego": HASTA. Spanish lit. "until soon".

14. Merrill in movies: DINA. Daughter of E.F. Hutton, the founder of Wallstreet. You wouldn't think she'd need to get a job acting...

15. Microwave: NUKE.

16. "__ Smith and Jones": 1970s TV Western: ALIAS. Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, two of the most wanted outlaws in the history of the West, are popular "with everyone except the railroads and the banks", since "in all the trains and banks they robbed, they never shot anyone". They are offered an amnesty on condition that they stay out of trouble for a year and that they don't tell anyone about it. Naturally, the show was about them being coerced into doing certain tasks that were for the greater good, but would land them back in jail if they were caught.

17. List maker: DEAN. The Dean's list is one you should want to be on.

18. Swank's "Amelia" co-star: GERE. Hillary and Richard. Movie about Amelia Earhart.

19. Stealthy Easterner: NINJA.

23. Storm hdg.: NNE.

24. Out of sorts: ILL.

25. Cloud in Orion: NEBULA. Sheer artistry.

30. Spay or neuter: DE-SEX.

35. "I can help": ASK ME.

36. 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love __: III. Golf.

37. News organ?: NOSE. Having a nose for news, perhaps sticking it where it doesn't belong.

42. Cross over: SPAN.

45. Be less than healthy: AIL.

46. Greek with lessons: AESOP. Fabulous.

53. __ myrtle: tree or shrub in the loosestrife family: CRAPE. Also pretty. Is that how Myrtle Beach got its name, I wonder? But purple loosestrife on the other hand, is a non-indigenous weed and will choke out a wetlands area with overgrowth, and should be pulled out and burned if found.

54. Skirmish: TUSSLE. Related to tousle, as with unruly hair.

55. Where Eth. is: AFR. Ethiopia, Africa.

57. Chess pieces: MEN. I'll bet the queen doesn't like being called that, sounds like a gender gap to me.

62. Howled: BAYED.

66. Upscale hotel chain: OMNI. New to me. I don't remember seeing any of these in any of Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan, but then .

67. Without thinking, with "by": ROTE.

68. Tequila plant: AGAVE.

69. It often involves steady losses: DIET. When you lose, you win. I'm on to these kinds of clues now.

70. Privy to: IN ON. Also related to "private", what you do in the privy stays in the privy.

DOWN:

2. He plays Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter films: FIENNES. Sans makeup for the ladies.

3. Where the teacher might casually sit: ON A DESK. Brings back fond memories of typing class in high school. For an elective class, a lot of the boys sure signed up for that one.

4. Rajah's wife: RANI.

5. Guardian, maybe: ANGEL.

6. Vegan's morning meal: MUESLI. Dates, oats, fruit, milk.

7. Cajun staple: OKRA. I think this was photoshopped...

8. Stabilizing part: KEEL.

9. "Water Music" composer: HANDEL. The clip is only 1:21 long. That's about long enough to get the idea, I think.

10. Clay, today: ALI. I remember it being a big deal back when Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammed Ali, but it would still raise eyebrows in certain circles today.

11. Offense: SIN.

12. Atlantic City casino, with "The": TAJ.

13. "__ matter of fact ...": AS A.

21. Sly female: VIXEN. She-fox. Or an 80's big hair band.

22. Musical based on a comic strip: ANNIE.

27. A quarter of cuatro: UNO. More Spanish, four / 4 = one.

28. Mormons, initially: LDS. Latter Day Saints.

29. Bar option: ALE.

33. Instrument in Schubert's "Trout Quintet": VIOLA. Someone likes classical music today, I see.

34. __ conditioning: AIR.

39. Provocative sort: DARER.

40. __ leaf: FIG. The usual image of Adam and 65D. First lady?: EVE being modest.

41. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE.

42. Certain NCO: SGT. Non-commissioned officer, sergeant.

43. Little, in Lille: PEU. un peu de Francais.

44. "Jeopardy!" ques., really: ANS. Make sure your answer is in the form of a question. Gimmicky marketing genius, apparently.

47. Identical item: SAME ONE.

48. Summer shoe style: OPEN TOE.

51. Gets by: ELUDES.

52. Gave one star, say: PANNED. Bad movie or restaurant rating.

56. Moves like a moth: FLITS.

59. Portend: BODE.

60. Exiled African tyrant: AMIN.

61. Dreadful: GRIM.

62. Bit of Lagasse lingo: BAM. Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril on the Food Network.

63. Turkish title: AGA.

64. Asian ox: YAK.

Answer Grid.

Al

Wednesday October 20, 2010 Elizabeth A. Long

Theme: Letters Stepping Down - Fifteen Es, Fs & Gs are placed in three grid-spanning columns to portray the visual meaning of each theme entry. E, F & G are in alphabetical order. Answers are placed in Down rather than Across for better visual effect.

4D. Online IRS document submission system, literally? : EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. E-filing. E filing down the grid. January 15 - April 15 is the window to file tax returns.

7D. '60s sitcom set at Fort Courage, literally? : FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. F-Troop. F trooping down also. ABC sitcom 1965 - 1967. I've never seen it.

8D. Skimpy bikini part, literally? : GGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. G-String. A string of Gs. That, i've seen.

Interesting looking grid pattern, with eight cheater squares. Not an easy puzzle. I don't remember seeing this kind of theme before, with 3 grid-spanning (down) theme answers that repeat one letter. And a total of 33 E's, wow. The last Elizabeth Long puzzle to appear in the LA Times was over a year ago. Speaking as the only female guest-blogger, it's nice to see the work of female constructors.

Melissa here.

Reminds me a little of Mangesh's recent puzzle, that coincidentally, I also blogged, and included theme answers E-Trading, F-Number, and G-String once again, for posterity.

Across:

1. Use chicanery on : DUPE. Chicanery - the use of trickery to achieve a political, financial, or legal purpose. And 48. Achieves via trickery : FINAGLES. Obtains something by devious or dishonest means.

5. Pole worker? : ELF. You were expecting something else?

8. Lots : GOBS

12. Author __ Stanley Gardner : ERLE. Crossword staple - wrote detective stories.

13. Islamic mystic : SUFI

15. Work on, as a bone : GNAW. Great word.

16. Fit of fever : AGUE

17. Roosevelts' successors as first family : TAFTS

19. Festive event : GALA

20. Desert with a view of Beersheba : NEGEV. In Israel. From the Hebrew root denoting "dry".

22. One studying saucers : UFOLOGIST. Actual word. Who wants to be a pole-ologist?

24. Awfully long time : EON

26. Popular pâté : FOIE GRAS. The fattened liver of a duck or goose. I've never had it.

27. He's not always a beast : WEREWOLF. Clever clue. Werewolves change from human to beast, usually at the full moon.

31. Cat chaser : DOG

32. Take the stand again : RETESTIFY

34. Mass unit : GRAM. Base unit of mass in the original French metric system; one-thousandth of a kilogram. And 53. Metric energy unit : ERG. Clecho.

38. Gen. Robt. __ : E. LEE

39. Gather : INFER. Tricky.

41. Arizona river : GILA. A tributary of the Colorado River, in New Mexico and Arizona. 650 miles long.

42. It has a floor on Wall St. : NYSE. New York Stock Exchange.

43. Good feeling that lingers : AFTERGLOW. Ahh.

45. Common Mkt. : EEC. European Economic Community. And 23D. War on Poverty org. : OEO. Office of Economic Opportunity.

49. Lets up : EASES OFF

54. Working hours for night owls : LATE SHIFT.

56. Libya neighbor : EGYPT

60. Creamy cheese : BRIE. Grilled brie and bacon sammy.

61. Volunteer : OFFER

63. "La maja desnuda" painter : GOYA. This should be a gimme by now.

64. Stare at impolitely : OGLE

65. Words before then : IF SO

66. Pita sandwich : GYRO. Anyone else hungry?

67. Playground shout : WHEE

68. Co. whose logo features Mercury carrying a bouquet : FTD. Florists' Transworld Delivery.

69. "What __ around ..." : GOES. "What goes around, comes around."

Down:

1. Official with a list : DEAN. A Dean is the head of the faculty, and the Dean's list is a category of students who achieve high grades.

2. Attempt to persuade : URGE

3. Outlet connection : PLUG. Anyone still looking for ideas for halloween?

5. Educ. guess : EST. Estimate.

6. Island cookout : LUAU

9. Studio warning light : ON AIR

10. Wood for model fliers : BALSA. Hi Dennis.

11. Deals with, as a fly : SWATS

14. "__, Sing America" (Langston Hughes poem) : I TOO. There's your cue, Clear Ayes.

18. Arrived at a base, in a way : SLID. Ball. I meant baseball.

21. Promises : VOWS

25. "It must have been someone else" : NOT I

27. St. Paul's architect : WREN. St. Paul's Cathedral (in London), designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Prince Charles and Lady Di were married there.

28. Hard to hold : EELY. Okay.

29. AAA suggestions : RTES. Routes.

30. Filmmaker Wertmüller : LINA. No idea. Italian filmmaker and director. First woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for directing. She looks like a character. Wiki says she was expelled from more than a dozen Catholic schools in her youth.

33. Mythical Himalayan : YETI

35. Brooklet : RILL

36. Ointment ingredient : ALOE

37. Animal mouths : MAWS. I forgot.

40. Actor Auberjonois : RENE. Played Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H, among other roles.

44. Like a once-in-a-blue-moon event : RARE. Love me some Van.

46. Hook shape : ESS

47. Small to mid-size salmon : COHO

49. Macaroni shape : ELBOW

50. Plaint from a pirate : AARGH

51. It turns a lot in rush hour : STILE. Nailed it.

52. Stereotypical poodle name : FIFI

55. __-drive : TEST

57. Fluctuate wildly : YOYO

58. Combustible pile : PYRE

59. New Mexico resort : TAOS. Pretty. Who's been?

62. Gun, in slang : ROD

Answer grid.

Here is a nice photo of Chickie (most left, green shirt), JD & WM taken yesterday at an art gallery in San Jose.

Melissa

Thursday December 24, 2009 Elizabeth A. Long

Theme: A Prolonged Effort - The vowel in the second word of a common phrase is drawn out, as indicated by the first word.

20A. Too long a ride?: STRETCH LI(I)MO. Stretch Limo. The word limo is literally stretched.

37A. Too many relatives?: EXTENDED FA(A)MILY. Extended Family. Family is extended.

54A. Too much information?: SPREADSHEE(E)T. Spreadsheet. Sheet is spread.

Quite an original and innovative theme. Excellent theme clues. Bravo Zulu, Ms. Long!

The number of theme entries is rather sparse. Maybe the constructor could not find workable phrases with possible elongated OO or UU manipulation.

I fared much better than I did yesterday. Favorite entry is EL PASO, TX (38. City SSE of Las Cruces, NM). Very cool (though frustrating) fill.

Across:

1. Spare underwear: THONG. What I am wearing.

6. Thermometer part: BULB

10. Farm female: MARE. Ewe too.

14. Joyous shout: WAHOO. And WHEE (34A. Swinger's cry) & HALLO (36A. Fox hunt call). I did not know "Hallo" is a shout used in fox hunting.

15. Most of Ohio's northern boundary: ERIE

16. Cameo gemstone: ONYX. Three X's in this grid.

17. Mideast language: IRANI. Thought their language is called Persian/Farsi.

18. A 66-Across lacks one: TAIL. And MANX (66. Critter with no 18-Across). Love cross-references.

19. Nureyev's negative: NYET. Russian for "no". Alliteration with foreign words again.

23. Sway: TEETER

24. Presidential pollster John: ZOGBY. Nope. Not familiar with this name.

27. Sellout signs: SROS

29. Orders: DECREES. Oh, noun "orders".

31. Matter in court: RES. Latin for "thing".

41. Inscribed monument: STELA. Or STELE.

42. Piano piece with "primo" and "secondo" parts, e.g.: DUET

43. Plural feature, usually: ESS. And DEES (57D. Substandard marks). One spelled-out letter entry in a grid is enough.

44. Sends a check with the order: PREPAYS. PayPal handles everything now.

46. Columnist Barrett: RONA. The gossip columnist.

49. Chop-chop: APACE

50. Calendar divisions: MONTHS

58. Weaponless self-defense: JUDO. "Gentle way" in Japanese. Their DO = Chinese TAO (way).

61. Good way for dreams to come: TRUE. Good clue.

62. Board for nails: EMERY

63. "__ happens ...": AS IT. "As It Happens" is also a CBC radio program. I find the host Barbara Budd's voice very soothing.

64. Diet label word: LITE

65. Some closet contents: LINEN. Made of flax fiber.

67. Son of Seth: ENOS

68. So yesterday: PASSE

Down:

1. Peel in a drink: TWIST

2. Roaring Camp chronicler: HARTE (Bret). Know the name, not the story.

3. Hub near the Loop: O'HARE. The Loop in Chicago.

4. Large chamber groups: NONETS. Composition for nine.

5. Thyroid problem: GOITER. Caused by iodine deficiency.

6. Aleph follower: BETH. The second letter in Hebrew alphabet.

7. River through Kazakhstan: URAL

8. DXXX ÷ X: LIII. 530 ÷10= 53

9. Mexico neighbor: BELIZE. I have a very confused Central America map in my brain.

10. LBJ or JFK: MONOGRAM. Thought of DEMOCRAT immediately.

12. Ham site: RYE. Rye bread.

13. Request to an oper.: EXT (Extension)

21. Stand very close to: CROWD. Nice clue.

22. Chocolate-flavored coffee: MOCHA

25. Misrepresent: BELIE

26. Sounds angry: YELLS

28. Lets the fur fly?: SHEDS. Nailed it.

29. Postpone: DEFER

30. Brown sauces: SOYS. Was picturing the brown roux sauce rather than soy sauce.

31. Breathing: Abbr.: RESP. Respiring? Not familiar with the abbr. at all.

32. More than usual: EXTRA. Somehow the grammar of the clue confounded me.

33. Prohibitive, perhaps: STEEP. As prices.

39. Civil rights org.: NAACP

40. Matter components: ATOMS

45. Seuss turtle: YERTLE. Yertle the Turtle.

47. Useless: NO HELP

48. Lack of vitality: ANEMIA

52. Word spoken with a raised glass: HERE'S. "Here's to ...".

53. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" composer: STYNE (Jule). Wikipedia says he composed "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow". Too bad. I've never heard of him.

55. Joyce's motherland: ERIN. Sometimes it's Eire. James Joyce.

56. Focus opening: AUTO. Autofocus.

58. Dilemma: JAM. In a jam.

59. "Royal Pains" network: USA. Was ignorant of the TV series "Royal Pains".

60. Loud noise: DIN

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday August 28, 2009 Elizabeth A. Long

Theme: S-lopped Over (Familiar ST-beginning phrases with S lopped)

17A: Insect's working hours?: (S)TICK SHIFT. Manuel transmission.

24A: Seaman who saw it all? (S)TAR WITNESS. One who provides crucial information in a criminal case. TAR is slang for sailor, so is GOB.

34A: Split end?: (S)TRESS FRACTURE. Common sports injury. Split ends are often seen in long hair, hence TRESS.

46A: London museum's hidden camera locations?: (S)TATE SECRET. Often classified. TATE museums.

53A: Where two-wheelers aren't allowed? (S)TRIKE ZONE. Over home plate. Between batter's knees and shoulders.

Hmm, a beautifully woven tapestry, but with an eye-catching flaw. The clue for CAST (37D: Fracture treatment) should have been changed.

Lots of fill-in-the-blanks in this puzzle:

28A: __ Moines: DES

43A: Gal__: PAL

49A: __Alto: PALO

57A: __ Corning, maker of Fiberglas: OWENS

6D: Rapper Mos __: DEF. Mos DEF = Most Definitely.

13D: __ the line: TOE. Did not like the "line" due to ON LINE (21A: Where users meet).

32D: End in __: A TIE

48D: Horse __: SENSE

A clear sign that Rich Norris is continuing his eased-up cluing for Friday & Saturday. Perfect for me, as I've sadly realized that I am simply not able to handle his normal late week puzzles.

Across:

1A: NBA stats: PTS (Points)

4A: Meccan, e.g.: SAUDI. Mecca is a city in Saudi Arabia. The holiest city of Islam. I did not know people of Mecca are called Meccan though.

9A: Silver fish: SMELT. I've yet to try fried SMELT someday.

14A: The Rams of the NCAA's Atlantic 10 Conf.: URI (University of Rhode Island). The answer revealed itself. I forgot that their mascot is a ram.

15A: Popular place to go downhill: ASPEN. The Colorado ski resort.

16A: Something not done: TABOO. Sigh. I was picturing some rare/medium meat that's not well done.

19A: Peace goddess: IRENE. Gimme.

20A: Tools with teeth: RAKES

29A: Scout's concern: TALENT. Sometimes the answer is RECON.

30A: Site of bedlam: ZOO. Liked the clue.

31A: One-named model on many romance novel covers: FABIO. The Italian long-haired model. Not my type.

32A: Attention-getting sounds: AHEMS

38A: Young Aussie hoppers: JOEYS. Baby kangaroos are called JOEYS.

39A: Plumbing outlet: DRAIN

40A: 911 response outlet: EMS

41A: Tiny African threat: TSETSE. Good to see the fly's full name.

50A: Must: HAVE TO. Wrote down NEED TO first.

51A: Malice: VENOM

52A: Former #1 woman pool player Corr: KAREN. Nicknamed "the Irish Invader". Unknown to me, though her face looks familiar. Must have seen on on ESPN before.

58A: Gave in: CAVED. Mine was CEDED.

59A: Israeli weapon: UZI. The "British weapon" is STEN.

60A: Do figures, in a way: SKATE. Figure is defined as "a movement, pattern, or series of movements in skating" in dictionary. Is that how figure skating got its name? I was thinking of numeral figure.

61A: Doglike scavenger: HYENA. The "laughing" scavenger.

62A: Whole lot: TON

Down:

1D: Rotten: PUTRID

2D: "M*A*S*H" system: TRIAGE. The military medical prioritizing system.

3D: Perverted types: SICKOS

4D: Impudence: SASS

5D: Burning issue?: ASH. Got me. Very clever.

6D: News letter: UPI. And TASS (29D: Soviet news agency)

8D: Back from a trip, say: IN TOWN. Thought of RETURN first.

9D: Clown's accessory: STILT. I was picturing the big nose on a clown's face.

10D: Sausalito's county: MARIN. Not familiar with Sausalito, a Bay Area city. Wikipedia says both ISABEL Allende and Amy Tan live there.

11D: Charles's miser: EBENEZER (Scrooge). "Dickens' miser" would be SCROOGE. Given name in clue = given name in answer. Surname in clue = Surname in answer.

12D: Like the road in a classic ballad: LONESOME. Stumper. James Taylor's "That LONESOME Road".

18D: Flooey lead-in: KER. Also lead-in for plop/plunk.

25D: First Arab letter: ALIF. The first Hebrew letter is ALEPH.

28D: Ask for more: REORDER

27D: Scrubbing brand: SOS. So you wear glove when using SOS?

31D: Five-time Emmy winner Tina: FEY. What a great job with Sarah Palin. "I can see Russia from my house."

33:D Attila, notably: HUN. Attila the HUN.

34D: Western weapon: TOMAHAWK. Awesome answer.

35D: Interstate feature: REST AREA

36D: Museo display: ARTE. Spanish/Italian for art. Museo is Spanish/Italian for museum.

38D: Air Force One, e.g.: JET

41D: Asian holiday: TET. Well, it's only a Vietnamese holiday. Would you call Bastille Day an "European holiday"? I don't think so. It's only a French National holiday.

42D: It's often served with soda: SCOTCH

43D: End successfully: PAN OUT

44D: Former NBA star Mourning: ALONZO. No idea. He last played for the Miami Heat.

45D: Chinese menu offering: LO MEIN. LO = dredge up. MEIN = noodles. It's not stir-fried. CHOW MEIN is. CHOW simply means "to stir-fry". All Cantonese.

47D: Olympics contest, e.g.: EVENT

49D: Dispensable candy: PEZ. This puzzle has three Z's, one J, three V's and 5 K's. Quite scrabbly.

51D: Hindu sacred text: VEDA. Sanskrit for "sacred lore, knowledge".

52D: Decks in a ring: KOS (Knock outs). Wish there were an abbreviation hint.

54D: Light line: RAY. RAY Of hope? The "line" bothers me too.

55D: "__been meaning to tell you...": I'VE. That "Wo Ai Ni", Chinese for "I love you".

56D: "Jeopardy!" great Jennings: KEN. Alas, H&R Block.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of Dr. Dad and his family. It's taken 7 or 8 years ago. From left to right: Dr. Dad, his wife Kathy, daughter Jennifer who is now 26 years old and living in New Jersey, and daughter Danielle who is now 14 and starting high school this year.

C.C.

Monday April 6, 2009 Elizabeth A. Long

Theme: BE QUIET (36A: "Shh!" (and a hint to the feature shared by the answers to starred clues))

20A: *Shari Lewis puppet: LAMB CHOP

52A: *Act all innocent: PLAY DUMB

11D: *Duster's find at a crime scene: THUMB PRINT

28D: *Precariously situated: OUT ON A LIMB

Hmm, no scrabbly JAMB. All B's are silent. Great puzzle. I like how BE QUIET is positioned in the very middle of the grid. Very creative theme title. I also like how letter B starts the puzzle (1A: Narrow-necked pear: BOSC) and ends the puzzle (65A: Swedish auto: SABB). Nice touch!

B is such a strange letter. Sometimes it's also silent when it's in the middle of the words like debt, subtle, doubtful, etc.

I did not know CALEB (21D: Biblical spy). But "spy" should not be part of the clue as SPY is the answer for 46D: "James Bond, e.g.". Come to the Comments section if you have a better clue for CALEB. Dictionary says it means "dog" in Hebrew.

Will be busy in the next few weeks, so my blog Comments will be very limited.

Across:

5A: James who robbed trains: JESSE. Learned this name on my first day with Pinkerton China. We focused on Intellectual Property investigation and surveillance/debugging. Several of my ex-colleagues are EX-COPs (6D: Many a security guard), ex-Marines, British/German military force, etc. Most speak fluent Chinese.

17A: "Pow!" relative: WHAM. Also George Michael's ex-band. His original Greek name is insane, lots of vowels. I like "Careless Whisper".

18: Immune system agent: T- CELL. T stands for thymus. The B in B-CELL stands for bursa. Anyone knows the difference between T-CELL and B-CELL?

19A: Litter's littlest: RUNTS. I like this clue.

24A: Open-bodied truck: FLAT BED. Oh, I did not know this kind of trailer has a special name.

26A: Moon mission name: APOLLO. Reminds me of JD's comment on Pan the FAUN. She said Pan "created panic by showing up unannounced and scaring "people." He fell in love with the moon, but the moon said he was too ugly to marry and smelled like a goat. So he dressed up as a sweet fluffy lamb and lured the moon into the woods.When she recognized his voice, she hid behind the earth's shadow for many days, creating the 1st eclipse."

30A: No-goodnick: LOUSE. Just noticed that the plural for "No-goodnick" LOUSE is louses. But the plural for the insect LOUSE is lice.

31A: Really punch: SLUG. Hence slugger.

32A: Hops. scanners: MRIS

39A: Legal Lance: ITO. Has he written a book about the Simpson trial as well?

42A: Hit, in billiards: CUED. I like the ambiguity in tense.

45A: Jeff Gordon was its 1993 Rookie of the Year: NASCAR. Oh, I don't know this trivia. Do remember his messy divorce though.

47A: Cavern: GROTTO. And the person who explore caves is a spelunker.

50A: Gucci of fashion: ALDO. No idea. He looks like a mafia too. His father, the founder of Gucci, is named Guccio Gucci.

57A: Soft-tipped pen brand: FLAIR. Another unknown. FLAIR is just a baseball card brand to me.

60A: Dole's 1996 running mate: KEMP (Jack). I forgot. His name appeared in our puzzle before. Someone mentioned his football career last time. Wikipedia says he was a quarterback for 13 years. Reminds me of Senator Jim Bunning (KY). He was a former pitcher. Hall-of-Famer.

61A: Give up: WAIVE. Forgo also has 5 letters.

62A: This, in Tegucigalpa: ESTO. Or ESTA. "That" is ESO. Crossword editors seem to be very fond of alliteration. I had no idea that Tegucigapla is the capital of Honduras. What do you associate Honduras with? Me, banana.

64A: Force units: DYNES. Rooted in Greek dunamis (power), the same origin of "dynamic".

Down:

3D: Pillow covering: SHAM. Wonder when Rich Norris will take a shot at the ilks of Bernie Madoff/Allan Standord. I don't think I will buy Topps Ponzi Cards of Shame. Certain card inserts hold no attraction to me.

4D: Drummer's crashers: CYMBALS. Same pronunciation as symbols, correct? I'd love to hear how UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pronounces bad/bed, sax/sex. I think he might have the same problem as I do.

5D: Rockers __ Tull: JETHRO. No idea. What's their most famous song? Al mentioned the British band ELP yesterday. Look at side two of this album. Isn't it interesting? The Three Fates (Clotho, Lachesis & Atropos).

10D: Layer: STRATUM. Can you think of another clue?

12D: Tennessee-born country singer Ford: ERNIE. His face looks very familiar. I must have googled him before. So many ERNIES to clue: ERNIE Els, ERNIE Banks, who else?

13D: Like a subdued trumpet: MUTED

22D: Paw's mate?: MAW. Comic book? I don't know. I've never heard of MAW & Paw.

25D: Opera box: LOGE. The Italian magistrate is DOGE.

27D: Protruded-lip expression: POUT. Thought of Angelina Jolie and her POUT. Do you think she is beautiful than Chinese actress Gong Li?

31D: Cheerleader unit: SQUAD

37D: Pilate's "Behold!": ECCE Pilate is the guy who said "Ecce homo!" Here is Titian's painting "ECCE Homo". Williams once clued ECCO as "Behod, to Guido". I thought he made up the word.

41D: Trounces: WALLOPS

44D: Annoying people: NOODGES. Variant of nudge. New to me. I only knew the "gentle push" meaning of nudge.

47D: Piercing looks: GLARE. Probably the most piercing and unforgettable eyes in the world.

50D: __ and kicking: ALIVE. I like Celine Dion's "I am ALIVE."

52D: It can be chronic or shooting: PAIN. What is shooting PAIN?

53D: Bear among the stars: URSA. URSA Major & URSA Minor. Latin for "bear". I also found out this morning that Latin for duck is anas.

55D: "We're not serving liquor," briefly: BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle).

57D: Bk. introduction: FWD

58D: Make, as a wager: LAY. Mine was BET. I am not familiar with the term "LAY a wager".

Answer Grid.

C.C.