Sunday June 6, 2010 Jim Page

Theme: Taketh Away - TH is dropped (taken away) from common phrases.

27A. Reason for a burglar to take aspirin?: (TH)ROBBING HEADACHE. Throbbing Headache. Fun clue/answer.

35A. Display a casual shirt?: SHOW ONE'S TEE (TH). Show One's Teeth.

53A. One who sings during meals?: MUSICAL (TH)EATER. Musical Theater. The answer feels a bit strained to me.

60A. Where to buy "Splitting Up For Dummies"?: (TH) RIFT STORE. Thrift Store.

74A. Reaction to a New Year's Day birth?: JANUARY (TH) AW. January Thaw.

85A. Salamander coverage?: (TH) EFT INSURANCE. Theft Insurance. Very unexpected TH drop. Loved the answer.

97A. Defy a parent?: CROSS ONE'S PA (TH). Cross One's Path. I don't know cross can mean "defy". Not fond of two ONE'S in the theme answers (see 35A).

109A. Corn that may or may not be eaten?: EAR (TH) IN THE BALANCE. Does the base phrase refer to Al Gore's "Earth in the Balance"?

Some TH are dropped from the beginning of the phrase, some from the end, some from the middle (though still the beginning/end of a word). Good variety. Nice puzzle title too.

Must be a bear to construct a Sunday puzzle. 144 words (362 letters) are a lot to grid. Our average weekday puzzles normally have no more than 78 words.

Favorite clue today is COAT (113D. You might wear it out). Brilliant. Did the puzzle wear you out?

Across:

1. GM line until 2004: OLDS

5. "You're making __ mistake!": A BIG. Several partials today.

9. Coming-out parties: DEBS

13. Value: ESTEEM. The answer is never REGARD, which has the same number of letters.

19. Mariner or Mountaineer, briefly: MERC. Mercury SUVs. Stumper.

20. Moon over Milano: LUNA. Italian for "moon". Luna = Roman moon goddess. Alliteration.

21. Jazz giant, familiarly: ELLA (Fitzgerald). Not Utah Jazz.

22. Annoyingly small: MEASLY

23. Lago filler: AGUA. Spanish for water.

24. Animated bug film: ANTZ. 1998 move. This has become a gimme to me.

25. Cyberseller's site: EBAY

26. Like some champagne glasses: FLUTED. Cheers!

31. Joe Louis, e.g.: ARENA. Home of the Detroit Red Wings (NHL). Unknown to me. I could only think of BOXER.

32. "Gigi" author: COLETTE. Dennis quoted her a few times.

33. Cassis cocktail: KIR. Named after the Canon Felix Kir, the guy who created the drink.

34. "Bummer": SO SAD

39. Checkup responses: AHS

41. What Forum addresses were in: LATIN. The ancient Forum in Rome.

42. Mr. __!: old detective game: REE. No idea. Some Ebay seller claims it's a board game that inspired Clue.

43. Log opening.: EPI. Epilog. The spelling checks wants epilogue.

46. Prepare pupils for an exam?: DILATE. Without the question mark, the clue works fine too.

51. Israeli arms: UZIS

52. Mama bear: Span.: OSA. Would prefer "Spanish". "Span." suggested an abbreviated answer.

56. "Me, __ & Irene": 2000 film: MYSELF

58. Noshed: SNACKED

59. "Take __ face value": IT AT

63. Legal precedent: TEST CASE. A joyful fill for Hahtool & Lemonade.

66. Texter's "Lordy!": OMG

69. Cagney's "Yankee Doodle Dandy" role: COHAN. The movie is about George M. Cohan.

70. '60s activist Bobby: SEALE. Black Panthers co-founder.

71. Hi-__ graphics: RES

72. Trip acquisition: SOUVENIR

78. "Assuming that ..." IF SO

79. Net income earner?: ETAILER. Internet. Nice clue.

81. With hands on hips: AKIMBO. Like her posture.

88. OED entries: WDS. Words.

90. Arrow groove: NOCK. No idea. It refers to the top notch at the end of the arrow.

91. Got a little hoarse at the race, maybe: ROOTED. True!

92. Seaside bird: ERN

93. Moo goo __ pan: GAI. Gai = Chicken in Chinese. Wild Gai is slang for prostitute.

94. Take place: OCCUR

95. Buckeyes' sch.: OSU. Hello Buckeye!

100.Seat belt, e.g. : STRAP

104.Shakespeare contemporary: KYD (Thomas). No idea. Maybe Clear Ayes knows this guy.

107.Funny DVD feature: OUTTAKE

108."Love Story" author Segal: ERICH. I did not know that Al Gore inspired "Love Story" until his recent break-up with his wife.

115.Sailor with "muskles": POPEYE. Yeah, why didn't he say "I sweet potato what I sweet potato"?

117.Jay's home: NEST. The real bird. Thought it might refer to Toronto Blue Jays.

118.__ to one's neck: IN UP

119.Textile machine: LOOM

120.Fends off: AVERTS

121.Disney lioness: NALA. In "The Lion King".

122."__ fan tutte": COSI. Mozart opera. Literally "Thus do all (women"). "Women are like that".

123.Coventry carriage: PRAM. British for baby stroller. Coventry is a city in England. Unknown to me.

124.Microscope parts: LENSES

125.Computer since 1998: IMAC

126.Some Fr. martyrs: STES. Saintes.

127.Like some feed: OATY. Not enough space for VIDEO/AUDIO.

Down:

1. Actor Epps: OMAR

2. Versatile block: LEGO

3. Clobber: DRUB

4. Healing sign: SCAB. No SCAB/SCAR hesitation today.

5. Family support group: AL-ANON. What does AL stand for?

6. They botch jobs: BUNGLERS. Ah, OK.

7. Where there are too many fish, as per a 1964 hit: IN THE SEA. "Too Many Fish in the Sea" by The Marvelettes. Not in my radar. Here is the clip.

8. Newspaper name: GAZETTE

9. One of The Ramones: DEE DEE. Nailed it.

10. Island off Tuscany: ELBA

11. __ belt: BLACK

12. Acknowledge a passerby: SAY HI

13. "Unbelievable" band: EMF. Indie band from the UK. Another stranger to me.

14. Ethiopian messiah: SELASSIE. Haile Selassie.

15. Bullish start?: TAURO. Prefix for "bull". Rooted in Taurus.

16. __ Park, Colorado: ESTES

17. "The Mask of Zorro" heroine: ELENA. Nope. Maybe Bill G knows. He loves Catherine Zeta-Jones.

18. 1962 Paul Petersen hit: MY DAD. Here is the song. I was clueless.

28. Screen picture: ICON

29. Scarfed down: ATE

30. Horse and buggy __ : ERA. Refers to the 19th and early 20th centuries. Before the advent of the automobile.

35. Run-down area: SLUM

36. Lacking clarity: HAZY

37. Bluesman Redding: OTIS. Hello Otis the Bear!

38. More erudite: WISER

40. "Good" cholesterol, briefly: HDL

43. Opal finish?: ESCE. Opalesce. Verb. I only know opalescent.

44. Water__: dental gadget: PIK. Not a familiar gadget to me.

45. Picnic pitcherful: ICE TEA. Alas, another D-less Iced Tea.

47. Nonclerical: LAIC

48. Floral perfume: ATTAR. Rose oil.

49. Pull one's leg: TEASE

50. Some Deco works: ERTES

52. Go __ a tangent: OFF ON

53. 6 on a handset: MNO

54. Former Mideast org.: UAR (United Arab Republic). Old Egypt-Syr. alliance (1958-1961).

55. "Be __ ...": A DEAR

57. Tiny parasites: LICE

58. D.C.'s Union, e.g.: STN

61. Exiled South Vietnamese president: THIEU (Tyoo). I can never remember his name.

62. ''Nausea'' novelist: SARTRE

64. __ a fox: SLY AS

65. Weather-resistant wood: TEAK

66. Basketmaking branch: OSIER. Here are some red osier.

67. Diva Anna: MOFFO. Nope. Have never heard of this lady. Strange name.

68. Keen enjoyment: GUSTO

70. California's Big __: SUR

73. Soccer ball brand: VOIT. No idea. Named after the founder William J Voit.

74. Islamic spirit: JINN. Quite a few variant spellings of this spirit.

75. Still product: Abbr. : ALC. Gee, alcohol.

76. Bridal page word: NEE

77. React to a shot, say: WINCE

80. Swiss river: AAR

82. Soft shoes: MOCS

83. Victoria's Secret spec: B-CUP. I am sure Dennis wants D-CUP. How about you, Argyle?

84. Cajun staple: OKRA

86. One starting out: NEOPHYTE. Awesome fill.

87. Radical campus gp.: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)

88. Start of an adage about economy: WASTE NOT. Want not. I like the answer.

89. Rid, as of false ideas: DISABUSE

93. Some Hawthorne works: GOTHICS

94. Like the lama, but not the llama, in a Nash poem: ONE L

96. Lei wearer's strings: UKE. Not the string I have in mind

97. Cold relief caplet: CONTAC. Not enough space for DayQuil.

98. Bad place to be stuck: RUT

99. Giraffe cousins: OKAPIS. Barb B used to like this picture.

100.Usually green flower part: SEPAL

101.Treasure hoard: TROVE

102.Go from green to red, often: RIPEN. Lovely clue. Echo the "green" in 100D.

103.Their service is impeccable: ACERS. Tennis.

105.One-named Greek singer: YANNI

106.Hope: DREAM

110.Mallorca, for one: ISLA. Not familiar with Majorca (Mallorca in Spanish), the largest island of Spain.

111.Kal Kan rival: ALPO

112.Director Ephron: NORA. I liked her "Sleepless in Seattle".

114.Award for Tina Fey: EMMY

116.Basic center?: ESS. The center S in the word Basic.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 Jim Page

Theme: WOW!

17A: Wow!: Sakes Alive!

39A: Wow!: Holy Cow!

59A: Wow!: Great Scott!

11D: Wow! Lo and Behold!

25D: Wow!: What on Earth?!

Never read Superman or any comic book, never heard anyone gasp "Great Scott".

But WOW, what a proper and fitting theme for thousands of solvers this morning. I am just so stunned and stupefied by Governor Spitzer's "private matter". Down a hero (49D: EAT)!

I was so enamored of his Eliot Ness - style aggressive & relentless pursuits of those criminal dealings in Wall Street. I could not tell you in words how impressed I was of him when he forced Richard Grasso (NYSE) to pay back part of his scandalous compensation package. I learned the word "fiduciary duty" from him. The thing that bothers me is: Who leaked it to the press?

I had another tough uphill battle today. I put IRAN for 6A: Persian's contemporary (MEDE), and I ended up with ALTO for 8D: TOP vocalist (DIVA). I did not know Runner Zatopek's (EMIL), then I could not fill in anything sensible for 21A: NATO, for one (ACRONYM).

Here are the across entries.

1A: Kind of flu: ASIAN. I penned in AVIAN.

6A: Persian's contemporary: MEDE. They lived in ancient Media.

10A: Pig vittles: SLOP

15A: Runner Zatopek: EMIL. Never heard of him. If it's clued as Chef Lagasse, I would've got it. (Update: I blundered again. Lagasse's name is Emeril)

20A: Elmer or Jerry: RICE

21A: NATO, for one: ACRONYM. Of course! General Patraeus will be an awesome NATO Commander.

23A: Certain metal craftsman: PEWTERER. Never knew that a pewter maker is called a pewterer.

28A: Exist as a characteristic: INHERE

29A: Harrow's rival: ETON. Both Prince William and Harry attended ETON. James Bond too. Churchill and Nehru are Harrow graduates.

36A: Kind of trooper or line: STATE

37A: Skinny twins?: ENS. There are 2 letters "n" in the word "skinny". Last time many people were confounded by the clue: Minnesota twins?.

38A: Meow Mix eater: CAT

43A: Stand by: AWAIT

44A: Fleshy fruit: POME. I never heard of the word "Pome", so I was marshaling all the 4-letter fruits in my mind: Pear, Plum, Kiwi, Date.

47A: Camelot magician: MERLIN. No idea. But I read almost every book about JFK and his Camelot legacy.

51A: Explosives with pins: GRENADES

53A: Erupt: FLARE UP

57A: Lena of "The Ninth Gate": OLIN. She had a role in Chocolat (Juliette Binoche).

58A: Cooking fat: LARD. Stop larding the spending bill with your stupid pork-barrel earmarks, you bigwig in D. C. (SEN).

65A: "A Girl Like I" author: LOOS (Anita). She is back, 2 days in a row. I found out that besides Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, she also wrote But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes.

66A: Temporary contract: LEASE

67A: Actress Madeline: KAHN. So sorry. I really did not know you.

69A: Ill-fated Ford: EDSEL

Down entries:

2D: Place for fish and ships: SEA. Misread it as Place for fish and chips.

3D: Sort: ILK

5D: More snoopy: NOSIER

6D: Free-for-all: MELEE. Donnybrook.

7D: Radio static, in brief: EMI (Electromagnetic Interference). Sometimes it's clued as British record company.

9D: Power, in brief.: ELEC

10D: Keep under wraps: SIT ON. To suppress the release of certain news I suppose.

12D: Like Woodsy?: OWLY. I made a guess. I had no idea that Woodsy Owl is the owl icon for the US Forest service. I only knew Smokey Bear.

22D: Give a face-lift to: RENEW. I groaned after the answer emerged.

23D: Zodiac sign: PISCES

24D: Coop up: ENCAGE

26D: Knotting again: RETYING. Very gnarly clue.

30D: Diplomatic asset: TACT. Bill Richardson seems to be very well respected outside US for his diplomatic tact.

33D: Personal instability: ANOMIE. Unknown to me. According to the dictionary.com, it's "a state or condition of individuals or society characterized by a breakdown or absence of social norms and values, as in the case of uprooted people."

36D: Shredded side: SLAW. Add some raisins, it will be tastier.

39D: Undue speed: HASTE

40D: Be light chips: OWE. (Update later: According to drdad, "In poker, if you are "light chips" that means you "owe" the pot/kitty.")

44D: Strutted about: PRANCED

47D: Run in the heat: MELT. Good clue.

48D: Isolate: ENISLE. Saw it clued this way before, so no problem this time.

50D: Dale of "Flash Gordon": ARDEN. No idea.

52D: Prepare peanuts: ROAST.

53D: Excessive criticism: FLAK. Both the Clinton & Obama campaigns have brought FLAK into an elevated art form.

54D: Actress Turner: LANA

55D: Wrinkly fruit: UGLI. Never had it. I don't think our Rainbow Foods even carries it.

56D: Masters players: PROS. Those PGA golfers. Tiger Woods probably will win Masters again this year. But I am rooting for K. G. Choi (South Korean). He is such a workhorse, well, not as crazy as Vijay Singh.

60D: PAU's successor: OAS (Organization of American States, US is a member). Gimme for anyone who paid attention to the tense situation in Columbia last week. Oh, PAU stands for Pan American Union.

62D: Mao _ -Tung: TSE. Could also be clued as Literary monogram (T. S. Eliot).

I forgot to mention yesterday that NPR's On the Media Sunday had a very good segment on crossword and ACTP 2008. In case you missed, you can hear it here.

C. C.