Saturday July 24, 2010 Mark Diehl

Theme: None

Total words: 66

Total blocks: 36

Average Word length: 5.73

The total block count is relatively high compared with its word count, but 12 are help squares in each corner, consuming 1/3 of them.

The puzzle is framed by a 11/13/15 on top and a 15/13/11 at the bottom. All of them are multi-word entries:

1A. Co-star of TV's "Chuck" : ADAM BALDWIN. Cross-referenced with MY BODYGUARD (56A. 1980 film debut for 1-Across). Have never heard of this dude. Looks cool. I liked how the cross-referenced pair bookends the grid.

12A. One might raise the roof : CRANE OPERATOR. Was thinking of something temper related.

14A. Situations that aren't clear-cut : BORDERLINE CASES. My favorite entry today. This might be the seed entry.

52A. 1983 ELO hit with the lyric "She loves that drivin' beat" : ROCK 'N' ROLL IS KING. Blind spot for me.

55A. They may be spotted at pet stores : CALICO KITTENS. Not a pet person. So, yeah, another blank stare.

Very difficult solving for me. Unable to sync with the constructor. I seldom do on Saturday, regardless of who constructs the puzzle. The clues are just too tricky & ambiguous.

Across:

16. State with a five-sided flag : OHIO. Unknown trivia to me. Boy, that's strange looking, isn't it?

17. Raccoon kin : COATI. With long & ringed tail.

18. Multipurpose lyrics : LA LA. Because they are often refrained, Santa?

19. Story : LEVEL. Was in the tale "Story" direction.

21. Cat lead-in : SNO. Snowcat.

22. Plush, in a way : PILED. As velvet.

23. Top quality : GRADE A

25. Oregon Trail river : PLATTE. A gimme for our Oregon gang.

26. It's often smoked in Sweden : EEL. I thought it's pickled there.

27. Kind of well : ARTESIAN. Named after the French region Artois. It's "a well that is dug into the ground to the water table and is under pressure and will spray out of the well head like a oil geyser". Who knows?!

31. Some rtes. : RDS

32. Luminescent critter : FIREFLY. Awesome fill. With two Fs.

33. Org. that infiltrated Germany in the '40s : OSS. I am used to the "CIA forerunner" clue.

36. Exude an air of disinterest : BLOW COLD. Also a new phrase to me. Crossing BRISKLY (36D. How a cool wind blows). Blow duplication.

37. Balderdash : PAP. Only familiar with the baby food definition.

38. For only a select few : SECRET

41. Very much : SORELY. For those who have been missing Clear Ayes,, she has a photo for us today.

43. Aquiline nose, e.g. : TRAIT

44. Area between N. and S. Korea : DMZ

47. Capital east of Dhaka : HANOI. Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. My brain nerve for directions is damaged. So, no idea, Sir!

48. Goes on to say : ADDS

49. One of the fire signs : ARIES

51. "Let's go!" : C'MON

Down:

1. Airport board heading : ARRIVALS

2. Grooved, in carpentry : DADOED. Here is a dado joint. Did not know it can be a verb, Jerome!

3. Hydrocarbon suffix : ANE. Learned from doing Xword.

4. Hired gun, briefly : MERC (Mercenary)

5. Official ties of New Mexico : BOLOS. Neckties!

6. Like bees : APIAN

7. Tempo marking : LENTO. "Slowly".

8. Bavarian trio : DREI. Three in German. A gimme for Kazie/Spitzboov.

9. Mil. branch from 1943 to 1978 : WAC. Women Army Corps. Stumper.

10. Restaurant guide category : ITALIAN

11. Margarita option : NO SALT. Hmm, that would not be margarita.

12. Stuck : COHERED. Tricky clue.

13. Got a new tenant for : RELET

14. Tony-winning star of "Where's Charley?" (1948) : BOLGER (Ray). Only know him as the scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz".

15. 1986 Best New Artist Grammy winner : SADE. Had the S in place, so SADE came to me immediately. Love her.

20. Certain handout : LEAFLET

22. Toy in resealable cans : PLAY-DOH. Nice clue/answer.

24. "__ is the language of the unheard": M.L. King Jr. : A RIOT. Have never heard of this quote before. What does it mean? Sounds violent to me.

25. Dispensary stock : PILLS

28. Credit checker Experian, formerly : TRW. No idea.

29. Continental trade org. : EEC (European Economic Community)

30. Virgin America hub: Abbr. : SFO. Peeked at the answer sheet.

33. Negotiating asset : OPEN MIND. Another great entry.

34. Watering holes : SALOONS. Watering hole = bar/saloon.

35. Bond activity? : SPYING. James Bond.

38. Macy's logo : STAR

39. Triage MD : ER DOC. Had ERD?? forever.

40. High-tech engineering acronym : CAD/CAM. Computer-Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing. Got me.

42. Eightball loser, often : RACKER. Don't know any pool terms.

44. Title name in an unfinished Dickens work : DROOD. Dickens's "The Mystery of Edwin Drood".

45. Whitish : MILKY

46. Chameleon-like Woody Allen character : ZELIG. Woody Allen's mockumentary (1983). We had this clue before.

49. String music direction : ARCO. With the bow. I can never remember this term.

50. In __: as found : SITU

53. Tip of a pen : NIB. Neb too, right?

54. RR depot : STA

Answer grid.

Here is a sweet photo of our beloved Clear Ayes & her granddaughter Rachael. she said the picture "was taken on Easter Eve 2010 when my granddaughter and I were making a huge mess dying Easter eggs. They weren't exactly works of art, but we had a great time making them and every one was colored with splashes of laughter". She'll be back with us once her family issue is resolved.

C.C.

Saturday February 13, 2010 Mark Diehl

Theme: None

Total blocks: 25

Total words: 66

This grid looks so clean, with no cheater/helper square. Only 25 black squares, the fewest I've seen in a LAT puzzle. The word count is quite low too.

Some of entries are quite fresh, and I love the clever use of "er" in the below clues:

13D. Old rubber?: ALADDIN. Rubber, one who rubs. When Aladdin rubs his oil lamp and magic appears.

38D. Art that requires a folder: ORIGAMI. Folder, one who folds. Not the portfolio folder.

But too many ER suffixes in grid answers:

53A. New __: AGER

63A. Wooers, perhaps: SERENADERS

40. Flautist: TOOTLER

43D. Slumber party?: SNOOZER. Party here means "participant". Great clue.

44D. R&D employees: TESTERS. Clue is asking for an abbreviated answer.

Tough slog today. Totally out of sync with this constructor Mark Diehl. We definitely do not speak the same language. Troubles everywhere.

Across:

1. Blended condiment: GARLIC SALT. Awesome answer.

11. Tricked twin: ESAU. He was tricked into selling his birthright to his brother Jacob. For some lentil soup.

15. She received a Best Actress nomination for "A Man and a Woman": ANOUK AIMEE. Always nice to have a full name. We often see AIMEE clued as "French Actress".

16. Not sharp: DULL

17. 2005 award for Leigh Ann Hester, the first woman to win it since WWII: SILVER STAR. I've never heard of Leigh Ann Hester, who was awarded the star for her heroic actions in Iraq War. Dennis has a Purple Heart.

18. "My word!": I SAY

19. Corner piece: ELL

20. Blind dates, e.g.: SETUPS

21. Youngsters: TADS. Learned this "youngster" meaning last time it appeared in the grid.

22. Auvers-sur-__, where van Gogh spent his final days: OISE. A commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris. Stumper. I only knew he did not die in Arles.

24. Prompter's cue: TEN SECONDS. Cool answer.

26. Common front: UNITY

28. Royale or Flying Cloud: REO. Wikipedia says REO's two most memorable cars were its Reo Flying Cloud introduced in 1927 and the Reo Royale 8 of 1931.

29. Bushmiller who created the comic "Nancy": ERNIE. Nope. He's not in my memory bank.

30. Campus big shot, often: SENIOR. BMOC (Big Man On Campus) used to befuddle me.

32. Finns' neighbors: RUSSIANS. Too many space for my first reaction: SWEDES.

34. Take into custody, in a way: CUFF

36. "Toodles!": TATA. Wikipedia says "Toodles!" is a shortened, more casual version of the French expression à tout à l'heure (Anglicized as "toodle-oo"), meaning "goodbye". I am surprised I've never heard of it before.

37. Bikini feature in a 1960 hit: POLKA DOT. "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini".

41. NASDAQ neighborhood: WALL ST. So simple in retrospect.

45. Dizzy: AREEL. Or A-REEL like A-LOP, Argyle?

46. Napoléon or Yves, e.g.: NOM. Both French given names.

48. Despicable sort: SWINE

49. Parts of feet: LITTLE TOES. Came to me with difficulty.

52. Deal busters, at times: EGOS. True.

54. Magic 8 Ball maker: MATTEL. Have yet to see HASBRO in a LAT puzzle.

56. "Joking!": NOT

57. Author Hoag: TAMI. Saw her name mentioned in blog Comments section a few times.

58. Provide armed forces for: MILITARIZE

60. Enclosed in: AMID

61. Weather station gadget: ANEMOMETER. Wind-speed measuring instrument. Anemo is a prefix for "wind".

62. Related business products: LINE

Down:

1. Like neon: GASEOUS. Or INERT.

2. Polyurethane compound: ANILINE. Used in dyes. I only know ANIL, which is clued as "Indigo dye source" sometimes.

3. Arrives at last: ROLLS IN. Can you make a sentence for me?

4. Word on a candy heart: LUV. Timely. With the Valentine's Day tomorrow. I LUV U!

5. Turner and others: IKES

6. Proofreader's mark: CARET. ^

7. Moon Unit, to Dweezil: SISTER. Both Frank Zappa's kids. Very strange names.

8. Radio part: AM TUNER

9. Is dramatically revealed to, with "at": LEAPS OUT

10. To the point: TERSE

11. Opinion page perspective: EDITORIAL WE. Shouldn't it be "Opinion page pronoun"? "Perspective" is asking for a "view", no?

12. Foster title girl: SUSANNA. I am totally confused by the clue. Does it refer to this Susana Foster? Why "title girl" in the clue? (Updated later: The title girl refers to the song "Oh! Susanna" by Stephen Foster. Thanks, Al!)

14. Rutherford's predecessor: ULYSSES (Grant)

23. Disneyland's Matterhorn, once: E TICKET RIDE. I peeked at the cheat sheet.

25. Fronton gear: CESTAS. The jai alai on his right hand. Fronton is an arena for jai alai. New to me.

27. Southern address: YOU-ALL.

31. Rural mail letters: RFD (Rural Free Delivery)

33. Took in: SAW

35. "Suspicion" Oscar winner, 1941: FONTAINE (Joan). Sister of Olivia de Havilland. Both still alive.

37. Like some consonants, as the nasal "n": PALATAL

39. McCartney hit about his relatives: LET 'EM IN. Here is the clip. Doesn't ring a bell.

42. Soft coal: LIGNITE. Another new word. Lign(i) a prefix for "wood".

47. Period of self-indulgence: ME TIME

50. Samms and Lazarus: EMMAS

51. Not likely to be talked out of: SET ON. Obtained the answer from crosses. I don't like two SETs in one grid. See also 20A.

55. High holy man?: LAMA. Lamas live in Tibet, the highest region on earth, hence "High" in the clue?

59. Elmo's color: RED

Answer grid.

C. C.