Monday, December 12, 2011 Mel Rosen

Theme:

17A. Downside of reading in poor light : EYE STRAIN. Private Eye.

24A. Drive-thru cleanings : CAR WASHES. Private car. I think of the old railroad cars.

39A. Range for indoor comfort : ROOM TEMPERATURE. Private room, if your lucky.

49A. Staunch political group member : PARTY HACK. Private party, that's what I hear when I try to get in.

62A. Solid baseball hit : LINE DRIVE. Private line, telephone.

7D. Doctor's self-employment, and a hint to the starts of the five longest across answers : PRIVATE PRACTICE

Argyle here with a rare Monday pangram. Grid spanning row and column. Interesting fill. Should be a good week.

Across:

1. Brewpub choices : ALES

5. Bottle tops : CAPS

9. Newly hatched pigeon : SQUAB. I wonder at what age they stop being SQUAB and become flying rats.

14. Lower California, familiarly : BAJA. The actual name of the peninsula, nothing to do with the state.

15. Mother Goose baddie : OGRE

16. Hearing-related : AURAL

19. Magic wand wielder : FAIRY

20. PC go-to type : TECHIE

21. Use the ballot : VOTE

23. Mlles., in Spain : SRTAs

29. Checkpoint "Hold it!" : "HALT!". "Where are your papers?"

31. Little-known information : ARCANA

32. Prefix meaning "billion" : GIGA

36. Harbor landing : PIER

38. Bridge positions : EASTs

42. "Tomorrow" title singer : ANNIE

43. High spirits : BRIO. From Italian but of Celtic origin.

44. 1974 Sutherland/Gould spoof : "S*P*Y*S". Asterisks were to indicate bullet holes.

45. "Burnt" crayon color : SIENNA

47. Egyptian cross : ANKH

51. Montezuma subject : AZTEC

56. Admin. aide : ASST.

57. Hawkish : PRO WAR

58. Not so many : FEWER

64. African antelope : ELAND

65. Muscular woe : ACHE

66. Born and __ : BRED

67. Prepares, as cocktails : MIXES

68. "Little" Dickens girl : NELL. Nell Trent, fictional heroine of Charles Dickens's novel "The Old Curiosity Shop".

69. "Besides that ..." : "ALSO ..."

Down:

1. Helps illegally : ABETS

2. Hen, vis-à-vis eggs : LAYER

3. Kick out : EJECT

4. Olympic skater Cohen : SASHA. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist.

5. Apple heart : CORE

6. Turkish title : AGA

8. Hombre's title : SEÑOR

9. Low-crime section of town : SAFE AREA

10. Sine __ non: essential : QUA

11. Ocean State sch. : URI

12. River to the Rhine : AAR. In Switzerland, Aare.

13. Activist Nellie : BLY

18. Addams Family nickname : TISH. Morticia Addams (TV)

22. Howard Hughes's airline : TWA

24. Scale, as Everest : CLIMB

25. Improvises like Armstrong : SCATS. Scatting with Louis and Ella. Clip(3:09)

26. Welcomes to the penthouse : HAS UP

27. Blog piece : ENTRY

28. Freelance writers' encls. : SASEs

30. Zoo swinger : APE

32. Hold tightly : GRASP

33. Ancient Greek region that was home to Heraclitus : IONIA

34. One with no hope : GONER

35. Make ___: rake it in : A MINT

37. Sign anew, as a contract : RE-INK

40. Thirty feet : TEN YARDS

41. Soldier of Seoul : ROK

46. Sighs of relief : AHs

48. Difficult : HARD

50. "The Chronicles of Narnia" lion : ASLAN

52. "___ the Greek" : ZORBA Novel and film.

53. Handle, as a baton : TWIRL

54. Rain gutters run under them : EAVES

55. System of belief : CREDO

57. Banana covering : PEEL

58. Like "la" in Fr. or Sp. : FEM.(feminine)

59. Quarterback Manning : ELI

60. Like many lifelike museum displays : WAX

61. Opposite of WSW : ENE

63. Buffalo Sabres' org. : NHL

Answer grid.

Argyle

Notes from C.C.

1) Here are some gorgeous photos from Marti's Europe trip. All the bar pictures are cozy & inviting. Marti looks so beautiful and happy.

2) Please click here (Chicago Tribute's website) if you're not happy with the new LA Times crossword format.

Sunday May 8, 2011 Mel Rosen

Theme: Market Woes - The last parts of each made-up theme answer is a common expression of a down day in the market.

23A. "How's your Ticonderoga stock?" answer? : PENCILS HAVE LOST POINTS

42A. "How's your Johnson & Johnson stock?" answer? : TALCUM HIT BOTTOM

65A. "How's your Ginsu stock?" answer? : KNIVES ARE SHARPLY LOWER

88A. "How's your Moët & Chandon stock?" answer? : CHAMPAGNE IS FLAT

109A. "How's your Aqua Lung stock?" answer? : SCUBA GEAR IS GOING UNDER

Company name in the clue, then product in the start of each answer. Very consistent.

Normally we see at least 7 theme entries in a Sunday puzzle. Today we only have 5, but 3 are grid-spanners. Mel Rosen, who coined the word cruciverbalist, seems to be fond of long theme entries. Look at his last LAT. Three spanners also. It's hard to maneuver with many squares already filled in when gridding & filling.

  

Across:

1. Do what Michelle Wie did before age 16 : GO PRO. Gimme start for me.

6. Lentil housings : PODS

10. For example : SAY

13. Muzzleloading aid : RAMROD. And 10. Gunpowder ingredient : SALTPETER.

19. Out-of-this-world type : ALIEN

20. Beige relative : ECRU. And 7D. Brownish hue : OCHER.

21. Beverage ending : ADE

22. Protected, in a way : IMMUNE

27. Rally attendance fig. : EST. And 106D. Ballpark figs. : MGRs

28. Join in the fun : TAKE PART. Do join us in the Comments section. It's fun.

29. Busy mo. for a CPA : APR

30. "... __ quit!" : OR I

31. Old Glory detail : STAR

33. Ancient Phoenician seaport : TYRE. JD might get this one. Not me.

34. Deliverer of text messages? : APOSTLE. Oh, Christian messages.

37. "__ in victor" : V AS

38. Melodic passages : ARIOSI. Plural of arioso?

40. Eroded : ATE AWAY

41. Faith-based group : SECT

46. Fondue needs : FORKS. Cheesy!

47. Old frosh topper : BEANIE

48. Sightings : ESPIALS. I've never used this word in life.

50. Words after shake or break : A LEG

54. One playing for time : STALLER

56. "¿Cómo __ usted?" : ESTA

57. Shtick : BIT. Funny bit.

60. Baseball commissioner Bud : SELIG. He's not that cold in person.

62. Stashes : HIDES

63. Villa d'Este city : TIVOLI. Not familiar to me.

71. Classic Ford : MODEL T

72. Janvier, across the Pyrenees : ENERO. Janvier is January in French.

73. Arrive home, in a way : SLIDE. Home plate.

74. Program file suffix : EXE. Has anyone updated to the latest Firefox? I went back to my old version.

75. Beaut : LULU

78. Boxer's attendant : GROOMER

80. Began a round, with "off" : TEED

81. Mallomars maker : NABISCO. Part of Kraft.

83. Draft, as a contract : DRAW UP

85. Stop legally : EMBAR

94. Slimy mud : MIRE

95. Be indisposed : FEEL ILL

96. Airport near Tokyo : NARITA. Can only remember its Chinese name. Ta means "field".

97. Ranch addition? : ERO. Ranchero.

98. Weather page datum : SUNRISE

99. H.H. Munro's pen name : SAKI

102. "... like __ of chocolates" : A BOX

103. Joplin work : RAG

104. Bowl highlights: Abbr. : TDs

105. Statistical group : SAMPLING

108. Like Gershwin's piano concerto : IN F. "Concerto in F".

114. Refrain from the song "Hot Hot Hot" : OLE OLE. Was ignorant of the song.

115. Success : WIN

116. Cartoonist Goldberg : RUBE

117. Sleep lab phenomenon : SNORE

118. Settled in : NESTED

119. Record : LOG

120. Affect strongly : STIR

121. "The Glass Bead Game" author : HESSE (Hermann)

Down:

1. Views wide-eyed : GAPES AT

2. Fake fat : OLESTRA. This word looks fake.

3. Migratory duck : PIN TAIL. Where to?

4. TiVo button : REC

5. Not procrastinating : ON IT

6. Bothersome : PESKY

8. Hang loosely : DRAPE

9. Fiji's capital : SUVA

11. Bother : ADO

12. "To be sure!" : YES

13. Like bodybuilders' muscles : RIPPLY. Did you want RIPPED?

14. Love abroad : AMORE

15. Kvbrick opvs? : MMI. Stanley Kubrick's opus "2001: A Space Odyssey". I needed Argyle to explain to me the answer. He said Romans used V's for U's.

16. Go longer than planned : RUN OVER

17. Just as planned : ON TRACK. Nice consecutive "planned" clecho.

18. Refrains : DESISTS

24. Calif. daily : LA TIMES. Too bad it doesn't carry this puzzle today.

25. Ode writer's Muse : ERATO

26. Traditional straw mats : TATAMIs. Literally "fold".

32. Elephant predator of myth : ROC

35. What mares eat, in song : OATS

36. "Putney __": 1969 film : SWOPE. No idea. I'm eager to read Clear Ayes' comment.

39. Deli choice : SUB

40. White poplars : ABELES

41. Emergency letters : SOS

43. __ yoga : HATHA. HeartRx's yoga.

44. "And seem to walk on wings, and tread __": Pope : IN AIR

45. Piña colada ingredient? : TILDE. The mark above Piña. Not the real ingredient of the drink.

46. Grain threshers : FLAILS

49. J.D. holder : ATTY. Now, here is another JD holder.

50. "Shoot!" : ASK ME

51. Fine china : LENOX

52. Say nothin', say? : ELIDE. Nice clue.

53. Cave : GIVE

55. Surrey town in which George Harrison lived in the '60s : ESHER. Who knows?

57. "The Man Who Fell to Earth" star : BOWIE

58. Paris's __ la Cité : ILE DE. Lovely French for Splynter.

59. Ready to hit the hay : TIRED

61. Actress Sarah Michelle __ : GELLAR. Buffy.

64. Battery unit : VOLT

66. Ticket souvenir : STUB

67. Battery terminal-related : ANODAL

68. Corp. shuffling : RE-ORG

69. Spin doc : PR MAN

70. "My Fair Lady" composer : LOEWE (Frederick). With Alan Lerner.

76. It may be poetic : LICENSE

77. Two seater, maybe? : USHER. I don't get this one.

78. Disappear : GO MISSING

79. Making a mess of : RUINING

81. "Sorry, lassie!" : NAE

82. City SW of Bogotá : CALI. Chickie lived there for a couple of years.

84. Pro bono TV ad : PSA

85. "The Sage of Concord" : EMERSON

86. Revival claim : MIRACLE

87. Wing-tipped shoes : BROGUES

89. Arraignment answers : PLEAS

90. Angelico's address : FRA

91. Freudian principles : LIBIDOS. Ah, Dennis!

92. Penitents : ATONERS

93. Like many muni bonds : TAX FREE

95. Exaggerated : FUDGED

98. Told too often : STALE

99. Teapot part : SPOUT

100. Perp's story : ALIBI

101. Hall of Fame slugger Ralph : KINER. Been with the Mets forever. Nice card.

107. Talk effusively : GUSH

110. Hi-tech worker : BOT

111. Sharp punch : AWL

112. Ipanema's locale : RIO

113. Vane dir. : NNE

Answer grid.

Happy Mother’s Day!

C.C.

Sunday January 30, 2011 Mel Rosen

Theme: How to Read the Personal Ads - Words in Personal Ads are humorously (or rather cynically) interpreted.

23A. "Free spirit" means ... : I LOST EVERY JOB I EVER HAD. A true free spirit!

31A. "Enjoys long conversations" means ... : I DIDN'T PAY MY CABLE BILL

49A. "Likes home cooking" means ... : I'M TOO CHEAP TO EAT OUT. Or you're having food intolerant/sensitive problem.

67A. "Adventurous" means ... : I HAVE BEEN TO THE ZOO ONCE. This answer doesn't click for me.

85A. "Enjoys the beach" means ... : I OWN A METAL DETECTOR. What's the connection between "beach" and "metal detector"?

103A. "Likes to cuddle" means ... : MY APARTMENT HAS NO HEAT.

112A. "Takes long walks" means ... : MY CAR'S BEEN REPOSSESSED. Sad excuse.

Great to see Mel Rosen's by-line. He coined the word cruciverbalist and introduced the term "fingers" into crossword construction. Fingers refer to those 2 or 3 black square blocks along the edges of the grid. They look like fingers poking into the grid.

Very often Sunday puzzles are a challenge for me. The sheer size is daunting. And the pressure of finishing the puzzle & getting the write-up done in time take away some pleasure from me. Today I had lots of fun. Nailed those long theme entries with only a few letters in place. Most of the unknowns were easily obtainable via crossings.

Across:

1. Like electric basses : AMPED

6. Chorister's cover : ROBE. One who sings in a choir is a chorister.

10. One of the Wayans brothers : SHAWN. Got his name via crosses.

15. Story morals, e.g. : TAGS. New meaning of tag to me.

19. Rouen room : SALLE. French for "room". Alliteration.

20. Airline since 1948 : EL AL. Israel was established in 1948.

21. Chevy model : TAHOE

22. Another, in Ávila : OTRA. Also OTRO.

27. Without delay : NOW

28. Outback runner : EMU. Lean meat.

29. Have something : AIL. Wanted EAT.

30. Sarge's boss : LOOIE. Nickname for lieutenant.

39. Spohr's Opus 31 and others : NONETS. Not familiar with Spohr, a German composer who was once as famous as Beethoven, a la Wikipedia.

40. Flying Clouds, e.g. : REOs

41. Came to the rescue : AIDED

42. Fractions of a joule : ERGS. Work units.

43. They don't skip 48-Downs : LOCS. And 48D. Stop: Abbr. : STN. I am at sea. What is LOC? (Added later: It's local.)

44. "Otello" composer : VERDI. And 115D. "__ tu": 44-Across aria : ERI. Literally "are". Tu = You.

46. They may be dirt: Abbr. : RDs

55. Solfeggio syllables : FAs

58. Syr. and Eg., once : UAR (United Arab Republic, 1958-1961)

59. "Wassup," formally : HELLO

60. Big name in vacuums : DYSON. Have never paid attention to our vacuum brand.

61. Word of exhortation : RAH

62. E-mail button : SEND

64. Call's partner : BECK. Beck and call.

66. Writable storage media, briefly : CD-Rs. R stands for "recordable".

74. Daughter of Phoebe : LETO. Mother of Apollo.

75. Seaside cottage asset : VIEW

76. Describe in detail : LIMN. Fancy word.

77. Canon camera named for a goddess : EOS. Goddess of the dawn.

78. Alley "oops" : SPLIT. Bowling alley. Great clue.

80. Common people : PLEBS. Windhover likes to use this word to describe his no-NY Times crossword taste.

83. Rented : LET

84. Must-take coll. course : REQ

91. Slapstick prop : PIE

92. Cuts, say : EDITS

93. Big cut : GASH. Nice "cut" clecho.

94. Terrier of film : ASTA. "The Thin Man" dog.

98. Ring for breakfast : BAGEL

100. Brewery oven : OAST

101. Sans contractual buyers : ON SPEC. On speculation. Not specification.

108. Pesto or aioli : SAUCE. I like neither.

109. Ending for ranch : ERO. Ranchero.

110. British ref. : OED

111. Compass dir. : NNE. Could be any direction.

120. Env. stuffer : ENCL

121. "History of the World: __": Brooks film : PART I. Needed crosses for the I part.

122. "La __ Breve": de Falla opera : VIDA. Literally "life".

123. Tropical palm : ARECA. Source of betel nuts.

124. Handy abbr. : ET AL

125. Liqueur herb : ANISE

126. Struck (out) : EX'ED

127. Small songbirds : LARKS

Down:

1. Just plain silly : ASININE. Silly word.

2. Stink : MALODOR

3. Digging up some dirt : PLOWING

4. 2002 British Open champ : ELS (Ernie). I remember that brilliant bunker shot.

5. Windup toy device : DETENT. New word to me. Looks like it has the same root as détente.

6. Excite : REV UP

7. Opry adjective : OLE

8. Piano or roll follower : BAR

9. Bridge guru Culbertson : ELY. Learned his name from doing Xword.

10. Impassive : STOIC

11. "Aquí se __ español" : HABLA. "Speak" in Spanish. Spanish spoken here. Aquí = Here.

12. Some sushi tuna : AHI. Yellowfin tuna.

13. Distressed state : WOE

14. Ariz. neighbor : NEV

15. Doughnut-shaped : TOROID. Adjective of torus.

16. Playwright Fugard : ATHOL. South African playwright. Sometimes we see ALOES clued as part of his novel title "A Lesson from Aloes".

17. Chalice's cousin : GRAIL

18. "Smooth Operator" singer : SADE. Here is a clip. Beautiful song.

24. Paramedics, briefly : EMTs

25. Rogers Centre team, familiarly : JAYS. Toronto Blue Jays.

26. North Sea feeder : ELBE. You've got to remember your European rivers.

32. Lucie's dad : DESI (Arnaz)

33. Buck suffix : AROO. Buckaroo.

34. "Guh-ross!" : YECCH

35. Six-Day War figure Dayan : MOSHE. With his trademark eyepatch.

36. Milhouse's pal : BART. Have never watched "The Simpsons".

37. Venice Film Festival site : LIDO. Learning moment for me.

38. Warhol "superstar" Sedgwick : EDIE. Such a tragic figure. Died when she's only 28.

43. "SNL" producer Michaels : LORNE

44. Restaurant worker who's rarely in the restaurant : VALET. True.

45. Historic period : EPOCH

46. "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" author : ROSSNER (Judith). No idea. See the book cover.

47. One may be an item : DUO. Oh, like Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal.

50. "La Bohème" waltzer : MUSETTA . Again, needed crosses.

51. Exercise portmanteau : TAE BO. From TAE kwon do and boxing.

52. Jostled : ELBOWED

53. Enlarge, in a way : ADD ONTO

54. Rookie : TYRO. Haven't seen this word for a long time.

55. Calendar col. : FRI

56. "That feels go-o-o-od" : AAH

57. "Let's" evoker : SHALL WE

63. Research assoc.? : DEV (Development). The D in R & D.

65. Kenan's TV pal : KEL

66. Tailed orbiter : COMET

68. Ore source : VEIN

69. Bug like a pup : NIP AT

70. Doesn't hold back : TELLS. Not easy to be Deep Throat.

71. Zip : ZILCH

72. Cedar Rapids college : COE. Coe College. Iowa.

73. Litigator's letters : ESQ

78. Just a taste : SIP

79. Luau dish : POI. Taro dish. Freshly baked taros are tasty.

81. Had, in the Bible : BEGAT

82. Hidden supply : STASH

86. Big opening? : MEGA. Like megabyte.

87. River of central Germany : EDER

88. Arcade foul : TILT

89. "¿Cómo __?" : ESTA

90. Hardly thoughtful : RASH

95. "The Faerie Queene" poet : SPENSER (Edmund)

96. New Jersey town near the George Washington Bridge : TEANECK. Total unknown to me.

97. Substituted for : ACTED AS

98. "Key Largo" co-star : BACALL (Lauren)

99. Me-tooer : APER

100. __ about : ON OR

101. Till bills : ONEs

102. "I won't sign" : NO DEAL

103. Is forbidden to, quaintly : MAYNT. "May not" I suppose.

104. New Mexico state flower : YUCCA. Yucca in bloom, from Gunghy's bike series.

105. Bumps into : MEETS

106. Banks called "Mr. Cub" : ERNIE. Spent his entire career with the Cubs.

107. "Such a pity" : SO SAD

108. Right-hook man in "Peter Pan"? : SMEE. Captain Hook has an iron hook to replace his right hand. Smee is his right-handed man. Somehow this clue doesn't work for me.

113. Mud bath venue : SPA

114. Block : BAN

116. Apple pioneer? : EVE. Because Eve is the first person to eat the apple.

117. Thumbnails, nowadays : PIX

118. Poetic praise : ODE

119. Málaga Mrs. : SRA

Answer grid.

C.C.

Interview with Mel Rosen

Most of the regulars on our blog know the word cruciverbalist (a crossword aficionado), but probably few are aware that the word was first introduced to the crossword by today's constructor Mel Rosen and Stan Kurzban.

Mel Rosen (His wife Peggy on his left) is author of the book "Random House Puzzlemaker's Handbook". He also served as the puzzle editor of the Crosswords Club, currently headed by our LA Times Daily Crossword editor Rich Norris.

Besides the LA Times, Mr. Rosen's puzzles have also appeared in the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, CrosSynergy, the Washington Post, etc.

What is your background and how did you develop an interest in crossword construction?

I was a computer programmer for IBM (going back to when the smallest computers were the size of large refrigerators), so there's analytical wiring in my head. My mother taught remedial reading and my father spent Sunday morning solving the puzzles, so words were always important. My wife's parents also enjoyed puzzle solving, so it seemed natural for us to buy and solve puzzle books when we went on vacation. One day it occurred to me that if we paid money to buy the books, maybe the puzzle writers got paid. It was literally that straightforward. The first puzzle I wrote was a Double-Crostic that Thomas Middleton bought(!) for one of his Simon & Schuster collections and the rest, as they say, is history.

What is the highlight of your crossword construction career and what's the best puzzle you've made? And why?

Highlight? Certainly being asked to be the second puzzle editor for The Crosswords Club, succeeding Will Weng, was right up there. And of course every puzzle is the best. Seriously, I was proud of a tribute to Frannie Hansen for one of John Samson's S&S collections. It emulated her occasional "interview with a..." format. My wife suggested and I wrote a puzzle for the NYT marking Ellen Ripstein's having -- finally! -- won the annual ACPT. That was another good one.

Doug Peterson mentioned that your book "Random House Puzzlemaker's Handbook" introduced him to crossword construction. How has the book affected your personal and professional career?

That book was a revision and update of an earlier work, "The Compleat Cruciverbalist", written with Stan Kurzban, who devised some very clever diagramless puzzles published by Eugene Maleska. The earlier book, probably more than anything else, brought the word "Cruciverbalist" into the language; it had been coined several years before by a puzzle-constructing priest. Abigail Van Buren cited it in a column.

Where do you normally find your crossword muse? What kind of books/magazines/websites do you read for theme inspirations?

Anywhere and everywhere. Unlike some constructors, I do not keep a "theme notebook". If I read or hear something that tickles my brain, I'm off to the races. When I was with the CrosSynergy team I was actively looking for material all the time. Now that I'm strictly a free-lancer I can wait for inspiration.

What kind of puzzle do you solve every day? And who are your favorite constructors?

I solve three or four online crosswords and three or four online sudoku puzzles every day. (Including those at the LAT sites.) I enjoy too many favorite constructors to single out one or two. And no, I'm not running for office.

Besides crosswords, what else do you do for fun?

I play tennis at least once a week. I'm a jazz keyboardist. I sit in every week at a jam session at a local restaurant ... for 15 minutes up to an hour. I'm just finishing up an album for my family and friends.

Saturday April 10, 2010 Mel Rosen

Theme: None

Total words: 66

Total blocks: 26

Lower word/block count than our normal Saturday puzzles.

The puzzle is anchored by two grid-spanning 15-letter entries that cross each other right in the middle of the grid:

32A. Text necessity, often: TELEPHONE NUMBER. We also have SCREEN (56A. Listen to before answering).

8D. "The King and I" song about illicit romance: WE KISS IN A SHADOW. Gimme for Clear Ayes, perhaps. I am not familiar with the song at all.

Quite a few tricky clues in this puzzle. I nailed some, and was stumped by some.

Across:

1. Act in the Senate: PASS A LAW. PASS LAWS sounds a better answer to me.

9. Trees yielding beans: CACAOS. Cacao beans. Source of cocoa, chocolate.

15. Pride's prey: ANTELOPE. Lion's prey. Alliteration.

16. Friend of Pete Fountain: AL HIRT. Full name in the clue, full name in the answer. Wikipedia confirmed that they were indeed buddies, both grew up in New Orleans. Mr. Rosen mentioned in the interview that he's a jazz keyboardist.

17. TV show that has spawned 11 movies: STAR TREK. Nice intersecting with ANTENNAE (2. Features of some alien costumes).

18. C&W singer Morgan: LORRIE. No idea. She looks pretty.

19. Mega- squared: TERA. Prefix for "trillion". Mega is prefix for "million". Giga "billion". Stumped me.

20. Fire department practice structure: DRILL TOWER. Was unaware of this special term.

22. Like Dvorák's Symphony No. 8: IN G. The gimme crossing 3D made the G part easily obtainable for me today.

23. Palace overseas: ELYSEE. Elysée Palace, the French "White House".

24. "Buddenbrooks" Nobel Prize winner: MANN (Thomas). Have never heard of the book.

25. Zip: ENERGY

27. Unlike a good excuse: SAD

28. Artist who rejuvenated his career with 1960s serigraphs: ERTE. Stymied me. Just learned that Erte died in 1990 when he was 97 years old.

29. Not fresh, in a way: SALTY. OK, in a way.

30. Municipal: CIVIC

38. "__ Bulba": 1962 epic: TARAS

39. Held up: BORNE. Epitomized the trickiness of today's clues.

40. Simple stuff: ABCS. Alliteration.

44. Sound from a wok: SSS

45. Abdicate: RESIGN

46. Certain sausage, for short: BRAT

47. Execute, in old France: BEHEAD. The clue seems to be asking for guillotine, isn't it? Beheading was a common practice in old China too.

49. "__ me ae spark o' Nature's fire": Burns: GIE. For "give", I suppose.

50. Alloys' principal components: BASE METALS

52. Former NBA star Dave __, now mayor of Detroit: BING. And CHROME (11D. Trim in Detroit). Car trim. I liked the Detroit clue echo. Both clues got me.

53. Menu choice: ENTREE

54. Involuntary exile: DEPORTEE

57. Bath unit?: ONE METER. Bath is the city in England. They used meter there. I don't like the addition of ONE.

58. Photographs: SHOOTS. Verb/noun.

59. Singing birds: WARBLERS

Down:

1. Most ashen: PASTIEST

3. 1979 N.L. co-MVP Willie: STARGELL. Gimme for me. Willie Stargell spent his entire career with the Pirates. Hall-of-Famer.

4. Word sung by Day: SERA. "Que Sera, Sera".

5. Letters on a PC key: ALT

6. Grand and noble: LORDLY

7. Copycat's activity: APERY

9. Joined a talk show, perhaps: CALLED IN. Nice clue/answer.

10. Bushels: A LOT

12. High-flying action: AIR WAR

13. Familiarize: ORIENT

14. "Tristram Shandy" author Laurence: STERNE. Someone mentioned this book on the blog before. Clear Ayes? Lemonade?

21. Fall collection?: LEAVES. Nailed it.

23. "Aida" setting: EGYPT

26. MapQuest.com abbr.: RTE

30. Curve enhancer: CORSET. Some girls just have incredible body.

31. Like kabobs: CUBED

33. Over-the-hill gang?: HAS-BEENS

34. Wks. on end: MOS (Months)

35. Nielsen of "Rocky IV": BRIGITTE. I peeked at the answer sheet. Her face looks very familiar.

36. Driver who's on track?: ENGINEER. Railroad track.

37. Promise breakers: RENEGERS

40. Big sister?: ABBESS. I suppose SUPERIOR can be clued this way too?

41. Bank outlet: BRANCH

42. Big name in convertible sofas: CASTRO. Man, who knows?!

43. Sound buy?: STEREO. So simple in retrospect.

45. Gravelly voiced speaker: RASPER. I wanted BRANDO.

48. Dementieva of women's tennis: ELENA. The answer emerged itself.

51. Intersect: MEET

52. Belgian composer Jacques: BREL. Belgian's most famous musician.

55. White House fiscal planning gp: OMB (Office of Management and Budget). New abbreviation to me.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Monday September 21, 2009 Mel Rosen

Theme: Superman Rides in a Balloon

21A: Capable of doing a job: UP TO THE TASK

37A: Next in line to advance at work: UP FOR A PROMOTION

48A: Jackie Gleason catchphrase: AND AWAY WE GO

Nice pangram, all 26 letters have been used at least once.

The constructor Mel Rosen succeeded Will Weng (former NY Times crossword editor) as puzzle editor of The Crosswords Club and is also author of the Random House Puzzlemaker's Handbook

Superman and the Fifth Dimension might well be singing, "UP, UP, AND AWAY" at next weekend's Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival .

Argyle here, and if this puzzle is an example, we may be in for an interesting week.

Across:

1A: Skills-sharpening piano piece: ETUDE. Here is Chopin's "Sunrise", for Mary, Lois and Barb B.

6A: El __, Texas: PASO. Spanish for "step". I hear they have a university there.

10A: SoCal cop force: LAPD.

14A: Bolshevik leader: LENIN.

15A: "Baseball Tonight" station: ESPN.

16A: Prefix meaning "same": EQUI. As in equilateral. ISO is "Prefix meaning "same"" too.

17A: Elementary: BASIC.

18A: Bit of sports info: STAT. Usually we see this as a plural, STATistics.

19A: To-do: FUSS. Let's get it on! 34A: Group fight: MELEE. 8D: Minor quarrel: SPAT.

24A: "To whom __ concern": IT MAY.

26A: Tarzan actor Ron: ELY.

27A: Improvises lines: AD-LIBS.

29A: Solidify: JELL. JELL is a verb only while gel can be a noun or a verb.

31A: La __, Bolivia: PAZ. 22D: Daddies: PAS. PAS in La PAZ are padres.

35A: Pervasive quality: AURA.

36A: Yard event: SALE. Clever clue. Yes, Linda?

40A: Astound: STUN.

41A: Corp. leaders: CEOS.

42A: Acted boldly: DARED.

43A: Subj. for some immigrants: ESL. English as a Second Language.

44A: Berlin "Mister": HERR. Berlin "Mrs." would be FRAU.

45A: Mother with a Nobel prize: TERESA. Mother TERESA (Albanian) was awarded Nobel Peace in 1979.

46A: More than damp: WET. As many of you will discover today.

47A: With __ breath: tensely anticipatory: BATED.

53A: Sorrow: WOE.

56A: Sweet-talk: COAX.

57A: Dabbling duck: TEAL. Falcated teal falcated: curved like a scythe or sickle. Long sickle-shaped tertials hanging off its back give this species its name. Tertials: The third row of flight feathers on the basal section of a bird's wing. That's it. I'm done with this bird! Oh, it's a greenish-blue color too, same as AQUA (11D: Greenish-blue).

58A: Puts behind bars: JAILS.

61A: Northern Nevada town: ELKO. Here. It hosts the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Lois.

62A: Pop music's Hall & __: OATES. Six #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Rich Girl", "Kiss on My List", "Private Eyes", "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)", "Maneater", and "Out of Touch".

63A: Lose, as skin: SHED.

64A: Eject, geyser-style: SPEW.

65A: Internet giant with an exclamation point in its name: YAHOO. Very descriptive clue.

Down:

1D: Napoleon's exile isle: ELBA. He was then back to France for 100 days before Waterloo.

2D: Oolong and pekoe: TEAS.

3D: Not practiced: UNSKILLFUL.And someone you don't want 31D: Assigned as the partner of, as in dance class: PAIRED WITH.

4D: 502, to Nero: DII.

5D: Burden: ENCUMBER.

6D: Annoying, like a kid brother: PESTY. My first choice was PESKY.

7D: Concerning: AS TO.

9D: Like an escapee: ON THE LAM. We finally get the whole phrase.

10D: Southpaw's nickname: LEFTY. Does anybody besides pitcher gets called LEFTY? OK, Phil Mickelson.

12D: Kitty or kisser: PUSS. Feline or face (or both).

13D: Floppy with data: DISK.

25D: Attach with rope: TIE ON.

28D: U.S. Cabinet divisions: DEPTS. Departments.

29D: Foreman in court, e.g.: JUROR. If the former boxer was on the jury, he could be the Foreman foreman.

30D: Bow-toting god: EROS. Think Cupid.

33D: "The Prisoner of __": 1937 Fairbanks film: ZENDA. Poster.

38D: Plastic overlays for artwork: ACETATES.

39D: Poem used in Beethoven's "Choral Symphony": ODE TO JOY. Official anthem for European Union.

46D: Applied Simoniz to: WAXED. Remember from Karate Kid, "Wax on, wax off"?

48D: Unreturnable serves: ACES. Tennis.

50D: Pianist Brubeck: DAVE.

55D: Exxon, once: ESSO. Derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil (S O).

59D: Small battery: AAA.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Today is the 60th wedding anniversary of our fellow solver T. Frank and his wife Jean. Congratulations! They celebrated the occasion over the August 28, 2009 weekend before the school started. Left to right: Jean, Frank, Carl, Lee and Paul (Frank's sons and daughter, who live in New York State and Florida).

Argyle