Sunday, April 13, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: The MASTERS (The theme is an Arnold Palmer quote, to be exact)

27A: Start of an Arnold Palmer quote: WHAT OTHER PEOPLE MAY

48A: Part 2 of quote: FIND IN POETRY OR ART

85A: Part 3 of quote: MUSEUMS I FIND IN THE

114A: End of quote: FLIGHT OF A GOOD DRIVE

Sub-theme:

70A: Garb at The Masters: GREEN JACKET

125A: Golf ball choice: DUNLOP

108A: Cromwell's nickname: IRONSIDES

130A: "Lelia" author: SAND (a bit of stretch for sand trap, but I want the puzzle to look better).

30D: Nobel Prize winner Wiesel: ELIE

No TEE for golf puzzle? You never cease to amaze me Mr. Editor! How can you clue TEE so many times in the past week yet fail to bring it up when it's aptly needed?

I marveled at the great timing of this puzzle when I first saw the titled theme (The MASTERS). I expected the theme entries to be the architectural features of Augusta National, you know, like the Hogan Bridge, Magnolia Lane, Crow's Nest, or just plain old Amen Corner, or some of the hole names, Azaleas, Juniper, Camellia, etc.

Alas, only GREEN JACKET and ARNIE (4 times Masters Champion) himself are directly related to The Masters. But the quote here is pretty good. Watching Tiger hitting his tee shots, or chipping or putting, is indeed much more enjoyable than going to an art museum or reading a poetry book, to me at least. His swing is poetry in motion. I really admire how GREEN JACKETS is positioned in the very center of the grid. Very nice concept and execution!

However, I am clearly not cut for the Sunday puzzles, still too forbidding and unapproachable to me. Way too many authors and actresses' names. I knew none of the actresses. And out of the 7 authors, I only knew ERLE Stanley Gardner. I vaguely remembered ERMA Bombeck, but I could only penned in _RMA as I was not sure whether her name is IRMA, or ERMA. I suppose George SAND (130A: "Lelia" author) was inferable, but only if you knew 105D: author EUDORA Welty, who was a total stranger to me. Susan SONTAG's name simply escaped my brain, though her photos taken by Annie Leibovitz came to my mind vividly.

"Lady Jane Grey" dramatist Nicholas ROWE was an utter tragedy for me. I had big problem with that knotty 3-author corner. Who else? Oh, Writer Shiley Ann GRAU, another weird name for me. And I pieced together CERF (Bennett of Random House) by the crossing clues. Not familiar with him either.

I hope you tamed this golf course with your TITLEIST PRO V1. I struggled with my stupid DUNLOP.

Front Nines:

1A: Sheriff's gang: POSSE. One bullying repeat offender!

6A: Political cartoonist (1840-1902): NAST (Thomas)

10A: Pastry shells: CRUSTS

16A: One of Ted's stations: TBS. The SAWYERS for 18D saved me from messing around with CNN or TNT.

19A: Arrivederci, Andre: ADIEU. Arrivederci is Italian for goodbye, ADIEU is French.

20A: "Star Trek: TNG" character: TROI. Learned it from doing crossword. Not a fan of Star Trek or Star War, or any science fiction stuff, or Lord of Rings fantasy.

21A: Cool due: HEPCAT

23A: Crevasse pinnacle: SERAC. This toughie tortured me on a Feb puzzle, and tormented me again today.

24A: Airfoil: WING. Not familiar with this term. It's "any surface, as a wing, aileron, or stabilizer, designed to aid in lifting or controlling an aircraft by making use of the air currents through which it moves".

25A: Satellite of Jupiter: EUROPA. Guess who sighted it first? Galileo! I dislike the word SATELLITE appeared again as the answer to 35A: Spy-in-the-sky.

26A: Spat: ROW

22A: Old-time high note: ELA. Nope, I don't know you.

31A: Classify: ASSORT

34A: Part of NLCS: NATL (National). NLCS is National League Championship Series.

35A: Spy-in-the-sky: SATELLITE. Would be a great clue if not for 25A.

36A: Private seals: SECRETA. Singular Secretum. No idea. Have never heard of "Sigillum Secretum". It's used "for private correspondence by medieval monarchs". My dictionary only explains SECRETA as "substances secreted by a cell, tissue, or organ."

41A: Way of old Rome: ITER

42A: Romance Lang.: ITAL

45A: Alternative to 9: SEPT.

55A: Ballet turn: PIROUETTE. I am proud that I got this one.

60A: Elroy Jetson's dog: ASTRO. Nailed this one too.

64A: Back and Red, etc: SEAS. Would be a good clue if SEAWORLD were not the answer for 4D.

68A: Devoted to schoolwork: STUDIOUS

69A: Commercial award: CLIO. The Clio Awards. Clio is the Muse of History in Greek.

75A: One who meddles: TAMPERER

77A: Hamlet or Ophelia: DANE

78A: Yields: CEDES

79A: Equipped with a tiller: STEERABLE. OK, I suppose so.

81A: Hindu tunes: RAGAS. Second appearance this week.

93A: Greek letter: THETA. My first fill is OMEGA, as I did not know the meaning of "Strumpets" for 94D. Did any of you fill in DELTA first?

97A: Bum around: ROAM

98A: __ Mahal: TAJ

100A: Pro __ (in proportion): RATA

104A: Hunt and peck: TYPE. First time I see this phrase. It's "a slow and inefficient method of typing by looking for each key separately before striking it: used by untrained typists." Opposite of Touch System/Typing.

106A: Ones who caution: WARNERS. I would prefer the clues to be "Virginia Senator John and others".

108A: Cromwell's nickname: IRONSIDES. No idea, why is it in plural form?

111A: Turn sharply: SLUE

113A: Get cozy: NESTLE

118A: Ambrosia of immortality: AMRITA. Hindu word. No, have never heard of it. Alright, so "A" is not, MRTA is dead! Try me next time then.

119A: "Lady Jane Grey" dramatist: ROWE (Nicholas). See here for more information. Dislike ROWE and ROW (26A) in the same puzzle.

126A: _ go bragh!: ERIN. So, the original Irish was "Éire go Brách". "Brách" is equivalent to "eternity" or "end of time". Ireland forever then? Wikipedia says that the other derivative spelling is "Érin go Brea". 'Brea" means beautiful. Is this the Irish poetic confusion? Beauty is seldom eternal.

127A: Digression: ASIDE

129A: Ancient Jewish mystic: ESSENE. Faintly remembered this word. It's "a member of an ascetic Jewish sect that existed in ancient Palestine from the second century B.C. to the second century A.D."

130A: "Lelia" author: SAND. George SAND. Chopin should have stayed with her. He could have lived a longer and more productive life. This is a very interesting name to mess up with the solvers' brain for any French related clues, like Sand's Sea for MER, or Sand's Salt for Sel (wonderful alliteration, isn't it?). Please share with us if you have some other clever ideas.

Back Nines:

4D: Orlando attraction: SEAWORLD. Could've been reclued as "Golf Channel's neighbor" to mislead solvers and highlight the MASTERS theme, since Golf Channel's HQ is in Orlando.

5D: Game played with 32 cards: EUCHRE. No idea.

6D: Content abbreviation: NT WT

7D: Greek poet saved by a dolphin: ARION. Ugh, another Greek myth. Wikipedia says ARION is also "the Greek music awards show". I guess it's like our Emmy Award. It's also a character in DC Comics called "ARION, Lord of Atlantis". Are you a fan of DC Comics?

8D: "Illness as Metaphor" writer: SONTAG (Susan). Her son David Rieff ("Swimming in a Sea of Death") was just on Terry Gross' Fresh Air a few months ago. Agonizing to hear how she came grips with illness!

10D: "Moonstruck" star: CHER

11D: Stays on in the military: REUPS

12D: Lift hooves, say: UPREAR. I did not get this one immediately.

13D: Gets a move on: SCOOTS

14D: Valve attachment: TAPPET. No idea. It's "a sliding rod, intermittently struck by a cam, for moving another part, as a valve".

15D: Delay by deception: STALL

16D: Wood eater: TERMITE

17D: Swollen: BLOATED

19D: Ruth and Diane: SAWYERS. Knew Diane Sawyer. Have no idea who Ruth Sawyer is.

28D: Harmonize: ATTUNE

29D: Mr. Fudd: ELMER. Got it this time.

32D: Planet-finding grp.: SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence)

37D: Cobra's cousins: ASPS

47D: Poker choice: STUD

49D: Simpson trial judge: ITO (Lance)

56D: Dublin's country: EIRE. See also 126A: ERIN

57D: Natterjack: TOAD. Sewn it together from down clues. I've never heard of "Natterjack".

58D: Use a diapason: TUNE. Did not know the meaning of "Diapason". Not fond of TUNE and ATTUNE appeared in the same puzzle.

61D: Louver piece: SLAT. (Update: I misread it as Louvre piece, so I wanted ARTS first)

62D: What cons do: TIME. Good clue. I am just so happy that "ET. AL" got some jail time today. It appeared in our puzzle 4 times in the past 6 days.

63D: Weapons in Clue: ROPE. Have never played this board game before.

66D: Steely Dan album: AJA. Saw this clue before, but I could not squeeze anything out of my brain quickly. It revealed itself after I got GREEN JACKET.

70D: Write Shirley Ann: GRAU. She won a Pulitzer in 1965 for her "The Keepers of the House".

72D: Agatha's contemporary: ERLE. ERLE Stanley Gardner.

73D: Bennett of Random House: CERF. Bennett CERF, founder of the Random House.

76D: "Maggi" creator Bombeck: ERMA. If Bombeck was not clued, I would've jumped into the train of the novel "Maggie". Of course, Stephen Crane did not fit. I've never heard of the sitom "Maggie". Old TV series are definitely my Achilles' heel.

82D: River island: AIT

83D: Do beaver work: GNAW

84D: Actress Isabelle: ADJANI. Non! Étrangère à moi!

86D: Witticism: MOT. Always thought it's "Bon Mot".

87D: Final authority: SAY SO

88D: Beseeches: IMPLORES

89D: Bilge water: NONSENSE

90D: Waste allowance: TRET

91D: Flax filament: HARL. Would've never got this one without the across clues. It's "hemp filament as well".

93D: Nothing to worry about: TRIFLE

94D: Strumpets: HARLOTS. Strumpet is such a weirld word. Where is the origin? Let me check. ... OK, so one theory says it's connected with "stuprare", Latin for "have illicit sexual relations with," or "strupum" (dishonor, violation). Others suggest "strompe" (stocking) or "strompen" (to stride, to stalk, as a prostitute might a customer). TO STRUM: to have carnal knowledge of a woman, also to play badly on the harpsichord or any other stringed instrument. I think I will remember it next time. STRUM PET.

95D: French stars: ETOILES

96D: Space juice?: TANG. By the way, TANG is also the name of a culturally very prosperous dynasty in China. Its capital city is Xi'An, where I grew up.

101D: Benchmark test: LITMUS

102D: Decorates: ADORNS

103D: Pollute: DEFILE

105D: Writer Welty: EUDORA. No idea. I had a quick glance at her bio at wikipedia, she wrote a book called "A Curtain of Green". Green is at least golf related. So "A Curtain of Green" author might work better here if not for the GREEN JACKET.

110D: Squelched: SAT ON. "Sit on" here means "to suppress or to silence". To "sit on" a bad news, to "squelch" a negative report, etc.

112: Booth or Meese: EDWIN

116D: Rip angrily: REND

121D: Actress SCALA: GIA. She appeared in the TMS puzzle before, but I forgot! My brain is very picky in what it chooses to remember.

122D: News chiefs, for short: EDS (Editors). How about Crossword Editors? They are not in charge of any news.

C.C.

Monday, March 3, 2008 Micheal T. Williams

Theme: Breakfast Items (Country & Food)

19A: B. C. Breakfast item?: Canadian Bacon

32A: European breakfast item?: French Toast

43A: Caribbean breakfast item?: Cuban Coffee

58A: European breakfast item?: English Muffin

French toast sounds very appealing to me this morning. Serve with sliced peaches with maple syrup drizzled all over.

I breezed through this one. Had only one hiccup with the letter G in 55D: "BUGSY MALONE" and 64A: "g FORCE". I dodged a few bullets this morning by getting a few tough ones from either the across clues or the down clues.

1A: "Ulalume" author: POE. Never read this poem. The only Poe poem I like is Annabel Lee.

4A: Check fig.: AMT (Amount)

10A: Ring decision letters: TKO (Technical Knockout)

13A: More firm: SOLIDER

17A: St __ of Avila: THERESA. Is it a Spanish spelling of Teresa?

18A: Impetuses: MOMENTA. Wow, I never knew the plural form of momentum is momenta. Besides medium/media, datum/data, I can not think of another word with a similar single/plural form, at this moment.

23A: D. C. VIP: SEN (Senator). Lots of lobbyists wield more power than those wobbly senators.

28A: Sch. in Fort Worth: TCU (Texas Christian University). Bush picks up SMU (Southern Methodist University) for his future library.

31A: Dundee dagger: SNEE. Sometimes it's dirk. Here is a picture. Is snee an obsolete word for dagger? Do those Scottish highlanders still use snee now?

37A: March madness org.: NCAA. Raw passion and enthusiasm.

40A: Poetic eyeball: ORB

48A: Medicinal fluids: SERA. Single form is serum.

50A: D-Day craft: LST (Landing Ship Tank)

51A: Pelts: SKINS. Pelt here means untanned hide of an animal or just human skin.

52A: Covers a room: CEILS. I never used ceil as a verb before. I guess I only knew ceiling.

54A: Seller's $ equivocation: OBO (Or Best Offer). I bought quite a few items with BO on Craig's List.

63A: Shakespearean tragedy: OTHELLO. The evil Iago appears on crosswords from time to time.

64A: Lift-off stresses: g FORCE. Never heard of this. Here is more information for you. Interesting, it says "the symbol g is properly written in lowercase and italic, to distinguish it from the symbol G, the gravitational constant, which is always written in uppercase; and from g, the symbol for gram, which is not italicised."

67A: Crude dwelling: LEAN-TOS. Kind of wooden shed. This is an image of a lean-to.

68A: Those on a quest: SEEKERS. Those who seek shall find. Indeed.

69A: Limb: ARM

70A: Hardened: SET

Down entries:

3D: One voted in: ELECTEE. Just don't expect them to do what they say they will do.

4D: Port of Yemen: ADEN. See this map if you don't want to forget next time.

5D: Tablelands: MESA

6D: One-for-one deal: TRADE

7D: Columnist Bombeck: ERMA. I tend to confuse her with Irma Rombauer (Joy of Cooking author)

8D: One of these days: SOON

9D: Pyramids and Mausoleums: TOMBS

10D: Metal containers: TIN CANS. Tin can is also a navy term for a Destroyer.

11D: Diabetic's concern: KETONES. I got it from across clues. Would not have known this. I only knew that diabetics are very concerned with their blood sugar (or sometimes blood pressure) numbers.

14D: Nest-egg $: IRA. They just keep shrinking and shrinking, since last Oct or even earlier.

21D: Clodhopper: OAF

22D: Group of wds.: PHR (Phrase)

26D: Jillian or Landers: ANN

27D: L times XVI: DCCC (50 *16 = 800)

29D: Normandy town: CAEN. Its neighbor is St. Lo, which sneaks into the crossword occasionally.

30D: Branch of the mil.: USMC (United States Marine Corps). The few, the proud.

33D: Drag forcibly: HAUL

34D: Slot fillers: TABS

35D: Spanish uncles: TIOS. Aunt is Tia.

39D: 6/6/68 assassination victim: RFK. Gutsy & aggressive.

40D: Seminole chief: OSCEOLA. Unknown to me. Got it from across clues.

41D: Come back in: REENTER

42D: Young of Utah: BRIGHAM

45D: Partner-to-be: FIANCEE. The first image that came to my mind is a young lawyer toiling hard in the wee hours to become a partner in a law firm.

46D: Minnesota's twins? ENS. Great. Now I am waiting for them to clue Twins' first baseman Justin Morneau into a puzzle. That'll give you lots of vowels.

49D: "Interiors" director: ALLEN. Never saw this movie from Woody Allen. Personal life aside, I like this guy. Enjoy a large majority of his works.

53D: Delta deposits: SILTS

55D: "___" Malone: BUGSY. Unknown to me. It's a musical film made in 1976. The best film about the exploits of Al Capone is probably The Untouchable, in my opinion.

56D: Proposal: OFFER

59D: __ gin fizz: SLOE. "Well, Portland Oregon and sloe gin fizz, if that ain't love then tell me what is".

Have a great Monday.

(Added later: I forgot to mention earlier that there are lots of 3-letter words in this puzzle (I counted 27). look at how the first line and the last line were broken.)

C. C.

Tuesday, Feb 26, 2008 Michael T. Williams

(Hey guys, this is C. C. Lots of you come to this blog entry today (May 31, 2008). What newspaper are you doing? Please leave a comment here or write me an email. I am curious to know. Thank you.)


Theme: Advice from BF

17A: With 63A, quotable U.S. money man: Benjamin

63A: See 17A: Franklin

23A: Start of advice from 17A: A Penny Saved

41A: More of advice: Is a

54A: End of advice: A Penny Earned

I like this puzzle. I admire the constructural balance of the themes entries. It looks simple and elegant to my untrained eyes.

I also enjoyed this author's "baseball movie" puzzle on Feb 4 and "snickers/candy bars" on Feb 8. His Chicago Bears HOF puzzle on Feb 17 was too tough for me.

But I still struggled mightily. It all started with 26D: Planet-finding grp (SETI). I filled in NASA. I did not know 5D: Siberian dog (SAMOYED), and I forgot the 36A: Sot's Shakes (DTS). So I was not able to get that very important letter "Y" for 23A, thus failed to catch the advice theme earlier.

I lingered too long over the left lower corner. Actually, all my effort was focused on 62A: Minimum attendance required (QUOTUM). Well, if you were Senator Dick Durbin the Whip, this was a gimme for you. It was _ _ orum for me for over 10 minutes. I felt stupid failing to get SQFT for 57D: Surface meas. Of course not knowing 58D: Vilolinist Leopold (AUER) certainly did not help.

I guess my brain was not thinking clearly this morning, I even tanked the 29A: Fashion magazine (GLAMOUR).

Here are the across entries:

1A: Sprinkle after a shower: TALC

5A: Wood cutter: SAW

8A: Lives: DWELLS

15A: Coach Parseghian: ARA. The Notre Dame football coach from 1964-1974.

16A: Antenna: AERIAL

20A: One in Central America: UNO

21A: Grew gloomier: DARKENED

27A: Fellows: MEN

29A: Fashion magazine: GLAMOUR. Conde Nast publication. They give out Glamour Women of the Year award annually. The lovely Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) was on their 2007's list.

34A: Roses' places: BEDS

36A: Sot's shakes: D.T.S (Delirium Tremens)

38A: Essential amino acid: LYSINE. Unknown to me.

39A: Lucas folk: EWOKS. Star Wars (George Lucas) character. I got it this time.

43A: Dish stewed in wine: SALMI. Here is the definition: a ragout of partially cooked game, as pheasant or woodcock, stewed in wine and butter. You could put a bit pineapple in I suppose.

46A: Brace amount: TWO. Nailed it this time. Have to thank reader Dennis and Joey again for the explanation.

48A: Fed. agent: TMAN (Treasury-Man)

49A: Harbor town: SEAPORT

51A: Tentacle: ARM

57A: California winter wind: SANTA ANA

61A: Actress Scala: GIA. I got her name from down clue. Never heard of her before. She died in 1972 of drug overdose.

62A: Minimum attendance required: QUORUM. OK, the wikipedia says that "when quorum is not met, a legislative body cannot hold a vote, and can not change the status quo.... If a significant number of voters choose not to be present for the vote, the vote will fail due to lack of quorum, and the status quo will remain".

If you want in-depth understanding of this term, I suggest you call Senator Robert Byrd (WV). Ha ha.

71A: Nervous vibration: TREMOR

72A: Latin lesson word: AMO. Amo (I love), Amas ( you love), Amat (she/he/it loves).

73A: Part of DOS: SYST. Disk Operating System.

Down entries:

2D: 100 square meters: ARE. Got it from across clue. Vaguely remembered this definition of "are".

3D: Writer Deighton: LEN

4D: Bayou cuisine: CAJUN. Emeril Lagasse. BAM! Kick it up a notch!

5D: Siberian dog: SAMOYED. Interesting name, past tense. Look at this one, isn't it cute?

6D: "Exodus" role: ARI. Never read any of Leon Uris' work.

7D: Sykes of "Clerks II": WANDA. I find her to be very overwhelmingly noisy.

8D: Waltrip of auto racing: DARRELL. He was in yesterday's puzzle.

10D: "Das lied von der __": ERDE. The Song of the Earth.

11D: Pride member: LION

12D: Narrow street: LANE

13D: Snow coaster: SLED

18D: Landers and Jillian: ANNS

22D: Part of GPA: AVG

23D: Fossil resins: AMBERS

24D: Dodger Reese: PEE WEE. Gimme gimme.

25D: Tabitha's TV grandmother: ENDORA. Unknown to me.

26D: Planet-finding grp.: SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.)

30D: Col.entrance exams: MSAT

31D: Wildcatter, e.g.: OILMAN. I did not know this before. So, Anna Nicole Smith's husband was a wildcatter.

32D: Destroyed: UNMADE

33D: Checked (horses): REINED

35D: Beehive: SKEP. I got this from the across clue. I did not know skep.

45D: Visionary: DREAMER

47D: Aromatic herb: OREGANO

50D: SPIKE formerly: TNN

52D: Primary: MAIN

55D: US-Mex.-Can. union: NAFTA. Poor Hillary. Look at what a mess Bill created for you!

56D: Does yard work: RAKES

57D: Surface meas.: SQFT (Square Foot). The wicked Q.

58D: Violinist Leopold: AUER. He died long long time ago.

59D: Iditarod goal: NOME. Iditarod is an annual dogsled race in Alaska (from Anchorage to Nome)

60D: Trolley car: TRAM

64D: "Monster" group: R.E.M. I lucked it out on this one. I got it from across clues. I did not know that Monster is a R. E. M.'s album. It can also be clued as "sleeping stage" (REM, Rapid Eye Movement).

65D: Set down: LAY

66D: NASA outpost: ISS (International Space Station)

67D: Trawling device: NET

A few more things:

1) Yesterday's Newspaper Count: We have 1 from Thailand, 1 from Canada, and 32 different newspapers within the US.

2) On Sunday Feb 24, the answer for 117D: Cold, in Chile is FRIA. One reader replied that it means "head cold."

3) On last Monday Feb 18 Stanley B Whitten puzzle, the clue for 55D is Hannibal's "Waterloo" (ZAMA). I questioned the quotation mark, and got a very interesting response from reader Hugh Brown. See here. I decided to contact with Stephen Wilbers, who writes a weekly business writing column on Star Tribune. Here is his reply: I agree -- no quotes are needed. The practice of placing clichés in quotation marks is sometimes called "winking," as we must "do our best."

Enjoy your Tuesday everyone.

C. C.

Tuesday, Feb19, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: Play on Words

20A: More than a nickel feature?: The Sixth Cents (Bruce Willis movie: The Sixth Sense)

37A: State of sugary film? California Sweet (Jane Fonda/Alan Alda movie: California Suit)

54A: Scratchy holiday picture? The Santa Claws (Tim Allan movie: The Santa Clause)

I tanked again, before I even started the puzzle. As soon as I saw the constructor's name, I sensed trouble. I still have not recovered from his Sunday Chicago Bears blow.

I could not get the ball rolling. I want something odd for 1A: Eccentric piece, I have _AM there, and I wrongly put GAD instead of CAD for 1A: Scoundrel. I could not figure out why the pinup leg GAM is eccentric.

I love Sleepless in Seattle, and read Nora Ephron's blog on Huffington's post from time to time, but when the time was up, I just could not perform. God, I Feel Bad About My Neck, and I feel bad about my memories.

The lower left corner was killing me. I was trapped by the 60-min. units. I pictured Scott Paley and Steve Kroft in my mind, and I wanted it to be SEG. Did not know the agile deer, I thought all deer were agile, No? The only ancient Egyptian City I knew is Alexandria, and I could not cram it in. I figured the puzzle author was looking for an Arabic name for Alexandria, and there was no way I knew it. So I waved the white flag.

Here are the across entry:

1A: Eccentric piece: CAM. Now I really feel stupid botching this fill.

14A: Increase, as volume: CRANK UP

17A: Quayle or Marino: DAN. Dan Quayle has been very quiet. I am so tired of Dan Marino's NutriSystem Diet plan. Eat less and exercise more, as simple as that.

18A: Travel allowance: MILEAGE

20A: More than a nickel feature: THE SIXTH CENTS. Never watched The Sixth Sense. Obviously Bruce Willis and I are not in the same boat in terms of politcal leaning.

25A: Hanoi holiday: TET

26A: Stout's wolfe: NERO

33A: Actor DiCaprio: LEONARDO. The Aviator is unbelievably good.

37A: State of sugary film?: CALIFORNIA SWEET. Has anyone watched California Suit?

42A: Floppy: DISKETTE. I suppose it's correct. But I was looking for saggy, droopy stuff.

43A: Abnormal: pref.: DYS

44A: Ancient city on the Nile: MEROE. This place was so close to Sudan. They traded with India and China before 350 AD. Impressive.

47A: "Robinson Crusoe" inspiration: SELKIRK (Alexander). I never knew this novel was based on a real life story.

49A: German automaker: OPEL

50A: Moray: EEL

54A: Scratchy holiday picture? THE SANTA CLAWS.

59A: 60-min. units: HRS. Trappy clue for me.

60A: Hit the books: STUDIED

61A: Assent, in AIX: OUI. French for yes.

64A: Agile deer: ROE. Never heard of Roe Deer.

65A: Committed burglary: HEISTED. In 2003, CNBC's David Faber did a piece on AOL-Time Warner merger: the Big Heist. I kind of feel sad for Gerald Levin. No sympathy for Dennis Kozlowski. Epitome of Heist.

66A: Trojans of sports: USC

67A: T or F, e.g.: ANS. True or False, Answer me, no flip-flop!

68A: Time meas: YRS

70A: Perth's river: TAY. Never heard of it. Always thought Perth is in Australia. Did not know Scotland had a Perth too.

Down Entry:

1D: Scoundrel: CAD. I don't know why I confuse "cad" with "gad". Cad likes gadding about.

2D: __ Khan IV.: AGA. I tend to confuse this Aga Khan with Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan during Jackie Kennedy's visit in 1960s. I suppose Khan is a popular surname in Pakistan, like our Smith? Correct me if I am wrong.

3D: City in Quebec: MONTREAL

4D: Pinnacle: ACME

5D: Garden dandy: IRIS

6D: Niger's neighbor: MALI. Love Ali Farka Toure's music, esp the theme song for The World's Geo Quiz.

7D: Flat fish: SKATE. Never heard of it. Why bother with skate when we have the best walleye here in MN?

8D: Anything whatever: AUGHT. Exactly. Anything whatever. Never heard of you.

9D: Intl. oil cartel: OPEC . Could not understand why Venezuela stretched its arm, across the ocean, just to join OPEC. Too much oil?

Did you read the news about that United Arab Emirate guy who shelled out $14 million to buy a license plate bearing single number "1". Here is what he said after he won the bid on Feb 16: ''It is not huge compared to my family's fortune. The price is fair. After all, who among us does not want to be number one."

10D: Made amends: ATONED

11D: Longfellow's forte: POETRY

12D: Bodies: TORSOS

15D: Following: NEXT

21D: Magic spell: HEX

22D: Provide with income: ENDOW

23D: Conic sect.: CIRC (Circle)

24D: Actress Paquin: ANNA

28D: Caine film: ALFIE. I've seen Jude Law's Alfie. Could not tell the spark between him and Sienna Miller.

30D: Peter of "The Monkees": TORK. He is a stranger to me.

31D: Ford Flop: EDSEL

35D: Small isles: AITS. If you say so.

36D: Charge per unit: RATE

38D: Gods' images: IDOLS.

39D: Deletes: EDITS OUT

40D: Fictional Jane: EYRE

44D: Movie monster: MOTHRA. Unknown to me. Next time I will remeber her: Moth-ra. She is a moth.

45D: Writer/director Nora: EPHRON. She loves Hardball with Chris Matthews. Me too.

46D: Pee Wee/Della: REESES

48D: London gardens: KEW. Blog this word before, then I forgot.

50D: Input, as data: ENTER

51D: Needle boxes: ETUIS. A pretty looking decorative case.

52D: Young fellas: LADS

55D: Drained of color: ASHY

56D: Refer to: CITE

57D: Sly look: LEER

63D: Frigid: ICY

Sorry about the choppy posting this morning. The mouse was on strike. The key board seems fine though.

Pls let me know if you spot any mistake.

C.C.

Sunday, Feb 17, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: Chicago to Canton

(Chicago Bears Hall-of-Famer. NFL Hall of Fame is located in Canton, OH)

1A & 127A: Bear in Canton since 1993: Walter Payton

24A: Bear in Canton since 1963: Bronko Nagurski

70A: Bear in Canton since 1963: George Halas (Papa Bear)

115A: Bear in Canton since 1998: Mike Singletary

31D: Bear in Canton since 1977: Gale Sayers

41D: Bear in Canton since 1963: Red Grange

51D: Bear in Canton since 1988: Mike Ditka

55D: Bear in canton since 1979: Dick Butkus

No joy today in Mudville, mighty Casey has struck out! Brutal! I don't even know which Vikings are in the HOF. OK, Alan Page comes to my mind. He is our Supreme Court Justice now. Bud Grant? Yes.

By the way, I came across Chuck Foreman at flea market several times last year. He was selling his autographed photos/helmets/footballs, etc. This guy squandered all the money he made during his career I suppose. Twins Great Zoilo Versailles was the same. He had to wash airplanes for a living when he was old. That's just so sad.

Anyway, this puzzle was too much a workout for me. I was not in good shape football-wise, lots of panting, gasping for air, wild throw and cheating. But damned it, I finished it!

Across:

7A: Handle capably: WIELD

12A: Droop: WILT

16A: Ernie of the PGA: ELS. The Big Easy. I tried to copy his lazy swing, didn't work.

19A: Take for granted: ASSUME

20A: Nine: pref.: ENNEA

21A: Type of navigation system: INERTIAL

23A: Make additional cuts: RETRIM

26A: Host of a '70s variety series: FLIP WILSON. Sorry, I didn't know you.

28A: Brand name on cakes: SARA LEE

29A: Listening device: BUG. Have you ever seen an expert debug a phone, in person? Very fascinating.

32A: Inside:pref.: ENTO.

33A: Of bristles: SETAL

34A: Hermits: LONER

39A: Quickly: ASAP

38A: Long, thin fish: GARS. Often clued as long-snouted fish.

40A: Chicken caller: DARER. I like this clue.

42A: Vesicle: CYST

43A: Called (archaic): YCLEPT. Past participle of clepe. Ridiculous looking word!

45A: Extinct bird of New Zealand: MOA

47A: Any individual: SOMEONE

50A: __ Salt: EPSOM. Great for muscle pain relief. Trust me on this one.

52A: C & W fan's channel: CMT (Country Music TV). Country & Western (C & W)

54A: Soup scoop: LADLE

55A: When it's light out: DAY

58A: "The Thieving Magpie" composer: ROSSINI. Did not know him. The title looks interesting.

60A: Pink color: CORAL

62A: Wedge-shaped piece: GIB. I put Pie first.

63A: Non-network station: ITV (Independent TV network)

64A: Diarist Nin: ANAIS. I read 3 pages of her Delta of Venus. Wow, talk about graphic S scenes.

65A: Wailed: KEENED. I lifted this one out of dictionary.com. Keen, n/v, to wail in lamentation for the dead.

67A: End of a buck: AROO

68A: __ -Magnon: CRO. The Cave.

69A: Charles II's lover Nell: GWYN. Called "Pretty, witty Nell" by Samuel Pepys, another famous diarist.

73A: Go, in Glasgow: GAE. Scottish accent I suppose.

75A: Intervene: STEP IN

76A: Kind of cigar or sandwich: CUBAN

78A: Lilly or Wallah: ELI

79A: Main Street structure: STORE

80A: Small sphere: GLOBULE

82A: Deg. with teeth: DDS (Doctor of Dental Science)

83A: Taiwan Strait Islands: MATSU. I think our crossword editor is obsessed with this word, which has made at least 3 appearances since I started blogging.

86A: Israeli seaport: EILAT. Also spelled Elath. I only knew Haifa.

87A: Gambling: RISKING

89A: Grad. deg.: SCD (Scientiae Doctor, ie, Doctor of Science)

91A: Russian drinks: VODKA. Add Kahlua, you get your own Black Russian. Na zdorovje, Putin, for your power-grabbing prowess!

97A: Robert and Alan: ALDAS

99A: Yen: URGE

102A: Sports venues: ARENAS

105A: Flags: TIRES

107A: Jedi teacher: YODA

109A: Half of B.S.: SCI

110A: Mid-ocean: OPEN SEA

112A: Work by Horace: ARS POETICA (The Art of Poetry)

117A: Whole lot: TUBFUL

121A: Partly: IN A SENSE

122A: Roofing material: TERNE. I only knew "slate" for the roof.

123A: Cosmopolitan: URBANE

124A: Confirmed: SET

125A: Blue-green color: TEAL

126A: Mighty mount: STEED

Down:

1D: Simple card game: WAR

2D: Peer Gynt's mother: ASE. I forgot her name.

3D: D-Day craft: LST (Landing Ship Tank)

4D: Greensward: TURF (sorry about the mistake earlier)

5D: French writer Zola: EMILE

6D: "Bronco Buster" Sculptor: REMINGTON (Fredric). It looks majestic.

7D: Destructive caterpillar: WEB WORM

8D: Calvary inscription: INRI. I mixed it up with Cavalry. These two words are so close.

9D: Tautomeric compounds: ENOLS. Why in the world should I know this?

10D: Filmed, slangily: LENSED

11D: Badlands states: DAKOTAS

13D: Claire and Balins: INAS

14D: Authorized by law: LEGAL

15D: Cornwall town: TRURO. It's in the UK.

16D: Anthony of "Hawaiian Eye": EISLEY. Never heard of him.

17D: NBA team: LAKERS

18D: Crafty to the max: SLIEST

22D: Hypnotic state: TRANCE

25D: Streaking: ON A ROLL

29D: Hound sound: BAY

30D: Trojans of sports: USC

34D: "Champagne Tony" of golf: LEMA. 12 PGA wins. Pretty impressive. On the Eve of his first win, He joked to the press that would serve champagne if he won the next day. Hence the nickname. I want K. J. Choi to win Masters this year.

37D: Stomach enzyme: PEPSIN

39D: Mia Hamm's game: SOCCER

44D: Greek letters: PSIS

46D: In the company of: AMONGST

48D: Medleys: OLIOS

49D: Moses's mount: NEBO

53D: Christmas star's place: TREE TOP

56D: Of an entrance court: ATRIAL

57D: Actress de Carlo: YVONNE

58D: Tattered: RAGGED

59D: Ahead: ONWARD

61D: Sticks: ADHERES

66D: Dawn goddess: EOS. Just for your information: Io is a moon of Jupiter, also from Greek Mythology.

71D: Quick impression: APERCU. It also means short summary.

72D: Daybreak song: AUBADE. Pronounced as Oh Bad. Sung at dawn to compliment someone.

74D: Actress Moore: DEMI Surprised that her marriage with Ashton Kucher is still solid.

76D: Neighbor of N. Mex.: COLO.

79D: Daytime timepiece: SUNDIAL

81D: Was extravagant: LIVED IT UP

84D: Riverbed deposit: SILT

87D: French city in Bretagne: RENNES. Never been there. Did not know it.

88D: Attics: GARRETS

90D: Tearless: DRY-EYED

92D: Circle segment: ARC

93D: __ disant (so called): SOI

94D: Judd and Campbell: NAOMIS. Naomi Campbell knows how to throw a blackberry tantrum.

95D: Sempervivum: ORPINE. Unknown to me, both the clue and the answer.

96D: Sneak a look: PEEK AT

98D: Part of a sonnet: SESTET

103D: Selling point: ASSET

104D: Cast net: SEINE. Can you seine in Seine?

106D: Let live: SPARE

108D: Legend automaker: ACURA. I love the clue.

111D: Latin handle: ANSA. It's a looped handle. Ansa is the Latin word for handle (Thank you Hugh Brown). By the way, Asian apricot is ANSU, so similar to ANSA.

113D: Caen's river: ORNE

114D: "Dear" columnist: ABBY

116D: Solidify: GEL

118D: Love-handles content: FAT

119D: One in Toledo: UNO

120D: Sportscaster Berman: LEN. Did not know him. Probably will forget him again. Love Joe Buck though.

Alright, now I am going to devour my high-carb breakfast.

C.C.

(Added later: Please let me know if you see any mistake or have any question. You can either Comment or Send me an email. Thank you.)

Friday, Feb 8, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: Brand Names for Chocolate/Candy Bars

17A: Giggler's treat?: Snickers

42A: One for all and all for one treat: Three Musketeers

65A: Astronomer's treat?: Milky Way

Also, 12D: Generic Treats: Candy Bars.

37D: Generic treat: Chocolate

It's a sweet puzzle. But some of the clues were beyond my knowledge, ie, 35D: Prehistoric tomb (CIST), 28D: Cardinal flower (LOBELIA), 51D: Pagliacci role (TONIO), 63A: Bacchante (MAENAD).

I don't like the clue for 18D: Hot peppers: CHILIES. Hot pepper is either chili or chile or chilli. I am confident of my across fills, so I guess this fake chilie stays here today. (Update: The plural form of chili is either chilies or chilis. So, the crossword clue is right. I was wrong. My bad. I should have checked the dictionary before I commented).

Here are some of the highlights, please correct me if I am wrong.

1A: O. T. book: ISA (Isaiah)

8A: "Two Women" director: De Sica. Sophia Loren won Oscar for her role in this movie.

14A: Mil. installation: NAS (Navy Air Station)

15A: French religious figures: STES

19A: Actress Moreau: JEANNE. French actress.

24A: Write Dickens: MONICA. Great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens.

27A: Actor Mineo: SAL (sorry for the typo earlier).

29A: "Enola __": GAY

32A: Director Browning: TOD. Director of "Dracula".

36A: Set in motion: ACTIVATE

40A: Dwarfed tree: BONSAI. Knew this Japanese miniature tree, but forgot the spelling.

44A: L'chaim and prosit: TOASTS. (Jewish & German)

45A: Show on TV: TELECAST

46A: H. S. subj. SCI

49A: Droop: WILT

58A: Nancy of "Pollyanna": OLSON. Unknown to me.

60A: Gadgeteer Popeil: RON. But wait, there is more!

61A: Vocalized team spirit: RAHS. Feel a bit awkward to me.

63A: Bacchante: MAENAD. Never, never heard of this word. "A priestess or female votary of Bacchus". Too hard. Both the clue and the answer.

68A: New York prison: ATTICA

69A: Morse code: DIT

Down clues:

1D: Concisely, briefly: IN SUM

2D:__ Domingo: SANTO

5D: Goddess of folly: ATE. Here is the definition from dictionary.com: "an ancient Greek goddess personifying the fatal blindness or recklessness that produces crime and the divine punishment that follows it."

8D: Erving of hoops: Dr. J (Julius Erving)

11D: Corfu's location: IONIAN SEA.

18D: Hot peppers: CHILIES.

22D: CD's competition: DAT (Digital Audio Tape)

25D: Interviewer Dick: CAVETT.

26D: "Born Free" writer: ADAMSON (Joy)

28D: Cardinal flower: LOBELIA. New to me.

31D: R-V hookup: STU

33D: You don't say!: Do Tell!

35D: Prehistoric tomb: CIST. Note to you, this word can also be spelled as Kist, in case the crossword editor wants to trick us next time.

36D: Lawyers: abbr.: ATTS (Attorneys)

38D: Lionel products: TRAIN SETS

41D: Hummingbirds' eatery: NECTARY

43D: London garden: KEW. Royal Garden in Britain.

51D: Pagliacci role: TONIO. Here is more information.

53D: Mausoleums: TOMBS

55D: Like cut wood: SAWED

56D: Light olive brown: KHAKI

59D: Table salt: NACL

66D: Unit of illumination: LUX

67D: Vocal pitch: KEY

I am exhausted. Blog software acts weird this morning.

C. C.

Monday, Feb 4, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: Silver Screen Diamond Flicks (Baseball Films)

17A: The Natural
26A: Eight Men Out
40A: The Bad News Bears
53A: Major League
63A: Bull Durham

I've seen 4 of the above 5 films. I never heard of The Bad News Bears. I watch Major League every year when the season starts. I also love Field of Dreams. My husband can lip almost every line of Bull Durham. Silly.

You would think I would breeze through this puzzle given my love for baseball. But I failed miserably. The problem started with 7D: Wetlands. I put a MOORS rather than MARSH. Then I put ALTER rather than ADAPT for 8D: Changes to fit. I had ENSUED rather than TAILED for 18D: Followed. So I could not get the movie Eight Men Out.

Here are the recaps:

1A: Amo, ___, amat: AMAS. Oh Latin.

15A: __-masochism: SADO. I felt sick after learning the meaning of this word. Those people should watch Major League.

20A: Nabokov book: ADA. I only knew Lolita.

21A: Sample: SPECIMEN

23A: Clicking sound : TSK

29A: Color of the Italian sky: BLU. That's the color of my dream too.

50A: Elec. switch: IGN. I don't like this clue. I put OFF immediately.

59A: Vespers service: EVENSONG. New word to me.

Down Clues:

1D: Knack: ART

2D:__ - Jongg: MAH. Most of the Mah Jongg players are retired folks, right?

5D: 2nd Best: GRADE B. I could not get this one out.

9D: Sacred: SOLEMN

10D: Dead, as a dragon: SLAIN

11D: Cinematic Topper: COSMO. (Update: Please read the Comments part, one reader has explained very well why COSMO is the answer).

12D: Nice farewell?: ADIEU. No need for the question mark after the clue, Editor, we know Nice is a city.

13D: Intended: MEANT

18D: Followed: TAILED. I put ENSUED first.

22D: Show-biz notable: CELEB. Clooney & Pitt are real CELEBS, look at what they have done for Darfur & New Orleans. Randy Moss is a controversial CELEB.

23D: Willful injuries: TORTS.

24D: "Magnificent Obsession" director: STAHL (John). The 1935 film, not the 1954 film with Jane Wyman.

25D: Part of ROK: KOREA. South Korea (Republic of Korea). Kim Jong-il's North Korea is DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea).

27D: '50s TV series "Peter __": GUNN. Never heard of it.

32D: Naut. direction: EBN (East by North)

38D: Muse of poetry: ERATO. I got this one.

42D: Early American political party: WHIG

43D: Made a smooth transition: SEGUED. Got it.

49D: Faculty status: TENURE.

51D: Interstellar cloud: NEBULA

54D: Hail from a sailor: AVAST. I put AMAST first.

55D: Cafeteria dessert: JELLO

56D: In a dominant position: On TOP (I put AT TOP initially)

57D: Love-lit: AGLOW. I was thinking of some literature, like Chick Lit.

66D: Peer Gynt's mother: ASE. Only learned last week who Peer Gynt was, now his mother.

Have a good week everyone.

C. C.