Sunday December 5, 2010 Nora Pearlstone

Theme: CD Changers - The starting letter C is changed into D in various familiar phrases.

23A. Athlete's illegal plan? : DOPING STRATEGY. Coping Strategy.

44A. Inevitably short story of a track event? : DASH ACCOUNT. Cash Account.

68A. Derrières? : FRENCH DUFFS. French Cuffs.

96A. Contented furnace part? : HAPPY DAMPER. Happy Camper.

119A. Pass receiver's nightmare? : DREAM OF THE DROP. Cream of the Crop. The only one with double changes.

13D. Dangerous links game? : GOLF DARTS. Golf Carts.

41D. Where authors exhibit unedited work? : DRAFTS FAIR. Crafts Fair.

44D. Designated area for Southern dialogue? : DRAWL SPACE. Crawl Space.

83D. City employee who helps with the dishes? : TOWN DRIER. Town Crier.

Fun puzzle. Some of the theme clues made me laugh. Cottoned onto the theme rather quickly. Had a hunch of what the gimmick was about after reading title, then had it confirmed in no time. For once I mind-melded with Rich.

To those who are not familiar with various alias name of editor Rich Norris, he uses Nora Pearlstone (anagram of "Not a Real Person") mostly for his Sunday puzzles.

Nora tends to spread out her theme entries widely and intersect them when possible.

Across:

1. Post-commencement fliers? : CAPS. The image just wouldn't come to my mind.

5. Skirmish : FRAY

9. Polite address : MA'AM

13. Freedom of speech inhibitor : GAG LAW. Same as Gag Order, right?

19. Snack with several eating options : OREO

20. Grimm bad guy : OGRE

21. Adolescent woe : ACNE

22. Shopping with a mouse, say : ONLINE. Mouse click.

26. Check up (on) : LOOK IN

27. Put to work : EMPLOY

28. Whom a physician should heal? : THYSELF. "Physician, heal thyself".

30. TV Batman Adam : WEST. We also have 99. Dogpatch's Daisy __ : MAE. Not cross-referenced today.

31. Dost speak : SAYST

32. Kenyan tribe : MASAI. New word to me. Dictionary says they live in Tanzania too.

35. Businesses : TRADES

37. Credits (to) : ASCRIBES

40. It's nearly bisected by the Missouri R. : S DAK. Wow, true.

41. Caesar's 601 : DCI

47. It's not wall-to-wall : AREA RUG

49. Hopping desert rodent : JERBOA. Alien to me. Strange looking creature.

51. Cross-country need, perhaps : SKI

52. Put on the tube : AIR

54. Until now : TO DATE

55. Sign of a slip : ERASURE. Sure was not thinking of "mistake" slip.

57. "SNL" producer Michaels : LORNE

59. Endure : SUFFER

60. Handful : FEW

61. Deceive : LIE TO

64. Winans of gospel : CECE. BEBE too.

65. Asian celebration : TET. Only in Vietnam.

66. Leave no room in : FILL

72. This, in Spain : ESTO. Also ESTA.

75. Distress letters : SOS

77. Restaurateur Toots : SHOR

78. Exams for sophs or jrs. : PSATs

80. Warm lining : FUR

81. Influence : IMPACT

84. Publishing crime : LIBEL. I don't get the clue, though I know most libels are in printed form.

86. Place : SITUATE

88. Milan's __ alla Scala : TEATRO. Only know La Scala, not its full name. What does "TEATRO" mean?

89. Dept. in charge of rural development : AGR (Agriculture)

90. Author Tarbell : IDA. No idea. Read here for more information. Interesting: muckraker. What Julian Assange has done appalls me.

93. Brain : GENIUS

94. Does without : ESCHEWS

100. Children's author Blyton : ENID. Learned from doing Xword.

102. Cutting tool handy in tight crevices : SABER SAW. Like this, Splynter?

103. Football play also called a sweep : END RUN

105. __ man : LADY'S. Like Bond.

106. Rumor starter? : I HEAR

111. General Mills brand : CHEX

114. Do some home improvement : REMODEL. Hey, another shout-out to Splynter.

116. Film set at the Bates Motel : PSYCHO

117. Island state : HAWAII

123. Delphic medium : ORACLE

124. Failed '80s gridiron org. : USFL. No idea. United States Football League, 1983-1987.

125. Go (toward) : HEAD

126. What kings and courts do : RULE. Oh, I see, Kings' courts.

127. Civic or rec follower : CENTER

128. Allot, with "out" : METE

129. Line on a horse : ODDS. We also have 95. Filly's father : SIRE. I like the name Zenyatta, very cool!

130. "__ Death": "Peer Gynt Suite No. 1" movement : ASE'S. Ase is Peer Gynt's mother.

Down:

1. Sets of regulations : CODES

2. Olfactory lure : AROMA

3. Energized : PEPPY

4. Dirties : SOILS

5. Stick-in-the-mud : FOGY. Old geezer.

6. Some NFL blockers : RGS

7. Gallery display : ART

8. "__ durn tootin'!" : YER

9. 20th-century Canadian composer André : MATHIEU. Well, I bet Jayce knows this guy. Québécois composer.

10. __-deucy : ACEY

11. Therapy subject : ANGST

12. Seth of "SNL" : MEYERS

14. 365 días : ANO

15. Shines : GLOWS

16. Take a shine to : LIKE

17. Spanish liqueur : ANIS. Made of aniseed?

18. Took off : WENT

24. Nobody at all : NOT A SOUL

25. Steaming mad : AT A BOIL. Two little multip-word phrases.

29. Russian auto : LADA. What does Lada mean?

32. Longtime Olivia Newton-John label : MCA. MCA = Music Corporation of America.

33. Rainbow paths : ARCS

34. Tired partner? : SICK. Sick and tired.

36. Barely make, as a living : EKE OUT. Good to have a full phrase.

38. Bridge star Omar : SHARIF

39. Caught in a net : SNARED

42. Overused word at the nursery : CUTE

43. Disney president Robert : IGER. Quite articulate.

45. Tummy muscles : ABS. Look at here. Amazing. The kid must have been working really hard on them.

46. Costner links film : TIN CUP. Great movie.

48. Classified charge : AD FEE

49. Bridges of "Starman" : JEFF

50. "... __ saw Elba" : ERE I. Ha ha. Just mentioned it yesterday.

53. Coral phenomena : REEFS

56. Chariot ending : EER. Charioteer.

58. Earthy tone : OCHRE

62. One weber per square meter : TESLA. Hey, he's back, with a very technical clue though.

63. Above : ON HIGH

67. Reluctant : LOATH

69. Charmed snakes? : COBRAS. Why "charmed"?

70. Notes after mis : FAs. Musical notes: Do Re Mi Fa Sol...

71. Mark of disgrace : STIGMA

73. "Swan Lake" outfit : TUTU. Have any of you seen "Black Swan"?

74. Tram car fillers : ORES

76. Conceal : SCREEN

79. How AA members complete their program : STEPWISE. Didn't come to me immediately.

81. News bit : ITEM

82. City east of Tempe : MESA. I've never been to AZ.

85. ChapStick, e.g. : LIP BALM

87. A, to Fauré : UNE

91. Changed the locks? : DYED

92. "He was white and shaken, like __ martini": Wodehouse : A DRY. Not familiar with the quote. Funny.

97. Lager alternative : PALE ALE

98. Barnyard brayer : ASS. Alliteration.

101. Jerk : DUMDUM. Another new word to me.

103. Right-on : EXACT

104. Swedes' neighbors : NORSE. Norwegians? I always associate Norse with the ancient Scandinavian people.

107. Victim of Hercules : HYDRA. The nine-headed serpent.

108. Tan shades : ECRUS

109. Financially struggling, with "in" : A HOLE

110. Boxing ring borders : ROPES

111. Prefix with -aholic : CHOC. Chocaholic. My spell checks wants chocoholic.

112. Wonderland tea party attendee : HARE

113. McGregor of "Big Fish" : EWAN. Know his name, not the movie.

115. Skillful : DEFT

116. Some profs : PH. Ds

118. Mer land : ILE. Mer = Sea.

120. Discoverer's shout : OHO. AHA too.

121. Miffed, with "up" : FED

122. Tiny amount : TAD

Answer grid.

We are all familiar with this avatar photo of the always witty & musing & amusing Husker Gary. Here is a closer look at him and his wife Joann. They've been married for 45 years.

C.C.

Sunday July 26, 2010 Nora Pearlstone

Theme: Tee for Two - Letter T is added to the start of the second word of each two-word familiar phrase, which also has letter T as the end of its first word. The resulting phrase with two Ts spanning in the middle is then humorously clued.

23A. Monster affected by a moon phase? : CRESCENT TROLL. The base phrase is crescent roll.

37A. Levy on butchers? : MEAT TAX. Meat ax.

69A. Warren weeping? : RABBIT TEARS. Rabbit ears. Rabbits live in warrens. Bet it brought a smile to our Warren and his lovely wife Ruth.

76A. Japanese chicken snacks? : EAST TENDERS. Not familiar with the base phrase "EastEnders". Does it refer to the BBC show?

106A. Can for old smokes? : BUTT TIN. Butt in.

124A. Attacker's fruity treat? : ASSAULT TRIFLE. Assault rifle.

17D. Small pie à la Pollock? : ABSTRACT TART. Abstract art. Pollock's work is truly hard to understand.

41D. Stuff that sticks for years? : GREAT TAPE. Great ape.

49D. Taunting from the Miami bench? : HEAT TRASH. Heat rash. Miami Heats (NBA).

65A. Bakery supply for wrapping cake boxes? : DESSERT TWINE. Dessert wine.

Fun theme. Fun clues too. I liked that all the theme entries are two-word phrases, which give the theme a narrowed focus.

Some may not pay attention to those transformed second T* word, but none of them has the repeating pattern. Rich Norris (Nora Pearlstone is his alias name, anagram of "not a real person". ) covered a wide range of possible T starting words:

1) T with various vowels/vowel combination: short a, long a, ar, ea, e & i. I suppose Rich found no sparkly To or Ty phrases.

2) T with consonants: TW & TR(A/I/O). TH is missing. Thought it's a good combination to play around. No, Jerome/John?

Total 49 Ts in the grid, eclipsed only by the most used crossword vowel E (53).

My favorite clues today:

122A. Split payment? : ALIMONY

116D. Females with pig tails : SOWS. The clue made me laugh.

Across:

1. Get at : ACCESS

7. Like lambs : GENTLE. I wanted SILENT, thinking "The Silence of the Lambs". We also have TAME (118D. Easy to manage).

13. 1983 invasion site : GRENADA

20. President Ahmadinejad's capital : TEHRAN. Mad man.

21. Pioneer Day celebrant : UTAHAN. Not familiar with Utah's state holiday "Pioneer Day".

22. Dressed : ENROBED

25. Chips Ahoy! maker : NABISCO

26. Filet mignon, e.g. : ENTREE

27. Black Sea country : UKRAINE. Awesome entry.

29. Diglyceride, for one : ESTER. Know the answer, not the clue.

30. Performance rights org. : BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc)

31. Craving : URGE

33. Give a hand : ASSIST

35. Yeats's homeland : ERIN. Poetic name for Ireland.

36. Response to an e-mail wisecrack : LOL

40. "Here's the __ ..." : THING

42. Many a Monopoly sq. : AVE

43. Sole : ONLY

45. Abbot's address: Abbr. : RT. REV. Retired Reverend I suppose. (Correction: It stands for Right Reverend. Thanks, Lemonade.)

46. Spiffed (up) : SPRUCED

48. Illustrator N.C. : WYETH. No idea. He's the father of Andrew Wyeth, known for his "Christina's World".

50. The younger Saarinen : EERO. The older Saarinen is Eliel.

51. Boo follower : HOO. Boohoo.

54. Toon flapper Etta : KETT. Can never remember this old comic figure.

55. __ Plaines, Illinois : DES

57. 1980s South African pres. : P.W. BOTHA. Was confused by the PWB combination. Total stranger.

60. Starts the kitty : ANTES

63. Mouse site : PAD. Computer mouse.

66. College fund-raising targets : ALUMS

71. U.K. award : OBE (Order of the British Empire)

72. Newbie : TYRO

73. Everycowboy : TEX

74. Skip : OMIT

75. Hook (up) : RIG

79. Carrion eater : HYENA

80. Asian holiday : TET. Only in Vietnam.

81. '90s N.Y. Philharmonic conductor Kurt : MASUR. Another stranger.

82. Westernmost of the Sunda Islands : SUMATRA

84. Mean at a univ. : GPA

86. South Dakota, to Pierre : ETAT. Pierre here refers to the typical French name instead of the capital city.

88. Word before and after "vs." in a Mad feature : SPY. Spy vs. Spy.

89. Italian vineyard region : ASTI. Do you like "Stealing Beauty"?

92. Culture: Pref. : ETHNO

96. Read : PERUSED

99. Scrawny : GAUNT

101. Good earth : LOAM. Nice play on "The Good Earth".

102. Co. that spun off the Baby Bells : AT&T

103. Wasteland : HEATH

108. Luau instrument : UKE

109. 19th Amendment proponent : CATT. Carrie Chapman Catt. Suffrage.

111. Tough spot : SCRAPE

113. Saltimbocca herb : SAGE. Was ignorant of the exact family sage belongs to.

114. Seat holder: Abbr. : SEN. Senate.

115. Flightless New Zealanders : KIWIS

117. Ruthless leaders : TYRANTS

120. Rubbed the wrong way : CHAFED

127. Time keeping action? : RENEWAL. Time magazine.

128. Treads heavily : STOMPS

129. List shortener : ET ALIA

130. Women's department array : DRESSES

131. Most balanced : SANEST

132. "Have patience" : NOT YET

Down:

1. LAX tower service : ATC. Air Traffic Control. I forgot.

2. What a stickler may stand on? : CEREMONY. Why? Don't get this clue.

3. Bedspread fabric : CHENILLE. Chenille fabric.

4. While opening : ERST. Erstwhile.

5. Pelvic bone : SACRUM

6. Scornful type : SNEERER

7. Like some instinctive reactions : GUT

8. Caesar's closer : ET TU. "Et tu, Brute?". Caesar's dying words.

9. Sussex stoolie : NARK. Did not know the Brits call informant "nark". Weird, it sounds the cop "narc" to me.

10. Chest : THORAX

11. Singers' refrains : LALAS. One more time for Lucia to think of her mother.

12. Join up : ENLIST

13. Beginning : GENESIS

14. Protein-building polymer : RNA. Only know it as "Genetic letters".

15. Kathryn of "Law & Order: C.I." : ERBE. Her name escaped me. We had this actress before.

16. Uproar : NOISE

18. Trick : DECEIVE

19. Decorated : ADORNED

24. Deny the truth of : NEGATE

28. Med. research org. : NIH (National Institutes of Health)

30. Lose, as a big lead : BLOW

32. To be, in Quebec : ETRE

34. I-90 in Mass., e.g. : TNPK (Turnpike)

38. U. of Maryland team : TERPS

39. Declare : AVOW

44. Financial report hdg. : YTD

47. __ Reader: alternative media anthology : UTNE. Named after its founder.

51. Sting, for instance : HOAX. Sting operation. Not singer Sting.

52. Tout's hangout, for short : OTB (Offtrack Betting)

53. "Yahoo!" : OH BOY

56. Roy Rogers's birth name : SLYE. His real name is Leonard Slye. Might be one of Dennis "Did you know...". I simply forgot.

58. Brittany seaport : BREST

59. Je t'__: French "I love you" : AIME

61. Historic canal : ERIE

62. U.S. Army E-6 : SSGT. Staff Sergeant.

63. Pope creation : POEM. English poet Alexander Pope.

64. Four-line rhyme scheme : ABAA

67. Coffee holders : URNS

68. __ vivendi: lifestyle : MODUS. I only know "joie de vivre".

70. Small bell sound : TING

73. Room service convenience : TRAY

77. Layered skirt : TUTU

78. Old Roman ldr. : EMP. ldr = leader. Meh!

79. Goes after : HAS AT

83. Product with "Robusto!" flavors : RAGU

85. View from Martha's Vineyard, Mass. : ATL. Atlantic ocean.

87. Golf shop bagful : TEES

90. "Tsk" relatives : TUTS

91. Whole : INTACT

93. Indoor buzzer? : HOUSEFLY. Superb clue/answer.

94. Blunt fiction : NAKED LIE. I like this answer too.

95. Rainbow, to some : OMEN

96. Early luxury auto : PACKARD

97. 24/7 business : ETAILER

98. Three-syllable feet : DACTYLS. How I wish dear Clear Ayes were here to give us an example!

100. Secure, in a way : TIGHTEN

104. Give it a go : TRY

105. Bother no end : HARASS

106. Former Mormon leader Ezra Taft __ : BENSON. Peeked at the answer sheet. He has a distinguished look.

107. Almost touching : NEAR TO

110. Airport postings : TIMES

112. Fusilli, e.g. : PASTA

119. Has dinner : SUPS. And EAT (126. Dinner exhortation). Dinner echos.

121. Royal decree : FIAT

123. Tam wearer's turndown : NAE. Scottish for "no".

125. D-Day craft : LST (Landing Ship Tank)

Answer grid.

I have a question: Does Nora Pearlstone sound like a porn star name to you? We continue to get quite a few Japanese porn spams on last Nora "PMS" themed Sunday puzzle, even after we deleted all the possible links in the main write-up and the Comments section. Darling Santa has to delete them nearly every day.

C.C.

Sunday January 10, 2010 Nora Pearlstone

Theme: Just Do It - "Do" is inserted to familiar phrases.

23A. Unlikely bar snack?: BEER (DO)NUTS. Beer Nuts. Peanuts/oil/salt. Go well with beer.

25A. Hair stylist's blunder?: GOOFED UP(DO). Goofed Up.

48A. Place marker in "The Compleat Angler"?: FISHING (DO)G-EAR. Fishing Gear.

95A. Paid athletes with upscale apartments?: PROS AND CON(DO)S. Pros and Cons. The clue does not correspond well with the answer, does it?

120A. Tennis great's swimwear?: GRAF SPEE(DO). Graf Spee, the German warship. Steffi Graf is Agassi's wife.

124A. Typical dog's motto?: SEMPER FI(DO). Semper Fi, Marines' motto. "Always faithful".

36D. "What a jerk!": HE'S ONE (DO)OFUS. He's One of Us. Funny entry.

41D. Bringin' up a crime boss portrayer?: RAISIN' BRAN(DO). Raisin Bran. The omission of g in the clue hints an omission of g in the answer. Marlon Brando played the mafia boss Don Corleone in "The Godfather".

And NIKE (117D. Apt company for this puzzle?). How convenient that Tiger is nowhere to be found in the grid! Nike Golf would never have taken off without Tiger and his "Just do it" attitude. Whatever Tiger then did!

We tend to praise constructors for certain awe-inspiring clever clues. Sometimes those clues are from the quiet editor Rich Norris himself. Today's puzzle gives us a good opportunity to see Rich's mind at work, unfiltered. Nora Pearlstone is one of Rich's alias names. Anagram of "Not a Real Person".

And it's a good puzzle. A full range of DO insertion positions: In the beginning, in the middle and in the end of a word respectively. As the norm with Sunday puzzles, quite a few tricky & entertaining clues. My favorite is BURP (39D. Newborn's achievement?). The clue for ACT (31A. Don't just sit there) fits today's theme pretty well.

Across:

1. Apply crudely: DAUB. And SPLAT (56A. Paint spill sound).

5. Practice exercise: DRILL

10. Man __: 1920 Horse of the Year: O'WAR. The greatest racing horse ever, right?

14. Interface developed for the Intel x86 family of microprocessors: MS-DOS. Windows forerunner,

19. Juanita's "this": ESTA. The masculine "this" is ESTO.

20. Arabian peninsula capital: SANA'A. And ADEN (118D. Port of Yemen). We also have SHEBA (108D. Biblical queendom), the present day Yemen.

21. Part: ROLE. And OSCAR (71D. Actor's dream).

22. Southern New Mexico county: OTERO. Unknown to me. Literally "isolated hill" in Spanish.

27. Try: TASTE. Oh, try the food.

28. South side?: GRITS. Side dish.

30. Quarrel: DUST-UP

35. Hilo exchanges: ALOHAS. Greeting exchanges.

39. Santa __: BARBARA. Named after Saint Barbara.

43. A single bounce, in baseball: ONE- HOP. Another baseball reference is ALOU (12D. Baseball's Matty). Brother of Felipe.

46. Glacial ridge: ARETE (uh-REYT). Often just clued as "Mountain ridge".

47. Sch. founded by Jefferson: UVA. In 1819.

52. Beaver, to Ward: SON

53. Churn: ROIL

57. Soprano Lily: PONS. Vaguely remember that Buckeye likes her.

58. Ligurian Sea city: PISA. On the Arno River.

59. Kitchen tools: DICERS

62. Class: ELEGANCE. Grace Kelly had aplenty.

64. Beatles girl with a "little white book": RITA. The Beatles’ “Lovely Rita". The meter MAID (74A. Household servant).

66. Snack brand sold in twists and puffs: CHEETOS

69. Pan-fried: SAUTEED. Forgot the difference between saute and stir-fry.

70. Singer with The Velvet Underground in the '60s: NICO. Not a familiar name to me. She has an otherworldly look.

72. Nice piece of change: TIDY SUM. Was worried that "Nice" here might be the French city.

75. Talky get-together: GABFEST

78. Like eagles: TALONED

80. 82-Across cry: MEOW. And STRAY CAT (82A. Alley wanderer).

84. Equiangular geometric figure: ISOGON. Iso is a prefix for "equal".

86. Lower Manhattan neighborhood: NOHO. Stands for North of Houston Street. Soho is South of Houston.

88. Jazz home: UTAH. Utah Jazz.

89. Legend creator: ACURA. Honda's luxury car division.

92. Sugar source: CANE

93. Maker of nonstick cookware: T-FAL

94. British golfer Poulter: IAN. Gimme. Met him in person. Look at the pants he wore. Very colorful character.

99. Kin of -kin: ULE. I did not know -kin is a diminutive suffix too. Dictionary gives lambkin as an example.

100. Like some waves: TIDAL

102. Eye shadow?: SHINER. Did not know "shiner" is slang for "black eye".

103. Cuts into: INCISES. Root word for incisive.

105. Kept a partner up, maybe: SNORED. Oh, bedding partner.

107. Rather modern: NEWISH

110. Scale's fifth: SOL. Musical scale.

111. Primarily: MAINLY

114. Jewish community orgs.: YMHAS. YMHA = Young Men's Hebrew Association.

116. Arm bones: ULNAS. Or ulnae.

126. Vaudeville show: REVUE

127. Race: TEAR. Why?

128. They're usually made of African Blackwood: OBOES. New trivia to me.

130. Explorer Amundsen: ROALD. No idea. Norwegian explorer. The first person to reach both the North and South Pole. Roald is just like English Ronald, isn't it?

131. Vodka in a blue bottle: SKYY. Very blue.

132. '30s veep John __ Garner: NANCE. Roosevelt’s first veep. I forgot. We had this clue before.

133. Mothers' groups?: DENS. Den mother is a woman who supervises a den of Cub Scouts. New to me also.

Down:

1. Charging result: DEBT

2. On the Aegean: ASEA

3. Old Navajo enemies: UTES. The answer emerged itself.

4. It may be picked up at a pub: BAR TAB

5. British mil. award: DSO (Distinguished Service Order)

6. Made a jingle: RANG

7. Accustom: INURE

8. "Aeneid" language: LATIN. "Aeneid" is a Latin epic poem by Virgil, recounting the adventures of Aeneas after the fall of Troy.

9. Puzo novel, with "The": LAST DON. Pretty good.

10. Dot follower, perhaps: ORG. Internet address "dot".

11. Vocational course: WOOD SHOP. Again, got the answer from crosses.

13. Calls the game: REFS

14. Sectional home: MODULAR. Sectional sofa.

15. Daze of wine and rosés?: STUPOR. I like the clue, playing on "Days of Wine and Roses".

16. Security pmt.: DEP (Deposit). Placed side by side with another abbreviated answer ORD (17D: Diner req.). I had a mess in this corner.

18. Great Lakes' __ Canals: SOO

24. Java choice: DECAF

26. LAX info: ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)

29. Album track: SONG

32. Three-tone chord: TRIAD

37. Medical stat?: AT ONCE. "Stat" is ASAP for doctors. Not the sports stats.

38. Detected: SENSED

40. To have, to Henri: AVOIR

42. Gelatin garnish: ASPIC. Delicious!

44. Eye blatantly: OGLE

45. Bell sounds: PEALS

49. Horizontal bar dismount: HECHT (Hekt). Did not know this horizontal bar has a special name. Sounds German, isn't it, Kazie/Spitzboov?

50. Op art viewer's cry, maybe: I SEE IT

51. Elite unit: A-TEAM

54. Queen with a Grammy: LATIFAH. Queen Lafifah.

57. Like a good waiter: PATIENT

60. Prynne's stigma: RED A. From "The Scarlet Letter".

61. Pens and needles: STYLI. Playing on "pins and needles".

63. Micronesia's largest island: GUAM. "Where America's Day Begins".

65. __-deucy: ACEY

67. Baja bears: OSOS. Spanish for "bears". Alliteration.

68. Shell alternative: SUNOCO. And TACOS (77D. Food in shells). Different Shell/shell.

73. Mullally of "Will & Grace": MEGAN. Is this actress very famous?

75. Astronauts' wear: G-SUITS

76. Accomplish: ATTAIN

79. Orphan boy of old comics: DONDI. His name appeared several times in our old puzzles.

81. Jonah's problem: WHALE. He was swallowed by a whale. Bible story.

83. Keister: TUSH

85. Bright signs: NEONS. Bright indeed.

87. Pamplona chorus: OLES

90. Future time of need, metaphorically: RAINY DAY. Nice clue.

91. Writer Tyler: ANNE. Recognized her face when I googled.

95. Smiling, probably: PLEASED

96. Damp at daybreak: DEWY. Hmmm, dewy!

97. Ivy League color: CRIMSON. Harvard color.

98. Search all over: SCOUR

101. As much as you can carry: ARMFUL. The grammar of the clue confused me.

104. Undernourished: ILL-FED. Like some of those models.

106. Onion __: DIP. With a bit of chives.

109. Rye lead-in: HAM ON. Ham on rye sandwich.

112. Bottom lines: NETS

113. Vichyssoise veggie: LEEK. Potato too. Vichyssoise is a thick soup of potatoes and leeks.

115. Design detail, briefly: SPEC

119. Lays down the lawn: SODS. Punning on "Lays down the law".

120. Boxer's warning: GRR. Or ARF.

121. Classic wheels: REO

123. Transit end?: ORY. The end of the word "transitory".

125. L.A.-to-Tucson dir.: ESE

Answer grid.

See you next Wednesday!

C.C.

Sunday July 26, 2009 Nora Pearlstone

Theme: Midafternoons - PMS (132D: Times of day hidden in eight puzzle answers)

23A: Temporary solution: STOPGAP MEASURE

54A: Controversial excavation method: STRIP MINING

94A: Key equivalent to B-flat: A-SHARP MAJOR

130A: It can help you organize windows and wallpaper: DESKTOP MANAGER

17D: Startling Stories, e.g.: PULP MAGAZINES

29D: One making a large withdrawal?: HOLDUP MAN

66D: Maker of Marlboro: PHILIP MORRIS

68D: Laptop power saver: SLEEP MODE

I did not find any other non-theme **PM** combination fill in the grid, did you? Pretty neat! Nora Pearlstone, anagram of "not a real person", is the alias name of our editor Rich Norris.

STRIP MINING is new to me. Normally the answer to B-flat is just A-SHARP, so I was surprised by the following MAJOR. But again, I know nothing about musical terms. PHILIP MORRIS is my first theme fill.

I don't understand the clue for ATM (109A: Vegas contraption offering the best odds?). Why "best odds"?

Across:

1A: Mollusk shell materials: NACRES. Also called mother-of-pearls.

7A: "Piece of cake": NO SWEAT

14A: Charts with axes: GRAPHS

20A: Maintain: ALLEGE. ASSERT has 6-letter too.

21A: What a stalwart won't give? ONE INCH. I wanted AN INCH.

22A: Liturgy: RITUAL. I confused liturgy with litany.

25A: Harlem theater: APOLLO. Have heard of this theater. Did not know the exact location though.

26A: Arnold Palmer's Pennsylvania birthplace: LATROBE. No idea. LATROBE is about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Wikipedia says Steeler's training camp is there.

27A: "Lemme __!": AT 'EM. What does the phrase mean?

28A: Physicist with a law: OHM. OHM's law. Named after the German physicist George OHM.

30A: Fraternal org.: BPOE

31A: Golf iron socket: HOSEL. It's the part where the shaft is installed.

32A: Do not disturb: LET BE

34A: W. vis-à-vis E: OPP. West/East. Opposite direction.

36A: Money pile?: Abbr. MSS (Manuscripts). Money magazine. Tricky clue.

37A: With 81-Down, game played on a three-walled court: JAI. And ALAI (81D: See 37-Across).

39A: Govt. division: DOJ (Department of Justice). I was stumped.

42A: Title woman about whom Clapton sings "You've got me on my knees": LAYLA. About Pattie Boyd.

44A: Year in Augustus' reign: ONE BC. The N from ANT (38D: Colony resident) allowed me to fill in the answer immediately.

47A: Political payoff: SOP. Bribe.

51A: Goneril's victim: REGAN. Both King Lear's daughters. The bad ones.

60A: Half of Bennifer: J. LO. Bennifer = Ben Affleck + Jennifer Lopez.

61A: Erotic god: AMOR

63A: Pencil puzzles: MAZES

64A: Old Boston Garden nickname: ESPO. Sigh. All I could think of is Bobby ORR. How can I remember Phil ESPO Esposito?

67A: Like horseshoes: U-SHAPED

70A: Both: pref.: AMBI. Like ambidextrous.

73A: Uto-Aztecan tongue: NAHUATL. Wikipedia says avocado, chili, chocolate, tomato are all of NAHUATL origin.

75A: Capital of Yemen: SANAA

77A: Not too soft: AL DENTE. Italian for "to the tooth". I like pasta/veggie/fruits to be firm. I like everything to be firm.

79A: CCX x V+ I: MLI. 210x5+1=1050

80A: Long-necked runner: RHEA. Flightless.

82A: Nautical ladder rung: RATLINE. No idea.

84A: Court period: Abbr.: SESS. Supreme Court?

85A: Israeli port city: EILAT. Of course I thought of HAIFA first.

87A: Fantasy spirit: ELF

89A: "Sleepy Hollow" actor: DEPP. I don't find Johnny Depp attractive.

92A: Piques: SNITS

93A: Kung __ chicken: PAO. Mostly with cashew nuts.

99A: Aware of : HEP TO. Or HIP TO.

100A: In the 60s, say: MILD. Oh, temperature.

102A: Chemical suffix: ANE

104A: Snapple's __ Madness: MANGO. MANGO stain is tough to remove.

106A: French military cap: KEPI. With a flat, circular top and a visor. I simple forgot.

112A: USCG rank: CPO (Chief Petty Officer). USCG is United States Coast Guard.

114A: Jupiter, e.g.: GOD. Greek for Jupiter is Zeus.

115A: East German secret police: STASI. Nailed it this time.

117A: Violinist's aid: ROSIN

120A: Not stifling: AIRY

122A: 109-Across charge: FEE

124A: Emerald Isle: ERIN

125A: Woozy: IN A DAZE

128A: Low-level clouds: STRATI. Singular is stratus.

133A: Puts on ice: CHILLS

134A: Best: OPTIMUM. Is this a noun or an adjective?

135A: It's fixed by a bank: CD RATE

136A: Per se: AS SUCH. Per se is Latin "By itself".

137A: Annual Georgia tournament, with "The": MASTERS. Augusta, Georgia.

138A: La Scala offerings: OPERAS

Down:

1D: Pelé's org.: NASL (North American Soccer League). I only knew MLS (Major League Soccer).

2D: B.C. neighbor: ALTA. Alberta.

3D: One concerned with duds?: CLOTHIER. I was thinking of failure duds.

4D: Printer's proof: REPRO. Needs a "briefly" hint.

5D: Toaster waffles: EGGOS

6D: Lobster habitat: SEABED

8D: Actress Tatum: O'NEAL. She won Oscar for "Paper Moon", the youngest ever to win an Oscar (age 10).

9D: Not off one's rocker?: SEATED. I did not know "off one's rocker" is a slang for crazy, so the question mark wordplay was lost on me.

10D: Not tricked by: WISE TO

11D: Digital food additive code used in Europe: E NUMBER. No idea. E stands for Europe.

12D: Horiz.: ACR. Across.

13D: Kojak, to friends: THEO. Van Gogh's brother is called THEO too. "I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream".

14D: Family nickname: GRAMPA. Ye Ye in Chinese.

15D: Pants problem: RIP

16D: Phrase indicating small progress: A TO B

18D: Saintly rings: HALOS

19D: Tart fruit: SLOES

24D: Speaker since 2007: PELOSI (Nancy). Didn't we just have Boxer last Sunday? Guess Dianne Feinstein is next.

33D: Blow one's stack: ERUPT

35D: Giza attraction: PYRAMID

40D: Whale of a guy?: JONAH. I was ignorant of the Biblical JOHAH & whale story.

43D: Yeats' "___ and the Swan": LEDA. Easy guess. Since LEDA is sometimes clued as "The Swan lady".

45D: Exquisite gem: BIJOU. Wouldn't have got the answer without Across help.

46D: Rank abov Pfc.: CPL (Corporal)

48D: Early Arizona natives: PIMAS. I forgot.

50D: Joy Adamson lioness: ELSA. The "Born Free" lioness.

52D: Bond and others: AGENTS

53D: Headlands: NESSES. Learned this word from doing Xword.

56D: Stock phrase: NO-PAR

57D: Caribbean nation: GRENADA. Interesting, they speak English there. I thought Spanish is their official language.

64D: Tangle up: ENMESH

65D: Intravenous solution: SALINE

74D: Schubert vocal work: ART SONG. Schubert composed many Lied, German for ART SONG.

76D: First in a series: ALPHA. Greek alphabet series I presume.

78D: Think piece: ESSAY. Strange clue. Is "think" here a noun?

83D: Classic toothpaste: IPANA. Here is an old IPANA commercial.

88D: Parents: FOLKS

96D: "Sands of Iwo Jima" costar: JOHN AGAR. No idea. Wikipedia says he was Shirley Temple's first husband.

97D: Unveil, in poems: OPE. Poetic open.

98D: T. __: REX

101D: Can't abide: DETESTS

105D: Simple card game: GO FISH. No idea. Shouldn't the name be GO FISHING then?

107D: "Sit!": PARK IT

108D: "Am I the only one?:": IS IT ME

110D: State of Grace?: MONACO. Grace is capitalized, referring to Grace Kelly.

112D: First to stab Caesar: CASCA. I just knew it's not Brutus.

113D: Cores: PITHS

116D: "__ time": Hemingway work: IN OUR. Got the answer from Down fills.

118D: Wall St. "500": S AND P. S &P 500 index.

119D: "Do __ to eat a peach": Eliot: I DARE. Have to thank Clear Ayes for the answer. For those who only solve LAT Sunday puzzle, don't miss Down the Aisle video Clear Ayes linked a few days ago.

121D: Korean border river: YALU. China/Korea border river. A rare gimme river for me.

123D: Ancient Dead Sea land: EDOM. Learned from doing Xword.

126D: Sixth Greek letter: ZETA

127D: "__ Tu": 1974 hit: ERES. "ERES Tu" is literally "You Are" in Spanish.

129D: Tot's need, often: TLC. Again, no abbreviation hint in the clue. I thought of NAP.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday April 10, 2009 Nora Pearlstone

Theme: The 5K

18A: Sightseeing at The Steppes?: STARK GAZING (Star Gazing)

24A: Dogs' communication systems?: BARK CODE (Bar Code)

39A: Creative executive compensation techniques?: PERK FORMING ARTS (Performing Arts)

51A: Price for the village green?: PARK VALUE (Par Value)

62A: Ones who never know what to use for their salad?: FORK DUMMIES (For Dummies)

Ah, finally an offering from our editor Rich Norris himself. Nora Pearlstone is his alias name, anagram of "Not a real person". Of this list, I like Gia Christian the most (anagram of "Again, it's Rich"). How about you?

It seems that every Friday we have a wordplay puzzle. On March 27, it's PRE prefix. Then last Friday we had an IR-RI-tating IR to RI transformation grid.

Hard struggle this morning. I think I can only handle Monday to Wednesday LA Times. Lots of wite-out. I wrote down RABIN for 3D: Co-Nobelist Arafat (YASIR) immediately. And I thought I was smart. Then I did not know "What's up?" (1A: SKY). What a simple yet tricky clue! Can you picture the V-8 prints on my forehead?

Besides SKY, I also love the clue for NON (30D: Nice way to beg off?). Nice refers to the French city. Can you think of a better way to clue QUA (14A: Sine __ non)? I know one is Latin, one is French, but I still don't like the repetition.

Across:

4A: It may be split at lunch: THE TAB. Nice to see THE as part of an answer.

10A: Big name in shoes: MCAN. Learned several months ago that the brand was named after some Scottish golfer named Thomas McCann. Rory McIlroy, the next Tiger Woods (or possibly just a Sergio Garcia as Lemonade said), shot 72 yesterday. I think he is a more exciting RORY clue than "Golfer Sabbatini".

15A: "L.A. Law" co-creator: BOCHCO (Steven). Unknown to me. Wikipedia says he is also the co-creator of "Hill Streets Blue" & "N.Y.P.D. Blue". His teeth look fake.

17A: Young __: UNS. Is this L'il Abner talk?

20A: Medical suffix: ITIS

23A: Stand at attention: SNAP TO

27A: Wall St. trader: ARB (Arbitrager). What exactly is a arbitrager? Is he part of the hedge fund mess?

28A: Final: Abbr.: ULT

29A: Close-at-hand: IN STORE

33A: Point of view: ANGLE. Slant has 5 letters too.

36A: Cádiz cat: GATO. No idea. It's CHAT in French. I don't speak Spanish. Cat in Chinese is MAO, same spelling but different tone than the Mao in Mao Ze-dong. Mandarin Chinese has 4 tones: flat, rising, falling then rising, and falling.

38A: '50 campaign monogram: AES. Ah, just mentioned yesterday that the E stands for Ewing. He did have an affair with Lauren Bacall, didn't he?

43A: Stowe girl: EVA. I forgot. Saw this clue before. The girl in "Uncle Tom's Cabin".

44A: Hurt: PAIN. And THROE (7D: Severe pang).

45A: Healthy-looking: RUDDY. Ruddy? I really think Rory McIlroy looks like Tony Blair.

46A: Cow country sights: RANCHES

49A: Crooner's asset: EAR

50A: Soft & __: deodorant: DRI. I wonder who will be the first constructor to clue DRI as "Female yak".

57A: Increasing: UPPING

60A: Certain presentee: DEB. Tough one for me. The surrounds provided me with no help.

61A: Old Mercury model: LYNX. No idea. How old? Our local WNBA team is called Minnesota LYNX.

65A: Cool air feature: NIP

66A: Swing era bandleader Cates: OPIE. Which one is he? The only OPIE I know is the "Mayberry boy".

67A: Egyptian god: AMEN RA. Or AMUN RA. See the upper left corner hieroglyph. I am used to seeing only the single AMEN/AMUN. Did anyone think of Osiris?

68A: Windy City "L" runner: CTA (Chicago Transit Authority). This *TA ofen stumps me.

69A: Steamy: SEXY. And GRASP (36D: Get). Is this S & S, G & G repetition on purpose? Does it make the fill peppy in your view?

70A: __ à trois: MENAGE. Reminded me of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". What popped into your mind?

71A: Angry, with "up": HET. Crossword word. I've never used this phrase in my daily conversation.

Down:

1D: Witticism: SQUIB. New definition of SQUIB to me. I wanted BON MOT, but it did not fit.

2D: "Roots" hero: KUNTA. I saw one episode when KUNTA Kinte said the grits/dummy. Can't remember the exact lines.

4D: "Very funny" station: TBS. "We know drama" is TNT.

5D: Family-style Asian dish: HOT POT. Very popular winter food in China. The funny thing is that people seldom make HOT POT at home. Too much work.

6D: American Greetings "mailing": E-CARD

8D: Disgusted cry: ACK. I often use Ugh.

9D: Soft spots: BOGS. Another tricky clue. The swampy BOGS are indeed soft.

10D: Haydn contemporary: MOZART. Pure guess. I don't know those two are contemporaries.

11D: Medical office accessory: CLIP BOARD. Did not come to me immediately.

12D: Isn't wrong?: AIN'T. I like this clue.

13D: Canceled: NO-GO

19D: Literary miscellanea: ANAS

21D: Move stealthily: SKULK

25D: Pitch indicator: CLEF. The musical staff. Not baseball.

26D: Nonviolent protest: SIT-IN. Tiananmen Square Incident started with peaceful mass SIT-IN.

31D: Like Gen. Schwarzkopf: RETD. Oh, I have a question: Can you un-retire a general? For example, can General Shinseki be reinstalled into his previous Chief of Staff of Army post, since he was forced to retire?

32D: Swedish actress Persson: ESSY. No idea. I tried, Google asked me "Did you mean Person Essay"? Only one line entry in Wikipedia. So I guess she is not that famous.

33D: Imitator: APER. Another crossword word.

34D: St. Petersburg's river: NEVA. It's clued as "River to the Gulf of Finland" last time. Wikipedia says it's the third largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge, after the Volga and Danube.

35D: Formula One race: GRAND PRIX

37D: Chartres chum: AMI. Another alliteration. See this tiny map. Chartres is to the southwest of Paris. Unknown to me.

40D: "I __ you liked your drink", sez Gunga Din": 'OPE. Was this a gimme to you? I've never heard of this Rudyard Kipling poem.

41D: Attractive force: Abbr.: GRAV. Gravity.

42D: Kind of comprehension: AURAL. No idea. The only "Kind of comprehension" I am familiar with is reading.

47D: "Holy cow": CRIKEY

48D: Rear: HIND

49D: "La Dolce Vita" actress: EKBERG (Anita). Sigh, I could only picture how she looks in the movie. Could not remember her name.

52D: Pitch specialists?: AD MEN. Great clue.

53D: Madrid monarch: REINA. Spanish for queen. REY is king.

54D: "Mulholland Drive" director: LYNCH (David). He often talks about Transcental Meditation and the incredible "bliss" the practice brings to him. I tried once, and I simply could not concentrate.

55D: Get together: UNITE

56D: Politcal outcast: EXPAT. Really? I am a Chinese EXPAT living in the US, but I am not a "Political outcast".

57D: Sci-fi hoverers: UFOS

58D: Castel Gandolfo resident: POPE. Had no idea that Castel Gandolfo is the summer residence of the POPE. Wikipedia says it's 30km south-east of Rome.

59D: Largest of the Marianas: GUAM. "Where America's Day Begins".

63D: Fr. title: MME. "Sp. title" equivalent is SRA. I penned in STE first.

64D: MS. enclosure: SAE (Self-addressed Envelope). Baseball players will not sign your cards if you don't enclose a SAE. Politicians don't care. I guess their postage is paid by the taxpayers.

Answer Grid.

C.C.