google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Norma Steinberg

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Showing posts with label Norma Steinberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Norma Steinberg. Show all posts

Jul 25, 2008

Friday July 25, 2008 Norma Steinberg

Theme: “Clothing Closures"

17A: Kind of cookie: GINGER SNAP

61A: Michale J. Fox sitcom: FAMILY TIES

10D: Navel: BELLY BUTTON

24D: Peter Pan's arch enemy: CAPTAIN HOOK

Yawner, yawner, yawner! Too many crosswordese, hard for me to get excited about.

TLC (63D: Gentle treatment) needs a "Briefly" in the clue. And ERAS (29D: Important periods) needs to be changed to "Pitchers' stats" or something else because of the answer PERIOD (46A: Full stop).

Not a bad theme idea, but why TIES (61A) is in plural form while the other theme answers are all in singular form? Where is the consistency?

Across:

10A: Huffed and puffed: BLEW. "Boy you really BLEW my mind..., I think I'm in love with you. I been doin' silly things when it comes to you..." Lovely lyrics. Do you like Jessica Simpson? My favorite Jessica song is "I Wanna Love You Forever".

14A: Likeness: IMAGE. "Behavior is a mirror in which every one displays his IMAGE", so true.

24A: Today's OSS: CIA. Have you seen Robert De Niro/Matt Damon's "The Good Shepherd"? It's indeed "The Godfather of CIA movies".

25A: Gardner's Mason: PERRY. ERLE Stanley Gardner.

26A: Truth, vis-a-vis fiction?: STRANGER. Good clue. Truth is STRANGER than fiction. Only learned this morning that this saying comes from Byron's poem "Don Juan".

35A: "East of Eden" twin: ARON. No idea. I got it from down fills.

37A: Actress Irene: DUNNE. Learned from doing Xword. I've never seen any of her movies.

41A: Ensnare: TRAP. And 5D: Catch by persistence: REEL IN

48A: Offered sympathy to: CONSOLED. I penned in CONDOLED first.

53A: You go girl!: RIGHT ON. Are they really interchangeable?

57A: AKA's commerce cousin: DBA (Doing Business As). No, I've never heard of it. Where will you see this acronym?

67A: Unassuming: MEEK. I don't think they are synonyms, do you?

Down:

1D: Way up: HIGH. Hmm, does this clue/answer bring to your mind U2's Mysterious Way: "...If you want to kiss the sky. Better learn how to kneel. On your knees boy..."

9D: Documents: PAPERS. PAPER CLIP would be a great theme answer too.

23D: 2005 MVP: AROD. Ah, Madonna, Lenny Kratz, what a SNAFU (51D: Major glitch).

26D: Throw out: SCRAP. Saw it clued as "Deep-Six" before. Six is a very interesting number, esp in Swedish & Latin languages.

25D: Grocery section: PRODUCE. The precious MOREL is placed at the PRODUCE section in our local grocery store.

43D: Lampblack: SOOT. Thought of Santa and his chimney.

47D: Clumsy clod: DOOFUS

49D: Accept a proposal: SAY YES. Why not?

56D: Yearn to see again: MISS. "How can I MISS you if you don't go away?"

58D: ___ around the block: BEEN. I've never heard of this idiom before.

C.C.

Jun 23, 2008

Monday June 23, 2008 Norma Steinberg

Theme: Happy OWER

17A: Prenatal party: BABY SHOWER

60A: Big name on D-Day: EISENHOWER

10A: Chicago skyscraper: SEARS TOWER

30D: Alternate energy source: SOLAR POWER

Don't forget BOWER, COWER, FLOWER and GLOWER.

This is definitely a Norma Steinberg puzzle. With a couple of baseball references:

31A: ERA or RBI: STAT

1D: Ty of the Tigers: COBB. The "Georgia Peach". The first crop of HOFers.

I suspect that our editor tinkered with the lower right corner. I don't believe that Ms. Steinberg would have missed the opportunity to clue 55D: HOME (55D: Residence) & AWAY (56D: Not in residence) as baseball related. "White House abbr." would be a perfectly fine clue for PRES (58D: White House res.). What's the obsession with "Res*" clues this morning?

Lots of sports terms in today's grid:

25A: Improbably victories: UPSETS

33A: In direct confrontation: TOE-TO-TOE

43A: Plies a broom: SWEEP. The crossing of SWEEP, EAST (36D: Vane heading) and WITCH (44D: Coven member) reminded me of the "Wicked WITCH of the WEST" and her broom.

54A: Title holder: CHAMP

59A: Be windy: BLOW. "Totally botch"!

62A: Zero in Tennis: LOVE

2D: Track shape: OVAL

8D: Level: EVEN

27D: Olympics sled: LUGE. Since 1964.

38D: Ready for business: OPEN

All in all, a very easy but forgettable puzzle.

ACROSS:

5A: Fall flower: ASTER. Beautiful. ASTER comes from the Greek "astron", meaning "star".

10A: Pacifying offers: SOPS. Payoffs.

14A: Egg: OVUM. I dislike OVUM intersecting the Egg-shaped OVAL (2A: Track shape).

15A: What push comes to: SHOVE. Great clue. Idiom: "When push comes to shove".

20A: Sanctified: BLEST

23A: Grown elvers: EELS. Only learned this morning that "elver" is also called "glass eel", "so called because it is nearly transparent at an early stage". I want those two Unagi rolls in the middle.

27A: Unties: LOOSENS

32A: Maintain: UPHOLD

37A: Earth sci.: GEOL (Geology). The Geology term "CONNATE", clued as "Like fluids trapped in rocks", stumped me big on Sunday's puzzle.

40A: Augmented: ENHANCED

46A: Word to describe Snow White: FAIREST. Dislike its crossing with FINEST (46D: Best there is).

47A: One of the Magi.: CASPAR. Or Reagan's Secretary of Defense Weinberger.

52A: Scale drawing: PLAN And 12D: Factory: PLANT. I know they are of different roots, but they just look so uncomfortable with each other in one grid.

63A: French cup: TASSE. Annoying ASS intersection with 50D: Will Roger's prop: LASSO

66A: Didst slap: SMOTE. Good archaic clue.

DOWN:

3D: Service station job?: LUBE. Why question mark? No need for it here!

4D: Heckerling and Irving: AMYS. I was "Clueless" that Heckerling directed "Look Who's Talking".

6D: Shallow waters: SHOALS. Or Schools of fish.

7D: Hamlet's kin: TOWNS. Shouldn't the clue be "Hamlets' kin"?

18D: Pittsburgh product: STEEL. Have you READ (45D: Enjoy a novel) Danielle STEEL's Five Days in Paris?

26D: One way to stand: PAT. Stand PAT.

47D: Knitting stitch: CABLE. I know the pattern, I just had no idea that it's called CABLE-knitting. This reminds me of ARGYLE, the Scots style socks knitting pattern.

49D: Potbelly: STOVE

53D: Neeson of "Nell": LIAM. I've never seen "Nell", often clued as "Jodie Foster movie" by our editor. LIAM Neeson is so good as Oskar in "Schindler's List". I tend to confuse him with his co-star Ralph Fiennes, who played Amon Göth (the Nazi concentration camp commandant) in the movie. Fiennes is just brilliant in "The English Patient". But his wondering EYES (68A: Checks out) obviously soared miles too high.

C.C.

Jun 11, 2008

Wednesday June 11, 2008 Norma Steinberg

Theme: That is to "SAY"

21A: Prohibition hot spots: SPEAKEASIES

56A: Ten items or less, e.g.: EXPRESS LINE

3D: Utah seagull, e.g.: STATE BIRD

36D: Limbaugh's milieu: TALK RADIO

And an "Animal World" sub-theme:

26A: Baby fox: KIT. Ha ha, our fellow solver KIT simply adores David Cook to pieces!

63A: Loathsome person: TOAD

66A: Pooch pest: FLEA. Would prefer the clue to be "Pooch biter" due to PESTER (48D: Annoy).

1D: Stand up to: BUCK

3D: Utah seagull, e.g.: STATE BIRD

10D: Bullwinkle, e.g.: MOOSE

25D: Peruvian grazer: LLAMA

27D: "Memory" musical: CATS

30D: Woolly moms: EWES

And don't forget the 2 animals in th clues for ORGE (16A: Shrek) and EAGER (40A: Like a beaver?). The clues for GRIND (68A: Pulverize) can be reworded as "Rat race" and LASSIE (5A: Highland miss) can be rephrased as "Timmy's dog".

Looks like our old Wednesday constructor Philip J. Anderson has been sent to EXILE (52D: Napoleon's punishment). Have not seen his work in a month. The difficulty level of the Wednesday puzzle remains the same though, very doable (sans googling). I still think Wednesday is the easiest, and Thursday is the most boring.

Quite a few SS in the grid: LASSIE, ASSETS, MESSY EXPRESS, PASSÉ. But they don't bother me much. I kind of like today's grid structure and fills, no ARCH style obscure words or old TV/movie names to frustrate me. It's "like the ocean under the moon...", so smooth, Carlos Santana style!

ACROSS:

6A: Pay stub abbr.: FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act)

14A: Above and beyond: ULTRA. Do you like the Fleer ULTRA brand? I don't think I've seen 2008 yet.

17A: School session: CLASS. And 39A: School duration: TERM

24A: Inventor Howe: ELIAS. Or Walter ____ Disney.

26A: All the rage: TRENDY. And 22D: So last year: PASSÉ. Speedy In and Out!

27A: Bridge suspenders?: CABLES. Good one.

34A: Stopped slouching: SAT UP. Several actions in this puzzle. See 70A: Stand on hind legs: REAR. And don't forget the clue for BUCK (1D: Stand up to).

43A: Martyr of Egypt: SADAT. Yes, please stop calling those terrorists as "martyrs"and their cause as "Jihad". Don't unwittingly glorify them.

46A: Gymnast Korbut: OLGA. And 64A: Gymnast Comaneci: NADIA

49A: IOU: MARKER

55A: Kind of story or girl: COVER. COVERGirl is also a cosmetics brand of course. Easy, Breezy, Beautiful, CoverGirl. Drew Barrymore is their new face now.

DOWN:

6D: Lines of marchers: FILES. This word "marchers" always reminds me of "The March of the Penguins" and Mumble ("Happy Feet").

8D: Bop on the bean: CONK

12D: Riled: IRKED. And 48D: Annoy: PESTER. What happened? Why are you so SORE (57D: Painful joint) this morning?

33D: Conceal in one's hand: PALM. Oh, I want these PALM dates, to go with my PEAR (38D: Bosc or Barlett) and my CIDER (55D: Apple drink). You can have the BASIL (1A: Pesto herb). I don't like it.

41D: Actor Novarro: RAMÓN. Unknown to me. Strung his name together from the across fills. RAMÓN is Martin Sheen's real first name.

50D: Get even for: AVENGE. What's the difference between AVENGE and revenge?

54D: Elite: CREAM. Eric Clapton fans probably know all about the Cream.

Finally 2D: Popular diet pill: ALLI. I've never heard of it. I am in "the Zone". Love Sheryl Crow's "ALL I Wanna Do". "ALL I wanna do is have some fun, I got a feeling I'm not the only one...". Enjoy!

C.C.

Jun 3, 2008

Tuesday June 3, 2008 Norma Steinberg

Theme: It appears that...

17A: Don't know for sure, but...: SO THEY SAY

56A: Don't quote me, but...: THE WORD IS

11D: According to the grapevine...: REPORTEDLY

28D: From people in the know...: RUMOR HAS IT

Well, "What happened" to Scott McClellan? If ONLY (63A: Were it not that) his conscience had ached years earlier! But it's NICE (23D: Pleasant) to HEAR (38D: Get wind of) his insider's story. At least, it VALIDATES (34D: Corroborates) what Paul O'Neil/Richard Clarke have been saying all along. Hello, are you there General Powell? Now that McClellan has come clean, when will you SET yourself FREE (40D: Release)?

Easy breeze this morning, no obscure word or any stumbling block. This puzzle does not feel like Norma Steinberg's though. There is no baseball reference and her puzzles always appear on Wednesdays now.

ACROSS:

1A: What follows function: FORM. Stumped immediately. Would've not got it without the down clues. Does this refer to the architectural term "FORM follows function" or what?

14A: Flapjack chain: IHOP (International House of Pancakes). IHOP does not have any branch in Asia/Europe, neither does their subsidiary Applebee's I believe. So it might be tough for our fellow solvers there.

19A: Money in Madras: RUPEE. I've never heard of Madras. Dictionary says it's a former name of current Indian state Tamil Nadu or its capital Chennai. Why use an old name for clue then? For alliteration purpose?

20A: LBJ's V. P.: HHH (Hubert Horatio Humphrey). Twins play at the HHH Metrodome. Another MN reference: 21A: Ducklike birds: LOONS. Our State birds.

24A: ___ sanctum: INNER

29A: Gulf War missile: SCUD

34A: Salome's costume: VEILS. And the EMIR (43A: Abu Dhabi ruler) always wear kaffiyeh.

36A: Eternal city: ROME. And 2 more Italy references: 16A: Fountain for wishes: TREVI and 37A: Venetian byway: CANAL.

41A: Misrepresent: BELIE

48A: Babushka: SCARF. These babushkas look pretty.

60A: Coarse seaweed: KELP. Perfect clue. KELP (Kombu in Japanese) is indeed very grainy and coarse. It's the vegetarian source of dashi soup (miso base). Not my favorite. I love nori. You can get both from EDEN (52D: Adam's address) Foods (the oldest natural food company in the US). The clue for 10D: Coarse (CRUDE) could have been reworded to something sweet to avoid the double appearance of "Coarse" and misguide solvers, you know, like sweet CRUDE oil.

55A: Proverbial weeper: LOSER. This clue reminds me of the "Mythical crier' (NIOBE) we had awhile ago.

59A: "___ kleine Nachtmusik": EINE. Für Lois.

DOWN:

5D: Exit: WAY OUT. Just learned that WAY-OUT means "Exotic or esoteric in character". Interesting how a dash can completely change the meaning of a phrase.

9D: Maroons: STRANDS. Tell me what three items you would like to have if you were STRANDED on a deserted island.

13D: Comportment: MIEN. Can never forget this gritty MIEN of the Marboro Man. A Marine.

27D: Old battle-ax: CRONE. I had no idea that "battle-ax" is slang for aggressive old woman. I thought it was a kind of antiqued weapon.

29D: Man of La Mancha: SEÑOR. Hmm, very interesting. "Man of La Mancha" is also the name of a musical which won 5 Tony Awards in 1965. Peter O'Toole and Sophie Loren starred in the film version. OK, if you see O'TOOLE clued as "Man of La Mancha"? in the future, remember you first see it here.

31D: Clarinetist Shaw: ARTIE. Lady Be Good!

26D: Thong: STRAP. The flip-flop. Is the G-String Thong too much for you?

41D: Popeye's nemesis: BLUTO. "So you don't like spinach?"

46D: Looks ___ everything: AREN'T. Is that so, Aishwarya Rai? Would you accept 30M RUPEES for a film in Hollywood?

48D: Oscar Madison, for one: SLOB. I did not know who Oscar Madison was, again, the across clues took care of it.

53D: Humorist Rogers: WILL. He said "RUMOR travels faster, but it don't stay put as long as truth." Something for you to distort and QUIP, Mr. Alan P. Olschwang!

C.C.

May 21, 2008

Wednesday May 21, 2008 Norma Steinberg

Theme: R/L FLIP

17A: Expert in pendants?: LOCKET SCIENTIST (ROCKET SCIENTIST)

35A: Connecticut town's hairless populace?: THE BALD OF AVON (THE BARD OF AVON)

52A: Cohorts on the run?: FLEE ASSOCIATION (FREE ASSOCIATION)

Looks like our old Wednesday constructor Philip J. Anderson was sent into exile. Have not seen him for a month. I like this new IT girl constructor Norma Steinberg though. I sense that she loves baseball as she tends to sprinkle a few baseball words/phrases in her puzzles.

Not much to say about today's grid. I aced it in 20 minutes, so I expect to see quite a few 5-minute records today.

ACROSS:

4A: Rendezvous: TRYST

15A: Gary Burghoff role: RADAR

16A: Clown's shtick: ANTIC

21A: Schmeer platform: BAGEL. Hmm, shtick, schmeer, why not clue SAP (1A: Easy mark) as Schnook then?

23A: Skinflints: MISERS

32A: One of HOMES: HURON

38A: Singer Richie: LIONEL. Hello, is it me you are looking for?

40A: Samovars: URNS. Didn't we see SAMOVAR clued as "Russian urn" before?

42A: __ de deux: PAS. Literally "step for two". PAS Seul (solo), PAS de trois, etc.

45A: Logical start: GEO. (Update later: Sorry about the NEO mistake earlier.)

51A: String quartet member: CELLO. A bit of Yo-Yo Ma for you.

61A: Remote control aircraft: DRONE

DOWN:

2D: Dreamboat: ADONIS. Here is J. W. Waterhouse's The Awakening of ADONIS. I adore his The Lady of Shalott.

3D: Keep for oneself: POCKET

9D: Hanger calls: PANGS. Have some SALADS then (1D: Caesar and Waldorf)

11D: Short dagger: STILETTO. This is a picture from the STILETTO Run in Amsterdam in early March. Winner got $15K.

12D: McCourt title: 'TIS. Frank McCourt's memoir. What does 'TIS stand for? THIS?

18D: Dutch carrier's letters: KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij). Royal Dutch Airlines. It's merged with Air France in 2004. I've only used SAS.

23D: Fable's lesson: MORAL. Hmm, Freud is right, men are more moral than they think and far more immoral than they can imagine.

24D: Worshiped one: IDOL. Here is David Cook's "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"

25D: Mails, as a tax return: SENDS IN. And 28D: Tax agcy: IRS

36D: Those receiving awards: HONOREES. OK if not for 48D: Nov. honoree: VET. "Animal doc" would be better.

38D: Loutish fellow: LUG. And 46D: Brutal person: BEAST. Luckily we have ADONIS, otherwise, this would be a very cynical puzzle.

C.C.

May 14, 2008

Wednesday May 14, 2008 Norma Steinberg

Theme: SHACK UP

17A: Homemade goods for sale: COTTAGE INDUSTRY
35A: Expose: SHED LIGHT UPON
52A: Cadence count: HUT TWO THREE FOUR

This is a very SOLID (4A) puzzle: 3 SHACKS and 3 UPS. Did you find the 3 UP's in the theme? One is inside 35A: UPON, one is the intersection of 35A & 34D, but you have to look UP, the other one is the intersection of 17A & 9D, see the UP there?

This is the best TMS puzzle I've ever done. Here are my reasons:

1) ANAGRAM (25D: Letters written anew)

I like how ANAGRAM anchors the grid, and I am impressed that the constructor provides an example of an ANAGRAM in the puzzle: LIE (6D: Commit perjury) & ELI (45A: Yale student).

2) PUN (34D: Bits of wordplay)

I sure love this "SHACK UP" theme, don't you? After all, PUN is what our dysfunctional family are good at. Dizzying amounts of double entendre every day. But seriously, how many kinds of mushrooms exist in this world? Has anyone tried magic mushroom yet? Total bliss?

3) DENNIS (8D: Actor Quaid)

It makes me happy to see DENNIS being clued in the puzzle. I was stunned this morning when I played with DENNIS and found his name turned into SINNED if spelled backward. I was not aware of that before. Thank you for the ANAGRAM TIP (28D: Peach center: PIT) Ms. Steinberg.

4) Lion and Bear

I like the clues of 15A: Collection of lions: PRIDE & 16A: Kind of bear: POLAR. Add tiger please!

5) Direction

21A: North of Mexico: NORTE & 29A: Hrs. in Big Apple: EST (EST is French for EAST)

6) I like the appearance of both LIE (6D: Commit perjury) and YARNS (41A: Tall tales). And I like how YENTAS (41A: Gossips) intersects YARNS. Great to see both POTENT (3D: Packing a wallop) and MILD (40A: Temperate) in the same puzzle.

ACROSS:

9A: Rascal: SCAMP

23A: Symbol of servitude: CHAINS. I like how it intersects ANAGRAM.

30A: Cusack and Jett: JOANS. Know Cusack, not Jett.

32A: "Tell ___ I Love Her": LAURA. No idea. But it's inferable.

33A: Faucet: SPIGOT

38A: Daydreamed: MOONED. That's what you do when you are smitten with someone, isn't it? Look at this Randy Moss MOON that lighted up the Lambeau Field in 2005.

46A: Non-taxable: EXEMPT

49A: Ancient Greek sage: SOLON. Didn't he say "Know thyself"?

51A: Ipso ___: FACTO. Latin. "Literally by the deeds itself."

57A: Brookner or Baker: ANITA. Know Baker, have no idea who Brookner is.

60A: Duck hunter's lure: DECOY. I like these two hand painted DECOYS.

DOWN:

1D: __ pink (delight): TICKLE

2D: Beloved of Aphrodite: ADONIS. Aphrodite had way too many lovers. ADONIS, ARES (God of War), etc. EROS the love God was the son of Aphrodite and ARES. Anyway, he is a real ADONIS.

9D: Eggs on: SPURS. I impulsively filled in URGES first.

11D: Second self: ALTER EGO

13D: Snoop: PRY

23D: Just might: COULD

25D: Letters written anew: ANAGRAM. If you break the word ANAGRAM itself, you will find MAN (59A: Homo sapiens), and MAR (12D: Damage) in the grid as well. Very interesting.

30D: Green stone: JADE. Doesn't JADE mean "adulteress" also?

36D: Of the whole: HOLISTIC. I think I like "Kind of medicine" clue. "Whole" and "ho" are too similar in pronunciation.

37D: Kind of seal: HARP. Look at this cute baby HARP seal. My favorite Seal, however, is him.

38D: Parisian Mrs. MME (Madame). Another French word: 53D: One for Paulette: UNE. So here we 1, 2, 3, 4 in one puzzle, with UNE crossing 2, 3, 4, good stuff, isn't it?

44D: Embellishes: ADORNS

46D: Former Bronco QB: ELWAY (John). I think we still have this issue of Sports Illustrated when he was inducted into HOF. I like jersey #7. Twins' catcher Joe Mauer also wears #7.

47D: Losing tic-tac-toe line: XOO

C.C. (204)

May 7, 2008

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 Norma Steinberg

Theme: BASEBALL JARGON

17A: Cosmetics biz?: MAKE-UP GAME

61A: Where picketers march?: STRIKE ZONE

10D: Hugging?: SQUEEZE PLAY

24D: Pedestal with casters?: BASE ON BALLS

A stunner, isn't it? What an ingenious idea to place SODAS (POPS, 39A: Fizzy drinks) at the very center of the grid. This is definitely not a Pop-up, or a Pop foul, it's a dazzling Chase Utley style home run POP!

And BEERS (58A: Brew-skis:), BOW (57A: Respond to applause), WINCE (66A: Cringe), SPEED (69A: Exceed the limit), NINE (56D: Supreme Court count), IRON (65A: Laundry room appliance. Lou Gehrig the "Iron Horse" or, Cal Ripken Jr. the "Iron Man", thank you Drdad and Kim), all baseball related. Gorgeous! Take me out to the ball park please!

It would be perfect if QUAD (16A: Campus heart) were clued as _ Cities River Bandits (Midwest League, class A), and EAST (12A: Vane heading) were clued as American/National League ___.

No need to call Mr. Google this morning. However, I did have about 10 minutes of nervous flirting with our Quest support guy in Idaho earlier. He was literally dreamy. Our DSL light kept blinking and I could not get access to the internet. Somehow I hit the wrong switch button, and the damned modem would not work. So be prepared. I might experience this glitch again and the blog entry might not be always published at the normal time.

ACROSS:

1A: Soggy: MOIST

14A: Kind of tube or ear: INNER

15A: Amo, ams, __: AMAT. I have a question regarding "Veni, vidi, vici". How do you say "I came, I saw and I did not conquer" in Latin?

21A: Those guys in Paris: ILS. Hmm, definitely not my type. Instrument Landing System (ILS) looks more appealing to me now.

22A: For all __ and purpose: INTENTS

24A: Big inits. in camping: BSA (Boy Scouts of America). Also, 28D: Camp shelters (TENTS).

25A: Milk of Managua: LECHE. Spanish for milk. I had no idea, I pieced this word together from down clues.

26A: Health food store purchase: VITAMIN E. I like NUTS for snacks, so no need for Vitamin E supplements. See also PILL (64A: Medicinal tablet).

30A: Source of danger: HAZARD

42A: Dragged behind: IN TOW

44A: Close: NIGH. Do you use this word in your daily conversation?

45A: Fibs: LIES. Oh, how I want a STEAL, Ichiro style!

46A: Mickey Mouse man: DISNEY

48A: Store's gross less expenses: NET SALES

53A: Backslide: RELAPSE. I like the SLIDE in the clue.

56A: A. T. M. maker: N.C.R.

DOWNS:

3D: Printer's purchase: INKS. And Print measure: ENS

5D: Statement of the obvious: TRUISM. I like Colbert's TRUTHINESS.

13D: Hand-held computers: PDAS (Personal Digital Assistant)

18D: Great topography: PLAINS

25D: Introductions: LEAD-INS. (Update: LEAD is a baseball reference too.)

26D: Legitimate: VALID

27D: Qom resident: IRANI. Why not bring out the "Quds Force" in play?

32D: Ms. Zellweger: RENEE. I like her in Cold Mountain only.

40D: Bit of clowning: SHTICK. My favorite clue.

47D: Response to a superior: YES SIR

49D: Threaded nails: SCREWS. NO comment!

51D: So out it's in: RETRO. Like this clue.

55D: Hang loose: LOLL. This is the "LOLL" I am familiar with, not yesterday's "Kicks back" clue.

57D: Mother Hubbard's quest: BONE. I had no idea who Mother Hubbard was, got it from across clues. I don't know anything about nursery rhyme.

59D: Garden crasher: WEED. Great clue.

62D: Singer Stewart: ROD. Have I told You Lately That I Love YOU?

63D: Postal code: ZIP. I like the appearance of both Z and Q in today's puzzle. Very zippy, isn't it? Does ZQ remind you of someone?

C. C.