Monday April 27, 2009 Pancho Harrison

Theme: What a Slugger!

17A: One who's at home on the range: COWPUNCHER

57A: Noisy eater: LIP SMACKER

10D: Oater villain who attacks from hiding: BUSHWHACKER

25A: Girl idolizing a pop star, perhaps: TEENYBOPPER

I did not know BOP can mean "strike/hit" too. TEENYBOPPER was not a familiar phrase to me. Nor did I know COWPUNCHER is simply a slang for cowboy.

Read a few pages of Molly Irvins's "Bushwhacked" several summers' ago. But I had never bothered to check what's the exact meaning of bushwhack. Wikipedia says one the most famous men who fought as a BUSHWHACKER was Jesse James. LIP SMACKER is a lip gloss brand too.

Plus BOOT HILL (28A: Gunfighters' graveyard) and NRA (55A: Org. that sticks to its guns?), this puzzle has some force!

Several affixes in today's grid: RESOD (64: Patch the lawn, in a way), USER (16A: Manipulative sort), SUER (54A: Litigant), and WRESTLER (38D: Andre the Giant, e.g.). Andre the Giant is also the nickname of Vogue's Andre Leon Talley, the adviser on fashion to the Obama's. He introduced Jason Wu to Michelle Obama.

Just found out earlier that Pancho in Pancho Harrison means "free man" in Spanish. Not an easy Monday for me at all. I think I am in a slump.

Across:

1A: Big name in copiers: MITA. Xerox, Canon & Ricoh are big to me. I've never heard of MITA copier.

5A: Improvise on stage: AD-LIB. Always thought Obama is good at AD-LIB. Had no idea that he relies on teleprompter heavily.

10A: Yawn-inducing speaker: BORE. And its anagram BOER (21A: Transvaal settler). Transvaal means "beyond the Vaal River" in Afrikaans. Is two a's spelling also common in Dutch language?

15A: Gaucho's rope: RIATA. Or REATA, often clued as "Giant" ranch.

19A: Venetian blind part: SLAT. Once Williams clued SLAT as "Louvre part" and confused the hell out of me. I did not know louver can be spelled as louvre, so I kept thinking of the museum.

20A: Make haste: HIE. Used to mix HIE with FIE.

22A: Words after "Hi, honey!": I'M HOME

24A:Counting everything: ALL TOLD

26A: Crock-Pot potful: STEW. Winter is over, no more STEW or chili.

27A: Antiquity, once: ELD. Oh, I had the wrong notion that ELD is an old adjective meaning "old".

35A: Jean Auel's "The __ of the Cave Bear": CLAN. Sigh! I totally forgot about this book. Someone mentioned the Daryl Hannah (Ayla) movie before. I bet it's a gimme for Crockett. Jean Auel lives in Oregon.

36A: 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA. Here is the clip. I used to confuse the song with Verdi's AIDA.

40A: 1960s Cosby/Culp espionage series: I SPY. Learned the title I SPY from doing Xword. Sounds fun.

41A: Roger of "Cheers": REES. Nope. Not a familiar actor to me. He is a Welsh-American. He looks very cold.

42A: Do axels and lutzes: SKATE. Did not know the plural form of lutz is lutzes. What's the plural for Pez then? Pezes?

43A: Corned beef is usually ordered on it: RYE BREAD. What's the difference between RYE BREAD and Pumpernickel again? I am not fond of caraway seeds.

47A: Take back, as a public statement: RETRACT

51A: Fozzie Bear, e.g.: MUPPET. Fozzie Bear is new to me.

60A: Doily material: LACE. "Lingerie material" too.

62A: Queen played by Liz: CLEO. Have you tried Cleopatra's milk and honey bath?

63A: Norse thunder god: THOR. Thursday is named after him.

Down:

1D: Coffee-chocolate mix: MOCHA. Named after the Yemen port.

2D: How some tuna is packed: IN OIL

3D: Beach drier: TOWEL

4D: Dada pioneer Jean: ARP

8D: Suffix with Canaan: ITE. Suffix with Israel also.

9D: Voice between bass and tenor: BARITONE. Is Michael Bublé a BARITONE?

13D: Art Deco designer: ERTE. French pronunciation of his initials R. T. (Romain de Tirtoff).

18D: Horseshoe-shaped hardware: U-BOLT. I forgot what a U-BOLT is.

26D: Uses a hang glider: SOARS. Did not know what a hang glider is.

28D: Run, as colors in the wash: BLEED

32D: Light-skinned: FAIR. Filled in PALE first.

34D: Easy gait: LOPE. Wanted TROT.

35D: Use crib notes: CHEAT. Not familiar with "crib notes". I pictured notes written on baby's crib.

42D: Kama __: SUTRA. Kama is Hindu god of erotic desire. SUTRA is Hindu aphorism.

47D: Rene of "Tin Cup": RUSSO. She is an Italian-American. I thought she has Russian roots. "Tin Cup" is a good movie.

48D: Bracelet site: ANKLE. Not WRIST? What about anklet then?

51D: Ice cream drink: MALT. What's your daily beverage for dinner? I have a friend who drinks milk with his meal. Weird.

53D: Somewhat, in music: POCO. New word to me. ASSAI is "Very, in music". Both Italian are origins.

69D: IV amounts: CCS. Just had CCED the other day. Now I am waiting for CCING.

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Interview with Pancho Harrison

Pancho Harrison officially ushered us into the Rich Norris era 9 days ago.

His puzzles have appeared in LA Times, NY Times, NY Sun, Wall Street Journal and maybe some other newspapers/magazines that I am not aware of.

Today is only our second Harrison puzzle, but I am confident that we will see more of his creations in the future. Let's get to know him a bit.

Your name intrigued a few solvers on March 23 when your "Numeral Prefixes" puzzle appeared. What is your background and how did you develop an interest in crossword constructing?

I'm a musician, and was in jail for a short time for a traffic offense. I started doing crosswords in the newspapers that were lying around. I discovered that I was good at them, and got to wondering who was writing them. When I got out, I did some research and found a mentor to help me, and an editor who saw that I understood the basics. The rest is history.

How would you describe your puzzle style? What kind of themes/fills fascinate you?

Wordplay is my thing. I sell many different kinds of themes, but my forte is the pun.

Is it tougher to design a grid or cluing entries? And why?

Designing a grid is fun, usually. Cluing is more like data entry.

What puzzles do you solve every day? And which constructor's work gives you the most trouble?

When I have time, I do the NY Times in the local paper. On Fridays, I check out the Wall Street Journal and the Chronicle of Higher Education puzzles. As far as which constructor's work gives me the most trouble, I would have to say that I'm not looking for trouble! I'm looking for a challenging, rewarding crossword experience. The puzzles that bug me are the themeless Friday and Saturday puzzles that are just ego-projects for the constructor/editor. For me, they're just a waste of time. I have never written a themeless puzzle, and I never will.

What would people find one thing that's most surprising about you?

I'm smarter than I look, thank God. . .

Thank you, Mr. Harrison

Wednesday April 1, 2009 Pancho Harrison

Theme: April Fools' Day

20A: 2003 Katie Holmes film: PIECES OF APRIL

37A: 1965 film based on a Katherine Anne Porter novel: SHIP OF FOOLS

55A: 1962 WWII film: THE LONGEST DAY

Once again, none of the theme answers was gimme to me. But this puzzle felt much easier than yesterday's, probably because there are only 3 theme answers compared to yesterday's 5. I am curious to see how many theme answers will be in Pancho Harrison's next puzzle. His last "Numeral Prefix" has 3 entries also.

This culture handicap is so hard for me to overcome. I was surprised and intrigued that THE KINGMEN puzzle yesterday brought back sweet memories to so many of you. "Louie, Louie" really meant nothing to me.

WALL is the answer for 61A: Outfield border. And then "Wall St. deals" for 30D LBOS (Leveraged Buyouts). I don't know. Maybe you can think of a better way to clue LBOS. I can't think of anything. I could not even get the answer. All that popped into my mind is M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions).

Favorite clue: Pisa dough? for EURO (6D). So clever. Very well-kneaded. Now I can smell EURO from my oven.

"Barrel of A Pencil", the alias name of a fellow LA Times crossword solver, constructed a 21*21 puzzle and he would love to hear feedback from us. I've published a special post and hope you can give him your thought on his grid.

Across:

1A: Impetuous fervor: ELAN. I am used to the old "Distinctive flair" clue. Had no idea that ELAN has an "Impetuous" color.

9A: Not on the up and up: SHADY. Like The Talented Mr. Madoff. I still can't believe he was once the Nasdaq chairman.

15A: Dark purple: PUCE. I don't understand this one. What are PUCE stamps?

16A: "Flip This House" airer: A AND E. Big stumper. I wanted MSNBC. Hard for me to interpret A & E into A AND E. Have never heard of "Flip This House".

17A: Some dadaist art: ARPS (Jean/Hans). Dada founder. Hans is German for Jean, correct?

19A: Hardly sensitive: CRASS. Reminds me of Francis Heaney's CRASSWORD crossword.

23A: Leftovers covering: SARAN. "It's a wrap" in yesterday's clue. Do you know why Dow Chemical named this product SARAN? Google shows that SARAN is also girl's name, meaning "joy".

24A: "Bus Stop" playwright: INGE (William). He has become a gimme. Won Pulitzer for "Picnic".

25A: Robin Hood's wood: YEW. No idea. Only knew the Sherwood Forest. Google search shows that Robin Hood used a bow of YEW to win Maid Marion and they wed under a YEW tree.

31A: Carole start: ADESTE. "ADESTE Fideles". I would not have got the answer without the down fills. I know "Carol ending?" is INE.

42A: "The Girl From Ipanema" singer Gilberto: ASTRUD. Here is the clip. Someone mentioned on the blog last time that Sade has a certain ASTRUD Gilberto style.

43A: Composer Andrew Lloyd __: WEBBER. His brother is Julian Lloyd WEBBER the cellist.

45A: Clytemmestra's son: ORESTES. Alas, I forgot, the guy "The Three Furies" are chasing. He was clued as "Electra's brother" in our old puzzle 3 weeks ago. His father is Agamemnon. Interesting information from Wikipedia: "According to the myth, Zeus appeared to Leda in the form of a swan, raping and impregnating her. Leda produced four offspring from two eggs: Castor and Pullux from one egg, and Helen and Clytemnestra from the other." But then it continues: "Castor and Clytemnestra were fathered by Tyndareus whereas Pollux and Helen were fathered by Zeus". Sounds very conflicting, doesn't it?

50A: Prefix with skeleton: EXO. Opposite endoskeleton.

54A: Gear parts: TEETH. Of course, I fell to the trap and put S at the end of the blanks first.

62A: 5-point K, e.g.: TILE. Scrabble TILE. I like this clue.

65A: San __ Obispo, CA: LUIS. Sometimes it's clued as "Baseball Hall of Famer Aparicio". Can you believe he is still alive? Pulled an certified Aparicio autograph out of a Topps Heritage set once. Oh by the way, I heard that Topps is going to produce a set of "world's biggest hoaxes, hoodwinks and bamboozles" trading cards. Ponzi & Madoff are among those bad guys. Maybe Ken Lay too.

67A: First name in country: REBA. Not a fan of REBA McEntire or any country music. The tunes all sound so similar and repetitive.

Down:

2D: Dogie catcher: LARIAT. La reata. The REATA/RIATA.

4D: Pocono 500 group: NASCAR

8D: Sable or Impala: SEDAN. Good clue.

9D: Like some cows: SACRED. Does it refer to the exclamation "Holy cow!" or the Indian sacred cow?

10D: Spydom name: HARI (Mata). Bond does not fit.

11D: In-depth examination: ANALYSIS. Plural is analyses. It's embarrassing, but I often have difficulty spelling analysis & analyze. Actually I can't spell the word embarrassing itself. Thank God for the automatic spelling check.

12D: Oral surgeon's deg.: DDS (Doctor of Dental Science/Surgery). Barry Silk clued DDS as"License to drill?" in his Philly Tribute puzzle. I miss Barry puzzle, don't you?

21D: Listless feeling: ENNUI. And TEDIUM (47D: Monotony).

22D: Links org. sponsoring the FedEx Cup: PGA TOUR. Gimme for me. Stanford Finanical for LPGA. They'd better go back to ADT, given Allen Stanford's huge trouble. This guy should be put into Topps Ponzi card set too.

27D: Jazz guitarist Montgomery: WES. No idea. I know nothing about Jazz. He does not look like a musician. Now, Is WES a nickname for Lesley or Wesley?

34D: Young salamander: EFT. I learned this morning there are three stages in a newt's life: aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (EFT), and then adult. So technically, EFT does not live under water.

37D: Enemy agent's strategy: SABOTAGE. During Chinese Cultural Revolution, many people had to stop communications with their overseas relatives for fear of being accused of SABOTAGE crime.

39D: "Golden Boy" dramatist: ODETS (Clifford). Know his name, which was clued as "Waiting for Lefty" playwright on our March 15, 2009 puzzle. I have never heard of "Golden Boy" though.

46D: Agree out of court: SETTLE. This reminds me of "nolo contendere", a phrase I never really understand. Is it a "guilty" or "not guilty" plea?

48D: And others, in bibliographies: ET ALII (masculine plural). ET ALIA is neuter plural. ET ALIAE is feminine plural.

52D: Quasimodo's hangout: TOWER. Easy guess. Clear Ayes mentioned his unrequited love for some girl last time. I don't know where they hang out. Huge once said "Intelligence is the wife, imagination is the mistress, memory is the servant." So, who is more important to you, wife or mistress?

58D: Designer Schiaparelli: ELSA. OK, time to know this "Italian artist who made clothes" (said Coco Chanel). She brought fashion to the masses, the first person to introduce off-the-rack designer wear. Her works were heavily influenced by surrealist like Salvador Dali and her style was easy to copy. Her client includes Mae West, Katherine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich. Some article says that ELSA means "noble" in German, and it's derived from German name Elisabeth. Is it true, Kazie?

59D: Talk about sin, e.g.: Abbr.: SER. Love the clue. Reminds me of Celine Dion's "Let's Talk about Love".

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Monday March 23, 2009 Pancho Harrison

Theme: Latin Numeral Prefixes

20A: All-in-one home entertainment gadget: UNIVERSAL REMOTE

38A: Pact between two countries: BILATERAL TREATY

57A: Geometric solid with five faces, ironically: TRIANGULAR PRISM

Four is quadri/quadr, five is quinque/quinqu. The corresponding Greek prefixes are: mono (1), di (2), tri (3), tetra/tetr (4) and penta/pent (5). See this list.

TRIANGULAR PRISM is new to me. If it's "ironically", why don't they change the name to Quartangular Prism or Pentangular Prism? I wonder who originally coined the term.

I am glad we are given a Monday puzzle to start with. I was able to fill in lots of blanks with authority. No "Shock and Awe" or "Shock and Oh". Feels like a nice round on a Par 3 executive course at the beginning of the season.

However, the real shocker for me was to see Newsday puzzle (edited by Stan Newman) in our Star Tribune this morning. It's authored by Gail Grabowski. There is only a short 2-line announcement saying "Today's Newsday puzzle replaces the TMS Daily Crossword Puzzle, which is no longer available".

I hope you guys get LA Times puzzle. If not, you can always go to LA Times website and print out the puzzle. I won't blog Newsday.

Oh, Carol asked why this puzzle is titled "Card for Two" yesterday. I don't understand myself. Can you help us?

Across:

13A: Crime scene find: CLUE. Thought of GUNS immediately. But the CLUE clue is singular.

24A: Coin of the __: legal currency: REALM. New to me. So our coin of the REALM is U.S. dollar?

25A: Mt. Rushmore's state: S. DAK. Have never been there. Wikipedia says Mt. Rushmore was originally known to the Lakota Sioux as Six Grandfathers and was later renamed after Charles E. Rushmore, a prominent New York lawyer, during an expedition in 1885. I wonder why the sculptor did not carve 6 presidents initially.

27A: Intelligence, slangily: SMARTS. I was thinking of CIA/NSA style intelligence. But of course, I don't really know what their slang for intelligence is. Any idea?

34A: Colorful quartz: AGATE

37A: Durable wood: TEAK. And water-resistant, right? Since it's used to build ship. I've never seen TEAK timber in person, is it really oily?

42A: "___ Almighty", 2007 Steve Carell film: EVAN. Have heard of the film. Not interested.

43A: Where sailors go: TO SEA. Yeah, true. But I think they also like to go TO BARS.

53A: Pound's 16: OUNCES. My mind is clearly foggy this morning. I don't know. But I was thinking of Ezra Pound. Who knows, he might have written 16 famous poems/letters to someone I was not aware of. Or he could have 16 LOVERS, which also has 6 letters.

65A: Busybody: YENTA. The matchmaker in "Fiddler on the Roof" is called YENTE. And the Barbra Steisand film is named YENTL. Is this YENT some kind of Hebrew prefix?

66A: Exam for future Drs.: MCAT. (Medical College Admission Test). No idea. I thought it would be ?SAT like LSAT for "Exam for future attys".

68A: Netherworld river: STYX. Achilles' mom forgot to dip his heel here. Another Netherworld river is Lethe, the river of forgetfulness.

Down:

1D: Clean using elbow grease: SCRUB. I like this clue.

2D: 1985 Malkovich film: ELENI. I crossed the River Lethe on the name of this film. Saw identical clue somewhere before.

3D: See 10-Down: RUBIK. And ERNO (10D: With 3-Down, inventor of a puzzling cube). Reminds me of Will Smith playing RUBIK's cube in "The Pursuit of Happyness".

4D: "___ and Butt-head": MTV cartoon: BEAVIS. Obtained the answer from across fills.

9D: Fellow Dodger, e.g.: TEAMMATE. Ah, now we are solving LA Times puzzle. I expect plenty of Dodgers reference in the future.

29D: Westminster art gallery: TATE. Named after Henry TATE, a sugar tycoon & art collector.

30D: Terrier named for a Scottish isle: SKYE. And don't forget actress Ione SKYE. Really liked her role in "Say Anything" with John Cusack.

35D: Chinese way: TAO. Japanese corruption of our TAO is do. Judo is literally "Soft way". Kendo (Japanese fencing) is "Way of the sword".

39D: Like many Disney film: ANIMATED

40D: Bill Clinton's instrument: TENOR SAX. Or TENOR SEX to me, since there is no difference in my SAX and SEX pronunciations. I thought of SAXOPHONE first. But it did not fit.

41D: Incurred, as debts: RAN UP

51D: Saharan hills: DUNES

54D: Home of the NFL's Bengals, casually: CINCY. Not a football fun. Did not know where exactly is the home of the Bengals. It's rumored that Vikings are moving to LA.

55D: To be, in Tijuana: ESTAR. No idea. Don't speak Spanish. Only know "To be, in Paris" is ETRE. So how do you say "To be, or not to be" in Spanish?

56D: Clobber, in the Bible: SMITE. So smitten is "Awe-clobbered"?

57D: Uno plus dos: TRES. "The theme is mirrored in this clue and answer pair", according to Orange.

59D: "Picnic" Pulitzer winner: INGE (William). No waffling between INGE and AGEE this time due to the crossing clues. AGEE is "A Death in the Family" Putlizer winner. Also the co-screenwriter for "The African Queen". Oh, another crossword Pulitzer winner is ALBEE, who wrote "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf".

Full answer grid.

C.C.