Sunday July 22, 2012 Peter A. Collins

Theme: "Anemic Vérité" - Anemic is anagram of "Cinema", so "Cinéma Vérité". The first word of a well-known movie title is anagrammed. The title in LA Times' website is "Anemic Veriteacute". I suspect the software can't handle acute accent marks, hence "acute" at the end of the title.

23A. Film about the appliance supervisor at Sears? : RANGE MANAGEMENT. "Anger Management".

31A. Film about a small chicken that won't stay away? : BANTAM RETURNS. "Batman Returns".

48A. Film about a sculpture that defies description? : THING AT THE MUSEUM. "Night at the Museum".

63A. Film about a smooth-legged fellow? : NAIR MAN. "Rain Man". "K-mark sucks".

65A. Film about a deli specializing in heros? : SUB STOP. "Bus Stop". So we have two 7's as theme entries. I had thought the minimum letter count for Sunday theme is 8.

82A. Film about following a pack up a mountain? : ASCEND WITH WOLVES. "Dances with Wolves".

97A. Film about fans of confessional rock music who enjoy spicy food? : EMOS LIKE IT HOT. "Some Like It Hot".

110A. Film about a prince's affair with actress Fletcher? : HAMLET AND LOUISE. "Thelma & Louise".

Very tight theme. All popular movies. Not easy to come up with a set of theme entries that make perfect surface sense and entertain.

Love these two long Downs:

5D. Potential powerhouse not to be "awakened" : SLEEPING GIANT. Napoleon called China a "Sleeping giant". It's so true during the Opium Wars. Lots of people just smoked opium & slept and slept.

56D. It may decide an election : CROSSOVER VOTE. Only primary election, right?

Also love these theme "pitch" clechos (clue echos) from Peter/Rich:

29A. Inability to make good pitches? : TIN EAR. Question mark hints that it's not about baseball pitches.

62. Pitcher Jesse with a record 1,252 regular-season appearances : OROSCO. His last MLB appearance was with the Twins in 2003. He was actually drafted by the Twins.

69D. Pitcher's goal : SALES ORDER. I feel a question mark is needed in the clue.

112D. Pitcher's asset : ARM

Across:

1. Abbey denizens : MONKS. I always associate monks with Buddhism.

6. Bar lineup : BREWS

11. Black __: covert missions : OPS

14. Take for a spin? : TWIRL. Nice clue.

19. "The Tempest" spirit : ARIEL

20. Weird Al Yankovic spoof of a Michael Jackson hit : EAT IT. Not a Weird Al fan.

21. With 43-Across, cocktail made with Curaçao : MAI. And 43. See 21-Across : TAI.

22. Asian princess : RANEE. Dennis just mentioned the overwhelming poverty his wife Linda encountered during a private bus ride to Agra. She saw lots of tents, mud huts, etc.

26. Woodard of "Cross Creek" : ALFRE

27. Shelf-clearing sale : CLOSEOUT

28. Baltic capital : RIGA

30. Rover's reward : PAT

34. Milk: Pref. : LACTI

38. Volleys : SALVOES. Thought the plural is just SALVOS.

40. Make __ of: jot down : A NOTE

41. In need of liniment : ACHING

44. Lab medium : AGAR

45. Feature of a two-ltr. monogram : NMI (No Middle Initial). Hence the two word 84D. Still competing : IN IT. Instead of "Monogram ltr." INIT to avoid dupe.

53. Sent the same 97-Down to : CC'ed. And 97. Modern letter : EMAIL

54. Tributes : HOMAGES

55. More learned : WISER

56. "SNL" alum Oteri : CHERI

57. Gravy absorber : SOP

58. "Since __ Eyes on You": Faith Hill song : I LAID. Guessed.

61. It means nothing : ZERO

67. Well-harmonized : IN SYNC

70. La __ Tar Pits : BREA

72. Deli offerings : MEATS

73. Fed. property manager : GSA (General Services Administration). I thought it stands for Girl Scouts of America.

76. Prepare chestnuts : ROAST. I missed the freshly roasted chestnuts in Xi'An.

77. Inclined : ATILT

79. Less respectful : SASSIER

81. Not working : IDLE

86. Salem-to-Reno dir. : SSE

87. Educ. for tots : PRE-K.

88. Lennon collaborator : ONO

89. Olay competitor : AVEENO. Lots of natural oat extract in their products.

90. Prepare in a pan : SAUTE. I stir-fry. In hot oil.

92. Placing in direct competition : PITTING

96. Richard who played the garage attendant in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" : EDSON. A bit obscure for my taste.

100. Over simplified? : O'ER. Love the clue.

102. Christie's Miss : MARPLE

103. Prompter lead-in : TELE

104. Improved, as one's skill level : ELEVATED

109. Bill's "Groundhog Day" co-star : ANDIE (MacDowell)

113. Not moving : INERT

114. AQI monitor : EPA. AQI = Air Quality Index. Thought of Barry G, who no doubt thought of Barry Silk with this clue.

115. Up from Méjico : NORTE (North)

116. Vagabond : TRAMP

117. Early strings : LYRES

118. Urge : YEN

119. Evil spirit : DEMON

120. Assuages : EASES

Down:

1. Cleo's lover : MARC. It's Mark Anthony, no? Marc Anthony is J-Lo's ex.

2. Like some surgery : ORAL

3. Kid in Cádiz : NINO

4. Brewpub supplies : KEGS

6. Humdingers : BEAUTS

7. Lewis Black delivery : RANT

8. Cockpit approx. : ETA

9. Old powdered apparel : WIG

10. Caterer's can : STERNO

11. Pair of horseshoes? : OMEGAS. Because the horseshoes are omega-shaped?

12. Carrier founded in 1927 : PAN AM

13. Watch kids : SIT

14. Arnold, notably : TRAITOR. Benedict Arnold. CHEATER fits too. For California's Arnold.

15. Squirrel's treat : WALNUT

16. Subtle case crackers : INFERENCES

17. Aired again : RE-RAN

18. Looks like a rake : LEERS. Don't leer. Just look!

24. Extinct kiwi cousin : MOA

25. Tiny pest : MITE

29. Hr. some stores open : TEN AM

31. Humdrum : BLAH

32. Miller's "__ From the Bridge" : A VIEW

33. Brand on vermicelli : RAGU

34. Wooden slats : LATHS

35. Sound in an allergist's office : ACHOO

36. Congo River area denizen : CHIMP

37. Brown of publishing : TINA. Editor-in-Chief of Newsweek. She founded "The Daily Beast". She came to the US the same time as Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief for Vogue.

39. ABA member : ATT

42. Language that gave us "slogan" : GAELIC. New trivia to me.

44. Oxygen-dependent bacterium : AEROBE. New word for me.

46. Former Ford div. : MERC

47. Peculiar: Pref. : IDIO. Idiosyncrasy.

49. Romanov title : TSAR

50. "Les __" : MIZ

51. Consumes : USES

52. Blood bank supply : SERUM

53. Word with house or shop : CHOP

59. Return remark : I'M BACK

60. Puccini's "Vissi __" : D'ARTE. From the opera "Tosca". New to me also.

62. Ontario's second most populous city : OTTAWA

63. Where "F" means "Ford" : NYSE. I like this clue too.

64. Reprimand to a dachshund? : NEIN

66. Miss America accessory : SASH

67. Bearded flower : IRIS. Hi there, Blue Irish!

68. Some okays : NODS

71. Municipal rep. : ALD

73. Yields : GIVES

74. "I __ reason ..." : SEE NO

75. Bad lighting? : ARSON. Lots of fun clues for ARSON.

78. "... __ tango" : TWO TO

80. Holiday card drawing : SLED

82. Bandleader Shaw : ARTIE

83. Strive for : SEEK

85. Cargo unit : TON

87. Young hens : PULLETS. I used to speak some basic French. Now J'ai tout oublié.

91. Aim (to) : ASPIRE

92. Nursery rhyme merchant : PIEMAN. "Simple Simon met a pieman..."

93. "__ have to do" : IT'LL

94. Words after "ever after" : THE END

95. Parachute color? : GOLDEN. Golden parachute.

98. 12-time All-Star Ramirez : MANNY. Dreaded hair.

99. L'__ du Tour: French cycling event : ETAPE. I prefer this clue to the "Military camp".

101. Slippery swimmer : EEL

104. Opposite of ecto- : ENTO

105. Claimed psychic detection : AURA

106. Reunión attendees : TIAS. Argyle is having a family reunion this weekend.

107. Edward's adoptive mother in the "Twilight" series : ESME

108. Bank acct. additions : DEPS

110. "You, there!" : HEY

111. Water tester : TOE

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday, April 7th, 2012, Peter A. Collins

Theme: None

Words:

Blocks:

Now THAT'S a pinwheel ~!!!

Triple 8's and 6's going counterclockwise around a "cross" - I love the pure symmetry. As for the solve, well, that was not as pretty. I have to admit, I needed to look up two locations to get me to completion, but in my defense, I do not live in California - or the Bible; namely -

1D. City where a Pauline letter was received : PHILIPPI - so I did not know my Paul epistles, and I went searching for a list, here - I had "-PPI", so I figured it out from there

and from the other quadrants, for no particular reason;

18A. Clancy's Jack Ryan, e.g. : CIA AGENT - I liked Alec in "Red October"; and Harrison in "Patriot Games"

36D. Japanese restaurant order : TERIYAKI - also a wings flavor at Buffalo Wild Wings, #2

59A. Regularly monitored, in a way : ON PAROLE - I was going for "ON PATROL", but my 40D was definitely right - and then the V-8 can...

Onward~!

ACROSS:

1. Human mind : PSYCHE - argh~! I knew this...

7. Petty disagreement : SQUABBLE - Great word

15. Show whose original house band was The Buckaroos : HEE-HAW - too young to know this one

16. Shoe parts : OUTSOLES - well, sure, if there's an IN sole, there must be...

17. Phrase that gets a caller's attention? : I RAISE - ah, not "FREE ME", but a poker 'call'

19. Closer : LATCH - not really a closer, more like a "keeps closed" device - and I wasn't sure if this was cloZer or cloSer, like "not far", or 'a near'

20. Round Stic maker : BIC - disposable pen

21. Frond part : PINNA



22. __ jure : IPSO - legalese, right Lemon?

23. Nut crackers : BEAKS

25. Modify : EDIT

26. 21st Greek letter : PHI - well, I can never remember the order; PHI, CHI, PSI - hey, the "I" is always right....

27. Hairstyles like MacGyver's : MULLETS - sorry, not linking an image...

29. Understand : SEE

30. Upright citizen? : PIANIST - upright piano, and its player

32. Meshed dividers : NETS

34. Words from the head of a line : I'M NEXT

35. Kind of justice : POETIC

39. Work that can't be done alone : DUET - unless you're this "guy"

41. Undermine : TORPEDO

42. Wagner's "__ Rheingold" : DAS

45. Pump pick : PREMIUM - not REGULAR

47. Rabbit friend : ROO - From Winnie the Pooh

48. Marine predator : ORCA

50. Leg strengthener : SQUAT - Two "Qs", one "Z" and "X", but no F and J in today's grid

51. Streamlet : RILL

52. City in Florida's horse country : OCALA

54. Carrier letters : USS - was SO wanting this to be uPs, but it's aircraft carrier, not parcel carrier

55. Enter : KEY IN

56. Home entertainment piece : WALL UNIT

58. Delivery class? : LAMAZE - About the only thing we DON'T deliver at UPS...

60. Brings out : EVOKES

61. City near the Khyber Pass : PESHAWAR - geography lesson

62. Shooting locale? : RAPIDS

DOWN:

2. Ranking angels : SERAPHIM - just had this as "9D. Celestial creatures : SERAPHS" yesterday

3. Reminiscent of the 1919 poem "The Second Coming" : YEATSIAN - having to do with poet YEATS; is this poetic justice?

4. City with a California State campus : CHICO - My other "cheat", found the list here

5. Dish of leftovers : HASH - OLIO, STEW, SLOP, ah, yes....

6. Lea bleater : EWE

7. Talkative : SOCIAL

8. Popular financial software : QUICKEN

9. Hagen of the stage : UTA

10. "Immediately!" : ASAP - I prefer this A.S.a.P. - Adrian Smith and project - Zak Starkey on drums

11. "I made more lousy pictures than any actor in history" speaker, familiarly : BOGIE - Humphrey BOGART

12. Homogenizes : BLENDS

13. "Of Mice and Men" rabbit lover : LENNIE

14. Impressive spread : ESTATE - not pâté, more like this

20. Middle manager? : BELT - very good - my middle section needs more than a belt lately

23. Raid squad : BUSTERS

24. Run an errand, say : STEP OUT

27. Error : MIX UP

28. It's often preceded by a warning : STORM

31. "Pushing Daisies" pie maker : NED - never watched the HBO show

33. Ninth in a series: Abbr. : SEPtember

37. Adored : IDOLIZED

38. Hipster's trait : COOLNESS

40. Only word heard in a 1958 song of the same name : TEQUILA - Not Wipeout

41. Reunión attendees : TIAS - the accent denotes a foreign word, this time Spanish

42. Genre characterized by nonsense syllables : DOO-WOP - link away ~!

43. Recherché : ARCANE - that F-F-French again

44. Works near an arena, perhaps : SCALPS - sells tickets "illegally" at a higher price, hence....

46. Assemble, as troops : MUSTER

49. To whom many pray : ALLAH

51. Clean again : RE-MOP

53. Vibes : AURA

55. Island brew : KAVA

57. "Immediately!" : NOW - ASAP didn't fit; oh wait....

58. The Once-__: "The Lorax" character : LER - The Wiki

Answer grid.

Splynter