Thursday July 1, 2010 Robert A. Doll

Theme: HOT STUFF (61A. 1979 song for which Donna Summer won a Grammy, and a hint to the puzzle theme found in the answers to starred clues). The queen of disco. - HOT can precede the first word of each theme entry.

16A. *Tennis legend nicknamed "Rocket": ROD LAVER. Hot Rod. To say any more would be 8D: a faux pas.

23A. *Mighty Mouse's archenemy: OIL CAN HARRY. Hot Oil. Oil Can Harry (an evil cat) and Mighty Mouse (Superman imitator) were Terrytoons released by the 20th Century Fox Studio. Perhaps a little obscure..

33A. *1983 film that won the Oscar for Best Music, Original Song: FLASHDANCE. Hot Flash.

38A. *Stray hunter: DOG CATCHER. Hot Dog.

51A. *Deli side: POTATO SALAD. Hot Potato.

Hi all, Al here.

Today's puzzle had both easy and hard spots, I thought. I got through most of it quickly, but got a little stuck in the southwest with the proper nouns going down. The theme didn't help and I didn't even really notice it until after I was done solving, which still didn't seem as long as last week, but it still was about right for a Thursday, I'd say.

Across:

1. Minute Maid product: LIMEADE. I don't think Mr. Doll reads the blog. So close to recognition...

8. John or Paul: BEATLE. Too long of an answer to be a POPE.

14. Hotel option: TWIN BED.

15. Corsage flower: ORCHID. Corsage from Old French cors "body" (related: corpse); the meaning "body of a woman's dress, bodice" is from 1818 in fashion plates translated from French; Sense of "a bouquet worn on the bodice" is 1911, Amer.Eng., apparently from Fr. bouquet de corsage "bouquet of the bodice."

18. Early hr. to retire: NINE PM. Bed? I'm just getting started with my day.

19. Olivia of "The Wonder Years": d'ABO. After playing the hippie sister Karen Arnold, she was a voice actor in quite a few animations, including Jane in the Disney's version of Tarzan and Jane.

20. Resident's suffix: ITE. Also a mineral suffix.

22. Hebrides tongue: ERSE. Early Scottish variant of Old English Irisc or Old Norse Irskr "Irish". Applied by Lowland Scots to the Gaelic speech of the Highlanders.

27. Watch: EYE.

28. Squirrel's home: TREE. It is funny because the squirrel gets dead. From "Up".

29. Put away: ATE.

30. Claude who played Sheriff Lobo in "B.J. and the Bear": AKINS. The bear was actually a chimp. Sheriff Lobo is the one seated.

32. Profs' aides: TAS. Teaching Assistants.

35. Swing __: ERA. The days of the Big Bands, Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Count Basie. One of the factors for the demise was a recording ban where the union that most jazz musicians belong to told its members not to record until the record companies agreed to pay them each time their music was played on the radio. Things haven't changed much...the music industry will never learn, it seems.

37. Granola grain: OAT.

44. Call from a crow's nest: CAW. Interesting misdirection. I was looking for a sailing term, but it was actually a straightforward clue.

47. Mozart is on some Austrian ones: EUROS. The one, the two, the five and the fifty... others?

48. Hefty ref.: OED. Oxford English Dictionary.

49. Pesky yard critter: MOLE. Had to wait to see whether it would be VOLE instead.

50. Spot to stop: Abbr.: STA. Station.

55. Stevie Wonder's "__ She Lovely": ISN'T.

57. Court cry: LET. A tennis term for the serve hitting the net (but still going over), or a distraction, like a ball rolling on the court, something requiring a "do-over".

58. Partner of void: NULL. Legally, something that is "null and void" can no longer be enforced. Both words mean empty, as in a vacuum or having no contents.

59. "The Shining" mantra: REDRUM. Murder spelled backwards. "Heere's Johnny".

65. Rio Grande city: EL PASO.

66. Showed awe over: AAHED AT.

67. Safari sightings: ELANDS. The largest African antelope, it can weigh nearly a ton. As opposed to the Royal Antelope, which is about the size of a jackrabbit, only growing to about 6-7 lbs.

68. Arachnophobe's fear: SPIDERS. I don't like spiders and snakes.

Down:

1. USPS delivery: LTR. United States Postal Service, Letter.

2. WWII battle site, briefly: IWO. Jima. Letters from Iwo Jima. and Flags of Our Fathers.

3. Means: MIDDLES. Shouldn't that be Medians? A mean is a mathematical average, and if your numbers are skewed, the mean wouldn't necessarily be the middle.

4. Intertwine: ENLACE.

5. Addis __: ABABA. The capital city of Ethiopia.

6. Cornwall neighbor: DEVON. Southern England.

7. Stamp finish?: EDE. "Finish" here indicates a suffix, stampede.

8. Faux pas: BONER. Yes, those can be embarrassing...

9. Airport north of Pittsburgh, in itineraries: ERI. Erie International Airport / Tom Ridge Field

10. Reason to see a dermatologist: ACNE. Accutane warning.

11. Legalese adverb: THEREIN.

12. Mouth the words: LIP SYNC.

13. '80s attorney general: ED MEESE. The 75th, under Reagan. Quote: "An expert is somebody who is more than 50 miles from home, has no responsibility for implementing the advice he gives, and shows slides."

17. Gaucho gear: RIATA. Spanish for cowboy and lasso (Lariat)

21. Half of seis: TRES. French for six and three.

23. Giant of a Giant: OTT. Mel Ott, Baseball. Right fielder, played his entire career for one team. First NL player to exceed 500 home runs.

24. Lyricist Gershwin: IRA. Brother/partner of George Gershwin, the latter is probably most famous for "An American in Paris" and "Rhapsody in Blue", neither of which have words.

25. Difficult computer of film: HAL. I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that. (2001, A Space Odyssey).

26. "Blah ...": YADA. Seinfeld's version of "Blah blah blah".

31. "Krazy __": KAT. This comic strip was old before I was born.

33. Sprat's taboo: FAT. Jack Sprat could eat no fat...

34. Old TV knob: HOR. Horizontal hold. I suppose "abbrev" isn't necessary because the label for the knob wasn't spelled out...

35. "Foucault's Pendulum" author: ECO. Umberto. Foucault's Pendulum has been called "the thinking person's Da Vinci Code, but it is more a satire on the futility of conspiracy theories and those who believe them, rather than an attempt to proliferate such beliefs.

36. Farrier's tool: RASP. A pedicurist/shoer for horses, a specialized blacksmith.

38. Obama's first social secretary __ Rogers: DESIREE.

39. Move more goods than: OUTSELL.

40. Pop's pop: GRANDPA.

41. Pigeon shelter: COTE. A small house for animals. Related: cottage, and coterie (circle of acquaintances).

42. "Macbeth" setting: HEATH. A wasteland.

43. N.J. summer setting: EDT.

44. Plan a heist (with): COLLUDE. From Latin colludare (to play with).

45. Cookbook words: A LA. In the manner of. Chicken a la King.

46. Marry: WED.

49. Shake alternative: MALTED.

52. "Stand and Deliver" star: OLMOS. Edward James.

53. Ready to be drawn: ON TAP. Beer.

54. Sashimi cousin: SUSHI. Sashimi is raw fish served sliced, but as-is. That means no rice bed or roll, but it is often served alongside daikon and/or shiso. The word sushi refers to the rice (the Japanese word su means vinegar, and shi is from meshi, the Japanese word for rice, hence sushi is 'vinegared rice'.

56. Air__: budget carrier: TRAN. News to me, I had never heard of this airline before.

60. Amer. currency: USD. United $tates Dollar.

62. Defense gp. founded in Bogotá: OAS. Organization of American States. All the countries of North and South America except Honduras (suspended in 2009 due to a coup d'etat), Iceland, and Greenland (simply not members).

63. Way off: FAR. I still don't think I understand...

64. NBA stats: FTS. Basketball, Free Throws.

Answer grid.

Al

Tuesday March 30, 2010 Robert A. Doll

Theme: Scenes from a Horror Movie? - First words of all the theme phrases are all synonyms of "cleaving". Pretty rough stuff for the breakfast table.

17A. Critters with powerful jaws: SNAPPING TURTLES.

27A. Program interruption: BREAKING NEWS.

46A. Spurning learning: CUTTING CLASS.

60A. Discontinuing relations of any kind: SEVERING ALL TIES.

Argyle here. An interesting theme but not very hard. More Monday than Monday was.

Across:

1A. Casey and Kildare: Abbr.: DRs. Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare were medical drama series which ran from 1961 to 1966 on ABC and NBC, respectively. Dr. Kildare goes back much farther with movies and radio shows.

4A. Clairvoyant's claim, for short: ESP. (extrasensory perception)

7A. Courses for coll. credit: APs. Advanced Placement classes to earn credits while still in high school.

10A. Ball support: TEE. (golf)

13A. Actor McKellen: IAN. Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings.

14A. Classic Jag: XKE. Sweet ride

15A. California fruit: RAISINs. Short clip.

20A. Server on skates: CARHOP. I want to see the hands of any former carhops here.

21A. Sniggler's prey: EEL.

22A. Eliel Saarinen's son: EERO. Eliel Saarinen was a Finnish architect. Eero Saarinen was also a Finnish architect and furniture designer.

23A. Normandy battleground: ST. LO. LOL A map from previous CrosswordCorner puzzle.

24A. Chinese government bigwig: PREMIER.

32A. Bedroom set piece: ARMOIRE. With the doors open

35A. Sun. speech: SER.. (Sunday sermon)

36A. Catch a few z's: NAP.

37A. "Green Eggs and Ham" author: SEUSS. Another Dr.

38A. Writer Jong: ERICA. "Fear of Flying" was her 1973 novel.

40A. USNA grad: ENS. (United States Naval Academy) (Ensign)

41A. Sephia automaker: KIA. South Korea's second largest automobile manufacturer, behind Hyundai. Sephia is a small family car(or a car for a small family).

44A. Took, as advice: ACTED ON.

49A. Caribbean isl. belonging to France: ST. BARTS. Map.

50A. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTÁ. Spanish for "How are you?".

54A. The Phantom of the Opera: ERIK. One name star? "Erik" was not, in fact, his birth name.

57A. River inlet: RIA.

58A. Game in which love is expressed frequently?: TENNIS.

63A. Apple-polishers: TOADIES.

64A. __ canto: singing style: BEL.

65A. Post- opposite: PRE. Pre - before, Post - after.

66A. Govt. ID: SSN.

67A. Frequently, in verse: OFT.

68A. Words in a simile: AS A.

69A. Old JFK arrival: SST. (airport/airplane)

Down

1D. 45s, e.g.: DISCs.

2D. Charged: RAN AT. Also, could be RAN UP.

3D. Watchdog's warning: SNARL.
.
4D. __ 67: Montreal World's Fair: EXPO. Short for Exposition.

5D. Ship's captain: SKIPPER. Who else but...?

6D. Proverbial sword beater: PEN. "The pen is mightier than the sword"

7D. Apollo's twin sister: ARTEMIS. The twins. Apollo was a God of Music, Artemis was Goddess of the Hunt.

8D. Movie girl with "perils": PAULINE. "The Perils of Pauline" Was she an equivalent of Indiana Jones?

9D. "To __, With Love": SIR. 1967 British drama film starring Sidney Poitier as a teacher.

10D. Mah-jongg piece: TILE.

11D. Cabinet dept. formed after the 1977 oil crisis: ENER..

12D. "Tiger in your tank" company: ESSO. Old commercial and the old name(except in Canada and overseas.)

16D. Bow's opposite: STERN. (on a boat)

18D. Greek god of fear: PHOBOS. Where we get the word phobia.

19D. Nerd: GEEK.

25D. Actress __ Dawn Chong: RAE. Tommy (Cheech&Chong) Chong's daughter.

26D. "Snowy" wading birds: EGRETS. (a small white heron)

28D. Take a chance: RISK IT.

29D. Arthurian lady: ENID. Geraint, one of King Arthur's men, married the beautiful Enid. They met while he was on a mission to defeat a cruel knight, and her family provided him with armor and food. They later had domestic difficulties.

30D. Texas city on the Brazos: WACO. The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers (translated as "The River of the Arms of God").

31D. Wing tip-to-wing tip distance: SPAN.

32D. "Just __!": A SEC.

33D. Contact lens solution brand: RENU. I got it this time.

34D. Is required to: MUST.

39D. Take offense at: RESENT.

42D. "To sum up ...": "IN BRIEF ...".

43D. Not with: AGAINST.

44D. Cockpit abbr.: ALT..

45D. Sand structures: CASTLE. Anybody watch Castle last night?

47D. Tut-tutted: TSKED.

48D. Rugged rock: CRAG.

51D. Haircut sounds: SNIPS. Much gentler than our theme.

52D. Stadium levels: TIERS.

53D. Balance sheet item: ASSET.

54D. Approximations: Abbr.: ESTS..

55D. Classic autos: REOs. But don't forget GTOs and LTDs.

56D. 58-Across star Lendl: IVAN. Former No. 1 professional tennis player in the world.

59D. Cinders of old comics: ELLA. The daily version was launched June 1, 1925, and a Sunday page followed two years later. It was discontinued in 1961. Book.

61D. __ de Janeiro: RIO.

62D. Lawyers' gp.: ABA. (American Bar Association)

Answer grid.

Happy 96th Birthday to Irv, the oldest LA Times crossword solver on our blog.

Argyle

Saturday March 13, 2010 Robert A Doll

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 29

There are total 14 multiwords in today's grid, including the lively triple stacks in upper left and lower right corners.

Normally I struggled with proper names. But today I nailed NPR's IRA GLASS (12D. "This American Life" host) and YMA SUMAC (41A. Singer in the 1954 film "Secret of the Incas"), who was born in Peru. Always nice to see their full names in the grid.

Would prefer LARUE (16A. Eva of "57-Across: Miami") clued as Lash La Rue to avoid the duplication with the answer MIAMI HEAT (59A. Team with a flaming ball in its logo).

Had my normal struggle, but fared better than I did in the past several Saturdays. Looking at my completed grid now, I do know most of the answers. It's some of the clues that are beyond my ken.

Across:

1. "Scram!": TAKE A HIKE. And OVERDID IT (15. Got very sore, maybe). So simple in retrospect.

10. Orly sight: AVION. Orly is the airport in Paris, an alternative to Charles de Gaulle.

17. If often requires a bedroom set: LOVE SCENE. Sweet clue/answer.

18. Montana motto word: PLATA. Montana motto is "Oro y Plata" (Gold and Silver).

19. Seventh-century date: DCL. Roman 650.

20. Cooper's creation: KEG. Oh, the barrel maker "Cooper". I was picturing CNN's handsome Anderson Cooper.

21. Accepted without question: BOUGHT. Bought the story, for example.

22. Pines: YEARNS

25. Kung __ chicken: PAO. With cashews sprinkled in.

27. Group that "had decayed to a mere beautiful futility": Wells: ELOI. The beautiful race in "The Time Machine", written by H. G. Wells.

28. Features of some hotels: ATRIA

29. Effort: DINT. Know this word only in the content of "by dint of".

30. King deposed in 1964: SAUD. Thought he died in his throne. Had no idea that he was deposed.

31. Go along with: ASSENT TO. Hmm, they are not synonymous to me. (Added later: I mis-read the clue as "Get along with".)

34. Vane reading: Abbr.: SSE

35. Sudafed alternative: DRISTAN. Only have ginger tea when I catch a cold.

38. Sight from Marie Byrd Land: ROSS SEA. In Antarctic. Named after the discoverer James Ross.

40. Took off: RAN

43. Like the Kalahari: ARID. Kalahari Desert.

45. Town inland of the IJsselmeer: EDAM. The Dutch cheese town. Have never heard of IJsselmeer (Lake IJssel), the largest lake in Western Europe. The Dutch digraph IJ (Y) is pronounced the same as our I.

46. Actress Gershon et al.: GINAS. Do you think Gina Gershon is beautiful?

50. It may be chased by un perro: GATO. Spanish for "cat". Was ignorant that perro is Spanish for "dog".

51. Lake Thun feeder: AAR. First encounter with Lake Thun, an Alpine Lake in Switzerland.

52. Studio renamed Paramount Television in 1967: DESILU. A combination of "Desi" (Arnaz) and "Lucille"(Ball).

53. 1986 N.L. batting champ Tim: RAINES. Gimme. I've quite a few of his baseball cards, all worthless.

55. R&B group __ Hill: DRU. The answer emerged itself.

57. Show with DNA testing: CSI

58. __-garde: AVANT. Is aprés-garde a word also?

62. Paramecium features: CILIA. Here is a good picture of paramecium lined with cilia, which stymied J.D. last time when it's clued as "eyelashes".

63. All in all: ON BALANCE

64. Test track challenges: ESSES

65. Living end: BEE'S KNEES. Old slang for something marvelous. I am not familiar with the idiom "living end" at all. It means "extraordinary".

Down:

1. Know-it-all's taunt: TOLD YA

2. Long-legged shore bird: AVOCET. With upcurved bill. Those legs are so thin.

3. Body armor fiber: KEVLAR. No idea. What's the name origin of kevlar?

4. Poet's preposition: ERE. "Before".

5. Things to zap: ADS. D'oh, the damned commercials.

6. Bumpkins: HICKS

8. Top dog: KINGPIN

9. Hiver's opposite: ETE. Hiver is French for "winter".

10. Chop House Originals brand: ALPO

11. Societal concerns: VALUES

13. Rustic place to go?: OUTHOUSE. Great clue. Way to go, Mr. Doll!

14. "Very clever!": NEAT IDEA. We also had IDEE (7D. __ fixe). French for "idea". Some solvers don't like the cognates appear in the same grid. I do.

21. Duff: BOTTOM

23. Inlets: RIAS

24. Cold and rainy, say: NASTY

26. Anatomical cavity: ANTRUM. Rooted in Greek "antron" (cave). New to me.

29. "Gracias" reply: DE NADA

32. Just like, with "the": SAME AS

33. Truman Dam river: OSAGE. Have never heard of the Truman Dam, located in Missouri.

35. Contest that's usually over in less than 20 seconds: DRAG RACE. I know nothing about drag racing. 20 seconds is too short.

36. One in a million: RARA AVIS. Can't fill in this phrase without thinking of Kazie.

37. Approves, in a way: INITIALS

39. Some H.S. courses: SCIS

42. Certain rush hour commuter, metaphorically: SARDINE

44. "__ Darko": 2001 sci-fi film: DONNIE. Here is the poster. Another complete unknown to me.

47. Christianity's __ Creed: NICENE. First adopted by the Nicene Council (325 AD).

48. French region along the Rhine: ALSACE. The Alsace-Lorraine region.
.
49. Bach compositions: SUITES

52. "The Count of Monte Cristo" author: DUMAS. I've only read the Chinese version of the book.

54. LAX postings: ETAS

56. Broccoli __: RABE. I like stir-fried broccoli rabe with a bit of garlic & red pepper.

59. Hit-making group?: MOB. Felt stupid staring at M?? forever.

60. Kind: ILK

61. Solo in space: HAN. Han Solo of "Star Wars".

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday April 4, 2009 Robert A. Doll

Theme: None

Total blocks: 30

Total words: 72

Still remember Patrick Berry's trick to count total words in a grid? You add the number of upper-left corners (the numbered squares that form the starts of two entries), and then add that to the grid's highest number. In today's grid, the number of those upper-left corners is 6: MARY JANE/MCI, LADY DI/LIMO, BOBS/BAS, RHYMES/RIOS, PLEASURE/PT BOATS, ANTE/ATTYS. And the grid's highest number is 66 (Across). So we have total 72 words, the maximum allowed for a themeless Saturday puzzle (78 for themed one).

A complete disaster for me this morning. Definitely need more time to get used to Rich Norris' multiple words and tricky clues.

I don't know. Last Saturday I was able to fill in lots of blanks. Not much luck today. Rich Norris is starting to show his true color. "Toto, I've a feeling we are not in Kansas any more." The good news is that most of my fills are correct. So I think I am making progress.

I like how EXTREME MEASURES (8D: "Outside the box" solutions) is positioned in the grid. But I don't understand the rationale for the clue. Why? Is "Outside the box" a movie? Why it's in quotation marks?

Across:

1A: Spider-Man's girl: MARY JANE. Stumped immediately. Could only think of Kirsten Dunst who played MARY JANE in "Spider-Man". I like her in "Marie Antoinette".

2A: "Candle in the Wind" dedicatee: LADY DI. Another stumper. Wanted DIANA, then thought of the original dedicatee Marilyn Monroe. Neither would fit. More familiar with the title Princess Di than LADY DI.

15A: French town at the foot of Mont Blanc: CHAMONIX. Non. Je n'ai aucune idée. See this map. Wikipedia says the first Winter Olympics was held here in 1924.

16A: "That was exhausting!": I'M BEAT. Yeah, that's how I am feeling now.

17A: Red-handed: IN THE ACT

18A: Ltr. opener: MESSRS. This is the old fashioned way, isn't it? (Note from Kazie: MESSRS is actually French, short for Messieurs, plural of Monsieur, because the possessive (mon/ma/mes) changes to agree with the noun (c.f. Madame/Mademoiselle/Mesdames). English simply borrowed yet another French term instead of creating its own.)

19A: "Flowers for __": Daniel Keyes sci-fi classic: ALGERNON. Nope. I've never heard of the book or the author. Wikipedia says it won the Hugo Award for best Short Story in 1960.

22A: Drifts on waves: BOBS. Does this refer to fisherman's bobbers bobbing?

26A: Extended operatic solo: SCENA. New word to me. Dictionary defines SCENA as "an extended operatic vocal solo, usually including an aria and a recitative."

28A: Like: A LA

29A: Wear and tear, e.g.: RHYMES. V-8 moment for me. Great clue.

32A: Gold medals, in Guadalajara: OROS. Not medallas de ORO?

33A: Spaghetti western director Leone: SERGIO. I've heard of these major movies he made. Did not know his name though. Thought SERGIO is a Spanish name, as in golfer SERGIO Garcia. But SERGIO Leone is an Italian.

35A: Completeness: ENTIRETY

37A: "Hawaii Five-O" order: BOOK 'EM DANNO. Someone mentioned this catchprase on the Comments section a few weeks ago. But I blanked this morning.

39A: Hedonist's pursuit: PLEASURE. What's the difference between Hedonism and Epicureanism again?

41A: Bursts: ERUPTS. Reminds me of the SCORIA clue we had last June: "Volcanic rock ejecta". I think that's how we started this "Holy hotwick lava bomb".

44A: U. of Maryland athlete: TERP

45A: One of numerous childhood spots?: MEASLE. I was picturing my childhood playground, not any MEASLE spot. Clever clue.

47A: Goddess of dawn: EOS. Aurora for the Romans. Just mentioned yesterday that George Sand's original name is Aurore. Dennis quoted her "Try to keep your soul young and quivering right up to old age." last time.

48A: Military operations centers: BASES

50A: CBS forensic drama: CSI

51A: Prelude to a deal: ANTES. Poker. Not the business deal I was thinking.

52A: Not in favor: Abbr. OPP. Opposed.

53A: Peevish: PETULANT

57A: Kind of number of clock: ATOMIC. What is ATOMIC clock again? My memory is so bad now.

59A: Communicate well with: RELATE TO. John Daly's swing & his demeanor are so hard to RELATE TO, yet he has so many followers.

63A: Ability: TALENT. Are they really the same?

64A: Competitor's payment: ENTRY FEE. I always associate "Competitor" with "rival" rather than one who competes.

65A: Music provider: STEREO

66A: Hangs around to see: STAYS FOR

Down:

1D: Early 12th century year: MCI. 1101. Easiest fill in the grid.

2D: Philip of "Kung Fu": AHN. I mentioned last time that AHN is Ang in Chinese, as in director Ang Lee. Or simply AN, literally "peace". Korean Hanja uses lots of old Chinese characters.

4D: Jewish Community Center grps: YMHAS (Young Men's Hebrew Associations). New to me.

5D: One of the Coen brothers: JOEL. He is married to Frances McDormand, "Marge" in "Fargo". The Coen brothers were born and grew up here in MN, so our local media follows them very closely.

6D: "I hate to be _ , but ...": complaint opening: A NAG

7D: With grace: NICELY

9D: Prom coach: LIMO. Have never heard of LIMO referred to as a coach.

10D: Words of agreement: AMENS

11D: Sound units, briefly: DBS. Know decibles, not familiar with the abbreviation though.

12D: Post-Katrina retail sign, perhaps: YES WE'RE OPEN. Did not come to me readily.

13D: Are afraid to: DARE NOT

14D: "Piece of cake": IT'S EASY. No sir, this puzzle is hard.

20D: Incessantly: NO END. Like today's multiple words, NO END, so many.

22D: __-relief: BAS. Or low relief. And high relief (alto-relievo) & sunkun relief, the three main types of relief.

24D: Familiar red-white-and-blue symbol: BARBER'S POLE. I was thinking of flag.

27D: Latin horn: CORNU. Oh, is that how we got cornucopia? It's horn-shaped.

29D: Mexico's San Juan and Conchos, e.g.: RIOS. Thought they are just cities. Have never heard of those two Mexican flow-ers.

30D: Nonsense: HOKUM

31D: French-Swiss author Madame de __: STAEL. I tried to connect this lady with Lesley Stahl, as STAEL & Stahl has the same pronunciation. That's a very odd portrait, no earrings, no necklace, no bracelet, not even a flower in her hand.

34D: Lose it: GO APE

36D: Concerning: IN RE. Sometimes the answer is AS TO.

39D: Mosquito Fleet craft: PT BOATS. Knew PT BOATS (Patrol Torpedo Boats) from reading various JFK biographies. Have never heard of the term Mosquito Fleet. See definition #6. Why "Mosquito"?

40D: Was enthusiastic about: LEAPT AT

46D: Like some partners: SILENT. SILENT partner is "One that makes financial investments in a business enterprise but does not participate in its management." It's a new term to me. I was thinking of SAME SEX.

49D: Gumption: SPINE. Thought of SPUNK.

51D: Some partners: Abbr.: ATTYS. Hard one. But I like the clue.

54D: __-1: "Ghostbusters" vehicle: ECTO. No idea. Have never heard of the car ECTO-1 or the movie "Ghostbusters". ECTO is always clued as "Prefix for outside" in our old puzzle.

55D: Resort near Snowbird: ALTA. See this map. I've never heard of the name Snowbird. Is it a city? A county?

56D: Not: NARY. I need " __ a one" for the answer to leap to me immediately.

58D: Debussy subject: MER. Debussy's "La MER".

60D: Reason for a repeat?: EFF. Maybe it's a gimme for all you teachers. But it's a tough clue for me. I was not in the test score direction at all. In China, you pass when your score is 60 (out of 100).

61D: Auto racer Fabi: TEO. Absolutely no idea. Not a racing fan. Know nothing about TEO Fabi or Formula One, except their boss Max Mosley's sensational scandal.

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Friday, April 4, 2008 Robert A. Doll

Theme: GETTING ON

17A: Getting on: NO SPRING CHICKEN

29A: Getting on: OVER THE HILL

57A: Getting on: OLD AS METHUSELAH

Hmm, welcome back Robert A. Doll! It's been a long time.

I really like this guy's pseudonym, very spooky. Had to admire his discipline today not to clue 56A: OTTO as Robert the Doll family. That self-referential meta would've driven me up a wall. By the way, has anyone been to that museum (Key West, FL) and seen Robert the Doll?

"Haunted" is how I felt this morning while solving this puzzle. I was possessed by the stupefying number (30) of 3-letter words. So overpowering! What seized you to commit this frown-upon crossword construction sin, Mr. Doll?

On the other hand, all the three theme entries are very appealing to me. Some of the colloquial expressions (HEY, C'MON, IT'S ME, DIS, HOORAH) and simple phrases (GROSS OUT, NEAR MISS, ESCAPE KEY) are very lively, esp the grid structure of the last three. It has some elegance. OTT and OTTO should not be in the same puzzle though. The same with ODIUM and RADIUM. Juttingly clumsy!

No home run today. Not even a triple or double. Plenty of singles, all over the field.

Grid: Total letters filled: 187. Total blank squares: 38

Front Nine:

1A: Design detail: SPEC

5A: Shake a leg!: C'MON

9A: Intense loathing: ODIUM. Does ODIUM have a plural form? I could not find it in the dictionary. Maybe it follows the same pattern as Odeum (the ancient Greek hall): Odeums, or Odea?

14A: Celestial bear: URSA

16A: Actress Delta: BURKE. Have never heard of her.

20A: Funny Foxx: REDD. Learned his name from doing crossword. Have never watched Sanford and Son. Is it good?

22A: Red shade: CERISE

25A: Disgust: GROSS OUT

30A: Altdorf's canton: URI. Altdorf is the capital of URI. Home of William Tell, the legendary Archer. I spent about 5 years in Canton (Guangzhou), China before I moved to the US.

31A: Bond backer: ISSUER

33A: Silvery-gray: ASH. Did not know that silvery-gray can be a noun. Always thought it was an adjective.

34A: Went like the wind: RACED

36A: Way out on the computer: ESCAPE KEY

41A: Precedes: ANTEDATES

43A: Dirty look: GLARE. Really? I always thought "GLARE" was a harsh look. LEER is a dirty look, isn't it? (Update: here is what drdad says: A glare is a dirty look, i.e., a fierce or angry stare. A leer is a desirous and sly look. It can suggest a desire for sex or a malicious intent).

43A: On the back: DORSAL. Alright, its root is "dorsum" (Latin for back). VENTRAL means on the back, its root is "venter" (Latin for belly). POSTERIOR & ANTERIOR is so much easier to remember. (Update: According to Dennis, Dorsal' is used mostly in fish (dorsal fin) and aircraft (dorsal antennae). )

50A: Close call: NEAR MISS

53A: Sore: TENDER

56A: "Beetle Bailey'' pooch: OTTO. No idea at all. Is this a gimme for you?

65A: Gets really steamed: BOILS

66A: Put on: GAIN. I had GA _ _ idling there for a while. I was temped to pen in GARB (as in putting on clothes).

67A: Khartoum's river: NILE. Khartoum is the Capital of Sudan. Do you call Sudan a Muslim country or an Arab country? I can never tell the difference.

Back Nine:

4D: Old Mercury: CAPRI. Also can be clued as Island in Italy of course.

5D: Calls on the carpet: CHIDES. Not familiar with this phrase. Can you give me an example on the usage?

9D: Newspaper section, for short: OBITS

10D: Channels: DUCTS

13D: Part of "MIB": MEN. The movie, "Men in Black". Not my favorite Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones movie. I think I hate this clue, so unfair to those who have never seen the movie. Terrible abbreviation. Clue overkill!

18D: Domiciled: RESIDED

19D: Triumphant shout: HOORAH. Which is more common, Hoorah or Hurrah?

24D: Lasagna cheese: RICOTTA

25D: Productive oil wells: GUSHERS

26D: Alcove: RECESS

27D: California city: OAKLAND. A chance missed for Billy Beane. He could've bribed the constructor and got some exposure for his Athletics.

32D: Scraps: SET-TOS

35D: Cain raiser: EVE. Is this a good clue to you? Cain raiser, Cain rearer, it just sounds so weird to me.

37D: Baby oinkers: PIGLETS. I put PIGGIES first.

40D: Marie Curie material: RADIUM

41D: Conservative Coulter: ANN. She drives me mad all the time. But I love the clue. Very topical.

48D: Harmonize: ATTUNE

51D: Domain: REALM

52D: Billiard stroke: MASSÉ. Is it the same as CAROM? (Update: Feedback from drdad: in pool, a carom is any shot involving a strike of the ball and subsequent rebound. A masse is a shot taken with the cue almost vertical that causes the ball to follow an extremely curved path.)

54D: Interminably: NO END

56D: CSNY song: OHIO. Nope. Total stranger.

57D: Sapporo sash: OBI. I just don't get this editor's obsession with Sapporo. What happened to you in this city?

(Update at 6:01pm Friday. Orange said Robert A. Doll is the constructor's real name. My mistake. Sorry)

C.C.

Monday, Jan 28, 2008 Robert A. Doll

Theme: All Wet - the first word of each two-word phrase is a river.

17A: Cousin to the Yellow Finn potato: YUKON GOLD. Here is Wolfgan Puck's Potato Salad recipe. Pretty good.

40A: Don Adams cartoon character: TENNESSEE TUXEDO. Never heard of it, but easily gettable.

66A: Cowboy of tall tales: PECOS BILL. Never heard of this "Legendary American Coyboy".

11D: Sign of an a-one greeting: RED CARPET

36D: Bad roll of the bones: SNAKE EYES

I SEARCHED (31A: Use Google) quite a bit for this puzzle. Sometimes Monday crossword is not Monday to me. The same with those Sudoku star rating, don't you think so?

I still do not understand 36D: Bad roll of the bones: SNAKE EYE. Why? I don't understand the meaning of the clue, and I don't know why SNAKE EYE is the answer.

All my trouble started with 7D: _ Never fly! I put PIGS instead of IT'LL immediately, in fact, it's the first word I inked in this morning. I put down EGG instead of EGO for 4D Swelled head.

Here is a recap:

Across Clue:

5A: Pass over lightly: SKIM

14A: Ship's Slammer: BRIG (Jail)

21A: Protuberance on the head: ANTLER

39A: Lapdog, briefly: POM for Pomeranian.

52A: Everglades bird: EGRET

64A: Manufactured fiber: RAYON

72A: Fake coin: SLUG. Did not know. I always associated SLUG with HIT HARD. Baseball ball sluggers like Twins #33 Justin Morneau slugs, hard. Barry Bonds is maybe a fake.

73A: Singer Moffo: ANNA

Down Clues:

1D: Sci-fi classic "The ___": ABYSS. I feel so sorry for myself that I do not know any of this Sci-fi stuff.

2D: Vinegar bottle: CRUET. My vinegar stays in its original bottle.

5D: Official seal: SIGNET.

9D: Al Jolson's real first name: ASA.

10D: Land of Xerxes: PERSIA. Never heard of this king before.

13D: Ms. Redgrave: LYNN. She was twice nominated for Oscar and won a Golden Globe. I hope Julie Christie wins this year. "Away from Her" is good.

53D: Small sharks: TOPES.

61D: Prosperity: WEAL. Woe and Weal.

Let's DO WELL (60A: Prosper) this week.

C. C.