Sunday September 11, 2011 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: Let Me Interject - One word in each common phrase is replaced by a sound-alike common interjection.

24A. Frat for complainers? : FIE BETA KAPPA. Phi Beta Kappa.

26A. "Look! Ghosts!"? : LO SPIRITS. Low spirits.

112A. Complaint about a weak morning cup? : COFFEE BAH. Coffee bar.

119A. Unfriendly store owner? : SHOO MERCHANT. Shoe merchant.

13D. At exhilarating times? : IN THE WHEE HOURS. In the wee hours.

36D. "Pauses are normal" adage? : TO ER IS HUMAN. To err is human.

42D. Like kittens and puppies? : AW- INSPIRING. Awe-inspiring.

52D. One skilled at expressing relief? : MAN OF PHEW WORDS. Man of few words.

Nice theme entry intersection!

I love puzzles where the base phrases of the wordplay are all familiar to me. And it's always a treat to solve Bob's puzzles. I looked at some of his earlier NYT a few weeks ago. They were so creative and fun.

Favorite clue today is GASPS (34D. Pants you can't wear).

Across:

1. Low tide revelations : MUDFLATS. Good start.

9. Dorm bosses, briefly : RAs

12. Give out : DIE

15. Like some tea : ICED

19. Coda relative : EPILOGUE

20. Nonresident doctors : EXTERNS. I only know interns.

22. Letter-bottom letters : SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope)

23. Sea brass : ADMIRALS

28. Spill clumsily : SLOSH

29. Point a finger at : RAT ON

30. Doctor's order : PILL. I'm always afraid pills will mess up my brain.

32. Natural to a region : ENDEMIC

34. Gainesville gridder : GATOR. University of Florida.

39. Twisted look : SNEER

41. Baa maids? : EWES. Lovely clue.

42. Bottom-row key : ALT

45. Islands to which canaries are native : AZORES. On the west of Portugal.

47. Firefighter Red : ADAIR. Learned his name from doing Xword.

49. 17-Down's org. : NHL. And 17D. Old Bruin nickname : ESPO. Phil Esposito. Hall of Famer.

50. __' Pea : SWEE
51. Chest protectors : STERNUMS. Sterna too.

53. __ muffin : STUD. Oh, look at him.

55. First printing, say : EDITION. The first edition of "The Godfather" is worth a lot.

57. Public role : PERSONA

58. Like most mules : STERILE

60. "An Inconvenient Woman" author Dominick : DUNNE. Strange title.

61. Biol., e.g. : SCI

62. White water? : SNOW. Nice clue too.

64. Jazzy Vaughan : SARAH

65. Inception : ONSET

66. Place to see a sched. : STA

69. Drop : OMIT

71. Jared of "Mr. Nobody" : LETO. He dated Cameron Diaz for a few years.

72. Indy additive : STP

73. Drinks for Radar : NEHIs. Knee-high.

75. Side with : FAVOR

77. Bud : CHUM

79. Creator of Auric and Julius : IAN (Fleming). Auric Goldfinger. Auric is the adjective of Au (Gold). Dr Julius No. Too sophisticated a clue for me.

82. Blow : ERUPT

83. Diagnostic school exam : PRETEST

85. Mention : REFER TO

88. Minx-like : VAMPISH. Firefox doesn't like this word.

90. Poor, as an excuse : LAME

91. David, to some scholars : PSALMIST

92. "My word!" : I SAY

93. It's heard in Isr. : HEB

95. Bottle size : LITER

97. One with net gains? : SEINER. Seine can mean "net" or verb "Fish with a net".

98. Novelist Deighton : LEN

99. Rob of "Parks and Recreation" : LOWE

100. Tropical starch sources : TAROS. I miss freshly made taro cakes.

102. Swimming pool concern : ALGAE

103. Word in some carriers' names : AIRWAYS

106. Show saver : TiVO

107. Capital near Lake Volta : ACCRA. Ghana's capital.

110. Exams during which students can talk : ORALS

122. Shop in airport stores, say : KILL TIME. So true.

123. Incites to attack : SICS

124. "Roots" Emmy winner : ED ASNER. Very friendly letter combo. Hence his frequent appearance in crossword.

125. Pottery worker, on occasion : ENAMELER. Any comment, Warren? And 129. Ones who swear in court : DEPOSERS

126. Road across Penn. : TPKE (Turnpike)

127. Retired flier : SST

128. Some ranges : GEs

Down:

1. Part of a seder : MEAL

2. Bun, for one : UPDO

3. Makes faint : DIMS

4. Resell quickly : FLIP

5. Petty of "A League of Their Own" : LORI. "Field of Dreams" is so much better.

6. Culture medium : AGAR

7. Subject of an annual Ottawa festival : TULIPS. Was unaware of the Ottawa festival.

8. Poems whose structure is based on the number six : SESTINAS. You'd think it's sextinas, since sex is Latin for "six".

9. Whistle blower : REF

10. Turning point : AXIS

11. Inscribed monument : STELE

12. City on the Elbe : DRESDEN

14. Conductor __-Pekka Salonen : ESA. No idea.

15. Son of Abraham : ISAAC

16. Hook or Cook: Abbr. : CAPT

18. Senior member : DEAN

21. "Whose radiant eyes your __ brows adorn": Dryden : EBON

25. Singer Kristofferson : KRIS

27. One following dogs : SLED

31. Minimum : LEAST

33. Combine : MELD

35. Worshiper of the rain god Tlaloc : AZTEC. Man, they had a rain god?

37. 49-Across's Bobby et al. : ORRS. And who else?

38. Vegas alternative : RENO

40. They may be last : RITES. True.

43. Sierra __: African republic : LEONE

44. Church holding : TENET

46. Important stars : SUNS

48. Countrified : RURAL

50. Double's doing : STUNT. On movie set.

54. Lead : DIRECT

56. Union exchanges : I DOs. Unison seldom refers to "labor union" in Xword.

58. Turn in place : SWIVEL. Great word.

59. Plastering strip : LATH

63. "... a Loaf of Bread ..." poet : OMAR

67. At risk of capsizing : TIPPY

68. Italian wine area : ASTI

70. Cereal brand : TOTAL

73. "On the Beach" novelist Shute : NEVIL. Another stranger to me. What's the novel about?

74. Rub the wrong away : ERASE. I like this clue too.

76. Pay : REMIT

78. Sq. mi., e.g. : MEAS (Measurement)

80. Adrift, perhaps : AT SEA

81. Dame intro? : NOTRE. Notre Dame.

84. Ambush, perhaps : SET AT

86. FRONTLINE target : FLEA

87. Disney's "__ and the Detectives" : EMIL

89. Restaurateur Toots : SHOR

91. Kicked up, as a fuss : PROVOKED

94. University of Cincinnati player : BEARCAT. Looks fiery.

96. "The Red" guy : ERIC. Eric the Red.

99. Neeson of "Schindler's List" : LIAM

101. 1959 Fiestas hit : SO FINE. Argyle, link away.

103. Got off the chair : AROSE

104. Approvals, in 105-Down : YAHS. And 105. Much street talk : SLANG.

107. Helper: Abbr. : ASST

108. Shoulder troublemaker? : CHIP. Oh, a chip on one's shoulder.

109. Prepare to fire : COCK. Are you there, Dennis?

111. Bygone cutter : SNEE

113. Tent part : FLAP

114. Red Muppet : ELMO

115. Times when Cognac heats up? : ETES. Cognac the town in France.

116. Venom : BILE

117. Part of USA: Abbr. : AMER

118. The lady's : HERS

120. Some tech sch. grads : EEs

121. __-80: old computer : TRS

Answer grid.

Today we remember 9/11 and those who lost their lives on that tragic day and thousands of American soldiers who died since that day. We also celebrate the birthday of our witty Husker Gary. May you lose less balls, drive straighter and score more birdies!

Additionally, JD, eddy & Chickie went to Warren and his wife Ruth's pottery sale yesterday. Here is a their picture. Everyone looks happy & cool!

C.C.

Friday, August 12, 2011, Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: Letters- Grow up! Each single letter hyphenated word has the letter replaced by a sound alike word creating a punny and thought provoking image. A very nicely themed balanced puzzle by one of the grand masters of construction. Mr. Wolfe has over 50 published NY Times as well as more than 30 LA Times and countless other publications. He has been INTERVIEWED by C.C. and has spanned more than 4 decades. While we continue to introduce new people, it is nice to see the continuity and continuing creativity of our veterans.

Lemonade, here driving the bus for this straightforward fun theme.

17A. Urban area set aside for pekoe purveyors?: TEA SQUARE. A T-Square is a technical drawing instrument used by draftsmen, which looks just like its name. Pekoe a type of tea.

25A. New Zealand lamb-exporting method?: EWE BOAT. U-Boat is a common crossword answer and the German Submarine used in the World Wars, from the German UNTERSEEBOOT, which just what is sounds like.

28A. End of the line?: QUEUE TIP. Q-tip is a brand name for a cotton swab; this is my favorite visual change. QUEUE being the British line.

47A. "The Look of Love" and "Suddenly I See," e.g.?: EYE TUNES. I-Tunes are the music downloadable from Apple. Okay, this is my favorite, 2 songs about eyes, and a really fun pun.

49A. Pitch notation for Debussy's "La Mer"?: SEA CLEF. C-Clef is the movable clef, and again I will defer to our musicians (where is John L.?) Mer is SEA in French.

58A. Island allotment?: CAY RATION. K-Ration is the the prepackaged food ration designed initially for paratroopers in WW II. The K has no meaning. CAY is like a Key and means an island.

The puzzle had no really long words, which surprised me as I recall Mr. Wolfe likes 15 letter fill, but here we go, and only minimal French. (Note from C.C.: The short theme entries EWE BOAT & SEA CLEF dictate that all of the non-theme Across answers should be shorter than 7 letters. If all theme entries are placed Across, it's OK to have Down fill longer than the shortest theme entry. Hence a couple of 8's today.)

Across:

1. Brother of Ham: SHEM. Two of the three SONS OF NOAH.

5. Finishes (up) the gravy: SOPS. Please use bread and not your fingers.

9. Performance lead-in: INTRO. Often a musical piece.

14. Mystique: AURA. Like this IMAGE.

15. Aussie water hazard: CROC. No wonder there are so many tough Australian golfers; anyone for Adam Scott?

16. Aired, as "Hogan's Heroes," say: RERAN.

19. Symphony section: REEDS. I defer to JzB for questions, but I believe there are four sections to an orchestra, woodwinds(reeds), brass, strings and percussion. Mr. Wolfe also is a musician, like others of our favorite puzzle makers.

20. Cross: SULLEN. So many different meanings for CROSS, this was not one that came easily.

21. Half of MXIV: DVII. Oh boy ancient Roman math problem; my son is in town back from Rome, yay.

22. "Julie & Julia" co-star: STREEP. All of us from New England grew up watching Ms. CHILD. Mr Wolfe is from Massachusetts, I believe.

31. Swimmer who channeled her energy?: EDERLE. Gertrude was the first woman to swim the English Channel.

32. Store, as ashes: INURN. For all the NITs out there- it is a real word.

33. Contests ending in draws?: DUELS. Wonderful clue, especially after soccer season.

35. Drifts off: NAPS. Wake up all!!!

36. Pinkish yellow: CORAL. I always thought of it as pinkish orange, but what do I know.

37. Hoax: FLAM. I bet he misses his pal FLIM. Recognize the bridge WH?

41. Low land: DALES. Hills and dales, not to be confused with Chip and Dale.

42. Wine made from the Garganega grape: SOAVE. We have had much education on WINE and brandy regions on Fridays.

43. Have a one-track mind: OBSESS.

51. Revered Mother: TERESA. This saintly woman shares her birthday with Vidwan and I.

52. Keen: WAIL. Okay Mr. Wolfe you have me, the perps say I am right, but I do not get KEEN = WAIL. (Note from C.C. "Keen" can mean "lament for the dead", verb and noun.)

53. Team playing in The Big A: ANGELS. Anaheim.

56. Icelandic literary treasures: EDDAS. A second appearance this week.

62. Rubbed-out spirits: GENII. I thought of Buffie killing some demons, not of bottled magic. Though it did remind eventually of this debate, which ONE do you vote for?

63. Needing darning TORN. I got some socks...

64. Polis starter: ACRO. ACROPOLIS.

65. What wavy lines may represent: ODORS. Followed by 66A. It's about a foot: SHOE. Great pun, about a foot, surrounding it; anyway, together they give us this LINK.

67. Regretted: RUED. Not trying to be rude, but we are done across, so we must go

Down:

1. Wasn't used: SAT. On the bench, like me in basketball.

2. Shade: HUE. Not outdoor shade, color shade.

3. Stat for CC Sabathia: ERA. A shout out for our own fearless leader? Or an evil empire jibe?

4. People who knead people: MASSEURS. Another golden oldie pun which merits this LINK.

5. Work with clay, say: SCULPT. That's what Aiken's trainer said he was doing.

6. Lacking a paper trail: ORAL. Fershure, we do not need a paper trail, no recordings or movies either.

7. Skin feature: PORE.

8. Dramatic division: SCENE. My father always told me children should heard not Obscene.

9. Bargain basement abbr.: IRR. Ironically, we are seeing this fill regularly.

10. As required, after "if": NEED BE. I do like weird letter combinations like this, what words end DBE?

11. "Felicia's Journey" writer William: TREVOR. Curious, go to this LINK. I did not know him.

12. Like some saws and tires: RADIAL. The tires were invented by Michelin in 1946.

13. Not remote: ON SITE.

18. Versatile game piece: QUEEN. She goes where she wants in chess, a game I never took to.

22. Magazine ad meas.: SQ IN. Square Inch.

23. __ melt: TUNA. My lunch about once per week, usually on a pita.

24. Do another stint: RE-UP. For all our military friends, it just means re-enlist.

26. "Let me think ...": WELL. A nice visual, "well dad, it was like this."

27. Mad VIPs: EDS. The editors of Mad magazine.

29. Hot star: IDOL. Do you all know who won last year? Do you like J-Lo coming back?

30. Turn to mush : PUREE. A shout out to all of our toothless members.

34. "Calm down!": EASY. Whoa now, easy boy; relax.

36. Winery buy: CASE. No brewery this week, we moving on up.

37. Like expensive restaurants, hopefully : FOUR STAR. What is your favorite restaurant? I like the Palm.

38. Meet assignment: LANE. Track meet, not joining Lois in the field.

39. Madison et al.: Abbr.: AVES. Not the President, the NYC avenues like Park and Lexington.

40. Cubs' spring training city: MESA. Any Cub fans out there? Don't hurt yourself, it is only a game.

41. PC dial-up upgrade: DSL. Dedicated Service Line.

42. Commemorative pillar: STELA. This is the LATIN spelling of what we call STELE.

43. Lake Ontario port: OSWEGO. First you have to know the Lake in New York STATE, near Syracuse, not Canada, after that the answer is easy. Luckily I have traveled upstate New York, pretty area.

44. Like some women's evening bags: BEADED. Man these must be way out of style, they are so CHEAP.

45. Refused: SAID NO. Just say no Lois.

46. Filled pastry: ECLAIR.

48. Unlimited, in verse: ETERNE. You have one from Spenser, or Chaucer CA?

50. Almanac offerings: FACTS. With computers, I am sure these will go the way of the newspaper.

54. Sodium hydroxide, in lab shorthand: NA O H. Don't you love how he worked the anagram of NOAH into the puzzle, for you Jerome.

55. Sandwich with tzatziki sauce: GYRO. Pronounced HERO.

57. Family girl: SIS. Never had one.

59. Post-op stop: ICU. Intensive Care Unit.

60. Unrefined metal: ORE.

61. Quiet bid: NOD. At a real auction, not the online kind.

Answer grid.

Over and out for another Friday, thanks for inviting me into your homes, see you next time.

Lemonade

Saturday September 28, 2010 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: None

Total words: 70

Total blocks: 32

Hallmark of Bob's Saturday themeless: three grid-spanners, all colloquial expressions:

17A. "Beats me" : I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE

36A. Reservation opening : ON SECOND THOUGHT

52A. "And afterward?" : WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

He must have a notebook full of 15-letter common expressions. Besides the above three 15s, Bob also gives us 11 more multi-word entries.

D, R, S & T are probably the most frequently used English consonants in crossword grid. Today we have 27 Ts. T can start or end a word. Form consonant blend like TR, TW or ST. Very versatile, just like S, but much better looking. Too many plural S or third person singular S at the bottom/right edge can make a boring grid. Singular ASS, SOS, SAS, ASSESS is not much better.

Across:

1. "Get going!" : SNAP TO IT. I sure did not start well.

9. Bantam : PETITE. Always associate bantam with chicken, not person.

15. Consort of Gustav I : KATARINA. I did not even know who Gusatav I was. According to Wiki, he's the founder of modern Sweden.

16. Like many barber shops : UNISEX

19. Bulbs in the kitchen : LEEKS. Not light bulbs. ONIONS can be clued this way also.

20. Speed : ROCKET. Can you make a sentence for me to show how they are interchangeable?

21. Wins approval : SELLS

23. Fellow : GENT

24. Contraction of a sort : TIC. Muscular contraction. Twitch. Great clue.

25. Botanical opening : STOMA. Greek for "mouth". New to me.

27. "Oh, sure!" : I BET

31. Italian classic : O SOLE MIO. Classic what? Food? Car? Beauty? I sure needed "song" in the clue.

34. Many a Middle Easterner : SEMITE

38. Arrives at : GETS TO

39. Vaulter's target : CROSSBAR

40. Before, before : ERST

41. Cast : THREW

43. Gasteyer of "SNL" : ANA. Learned from doing crossword.

44. Main call : AHOY. Bounding main. Ocean.

45. Points at dinner : TINES. The fork points.

47. In the habit of : USED TO

50. Big fan : FIEND

56. Explosive solvent, as it was formerly called : TOLUOL. Sigh! Nope. Luckily the crossing ETUI (49D) has become a gimme, otherwise letter U can be a wild noun guess.

57. Some tiny rods and spheres : BACTERIA. Too sophisticated a clue for me.

58. Funny bit : SHTICK. Consonants rich.

59. Versatile auxiliary wind-catcher : STAY SAIL. Stumped me again.

Down:

1. Word with run or jump : SKI

2. "No way!" : NAH

3. Regardless of the consequences : AT ALL COSTS. Nice entry.

4. "Star Trek" character __ Chekov : PAVEL. Mystery answer for me. Have never watched "Star Trek".

5. Poem with the line "Who intimately lives with rain" : TREES

6. Pen emission : OINK. Nailed it. Pig pen. I've been thinking lately why Jayce says sometimes clever clues please him, sometimes annoy him. Clues such as OINK are lovely. A big "Aha" or "D'oh" when you get it. On the other hand, "Chinese bread" (normally question mark is not provided on Saturdays) for RENMINBI will irk many, simply because most solvers are not familiar with the currency. A clever clue will not help. But try to commit RENMINBI (literally "people's money") to your memory, it will come up in a puzzle some day.

7. Stats for QBs : INTS. Interceptions I suppose.

8. Touching game : TAG

9. Fake it : PUT ON A SHOW. Great answer too.

10. Pass : ENACT. As law.

11. Little sucker : TICK. Fun clue.

12. You usually can't walk to one : ISLE. Draw a blank.

13. Ger. : TEUT. OK, Teuton/Teutonic.

14. Computer filename ending : EXE

18. Utah County city : OREM. South of Salt Lake city.

21. Moe, for one : STOOGE. The other two are Curly & Larry.

22. "The Spirit" comics writer Will : EISNER. First encounter with this guy.

23. Emotionally therapeutic episode : GOOD CRY. Do you cry easily?

25. Convince using flattery : SMOOTH TALK. Beautiful phrase.

26. Badge material : TIN

27. "God's Other Son" radio host : IMUS (Don). Not familiar with the show.

28. Swing time? : BIG BAND ERA. Gorgeous clue/answer.

29. Flammable gas : ETHANE

30. Bright swimmers : TETRAS. Brightly colored fish.

32. "O, swear not by ... the fickle moon ... __ that thy love prove likewise variable": "Romeo and Juliet" : LEST. Man, Shakespeare gives me trouble all the time, esp his damned quotes, never know what the guy wanted to express.

33. Outside: Pref. : ECT. Or ecto. Opposite of "endo-".

35. Aurora's counterpart : EOS. Greek dawn goddess. Also learned from doing Xword.

37. Three abroad : TRE. In Italy. Uno, due, tre. Sometimes it's clued with a tricky "It's over due?".

42. Shooter's target : HOOP. Basketball.

44. Literally, "for this" : AD HOC

45. Petulant : TESTY

46. Laura of "ER" : INNES. Total stranger.

47. "That's not good!" : UH OH

48. Old man of the sea : SALT. Slang for "sailor", but why "old"? It's not used any more? Or just playing on Hemingway's book title?

49. Small tool case : ETUI

50. Great achievement : FEAT

51. Tambo Colorado builder : INCA. Was ignorant of Tambo Colorado. The Inca adobe complex in Peru.

52. Mg. and kg. : WTS (weights)

53. "Frontline" airer : PBS

54. Noon indicator : XII. Clock/watch. Got me.

55. Chess champion who succeeded Botvinnik : TAL (Mikhail). The Latvian chess champion. I don't know who Botvinnik is, but the three-letter chess guy is always TAL, meaning "rain", "dew".

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday August 21, 2010 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: None

Total word: 72 / Total block: 34

Average word length: 5.31

Ha ha, a typical Robert H. Wolfe themeless Saturday. If you read my interview with him, you'd know that three colloquial grid-spanners are the hallmark of his Saturday puzzles:

17A. "I'll do it" : LET ME HANDLE THIS. Just awesome. I bet Bob is constantly counting on the number of letters in colloquial phrases.

38A. Words of disbelief : YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS. Nice one also.

58A. Words after thanks : I APPRECIATE THAT. My favorite.

Remarkable grid. Besides the three spanners, Bob also gives us ten 9s. As the norm with Saturday puzzles, some of the clues are very unambiguous but correct. Remember, clues are just clues, they don't need to be exact. They are not dictionary definitions.

Normally I dread the names in puzzles, but today I am very pleased to see:

19A. Joan of "The Last Emperor" : CHEN. Very beautiful. Hugely popular when I grew up. She was born and grew up in Shanghai. Chen (Mandarin) = Chan (Cantonese), as in Jackie/Charlie Chan.

40A. Hall of Fame Vikings lineman Carl : ELLER. Drug/alcohol plagues him. Our local newspaper reports on his every mishap. Their obsession with Brett Favre drive me nuts.

Across:

1. "Banded" arid-area reptile : SAND SNAKE. Well, I bet it's a gimme for Gunghy and Husker Gary. I've never heard of this reptile before.

10. Hitting sound : SPLAT

15. Body fat compound : OLEIC ACID. We often see OLEIC clued as partial, clued as "__ acid".

16. Bait : TEASE

20. WWII soldier in Africa : DESERT RAT. Not a familiar term to me.

21. Application datum : SEX. Well, I am not as DF as Dennis. I wanted AGE.

23. At least one : ANY

24. Chem class abbr. : AT WT (Atomic Weight)

27. Gave (out) : METED

31. Half a laugh : HEH

34. Film with a lot of reports : SHOOT 'EM UP. The Western movies. I just learned a few months ago that "reports" can mean "gun shots".

36. Coast : SHORE

41. Acted : TOOK STEPS. Didn't jump to me quickly.

42. Former British Poet Laureate Hughes : TED. Sylvia Plath's husband. Cold and aloof.

43. Fogg's creator : VERNE (Jules). No idea. Fogg is a character in his "Around the World in Eighty Day".

44. Computer unit : BYTE

45. Telepathy term : PSI. Stumped. Dictionary defines it as "any purported psychic phenomenon, as psychokinesis, telepathy, clairvoyance, or the like".

47. Cone lead-in : SNO. Sno cone.

49. Healthful desserts : FRUIT CUPS. With sprinkled toasted coconut flakes, yummy!

55. "Let's call __ evening" : IT AN

61. Early MTV staple : VIDEO

62. Fashionable partygoer? : LATE COMER. Nice clue.

63. Poet's superlative : ENORM. Enormous.

64. 1986 Blake Edwards comedy flop (aptly named, as it turned out) : A FINE MESS. No idea, though the poster looks familiar. I must have linked it before.

Down:

1. Longest note? : SOL. Oh, I get it. It's longest because all the other musical notes only have 2 letters: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti.

2. Smart one? : ALEC. Smart alec.

3. 2010 FIFA World Cup finalist : NETH (Netherlands). And UCLA (52. 2010 College World Series runner-up). Too obscure clues for me, since I don't follow either.

4. See 49-Down : DIME STORE. And FIVE (49. With "and" and 59-Down, 4-Down) and TEN ( 59. See 49-Down). Five - and - Ten = Dime Store. I normally like cross-references, but got headache over this one.

5. View : SCENE

6. "Forget it" : NAH

7. USMA part: Abbr. : ACAD. USMA = United States Military Academy.

8. Biblical grazers : KINE. Cows. Maybe Windhover knows. He has profound knowledge on Bible.

9. Actor Byrnes and baseball Hall of Famer Roush : EDDS

10. Hard : STERN

11. Narrow : PETTY. Can you give an example on how they equate?

12. Actor who was born a Leo, as it happens : LAHR (Bert). The Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz". Interesting trivia.

13. Large land mass : ASIA

14. Check : TEST

18. Chair, say : LEAD. Verb, to chair a committee. I was thinking of furniture.

22. Cyclops and Beast, e.g. : X-MEN. Blind spots for me. Cyclops is just ugly.

24. So far : AS YET

25. Oar fulcrum : THOLE. Learned from doing Xword.

26. If only : WOULD

28. Hardly be stoical : EMOTE. "Be hardly stoical" is better, isn't it?

29. Oxford employee : TUTOR. Dictionary says tutor (esp in Oxford and Cambridge), means "a university officer, usually a fellow, responsible for teaching and supervising a number of undergraduates". Well, I hope Vidwan nailed it. He has British style education. I was baffled.

30. Printing pioneer : EPSON. Oh, really?

31. Rot : HOOEY

32. Blow : ERUPT

33. "Demian" author : HESSE (Hermann). I bet Kazie knows the book.

35. Dutch painter Gerard __ Borch : TER. No idea. Is "ter" like "van"/"de"?

36. H.S. VIPs : SRS. And SAT I (54. H.S. reasoning exam, formerly). Unknown to me also. Wish I had come to the US earlier. I presume Math and writing are SAT II and SAT III?

37. Crash and burn : HIT BOTTOM. Great clue/answer.

39. Gets by, with "out" : EKES. Ennui!

43. Annual resolution target : VICE. Oh, New Year resolutions.

45. Pepper picker : PIPER. Peter Piper, the pickled pepper picker.

46. Lindsey's predecessor in the Senate : STROM (Thurmond). I remember the Trent Lott incident during Thurmond's 100th birthday party.

48. Caroline, to Bobby : NIECE. Caroline/Bob Kennedy.

50. Noah's concern : RAIN

51. Style with pins : UPDO

53. "La Vie en Rose" singer : PIAF (Edith)

56. "Alas!" : AH ME

57. Nairn negatives : NAES. Nairn is a county in N. Scotland.

60. Some corp. officers : TRS. Boomer is the treasurer for our Townhouse Association. But he's not familiar with the abbr.

Answer grid.

Here is a set of five cute animal pictures forwarded to me from a faithful lurker code-named "B".

C.C.

Saturday June 5, 2010 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 34

Quintessential Robert Wolfe themeless, with three 15-letter grid spanners and all of them "common enough phrases in daily speech but rarely used in puzzles":

17A. Daydreams: CASTLES IN THE AIR. Awe-inspiring fill.

38A. Reaction to a coincidental entrance: SPEAK OF THE DEVIL. My favorite answer today.

58A. Declaration that's from hunger: I COULD EAT A HORSE. Then we also have ATE (6D. Took in). Tiny flaw. Two forms of the same word (EAT/ATE) should not be allowed in the same grid.

Besides the three grid-spanners, Bob also gives us ten 9-letter entries. He is fond of multi-word answers, so we have plenty today. His playfulness & humor are also in full display. Rafts of misleading clues. My favorite is INFRA (28D. Red head?). Infrared.

Across:

1. "Something's Got a Hold on Me" singer, 1962: ETTA JAMES. Was stumped immediately. Great to see her full name.

10. Bar at the bar: ESTOP. The first bar is verb, "prohibit", the second bar is noun, "the court". We often see it just clued as "Legally prevent".

15. It "ain't what it used to be": Yogi Berra: THE FUTURE. Makes sense.

16. Birch of "Alaska": THORA. Actress Thora Birch. I thought the clue was asking for a particular birch tree in the Alaska. Completely overlooked the quotation mark. Having never heard of the movie "Alaska" did not help.

19. Cry of exhilaration: WHEE

20. Like an irritated person's teeth?: SET ON EDGE. Awesome clue/answer.

21. What U can follow: RST. Alphabetically.

23. White House nickname: RON. Reagan. I wanted IKE.

24. Musician nicknamed "Sugar Lips": HIRT (Al).

27. Try to jab: HIT AT

31. Dose people?: DEM. "Those people" = Them. NY slang I presume. Dis and Dat, Dem and Dose.

34. Like the Indian rhino: ONE-HORNED. Man, it's true. This guy only has one horn.

36. Uncle equal?: I GIVE. V-8 moment for me.

40. Upholstery adornments: TUFTS

41. Plant grafting component: ROOTSTOCK. New word to me.

42. Hampshire's home: STY. Hampshire the breed of pig, characterized by erect ears and a black body with a whitish band around the middle, covering the front legs, according to Wikipedia. I thought it's kind of sheep or goat, Windhover.

43. 1966-67 AFL rushing leader Jim: NANCE. No idea. I bet Barry G/ Mainiac knows. Did not even know England patriots was called Boston Patriots before.

44. DOJ employee: ATTY. DOJ = Depart of Justice.

45. 'Enry's abode: 'OME. Home. The sound H is dropped in the clue/answer. Cockney accent.

47. Ink __: octopus defense: SAC

49. Alfalfa locales: HAYFIELDS. Windhover would love this puzzle.

55. "Verily, thou __ God that hidest thyself" (Isaiah): ART A. Easy guess.

61. It may be metered: VERSE. Fantastic clue.

62. Above: AFORESAID

63. Glacial ridge: ESKER. Simply forgot. We had this fill before.

64. Doesn't draw: STANDS PAT. I don't get the meaning of "draw" here.

Down:

1. Inclusive abbr. : ETC

2. Cold war abatement: THAW

3. Radio host John: TESH. New Ager.

4. Then: AFTER THAT

5. First name in sci-fi: JULES (Verne). "Around the World in Eighty Days".

7. Tousle: MUSS

8. Ohio tribe: ERIE. We also have TETON (29. Dakota dialect). Indian tribes are part of our citizenship test also. There are more than 500 federally recognized tribes in the US. But you only need to know one.

9. Directed: SENT

10. Centric leader: ETHNO. Prefix for "culture".

11. Polish: SHEEN. Noun "Polish". I wanted SHINE.

12. Loathsome sort: TOAD

13. Copier insert: Abbr.: ORIG

14. Skin: PARE. Verb "skin". So tricky.

18. Actionable offense: TORT

22. During, old-style: THRO. How can "through" mean "During"? "Via" to me.

24. Armies: HOSTS. Armies/hosts of.

25. Data, often: INPUT. Not the "Star Trek" guy Data.

26. Like atolls: REEFY. A real word.

30. For this purpose: AD HOC

31. Displacement from a club: DIVOT. D'oh, golf club! Divot is the piece of turf torn up when you strike the ball with an iron.

32. Force out: EVICT. Nice sequential "out" tone to 31D.

33. Braves outfielder Cabrera: MELKY. The Melky Way. He's with the Yankees before. Might be stranger Jayce.

35. Blesses: OKS

36. They may be checked at the door: IDS

37. Be convincing about: GET ACROSS

39. Soissons seasons: ETES. Alliteration. Soissons is city northeast of Paris. Unknown to me. So close in spelling to French fish "poisson".

43. Requirement: NEED

45. Not worthless: OF USE

46. Sebastian Coe, e.g. : MILER

48. Sounded amazed: AAHED. Oohed too.

49. Swarming spot: HIVE. Alliteration

50. They can be high or low: ACES. Don't know cards. TIDE does not fit. Several tricky "they" or "it" in today's puzzle.

51. Walled English city: YORK. No idea. My hometown Xi'An is walled too.

52. Where cows chow down: LEAS. Loved the three "ow"s.

53. Bats: DAFT. Of course I was thinking of baseball bats/HITS.

54. Acropolis sight: STOA. The Greek portico.

56. Under-the-sink item: TRAP. What trap?

57. Land of plenty?: ASIA. Plenty of people. Natural resources too.

59. Hal Foster prince: ARN. I am used to the "Prince Valiant's son" clue. Was ignorant of the creator of the strip.

60. Summer hrs. at MIT: EDT (Eastern Daylight-saving Time)

Answer grid.

C.C.

Interview with Robert H. Wolfe

Long time LA Times or NY Times solvers are probably familiar with Robert Wolfe. He has had 57 puzzles published by the NY Times alone.

Since Rich Norris took over the editorship of the LA Times Daily Crossword in late 1999, Robert Wolfe has made over 123 puzzles for LAT. Mr. Wolfe is also a regular contributor of Stan Newman's Newsday Puzzle. Additionally, he has also made puzzles for our old Tribune Media Service (TMS) Daily, NY Sun, Washington Post, Games Magazine and other publications that I've not previously heard of.

What is the seed entry for this puzzle? And what kind of troubles did you go through to make the grid work?

There were 3 seed entries for this themeless puzzle Rich will publish in May - all with 15 letters:

DON’T KID YOURSELF

IT’S A MYSTERY TO ME

I WON’T LET YOU DOWN

All 3 are common enough phrases in daily speech but rarely used in puzzles. I’ve used this grid before (with 3 - 15 letter entries) many times. This grid was an easy fill with about 15 compound words and only 1 cheater per each 1/2 diagonal.

What is your background? And how did you develop an interest in crossword constructing?

Well, there really wasn’t much else to do in the asylum -- just kidding. I’ve been a veterinarian (small animal practitioner) for 42 years, but I had such a poor vocabulary in school while growing up in Newton, Mass., I probably didn’t even know how to spell or define ‘vocabulary’. At Michigan State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, I and a girl (the smartest student in the class) routinely showed up early for our daily 8 AM class. For many months I watched her do the crossword in the college paper, and, being somewhat competitive with her, I started doing them as well. She helped me learn the crosswordese lingo of the time and I enjoyed the challenge, though I never completed one before she did. At our 40^th veterinary class reunion which I helped to organize last year, I gave her a copy of my Saturday NY Times that had been published the week before, along with a note thanking her for getting me started with this obsession.

How would you describe your puzzle style? And what kind of themes/fill appeal to you? And what kind of entries do you try to avoid?

I don’t know that I have a style, per se. I’ve always tried to be completely original, which was easy when I started in the early 1970s, since most things hadn’t been done yet. That’s getting harder to do and I construct more themeless puzzles now. I’ve always striven for humor, in themed puzzles and particularly in clues. I made up such clues as ‘Athletic supporter’ for TEE. I love making up Limericks and quips, such as this TV promo bulletin:

THE WORLD TO END AT

NINE TONIGHT

DETAILS AT ELEVEN

In themeless puzzles I like having 3 to 6 -15 letter phrases like the one Rich will publish in May, and build the puzzles around them. Rich likes those, but Will often rejects them, complaining that solvers may be confused by thinking it’s a themed puzzle when it’s not.

You've been constructing for 36 years, what's the highlight of your construction career?

Odd, since I’m only 35 years old! (I wish). My first puzzle published in the New York Times by Gene Maleska was a biggie. I had it laminated. It now sits somewhere in my closet gathering dust. I got a puzzle in S & S and GAMES prior to that. I liked that GAMES used that first puzzle I sent to them in a national contest - and Stan Newman was the winner! I was proud that during Fred’s tenure at the Washington Post I was one of his most frequently published constructors. The same applied to Wayne’s tenure at the Chicago Tribune. Too bad my most receptive editors have been replaced by syndication. I keep imploring Rich and John Samson to keep their jobs (not that they have much say in the matter).

Where do you normally find your crossword muse? And how do you deal with "Writer's Blocks"?

Inspiration comes from life all the time. Since high school I’ve been an incorrigible punster and I’m always pulling material out of the air - from something someone says or from a road sign or ad, or from TV. I’d bet most constructor’s minds work in that sort of mode. I do occasionally get a block but it doesn’t throw me. I always snap out of it and start doing 3 or 4 puzzles at once. At times I just sit at the computer and start playing with words and a puzzle just comes to me. Having mentioned the computer, I’m still amazed at this thing and often think back to the old days, making up grids, using copying machines and wearing down a lot of pencils and erasers.

What references tools do you use for cluing and fact checks?

I have a library of reference books on film, TV, pop songs, opera, Shakespeare, almanacs, foreign sayings, mythology, Italian, French, Spanish and German dicts, abridged and unabridged dicts, books of quotations, several bibles, idiom and slang books, sports encyclopedia and many more. BUT - nowadays I just Google it and find at least two web sources for fact checking or for background on people being clued. Most of the cluing just comes from the punning.

What kind of crosswords do you solve daily and who are your favorite constructors?

Living on Long Island in NY, I do the NY Times daily and Sundays and Stan’s Saturday Stumper on Sats. Lately I like Doug Peterson’s themeless puzzles. I have no favorites - they’re all outstanding. Alfio Micci used to impress me as a standout constructor.

Besides crosswords, what else do you do for fun?

I’ve run 3 miles daily since high school, swim 1 to 2 miles daily in the summer, play piano and guitar, love movies and photography, love international travel with my wife (we’ve had 28 happy years of marriage - 39 altogether, but about 28 have been happy - no, it’s just a joke - don’t publish that or I’ll never make it to my 40^th!) I write a lot - have had some poetry published and have written a screenplay and an action/adventure/romance novel that’s gone unpublished. The extra vocabulary helps when I write but apparently the only thing Hemingway and I have in common is that we were both born male!

Saturday May 1, 2010 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: None

Total blocks: 32

Total words: 72

This puzzle is anchored by three 15-letter grid spanners:

17A. "Be realistic": DON'T KID YOURSELF

39A. "Count on me": I WON'T LET YOU DOWN

59A. "Who knows?": IT'S A MYSTERY TO ME

All of them are lively common colloquial expressions and are seldom seen in any puzzles. Actually I don't remember seeing any of them in our LAT before.

In his interview, the constructor Robert H. Wolfe also mentioned that there are 15 compound words in today's offering.

A much easier puzzle for me today. Very few obscure names/words to frustrate me. I had fun.

Across:

1. Beachgoer's pursuit: SUNBATH

8. A film may be shown in it: THREE D. 3D. Did you have problem parsing THREED?

14. Like some bandits: ONE-ARMED. One armed bandits, the slot machines.

16. Item in the news, perhaps: COUPLE

19. "I'd hate to break up __": A SET. Felt silly not nailing this one, considering I collect baseball cards. "I'd hate to break up your marriage" is all I could think of.

20. Salon stuff: GEL

21. Thin piece: SHEET

22. She played Carmela in "The Sopranos": EDIE (Falco)

25. Trois counterpart: DREI. "Three" in German. Trois is French, Tres is Spanish.

27. Return recipient: SENDER

30. Dedicated verse: ODE

31. Influential Harper's Weekly cartoonist: NAST (Thomas). He created the Democratic donkey and Republican elephant.

35. Mobile home site: TRAILER CAMP. My initial reaction is: Somewhere in Alabama?

38. Actress Benaderet who first voiced Granny in Tweety cartoons: BEA. Recognized her face when I googled.

41. Lip: RIM

42. Promotional campaigns: SALES DRIVES

43. Sound of locks being changed?: SNIP. Nailed it. Knew immediately that locks refers to hair.

45. "Unlikely!": NOT

46. Queen of fiction: ELLERY. Ellery Queen, the mystery author.

47. "Flash of Genius" actor: ALDA

49. "I ran away from you once. I can't do it again" speaker: ILSA. From "Casablanca". I am used to the "Play it again, Sam" speaker clue.

50. Russian emperor after Catherine II: PAUL I. Between 1796 and 1801. I've never heard of the dude. Paul does not sound Russian, doesn't it?

53. Pops: DAD. And SODA (1D. Pop).

55. Some mil. personnel: NCOS

63. Put (together): PIECE

64. Arrive, with some difficulty: MAKE IT IN. New phrase to me.

65. Highlight: STRESS

66. "Ozymandias" et al.: SONNETS. Gimme, thanks to Clear Ayes and J.D.'s previous discussions.

Down:

2. Ones in Madrid: UNOS

3. Island goose: NENE. Hawaii's state bird. It's wild.

4. Driven home: BATTED IN. Baseball.

5. Chest with tablets: ARK

6. "More than I need to know!": TMI (Too Much Information). Needs an abbr. hint.

7. Waffle: HEDGE

8. Fort Worth sch.: TCU (Texas Christian University)

9. Dressage trainee: HORSE. Who do you think will win the Kentucky Derby? I'll go with Lookin at Lucky, then Ice Box.

10. Raid the joint, say: RUSH IN

11. Olympics weapon: EPEE.

12. Cosmo rival: ELLE

13. Handy: DEFT

15. Color: DYE. Wanted HUE.

18. Past: OLD DAYS

23. Forward raises strengthen them: DELTS. Shoulder muscles. Here is a picture of forward raise. Looks like it strengthens lots of muscles.

24. Cork's place: IRELAND. Cork is a county in Ireland.

26. Do over: REMODEL

27. Moves slightly: STIRS

28. "Desert Fox" Rommel: ERWIN

29. Woman in the Book of Ruth: NAOMI. Ruth's mother-in-law.

30. Scale notes, e.g.: OCTET. Group of eight: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So/Sol, La, Ti, Do.

32. Over: ABOVE

33. Escape site in "Les Misérables": SEWER. Did not come to me readily.

34. Aster family plant: TANSY. Yellow-flowered. Had no idea that it belongs to the aster family.

36. Puts in a new clip: RELOADS

37. Knitting stitches: PURLS

40. Anticonvulsive drug: DILANTIN. No idea. Maybe Buckeye can tell us more. Wikipedia says this drug made an appearance in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", both as an anticonvulsive drug and as a mechanism to control inmate behavior.

44. Regal residence: PALACE

48. Bartender's supply: LIMES

49. They can be bright: IDEAS. Or dumb. Great clue.

50. Card marks: PIPS

51. Busy: AT IT

52. __ ID: USER

54. Cash source, briefly: ATM

56. Dove shelter: COTE

57. Cut: OMIT

58. D.C. VIPs: SENS

60. NFL gains: YDS (Yards)

61. Old MGM rival: RKO

62. Hunger: YEN. Still no yen to visit Japan, Jazzbumpa? US dollar works there!

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday January 23, 2010 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: None

Total blocks: 36

Total words: 70

This puzzle is anchored by three 15-letter grid-spanning colloquial idioms:

17A. Words of consolation: YOU CAN'T WIN 'EM ALL. You win some, you lose some.

36A. "Don't cry over spilt milk": WHAT'S DONE IS DONE. Can't change the past.

54A. Sassy reply to criticism: IT'S A FREE COUNTRY! I'll do what I please!

Excellent entries, aren't they?

Alas, the rest of the fill and clues do not awe me as much. My multi-word woe continued. Some of the answer phrases are just not in my vocabulary and a few clues are simply too vague for my knowledge and enjoyment.

Felt like walking on ice the whole solve. Maybe it's solid ground for Dennis.

Across:

1. Cellbound?: IN PRISON. Bound in prison cell. Thought it might be mobile phone related.

9. Activates: TRIPS. Like "trip a switch". My hats off to you if the answer came to you immediately.

14. Sanctioned: VALIDATED

16. Brownish pigment: SEPIA. The old photo color.

19. Group with PCPs: HMO. PCP: Primary-Care Physician.

20. Día de San Valentín sentiment: TE AMO. "I love you" in Spanish. Día de San Valentín = St. Valentine's day.

21. Carbon compound: ENOL. Carbon is the same as organic, isn't it?

22. Boardroom illustration: CHART

24. Letter-shaped hardware used to strengthen joints: T- PLATE. Like this.

26. Fish also called a blue jack: COHO. Only know it as "Silver salmon". Does have some blue hue.

28. Bravo maker: FIAT. Not familiar with Fiat Bravo.

29. See a pro, say: TAKE LESSONS. Nope, did not come to quickly.

33. __ blue: SKY

38. Vague quantity: ANY. FEW too.

39. Fish tales: TALL STORIES. And LIED (48A. Wasn't true).

40. Chilean bread: PESO. The "bread" in late week puzzles often refer to money.

41. Submit formally: FILE

42. Back on the water: ASTERN. Back of a boat. Opposite bow.

45. Good thing to be up to: SNUFF. Idiom: "up to snuff". Nailed it.

49. __ Peters, author of Brother Cadfael mysteries: ELLIS. No idea. Pseudonym of British author Edith Mary Pargeter. See the book cover.

51. Intercepting device: TAP

58. Big name in falsetto: VALLI (Frankie). Of "The Four Seasons".

59. Street hazard: OPEN SEWER. I just felt so dumb.

60. Take out, in a way: ERASE

61. View for 6-Down: TREE TOPS. And SANTA (6D. Flier over 61-Across).

Down:

1. Creeper: IVY

2. Sodium hydroxide, in chem class: NAOH. Only know the sodium symbol NA.

3. Juicy fruit: PLUM

4. Bounce: RICOCHET

5. State with a panhandle: Abbr.: IDA. So many states with panhandles. The clue typifies the "could be this, could be that" toughness of the whole grid.

7. Web-footed mammal: OTTER

8. Not experienced in: NEW AT

9. Literary monogram: TSE (T.S. Eliot). The first person who popped into my brain.

10. Do a foundry job: REMELT. Did not know the meaning of "foundry".

11. Old toothpaste with a spokesbeaver: IPANA. "Brusha, brusha, brusha".

12. Fly: PILOT

13. Maison room: SALLE. French for "room". Maison is "house". I misread as "Mason room".

15. Not too smart: DIM

18. Out of the running: NOT IN IT. Not fond of any "Not ..." answer. Opens doors for NOT FULL, NOT UGLY, NOT SEXY, anything not. Arbitrary-prone.

23. Arm holder?: HOLSTER. Firearm. Loved the clue.

25. Falsely present (as): PASS OFF

26. Four-time Oscar-winning lyricist: CAHN (Sammy)

27. Fine: OKAY

28. Antagonists: FOES

29. Defunct carrier: TWA. Howard Hughes's airline.

30. "Roots" Emmy winner: ED ASNER. He played Captain Davies on "Roots". I need "Lou Grant" to make the fill a gimme.

31. Helpless?: SOLO. Nice clue.

32. NBC hit since '75: SNL

33. Land: SOIL

34. Joint with a cap: KNEE

35. "Works for me": YES

37. Fisherman's aid that floats with the current: DRIFT NET. New to me.

40. Rides on a path, perhaps: PEDALS. Perhaps, yes.

42. Full of energy: ALIVE

43. Indian strings: SITAR

44. Magnetic induction unit: TESLA. Named after Nikola Tesla.

45. Nodded: SLEPT

46. More pleasant: NICER

47. Rte. through six Eastern state capitals: US ONE. US. Route 1 runs from Maine to Florida.

50. Fifth sign: LEO. Zodiac sign.

52. Welk's upbeat: A TWO. Lawrence Welk trademark count-off: "A one and a two". Beat me.

53. __ school: PREP

55. Old-fashioned word of disapproval: FIE

56. Deploy: USE

57. Vintage nos.: YRS. On wine bottle.

Answer grid.

See you tomorrow, Crucigangsters! Thanks for the word yesterday, Jerome. FYI, cruciverbalist is a person who loves crosswords. From Latin crux/cruc "cross" + verbum "word", a modern back translation of English "crossword".

C.C.

Sunday October 4, 2009 Robert H Wolfe

Theme: Surprise Endings - The ending of each made-up film is an anagram of the last word of a well-known movie.

24A. Film about a soft-hearted creature?: TENDER IS THE THING. Thing/Night anagram. "Tender is the Night" is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

32A. Film about a computer supervisor?: LORD OF THE FILES. Files/Flies anagram. I've never heard of the novel "Lord of the Flies". It's written by British novelist William Golding, Nobel Literature winner 1983.

51A. Film about Los Angeles losing its NFL team?: A FAREWELL TO RAMS. Rams/Arms anagram. "A Farewell to Arms" is a novel by Hemingway. The Rams moved from LA to St. Louis in 1995. I faintly remember this trivia.

69A. Film about Broadway beginners?: WEST SIDE TYROS. Tyros/Story anagram. The musical "West Side Story". Tyro means "beginner".

87A. Film about Santa enjoying his holiday cigar?: A CHRISTMAS CLARO. Claro/Carol anagram. "A Christmas Carol" is a novel by Dickens. Claro is a mild cigar.

105. Film about a home run derby?: DAY OF THE CLOUTS. Clouts/Locust anagram. "The Day of the Locust" is a novel by Nathanael West. Another unknown to me. Shouldn't there be a "The" in the theme answer then? Clout is a powerful hit/home run in baseball.

116. Film about gardening options?: PLACES IN THE EARTH. Earth/Heart anagram. Not familiar the movie "Places in the Heart" either. Looks like a strong cast.

Very "Surprising Endings" indeed.

Did you grok the theme immediately? I did not until I got A CHRISTMAS CLAROL. Bollixed quite a few fill, but was able to solve the puzzle with mild cheating.

Always a great feeling to finish a Robert H. Wolfe puzzle. I tend to have difficulty getting into his wavelength.

Across:

1. Make __: match the scorecard, in golf: A PAR. And TEE (9D. Elevator on the links?). Links = golf course.

5. Little hooters: OWLETS

11. Two pages: LEAF. Oh my, I thought LEAF is only one page.

15. Second Greek letter: BETA. Alpha, beta and gamma.

19. Dieter's word: LITE. And CALORIE (43A. Heat measure). I connect CALORIE with food consumption rather than the heat it food produces.

21. Being, in old Rome: ESSE

22. Indiana senator Bayh: EVAN. Gimme. Senator Bayh (pronounced like by) is a Democrat.

23. Gangsters' guns: GATS. Or RODS. "Gangsters' girls" is MOLLS.

27. Studio sign: ON AIR

29. Chem., for one: SCI. Hated chemistry while in school. Had a very menacing teacher.

30. Chicago-to-Louisville dir.: SSE

31. Name on an armored truck: BRINKS. Wow, I've never paid attention to the name on those armoured truck.

36. Small surgical knife: LANCET. New to me. Rooted in Lance. SCALPEL is "Small surgical knife" too.

37. Landlocked Afr. land: ETH (Ethiopia). Two other African landlocked countries are Lesotho and Swaziland.

49. Certain Prot.: EPIS (Episcopal). Saw this abbreviation somewhere before.

58. Continue after a setback, as one's life: GET ON WITH

61. Jack-in-the-pulpit family: ARUM. Nailed it today.

62. Clean a spill: MOP UP

63. Poker action: RAISE

64. Scary film staple: MONSTER

67. Flat-topped rise: MESA. Also a city in Arizona.

68. Picture-taking word ending: CAM. As in webcam/skycam.

74. Some NFL linemen: RTS (Right Tackles)

75. Publisher Chandler: OTIS. No idea. Wikipedia says this guy was the publisher of LA Times between 1960 and 1980.

77. Chews out: BERATES

78. __ Major: Great Dog constellation: CANIS. Latin for "dog".

80. 1/60 of a dram: MINIM. New word to me. Related to minimum I suppose.

82. Kennel home: CAGE

83. Pretended to have written earlier, as a letter: BACKDATES

91. Fishing spot: PIER

92. Glaswegian gal: LASS. Alliteration.

93. Drip from a bad pipe: LEAK OUT. Verb phrase.

96. Tallahassee sch.: FSU (Florida State University). The Seminoles.

97. Listless: MOPEY

100. Salt Lake City Olympics year: MMII (2002)

102. Command to Spot: SIT. Could be SIC.

104. Artist friend of Max Ernst: MAN RAY. Not a familiar name to me. He was a surrealist photographer. Full name in clue = Full name in answer.

112. Maintain: ALLEGE

113. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT

114. Harry Potter's pal: RON. Easy guess. Have never read any Harry Potter series. You've probably guessed from Jazzbumpa's IRON/I RON wordplay that his real name is Ron.

115. Wreck completely: TOTAL

121. Harley or Honda: BIKE

122. Filmmaker Riefenstahl: LENI. Most famous for her "Triumph of the Will" for Hitler. I remember her name by associating her with Lenin.

123. Forest feature: TREE

125. Away from the wind: ALEE

126. LAX listings: ETDS. ETD = Estimated Time of Departure.

127. Things in locks: OARS. Wanted KEYS. Good clue.

128. Ad with a credit card bill, e.g.: INSERT

129. Ding, but not dong: DENT. Good clue too.

Down:

1. Star in Perseus: ALGOL (AL-gol). Unknown to me. Also called the Demon Star. Al is Arabic for "the". Gol is from Ghoul, evil demon. Related to Gorgon Medusa, who was killed by Perseus (PUR-see-uhs).

2. Grand, perhaps: PIANO. Ah, we just had "Upright, for one" the other day.

3. Rose oil: ATTAR

6. Take away forcibly: WREST

7. Something to do with a business associate?: LUNCH. Oh, I misinterpreted the clue, thinking of something "of a business associate".

8. Comic Izzard: EDDIE. No idea. He is a British comic, born in ADEN (38A: Port in Yemen).

10. Pol. letters until 1991: SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic)

11. Abate: LESSEN

12. Politico Kefauver: ESTES. Adlai Stevenson's 1956 running mate.

13. Light gray: ASH

14. Most frail: FEEBLEST

15. Losing: BEHIND. Ha ha, Tigers lost again! And Twins won. Poor Jazzbumpa.

16. Demonstrate: EVINCE. Know this word. Have never used it though.

17. Failed suddenly, in slang: TANKED

18. Emotional strife: ANGST. Too much ANGST in rap.

26. Window over a door: TRANSOM. Just learned the phrase "over the transom" the other day.

28. Campus recruiters, briefly: ROTC

33. Govt. loan insurer: FHA (Federal Housing Administration). I drew a blank.

34. Pleasant forecast: FAIR

35. Nice notion?: IDEE. Nice is the city in SE France.

41. Like music composed for a libretto: OPERATIC

42. Another name for biotin: VITAMIN H. Big stumper. Did not know the meaning of biotin. Have never heard of Vitamin H either. It's a water-soluble B-complex vitamin.

44. Chou En-__: LAI. China's first premier. LAI is literally "come" in Chinese.

45. Frequently, in verse: OFT

46. Cheering cry: RAH. Not OLE.

47. High-pitched: FLUTY. I checked, it's a real word.

48. Dramatist Rice: ELMER. No idea. Wikipedia says he received Pulitzer for Drama for his 1929 play "Street Scene".

50. "__ lied": SO I. Wrote down YOU, influenced by Congressman Joe Wilson.

52. Diminishes: WANES. Mine was FADES.

53. Formerly, formerly: ERST.

55. Pre-meal drink: APERITIF. Not for me.

56. Attractions not to be missed: MUST-SEES

57. Baden-Baden et al.: SPAS. Baden-Baden is a German spa town. Baden is German for "bathe". Totally unknown to me. Was it a gimme for you, Kazie?

59. Sydney's state: Abbr.: NSW (New South Wales). Definitely a gimme for Kazie.

60. Hall of Fame NFL coach Ewbank: WEEB. Nope. Strange name.

64. Tiny parasites: MITES. GNATS have 5 letters too.

66. Music with many subgenres: ROCK. Emo is a kind of ROCK.

68. Long time out: COMA. And NAP (79D. Short time out). Nice echo.

70. Religious factions: SECTS. Like Shia, Sunni.

71. Ore cars: TRAMS

72. Long tale: SAGA. Epic too.

73. Low: SAD

76. Round Table title: SIR. Don't let it be forgot/That once there was a spot/For one brief shining moment that was known/As Camelot.

81. Used-car datum: MILEAGE

83. Call to Bo-Peep: BAA. Nursery rhyme. "Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep..."

84. First rescue boat: ARK. Noah's ARK is the first ever rescue boat.

86. Actress Joanne: DRU. She's in "All the King's Men".

88. Accept, as a marriage proposal: SAY YES TO

89. Ad writer's award: CLIO. Muse of history.

90. Explorer Ericson: LEIF. The first European to land in North America. Same pronunciation as LIEF (willingly).

94. Trojans' sch.: USC (University of Southern California)

95. Incline: TILT

97. Croquet striker: MALLET. Mostly wooden-headed.

98. Off the boat: ON LAND

99. Summary: PRECIS (prey-SEE). Rooted in precise. APERCU is "Summary" too.

100. Dull finishes: MATTES

101. Tale involving Greek gods, e.g.: MYTH

103. "That's a shame": TOO BAD

105. Eatery traditionally modeled after a rail car: DINER

109. Of service: UTILE

110. Like a movie seat with a coat on it: TAKEN

111. Winter fall: SLEET

117. S&L offering: IRA (Individual Retirement Account)

119. Suffix with Caesar: EAN. Caesarean. C-Section.

120. He followed FDR: HST. "The buck stops here".

Answer grid.

C.C.