Monday June 28, 2010 Scott Atkinson

Theme: Wild Kingdom - Animals described by two separate animal names and before someone says a spider or a shark isn't an animal, I see everything as animal, vegetable, or mineral and they aren't one of the last two.

17A. Hammerhead relative with stripes: TIGER SHARK. Image.

27A. Huge walrus relative: ELEPHANT SEAL. Image.

48A. Primate with spindly limbs: SPIDER MONKEY. Image.

63A. One of two in "The Twelve Days of Christmas": TURTLE DOVE. Image.

Argyle here.

What a straightforward puzzle. Hardly a tricky clue in the batch. Entries from across the board. This is the one you might give to people to get them started on crosswords.

Across:

1. Apple computers: MACS

5. Subsurface woodwork decoration: INLAY

10. Coffeehouse convenience for Web surfers: WI-FI

14. Give off, as light: EMIT

15. '80s Pontiac roadster: FIERO. Image.

16. Ruckuses: ADOs

19. Pulls, as a camper: TOWS

20. Visibly stunned: AGAPE

21. 1930s-'40s New York mayor La Guardia: FIORELLO. Mayor for three terms from 1934 to 1945. La Guardia ordered construction of the airport that bears his name after his TWA flight arrived at Newark, NJ, even though his ticket said New York.

23. Submarine weapon: TORPEDO

26. Orange Free State settler: BOER. The Republic of the Orange Free State (Dutch) was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa. Boer is the Dutch word for farmer.

32. Covert __: spy activities: OPS. OPS is short for operations.

35. Be untruthful: LIE

36. Sharpshooter Annie: OAKLEY

37. Supreme Court intern: CLERK

40. Antlered critter: ELK and 42. Plains grazer: BISON. Two bonus animals.

43. Cooking class, for short: HOME EC

45. "__ Miz": LES. A colloquialism for the 1980 musical production, Les Misérables

47. Curry of "Today": ANN. Image.

52. One-named Irish singer: ENYA

53. Pago Pago natives: SAMOANS. From the South Seas.

57. Talky gatherings: GABFESTS

61. Large wall picture: MURAL. What our WM is known to paint.

62. Eins, zwei, __: DREI. German 1, 2, 3.

66. Alda of "M*A*S*H": ALAN

67. Clarinetist Shaw: ARTIE

68. Words of understanding: "I SEE"

69. Oxen's harness: YOKE

70. Have a new __ on life: LEASE

71. Hanukkah moolah: GELT. The word gelt means money in Yiddish.

Down:

1. Convened in: MET AT

2. Compadre: AMIGO

3. "Close, but no __": CIGAR

4. Treeless Siberian tract: STEPPE

5. "No __, ands or buts": IFS

6. Fed. research org.: NIH. National Institutes of Health.

7. Fall faller: LEAF. An alliterate clue.

8. Speedy Gonzales exclamation: "¡ARRIBA!". Used as an exclamation of pleasure, approval, or elation. Speedy Gonzales is a Mexican cartoon mouse. Clip.

9. John Lennon's love: YOKO ONO. Her full name, for a change.

10. Ride behind a speedboat: WATER SKI

11. TV's "American __": IDOL

12. Chicks, ducks, etc.: FOWL

13. "That __ yesterday!": IS SO. Do they still call this Valley Speak?

18. Fishing line holder: REEL

22. Adjust a paragraph setting: RETAB

24. Biden's state: Abbr.: DEL.. Delaware.

25. Mayberry boy: OPIE

28. Phone call response: "HELLO?"

29. "Born Free" lioness: ELSA

30. Long, long time: AEON

31. Nashville's Loretta: LYNN. She was a Coal Miner's Daughter.

32. Folk legend Phil: OCHS. Philip Ochs(1940 – 1976) was an American protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer) and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, earnest humanism, political activism, insightful and alliterative lyrics, and haunting voice. He wrote "Draft Dodger Rag".

33. Sit (down) undaintily: PLOP

34. 18-wheeler: SEMI

38. Give new meaning to: REDEFINE

39. New Hampshire city: KEENE

41. Barbies' counterparts: KENS

44. Waterford product: CRYSTAL. A trademark brand of crystal glassware.

46. Caribbean music: SKA

49. Grown-up: MATURE

50. Plus-size supermodel: EMME. Image.

51. Cool cat's "Get it?": "YOU DIG?"

54. Cropped up: ARISE. (Correction: It's AROSE. Thanks, Tinbeni.)

55. Bellybutton: NAVEL

56. Winter hazard: SLEET

57. Melbourne greeting: "G'DAY". Kazie, are you there?

58. "The Motorcycle Song" singer Guthrie: ARLO. "I don't want a pickle, just wanna ride on my motorcycle"

59. Toucan's pride: BEAK. Here is a picture of a toucan's pride.

60. Mex. miss: SRTA

64. "__ the season ...": 'TIS

65. Jeans brand: LEE

Okay, I admit there may be an East Coast bias to this puzzle.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Thursday March 11, 2010 Scott Atkinson

Theme: TURNSTILE (57A. Metro access, and a hint to the circled letters in 17-, 28-, 34- and 43-Across) - Each set of circled letters contains the turned (anagrammed) STILE. (Added later: The turned letters are in rotational order. Thanks, MJ.)

17A. Mah-jongg pieces, e.g.: GAME TILES. Mah-jong(g) is Ma-Jiang in Mandarin Chinese. This turned TILES is the only real word. ISLET is another possible alternative.

28A. Notable achievement: MILESTONE

34A. Site of the Beatles' last commercial concert: CANDLESTICK PARK. San Fransisco Giants's ballpark before 2000.

43A. Likely to spread disease: PESTILENT

Great theme! Very clever & creative interpretation of TURNSTILE. Like nuts, crazy, TURN is often an anagram indicator in cryptic crosswords.

Nice triple columns of 8s in the upper left and lower right corners. So open. No cheater/help square in this baby, an important measure of puzzle elegance for our LAT constructor John Lampkin.

My favorite non-theme entry today is KVETCH (22D. Whine). Fantastic string of consonants. What don't you love about this puzzle? Kvetch away!

Across:

1. Perform high-tech surgery on: LASE

5. Crack, in a way: CHAP. Crack from dryness. I was cracking nuts in my mind.

9. Capital near Casablanca: RABAT. Capital of Morocco. Casablanca is Morocco's largest city.

14. Being aired: ON TV

15. Spydom name: HARI (Mata). Always want BOND.

16. Rial spender: OMANI. So is Yemeni/Iranian.

19. Paul in the center square: LYNDE. Paul Lynde was a regular "center square" guest in the game show "Hollywood Squares". Stumped me.

20. Cry to a faith healer, maybe: I CAN SEE. Not into faith healing & its ritual.

21. Pug's stat: TKO (Technical Knockout). Pug is short for pugilist. Not dog.

23. Proof initials: QED. Mathematical proof.

24. In a way: SORT OF

25. AFC North, e.g.: DIV (Division). AFC = American Football Conference.

26. Place to dock: QUAY

27. Demolition supplies: TNTS. A common enough word not to need an abbreviation hint, a la Jerome.

30. Mean Amin: IDI. Nice rhyme.

31. "What __!": "This is fun!": A GAS. I think it will be fun but exhausting to be with Lois.

33. Clavell's "__-Pan": TAI. Here is the book cover. Tai means "big" in Cantonese. Tai Pan = Big Shot.

40. Off one's feed: ILL. I misread the clue as "off one's feet". We also had EAT (49A. Polish off).

41. "A Hard Road to Glory" author: ASHE (Arthur)

42. Reading room: DEN

47. Suffer from: HAVE. I suffer from coconut obsession now. Put coconut milk/flake in everything I eat. Thanks for the shrimp recipe, Jeannie!

48. Film in which Woody Allen voices Z: ANTZ. The 1998 animated bug film.

50. Flap-door home: TEEPEE. I've never seen a teepee in person.

52. Victrola company: RCA

53. Surg. centers: ORS

54. Can opener: PULL TAB

55. Hose problems: KINKS

59. 1944 Italian beachhead: ANZIO. No idea. It's a town in central Italy. Allied troops landed there on Jan 22, 1944.

60. Niagara River feeder: ERIE

61. What avengers get: EVEN. Get even. Nice clue.

62. Parasails, say: SOARS. Parasail = Para(chute) + sail. New to me.

63. Canyon perimeters: RIMS

64. Funny Foxx: REDD. Alliteration.

Down:

1. Like a wedding planner's skills: LOGISTIC. Only familiar with logistics or logistical.

2. Jungle crusher: ANACONDA. The large jungle boa.

3. Part-French, part-Dutch isl.: ST. MARTIN. The island in the northeast Caribbean.

4. Decathlon's 10: EVENTS

5. Top dog: CHIEF

6. In tiptop shape: HALE. Hale and hearty.

8. Flower organ: PISTIL. Flower's seed-bearing female organ. Stamen is the pollen-bearing male organ.

9. Caramel candy brand: ROLO

10. '70s-'80s first daughter: AMY (Carter)

11. "Macbeth" ghost: BANQUO. I peeked at the answer sheet.

12. Like vicuña: ANDEAN. Wikipedia says vicuña is the national animal of Peru. Like our bald eagle.

13. Project done to a tee: TIE-DYE. Tee = T-shirt. I was trapped into the idiomatic "to a tee". You wicked Scott!

18. Chinese menu general: TSO. Man, I am tired of this guy.

25. Far from cordial: DISTANT

26. Swab brand: Q-TIP

28. Some advanced degs.: MAS

29. Sushi bar order: SAKE. Rice wine. The sweet rice wine is mirin. Used in cooking.

31. "... for __ care!": ALL I

32. See 58-Down: GELLER. And URI (58. With 32-Down, self-proclaimed "mystifier"). Had no idea that he called himself "mystifier".

35. Scatterbrain: DITZ. I only know the adjective ditzy.

36. Ideal conclusion?: IST. Idealist.

37. Capable of change: ADAPTIVE

38. Uncovered: REVEALED

39. Calisthenics exercise: KNEE BEND. Was reading a biography on Greta Garbo. She's very into calisthenics.

43. Winter outerwear: PARKAS. Still some snow left in our yard.

44. San Fernando Valley community: ENCINO. A district of LA. Spanish for "evergreen". Got me.

45. Song section: STANZA. Poem section too.

46. Hams are often seen on it: EASTER. Ham is the traditional food on Easter Sunday. I was picturing some kind of bread.

47. __-skelter: HELTER

50. iPod files: TUNES

51. High trains: ELS

53. Barcelona bears: OSOS. Alliteration again. The she-bear is OSA in Spanish.

54. Strait-laced: PRIM

56. Wine-and-cassis apéritif: KIR (Keer). No idea. It's an apéritif of white wine flavored with cassis (black currant). Named after Canon Félix Kir (1876–1968), mayor of Dijon, who is said to have invented the recipe.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Interview with Scott Atkinson

Scott Atkinson made his crossword debut in July 2008. Since then, he has had six more puzzles published by the LA Times.

Mr. Atkinson also had two puzzles published by the NY Times, including the very creative "Time after Time". This work preceded Pancho Harrison's "Time after Time", which many of us enjoyed. His puzzles also appeared in the much revered NY Sun.

What is the inspiration for this puzzle?

For me, theme inspiration is often provided by a phrase that sounds snappy to me. In this case, NAILBITER just seemed like a fun and descriptive term. So then you see what about that phrase might help you build a theme. In this case the double meaning for "nail" provides the opportunity for a wordplay theme. What are other pointy metal fasteners that can be used as the first part of phrases that have nothing to do with their meanings as fasteners? The other theme answers fit the bill.

And what are the challenges in putting this grid together?

There has to be lively fill, since the theme answers are not that long and the theme is not very complicated. I hope the fill here meets that challenge.

What is your background and how did you get into crossword constructing?

I have enjoyed crosswords for 30 years. When I learned that some editors, like Rich Norris. will accept submissions from newbies, I decided to give it a whirl. I have some friends who test-solved for a while until I learned what worked. Mentor extraordinaire Nancy Salomon really taught me how to develop a good wordplay theme and co-wrote my first one to help me get my foot in the door.

What is a great puzzle to you? And what kind of theme/fill wow you?

I love the low word count puzzles with wide open white spaces. A puzzle like that is fun to solve, whether it has a theme or not. And you know that the constructor put a lot of effort into it. But I love them all, really. Basically any puzzle without Roman numeral arithmetic problems makes me happy.

I noticed you were first published by LAT only in July 2008. Have you experienced Writer's Block in terms of theme ideas? If so, how do you deal with this spell of lack of inspiration?

When I first started making puzzles, theme ideas just came pouring out on a daily basis. Now I have to wait for random inspiration. This comes less frequently, but since it's not my day job I don't worry much in a dry spell. To deal with it, I'll mess around making some themeless puzzles.

How does being a constructor affect the way you solve and enjoy a puzzle now?

It definitely gives you appreciation for how hard it is to make a great puzzle, and how rare and wonderful it is to have one of your works accepted by one of the high-quality editors in the biz.

What kind of puzzles do you tackle every day and who are your favorite constructors?

I always do the LA Times, of course. It's the one carried in my local paper. New York Times as well. My favorite constructors are Patrick Berry, Nancy Salomon, Liz Gorski, Paula Gamache, Rich Norris (of course), Mike Shenk, Bob Klahn, and Kevin Der, whose themeless grids are just amazing.

Besides crosswords, what else do you do for fun?

I am an enthusiastic family guy and love to hang out with my wife, kids, and dogs. Also, endurance sports are fun for me. My biggest achievement (prior to having a puzzle accepted by Rich Norris, that is) was tackling and finishing the Hawaii Ironman triathlon in 2005. And I'm looking forward to finally getting certified in scuba next month.

Wednesday February 24, 2010 Scott Atkinson

Theme: FASTEN (60A. Attach, perhaps with hardware that begins the answers to starred clues) - The starting words of the four theme answers are all fasteners.

17A. *Stable storage enclosure: TACK ROOM

61A. *Benjamin Button portrayer: BRAD PITT. What's your favorite Brad Pitt movie? I liked "Troy".

10D. *Wacko: SCREWBALL

34D. *Game that goes down to the wire: NAIL-BITER.

And one more fastener U-BOLT (29A. Letter-shaped hardware).

Simple theme, just as Scott Arkinson mentioned in his interview. The defining FASTEN, without which the theme would still be apparent, further clears up & unifies the four theme entries. Plenty of long & lively fill, esp the Down entries.

Quite a few names in this puzzle. But most of them are easily recognizable. I noticed that on Wednesdays, besides providing the film name hint, Rich Norris tends to give either the surname or the given name of the movie stars to further ease up the clues. EMMA (37A. Mrs. Peel of "The Avengers") is a good example.

Across:

1. Mesmerized: RAPT

5. Medicinal amt.: TSP. 14 Ts in this puzzle.

8. Fenway Park city: BOSTON. Home to the Red Sox.

16. Concert bonus: ENCORE

19. They save the day: HEROES. Nice clue.

20. Affliction: DISEASE

21. Be scared to: DARE NOT. Not Dennis. He dares everything.

22. Bank acct. entry: INT (Interest). And T-NOTE (32D. Conservative IRA asset). Matures in 2-10 years. T-Bill matures in one year or less.

23. Symbol on several keys: ARROW. Computer keys.

24. No __: menu notice: MSG. Chinese dumpling tastes so much better with MSG.

27. Company featuring cavemen in its ads: GEICO. So easy even a caveman can fill the blanks.

33. Chinese currency: YUAN. Chinese dollar. We call US dollar as Mei Yuan. Mei = American. Another currency is DINAR (50D. Iraqi money).

35. Play thing: PROP. Stage play.

36. It's a wrap: SARAN. Have seen this clue a few times. Still love it.

38. Arias, e.g.: SOLOS

40. Plastic surgeon's offering, for short: LIPO (Liposuction). Lipo is just prefix for "fat".

41. "Ghostbusters" co-writer Harold: RAMIS. Wikipedia says he also co-wrote "Caddyshack".

43. Laugh from a Stooge: NYUK. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, Curly's laugh. Unknown to me.

44. In unfamiliar territory, maybe: LOST

45. Dandruff site: SCALP

46. Commonly cluttered room: ATTIC. Any old baseball cards there?

48. Maiden name lead-in: NEE

49. Reward for merit: BADGE

51. Egg carton no.: DOZ. I wonder who first thought of putting a dozen instead of ten eggs in a carton.

53. Great Plains terrain: PRAIRIE

56. Mötley Crüe's two: UMLAUTS. The diacritic marks above the vowels in Mötley & Crüe.

62. Fellini's realm: CINEMA

63. Site of the smallest bone in the body: EAR. Good to know.

64. Lowly worker: PEON

65. Sleep apnea sufferer, often: SNORER

66. The Hartford logo: ELK. No idea. See this sign. Why are so many insurance companies based in Hartford?

67. Egyptian snakes: ASPS

Down:

1. Former gen.'s status: RETD (Retired)

3. Cam's output: PICS

4. Sulu portrayer on "Star Trek": TAKEI (George). Surname in the clue, surname in the answer.

5. Lively "Texas" dances: TWO- STEPS. Texas Two-Step. I obtained the answer from crosses.

6. Cobbler's concern: SHOE

7. Spitz-type dog, for short: POM (Pomeranian)

8. Joy of "The View": BEHAR. She's quite bubbly.

9. Burdensome: ONEROUS

11. Ren or Stimpy, e.g.: TOON

12. Its creme may be eaten first: OREO. I don't like the creme at all. Also dislike icing on the cake.

13. Hornet's home: NEST. Was worried that Hornets might refer to a sport team.

18. Tolled: RANG

21. Fail to finish school: DROP OUT

23. Altar boy: ACOLYTE. Seldom see this word in a crossword.

24. Clinton press secretary Dee Dee: MYERS. She sure knows how to spin.

25. "Poison" shrub: SUMAC

26. Beta follower: GAMMA

28. Early metalworking period: IRON AGE. When people started to use coins.

30. Belted constellation: ORION. Why is it "Belted"?

31. Forgetful moment: LAPSE

39. Sudden-braking result: SKID MARK. Two Ks.

42. "I don't want to hear the rest": SPARE ME

52. Rock artist Frank: ZAPPA. Father of Moon Unit.

53. Cpls.' underlings: PFCS. PFC = Private First Class.

54. Picnic spoiler: RAIN. For once it's not ANT.

55. "It will come __ surprise": AS NO

56. River through southern Russia: URAL

57. One-eighties: U-IES

58. Corvette roof option: T-TOP. Three Ts in this corner.

59. Train sched. list: STNS

61. Blossom visitor: BEE. Hey, Melissa!

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday July 28, 2009 Scott Atkinson

Theme: WAIT (49D: Bide one's time, and a word that may precede the answers to starred clues)

17A: *"We aren't finished here": IT ISN'T OVER

53A: *"Give me another sec": I'M NOT READY

11D: *"It's on the tip of my tongue": DON'T TELL ME

28D: *"I haven't told you everything yet": THERE'S MORE

All of the theme answers contain 10 letters. I wonder if the puzzle is inspired by NPR's "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!".

Americans are rather impatient. We want things HERE and NOW. I suppose impatience can be a virtue. It drives and speeds up innovation/progress at various fields. Had we waited and waited for the perfect moment, I doubt men would have landed on the moon.

It felt like I was climbing up the stairs in the middle. The grid just looked pretty to me. I also like how IDLE (50D: Just sitting around) parallels WAIT. Nice to see BUSY (24A: In use, as a phone line) in the puzzle too. Just WAIT!

Across:

1A: Potato holders: SACKS. Potatoes are nightshade veggies, so are tomatoes, eggplants and bell peppers.

10A: Kids' party occasion, briefly: B'DAY

14A: Andean beast: LLAMA. Alpaca & LLAMA are both domesticated guanacos.

15A: Actress Gershon: GINA. Does GINA Gershon strike you as sexy? I've only seen her in "Showgirls".

19A: Tolstoy's Karenina: ANNA. Impossible love story often ends tragically.

22A: Encourage: FOSTER

25A: Cinco de Mayo celebrations: FIESTAS

26A: Acela Express operator: AMTRAK. Acela is pronounced ah-CEL-la. Wikipedia says Acela is meant to be evocative of acceleration and excellence.

29A: Mottled T-shirt: TIE-DYE. Such a bright burst of colors.

30A: Broadway's George M.: COHAN. I always want to spell his name as COHEN.

32A: Wall St. takeover: LBO (Leveraged Buyout).

35A: __ & Chandon champagne: MOET. Part of Louis Vuitton.

40A: Bugs' pursuer: ELMER. ELMER Fudd.

41A: Noble's home: ESTATE. Misread the clue as "Nobel's home". That would be SWEDEN.

44A: Deteriorate, slangily: GO SOUTH

46A: Chopped liver spread: PATE. PATE de foie gras, yum!

47A: Group together: LUMP IN

48A: Dover fish dish: SOLE. I love walleye.

49A: The LPGA's Michelle: WIE. Michelle WIE likes wearing dangling earrings.

56A: Filly's father: SIRE

57A: Menthol cigarette: KOOL. Lots of interesting cigarette ads in those old Life magazines.

58A: Author Zola: EMILE. The French plantation owner in "South Pacific" is also called EMILE.

Down:

1D: __ to none: poor odds: SLIM. Like my chance of finishing a LAT Friday/Saturday/Sunday puzzle without cheating.

3D: Eve's oldest: CAIN. Then Abel, then Seth.

4D: Canada hwy. distances: KMS

5D: Puerto Rico's capital: SAN JUAN. I just realized that SAN JUAN is "Saint John (the Baptist)" in English.

8D: Washington's bill: ONE. Nice president clue to pair up with GARFIELD (9D: President after Hayes).

10D: Sounding like marching bands: BRASSY. I suppose Jazzbumpa's trombone sounds BRASSY too.

12D: Nighttime breathing disorder: APNEA

23D: Multivolume Brit. references: OEDS (Oxford English Dictionaries).

25D: "The X-__: FILES.

26D: Very top: ACME. And ATOP (52A: At the apex of).

27D: Drop anchor: MOOR

29D: Silky-voiced Mel: TORME. Nicknamed "The Velvet Fog".

33D: Woodstock singer Joan: BAEZ. There might not be iPod today had Joan BAEZ actually married Steve Jobs.

36D Bongo-playing '50s-'60s sterotypes: BEATNIKS

37D: Get out of Dodge: FLEE. "Get out of Dodge" is a new slang to me. I've vaguely heard of Dodge City.

39D: Spitter's sound: PTUI. Whoa, no more PTUI, otherwise, Elissa might just give up LAT.

42D: __up (absorbed, as gravy): SOPPED. SOP also means "bribe".

44D: Cinderella's slipper material: GLASS

45D: Protruding navel: OUTIE. Opposite INNIE.

46D: They often have deep ends: POOLS


54D: Bovine bellow: MOO. Alliteration.

55D: Comedian Philips: EMO. Interesting, baby name origin says EMO is German for "serious", I always thought EMO is just short for emotional.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday April 18, 2009 Scott Atkinson

Theme: None

Total block: 31

Total word: 72 (maximum allowed for a themeless)

Lots of 7-letter words in this puzzle, 24 I think. Funny how grid can be so deceptive. I felt this puzzle has more black squares than last Saturday's eight 15-letter themeless. But that one turns out to have one more block. This one by Kevin G. Der holds the record for fewest blocks (18). I bet 17 is not so far away.

I teed off perfectly with BARBARO ( 1A: 2006 Kentucky Derby winner), thanks to the crossing REBECCA (3D: Novel that begins "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again"). I thought of Giacomo first. It has the same amount of letters. Giacomo is named after Sting's son, and his wife bet big and won big at the 2005 Derby.

BARBARO jumped the gun in Preakness Stakes and then broke his legs. I had no idea that an injured leg can be fatal to a horse. I read REBECCA long time ago, in Chinese. Linda mentioned a few weeks ago that dreamt is the only English word ending in mt.

Anyway, after BARBARO, my struggle started and continued until the very end. Still, I was able to fill in plenty of blanks. Good enough for me. I wonder how long it takes a constructor to build a Saturday themeless. Probably 4-5 hours at least. It's just not right for Dan Feyer to conquer the grid under 5 minutes. He needs to slow down.

Across:

8A: Libyan leader whose name has more than 30 spellings: QADDAFI. "30"? That's why we need a clear standard for romanizing Arab names. Gaddafi seems to be more common. His given name Muammar sounds weird too.

15D: Demand too much of: OVERTAX

17A: It often has branches: LIBRARY. I pictured trees, then banks.

18A: Unstoppable: ON A ROLL

19A: Stubbing victim: TOE. The image of a cigarett popped into my mind immediately.

20A: Took down a peg: DEMOTED

23A: Letter-bottom letters: ENCL (Enclosure)

25A: 007 wore one: ROLEX. Is that a ROLEX? Why "wore" one instead of "wears" one?

26A: __ Fein: SINN. IRA's extremely left wing party. I filled in SEIN first.

27A: Red Sox pitcher Matsuzaka's nickname: DICE K. Ah, gimme. His name is Daisuke, pronounced like Dice K.

29A: Traffic stopper: RED. I asked our editor Rich Norris about this RED clue/answer duplication the other day. He says it doesn't bother him, and he will change "if a long (6 letters or more) or prominent word is duped in a clue".

30A: Out of it: DAZED. New definition of "Out of it" to me.

31A: Common Yuletide mail: CATALOG

33A: Teases, in slang: JIVES. New slang to me also.

35A: Life in the Yucatán: (retype): VIDA. Here is Ricky Martin's "Livin' La VIDA Loca".

36A: Jackal or fox: CANID. I can only think of canine. Is "id" a suffix for something, Kazie? Dictionary defines CANID as "any animal of the dog family Canidae, including the wolves, jackals, hyenas, coyotes, foxes, and domestic dogs".

38A: Manatee relatives: DUGONGS. Another unknown. They can be found at the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. No hind limb. Huge!

41A: "Platoon" actor Willem: DAFOE. Saw the movie "Platoon". Can't remember his name though. So close to Defoe, the author of "Robinson Crusoe".

45A: U.S. Marine Corps E-6: SSGT (Staff Sergeant). See this list. I suppose the ranking is different in the Army/Air Force/Navy?

46A: Power problem: SURGE

48A: 1 for H, e.g.: AT NO (Atomic Number). H is Hydrogen. More here. Carbon is 6. Neon is 10.

49A: '60 VP: HHH (Hubert Horatio Humphrey). LBJ's VP. Gimme for any Minnesotan. Walter Mondale is another veep from Minnesota. We've never had a president though. How about your state?

50A: Like Lake Mead: MAN-MADE. It's the largest MAN-MADE lake in the world, isn't it?

52A: "Gimme __!": Columbus cheer beginning: AN O. I guessed. I surmise it's the cheerleading sound from Ohio State University?

53A: Ebbing: ABATING

55A: Reels off: RECITES

57A: Encountered: RAN INTO. Had problem obtaining this multiple word answer.

58A: Thankless one: INGRATE

59A: Magazine revenue: PRINT AD. There were only 2 letters in my brain, AD, then nothing else.

60A: Yields: ASSENTS. I only know the "Agree" meaning of assent.

Down:

1D: Downed quickly: BOLTED. Was ignorant of "Down quickly" definition of BOLT. Don't BOLT. Food is to be enjoyed.

2D: Relating to Space Age technology: AVIONIC. Also new to me. The noun AVIOTICS = AVI (ation) + (Electr)ONICS.

4D: Polar outburst?: BRR. I wrote down RAY, confusing Polar with Solar.

5D: Somewhat: A TAD

6D: More valuable, as coins: RARER. And MINT (50D: Spanking new). Both remind me of coins and baseball cards.

7D: Deafening silent, e.g.: OXYMORON. Elissa linked this list last time. Sallie likes jumbo shrimp.

8D: Used another's words: QUOTED

9D: Attach: ANNEX. I wanted ADD ON.

10D: Obsolete: DEAD. Thought of GONE.

11D: Patriotic org.: DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). The other choice is SAR (Sons of American Revolution).

12D: Make a mist of: ATOMIZE

13D: Catty types: FELINES. I was thinking of the mean catty catty, not cat-like catty.

14D: Like the Aral Sea: INLAND. SHRINKING has too many letters. It's indeed INLAND.

21D: Jackie's designer: OLEG (Cassini). Michelle Obama likes Jason Wu's design.

24D: "I'd rather skip it": LET'S NOT. And DID OK (30D: Managed). Neither came to me easily.

26D: Safari destination: SAVANNA . I was thinking of a country rather than the general grassy plain.

32D: Little dude: LAD

33D: Carpentry guide: JIG. No idea. Which part is JIG?

35D: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" barony: VULGARIA. Big stumper. See here for more information. Wikipedia says it's a scenic, mountainous region that can't be found any where in the world. I did not know it's authored by Ian Fleming.

36D: Hardly a free-spirited place?: CASH BAR. No idea. Why?

37D: Kabul coin: AFGHANI. I thought it's RUPEE, since Afghanstan is close to India and Pakistan where rupee is used. Anyway, Dictionary says AFGHANI can also refer to the people, same as Afghan. And the abbreviation of the currency AFGHANI is AFG.

38D: Frequent pizza delivery destination: DORM. I had O in place, so I went with HOME first.

39D: Enjoy the sunshine, perhaps: GET A TAN

40D: Big name in slapstick: SENNETT. Mack SENNETT, "The King of Comedy". I forgot all about him. Wikipedia says his Keystone Studios started the careers of Gloria Swanson, Bing Crosby, W.C. Fields, Charlie Chaplin, etc.

41D: Key before E: D SHARP

42D: The Aztecs' Tonatiuh: SUN GOD. I don't know what's the meaning of Tonatiuh, so complete blank here. The same as Greek Helios/Roman Sol I suppose.

46D: Seasonal temp: SANTA. I thought temp is short for temperature. Good clue.

51D: Heart lines: Abbr.: ECGS. I wrote down EEGS, which is actually the brain scan "Head lines".

54D: Like the Wizard's heartless visitor: TIN. Did not get it easily, though I love the movie and know clearly that the Tin Man has no heart. I guess I always thought of TIN as a noun rather than an adjective. So, what would be the answer for "Like the Wizard's courgeless/brainless visitor"? MANED & what?

Answer grid.

C.C.