Sunday April 19, 2009 Merl Reagle

Theme: TV Shows I'd Like (To those who solved Dan Naddor's "Put a Lid on It!" puzzle, please scroll down the screen).

26A: TV reality show about owners willing to do anything to sell their domiciles?: DESPERATE HOUSE WISE (Desperate Housewives)

33A: TV comedy about a guy who keeps losing his patients?: DENTIST THE MENACE (Dennis the Menace)

57A: TV drama set in a deli?: SLAW AND ORDERS (Law and Order)

65A: With 76 Across, TV game show that requires no knowledge whatsoever?: ARE YOU SMARTER THAN

76A: See 65 Across: A CHEESE GRATER (Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?)

93A: TV comedy about being in a foreclosure?: MORTGAGE AND MINDY (Mork & Mindy)

104A: TV cartoon about a guy who's poor and not much of a dresser?: SLUMDOG SQUAREPANTS (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Ah, my first Merl Reagle LAT puzzle.

Have you seen "Wordplay"? Merl is featured prominently in the movie. I learned a few months ago that his name Merl/Merle is a kind of blackbird. His syndicated puzzle appears in Dennis's Philadelphia Inquirer every Sunday. They are always punny and funny, though the humor often escapes me. He does not use computer to construct puzzle, always pencil and paper. A natural. A genius.

Unfortunately I did not have enough time to really enjoy this puzzle. Hope you liked it. Lots of clever clues. I solved and blogged Dan Naddor's "Put a Lid on It!" earlier.

Across:

1A: Type of adapter: AC/DC

5A: Kevin's Oscar-winning role" in "A Fish Called Wanda": OTTO. Have never seen this Kevin Klein movie.

18A: Dragon's abode: LAIR. I have no idea where dragon lives.

19A: Random payoff: DROP

21A: Show your face? SHAVE. Good clue.

22A: Instant: IMMEDIATE

24A: Sister of Clio: ERATO. The Poetic Muse. Clio is the History Muse.

25A: Facts-of-life course, briefly: SEX ED. I stared at SEXED for a long time.

29A: Floor or ceiling support: JOIST

42A: Bobby Darin's label until 1963: ATCO (ATlantic COporation). Now owned by Warner Music Group. I was unware of that.

43A: Volga feeder: OKA. See this map.

44A: Drink with tempura: SAKE. Japanese rice wine. Mirin is also rice wine, used in cooking.

49A: Cadets' org: ROTC

53A: Tale-with-a point guy: AESOP. All his tales have a point, a moral point.

55A: Stinking: NOISOME. New word to me. It looks noisy rather than "Stinking".

60A: Spike TV, before: TNN

64A: Added bit of news: UPDATE

69A: Cellphones started one: NEW ERA

71A: Avid and then some: RABID

72A: Timber wolf: LOBO. I've never seen a LOBO wolf before.

73A: Classic British war film, "The __ Busters": DAM. See this poster. Not a familiar film to me.

79A: Ming, for one: DYNASTY. Ming DYNASTY ruled from 1368 to 1644. It's followed by Qing, the last DYNASTY in China. In Chinese , Ming is 明, the left 日 means sun, the right 月 means moon, so literally 明 (Ming) means "shining"/"bright".

82A: Goodman's instrument: abbr.: CLAR (Clarinet)

85A: Set of values: ETHOS

89A: 4.0 is a great one: GPA.

91A: Phony alibis, e.g.: LIES. I like this clue too.

100A: Skye cap: TAM. Skye is an island in Scotland. Good clue.

103A: Fox News chief Roger: AILES. Here is a picture. I know him, but don't know how to spell his name.

111A: 1969 Hitchcock film: TOPAZ. Did you see this movie? What's it about?

112D: City E of Le Havre: ROUEN. No idea. It's to the west of Paris. Joan of Arc was burned here.

113A: They often hang around a kitchen: SAUCEPANS

118A: Last Oldmobile model: ALERO. Discontinued in 2004.

119A: Memo starter: INRE

120A: "No harm done": I'M OK

121A: Slippery arenas: RINKS

123A: Global septet: SEAS. Nice clue.

124A: Letters on a Manhattan letters: NY NY

Down:

1D: Memorable Cosell interviewee: ALI

2D: Web or min follower: CAM

3D: Soften, as lighting: DIM

4D: Payment expectors: CREDITORS

5D: Paean penners: ODISTS

6D: Sucker bet: TRAP

7D: Bag or board preceder: TOTE

8D: Met wear: OPERA HATS. Do people really wear OPERA HAT when they go to the Met?

9D: Placid: SERENE

10D: Bird's less showy mate: PEAHEN. The showy peacock and the plain PEAHEN.

11D: Intro to pi?: OCTO. Octopi, the plural of octpus. Tricky clue.

12D: Intro to art?: THOU. THOU art.

13D: Your house, e.g.: ASSET. Good clue.

14D: "Won't Get Fooled Again" group: THE WHO. Here is the clip.

15D: The quicker picker-upper: TAXI

16D: Currier's partner: IVES

20D: Gershwin's "__ Eat Cake": LET 'EM. Unknown to me. It's opened in 1933. I only know Marie Antoinette's "Let them eat the cake".

23D: One of Fred's tenants: DESI (Arnaz). From "I Love Lucy".

29D: George of the future: JETSON. No idea. Whom does George refer to here?

30D: Occasionally: ONCE IN A WHILE

34D: Matador: TORERO

35D: Bout stopper, briefly: TKO

36D: Slippery __: AS EEL. Do you know EELS are caught in pots?

37D: King or queen: CARD. Another great clue.

39D: "Let's go, sleepyheads": RISE AND SHINE

40D: Of __ (so to speak): A SORT

41D: Run out, as a policy: LAPSE

45D: Headset piece: EARPHONE

50D: Eatery with steamers: CLAM BAR. Is it New England eatery?

54D: Icelandic epic: EDDA. Literally "poetry". It inclueds the Poetic EDDA and the Prose EDDA.

56D: Uxmal residents: MAYAS. I don't know where Uxmal is. It's "an ancient ruined city in SE Mexico, in Yucatán: a center of later Mayan civilization". That pyramid looks very familiar.

59D: "You were __ a mile!": OUT BY

62D: Thief who breaks in: BURGLAR. What about those thief who does not break in?

66D: Pond plant: REED

67D: Sister in an Eastwood film: SARA

68D: Dennis of NBA fame: RODMAN. The guy with the weird hair.

69D: Fleet-related: NAVAL. Not "Ship-related"?

70D: 2006 spinach invader: E. COLI. How is diffent from salmonella?

74D: In conflict: AT ODDS

75D: "I'm not leaving till I've had __!": MY SAY

77D: Plasm preceder: ECTO. Sometimes it' clued as "Prefix for outer".

78D: New beginning: REGENESIS. I only knew GENESIS.

80D: In _ (spiraling downward): A TAILSPIN

84D: Emissions org: EPA

88D: Reloading need: AMMO

92D: "The Evangelist" of the Bible: ST. MARK

94D: Chefs' toppers: TOQUES

95D: Stickum appliers: GLUERS

96D: Hersey's bell town: ADANO. Here is the book cover of "A Bell for ADANO".

97D: Like Mr. Diesel: abbr.: GER. I don't understand this clue. Is Mr. Diesel a German? Who is he? (Note: It's Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of Diesel Engine.)

98D: Gets down on the floor?: DANCES

99D: Tick's cousin: MITE

101D: Wood-shaping tools: ADZES. ADZE can also be spelled as ADZ.

104D: Hollywood honcho: STAR

105D: City N of Stockton, Calif: LODI. Oh, it's indeed to the north of Stockton.

106D: Brush __ (study): UPON

107D: Get a grip: GRAB

108D: Play by yourself: SOLO. Verb.

109D: Unit of glass: PANE

114D: Humorist Sedaris: AMY. David Sedaris' sister. I love "Me Talk Pretty One Day".

115D: Prefix for profit: NON

116D: Blue puzzle piece, often: SKY. Jigsaw puzzle.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Sunday, April 19, 2009 Dan Daddor

Theme: Put a Lid on It!

24A: Winner's prize in a programming competition?: VICTORY LAPTOP

29A: Frijoles prep area? BEAN COUNTERTOP

41A: Writing surface available only occasionally?: PERIODIC TABLETOP

54A: Peak that reeks?: FOUL TIPTOP

78A: Crew cut after a sloppy wrestling match?: MUD FLATTOP

88A: Milk of Magnesia bottle cap?: PHILLIPS SCREW-TOP

99A: Proof of evil purchases?: PANDORA'S BOXTOP

110A: Shirt needing a chemical rinse: SEPTIC TANK TOP

15D: Convertible for a Canadian hockey player? MAPLE LEAF RAGTOP

40D: "Say hello to your average asphalt contractor?": MEET JOE BLACKTOP

The last one is playing on the movie title "Meet Joe Black", isn't it? I still don't understand the cluing rationale of 15D. I know the Toronto Maple Leafs. Is RAG the nickname for a hockey player? I have never heard of PHILLIPS SCREW before.

Nice theme, great theme title too. The lid is the word TOP. All the above theme answers feel like Jeopardy's "Before and After".

Dan Naddor mentioned his love for "heavy themage" in his interview. This grid has 10 theme entries, some of them are very long, two 16, two 15. The two shortest ones still have 10.

I had my normal struggle with LAT Sunday. Could not get into the constructor's wavelength. When I read 93A: Prepare to be shot, I did not think of the happy "Say Cheese" POSE. I pictured something horrible, you know, like the photo of Daniel Pearl in handicuff, with a gun at his head.

My favorite clue today is for C-SPAN (46D: House shower). You have to think outside the box, show-er, C-SPAN covers and shows the activities of the House of Representatives. It's like "Parisian flower?" for SEINE river. River flows, flow-er, not the real flower.

Across:

1A: Offering at the fast foodery El Pollo Loco: BREAST. Stumped immediately. Have never heard of this chicken franchise El Pollo Loco, Spanish for "The Crazy Chicken".

7A: Intimidate: DAUNT

17A: Add one's two cents: CHIME IN. Thought of OPINE.

19A: Long Island university: ADELPHI. I forgot. Saw this answer somewhere before.

21A: Like some trucks going uphill: IN LOW. No idea. Why?

22A: 1982 Toto hit: ROSANNA. Here is the clip. I've never heard of the band, nor the song.

23A: Star who's out?: HAS-BEEN. I like this clue.

26A: Fish caught in pots: EELS. Oh, I had no idea that EELS are caught in pots.

27A: Fatty acid salt: OLEATE. I forgot also. It's clued as "Soap ingredient" in our puzzle before. Did not know there is "salt" in soap.

33A: "I didn't know that": GEE

34A: Former Radiohead label: EMI. Easy guess, since Radiohead is a British band.

35A: Circle dance: HORA. Often clued as "Jewish dance".

36A: Soprano Maria: CALLAS. "La Divina". Maybe Ari Onassis should have married her instead of Jackie.

39A: Start of an idea: GERM. I like this clue.

49A: Midas's undoing: GREED. He later did change his view about gold/money, didn't he?

51A: Confuse: CROSS UP. New phrase to me.

52A: Charlie Brown's cry: AARGH. See this picture. He cried so after he missed the football.

57A: Newton fruit: FIGS. Fig Newton.

58A: Hold back: RESTRAIN

60A: Penn, e.g.: Abbr.: STA. I wrote down STS.

61A: "There's hoping...": I PRAY. Did not come to me easily.

63A: One of the Simpsons: JESSICA. D'oh. The real Simpsons (Jessica and Ashely). I was thinking of the animated "Simpsons". I did get STU (97A: "The Simpsons" disco guy) immediately.

66A: Sluggishness: INERTIA

69A: Japanese chess: SHOGI. Literally "General's Chess". Gi means "chess". A corruption of Chinese qi (chess).

71A: Charger's org: AFC. Penned in NFL again.

73A: Sign of desperation: LAST GASP

77A: Syngman of Korea: RHEE. The first president of South Korea. RHEE is the same as Chinese Li (as in Jet Li).

83A: 10th century emperor dubbed "the Great": OTTO I. No idea. I was way off, thinking of the Russian Emperor PETER the Great.

84A: Poet's feet: IAMBI. I wrote down IAMBS.

86A: One working on the sheep: SHEARER

87A: Ideal of dieters: NO CAL. More ideal than NO FAT.

94A: Escargots: SNAILS

98A: Many ATM deposits: CKS. First time I see CK in a crossword.

108A: Smooth routine: GROOVE

113A: Fundraising events: DINNERS. Thought of RAFFLES.

117A: "No damage done": IT'S OKAY

118A: Farm song refrain: EIEIO. The lyric of "Old McDonald Had a Farm" does not make any sense to me, esp EIEIO.

119A: Latvia neighbor: ESTONIA. See this Baltic region map. And Russia, Lithuania, all end in IA. Romania too.

121A: Alan and Diane: LADDS. I forgot who Diane LADD is. She is Laura Dern's mother.

122A: Elements on the road: HONDAS. HONDA Element. I was thinking of gravels/stones.

Down:

1D: "Humph!": BAH

2D: Food std.: RDA. Recommended Daily/Dietary Allowance. I don't know which is correct.

3D: Some Caltech grads: EES (Electrical Engineers). Stumped again. Just not used to this EE abbreviation.

4D: Truman veep Barkley: ALBEN. No idea. Wikipedia says ALBEN Barkley was actually the first veep. His grandson coined the title to replace the long "Mr. Vice President". And he was the only vice president to marry while in office.

6D: Area defined by an el: THE LOOP. Have heard THE LOOP in Chicago. Had no idea it's "defined by an el".

7D: Fairway chunk: DIVOT. I am often amazed by the huge chunks of DIVOTS on the golf courses. Some golfers hit their balls so hard.

8D: Doddering: ANILE. Could only think of senile.

9D: Gastric woe: ULCER

10D: Absent from: NOT AT. Had trouble getting this multiple-word answer.

11D: "Scotty, __ beam up": TWO TO. Unknown to me. Not a "Star Trek"/"Star Wars" fan. I could only find "Beam me up, Scotty".

12D: Call (out): CRY

13D: Jan. 1st, e.g.: HOL. See EVE clued as "Dec. 31, e.g." more often.

14D: Columbus sponsor: ISABELLA

16D: Opposite of exo-: ENTO. Prefix for "Inner". Exo is "outer".

17D: When some ties are broken: IN OT (Overtime)

25D: Gym unit: REP (Repetition)

29D: Lazarus, for one: BEGGAR. I thought he was a leper.

30DL Become visible: EMERGE

31D: They put on shows: AIRERS. Would not have got the answer if not for the across fills. Too abstract to me.

32D: GRF's veep: NAR (Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller). Tough clue. I actually know Ford's veep is Rockefeller, but I knew neither's middle name. GRF is Gerald Ruldoph Ford.

33D: Shoot the breeze: GAB. Wanted YAK.

36D: Crime boss: CAPO. I need "Mafia" in the clue for CAPO to emerge.

37D: Places in the heart: ATRIA. I like this clue too.

38D: Saturated: SOGGY

43D: Magic, on scoreboards: ORL. Orlando Magic. Another good clue.

44D: Last Supper question: IS IT I. Who asked this question?

47D: "For shame": TUT. Sometimes it's TSK.

48D: Acidity nos.: PHS. Thought of 7. PH7=neutral. <7> 7 alkaline.

50D: Freedom from govt. control: DEREG (Deregulation)

55D: Clandestine maritime org.: ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence). Often clued as "Sailor's Org." in our old puzzle.

56D: Worst: PITS. New slang to me.

59D: "__ sure you know ...": AS I'M

62D: Climber's spike: PITON

64D: Champs-Élysées sights: CAFES. Yes indeed. Along with those lovely shops.

65D: Company with a spokesduck: AFLAC. Ben Affleck once mentioned that AFLAC had never approached him for commercials.

67D: "Evil Woman" grp.: ELO. Here is the clip. I guessed. Three letter music grp is often ELO.

68D: Eschew the doorbell: RAP

69: Persian potentates: SHAHS

70D: Surround: HEM IN. Another multiple word.

72D: Gideon Fell's creator: CARR. Have never heard of this author John Dickson CARR nor the character Gideon Fell.

74D: Fire sale phrase: AT COST

75D: Such that one might: SO AS TO

76D: Rubbernecking cause: PILE-UP

77D: Fabric flaw: RIP. What is a RIP flaw?

80D: The N.L. doesn't use them: DHS (Designated Hitters). A.L. does use them.

81D: Trip souvenir: TEE. Mine was HAT.

82D: Credit-reporting company now called Experian: TRW (Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc.). A complete stranger to me.

85D: '50 political slogan: I LIKE IKE. I have this button. A reproduction.

89D: Parisian pronoun: ILS. French for "they".

90D: Airport safety org.: TSA (Transportation Security Administration). Created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

91D: Kind of kick: ONSIDE. Stumped again. Vaguely remember someone explained ONSIDE kick on the blog before.

92D: Avoid perishing: PUBLISH

96D: Discuss: GO INTO

99D: __ Tour: PGA. And LPGA, Sr. PGA (Champions) & European Tour.

100D: Synthetic fiber: ARNEL. Was it a gimme to you? I've never heard of this fiber. Dictionary defines it as "a brand of fiber manufactured from cellulose triacetate", whatever that is.

101D: Finnish mobile phone giant: NOKIA. Holy cow. I always thought it's a Swedish company.

102D: Fussed over, with "on": DOTED

103D: Egg-shaped: OVOID

104D: Some auction sales: REPOS

105D: It's a gas: XENON. Yes, indeed, it's a gas. A noble gas.

111D: Aries or Taurus: CAR. I was thinking of Zodiac. Good clue.

112D: Pennington et al: TYS. No idea. I've never heard of this guy, host of "Extreme Makerover: Home Edition". TY Cobb is more famous in my opinion.

115D: Estuary: RIA

116D: Airline to Stockholm: SAS. "Airline to Amsterdam" would be KLM, both have three letters.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Sunday April 12, 2009 Jack McInturff

Theme: On the Fly

21A: Genesis no-no: FORBIDDEN FRUIT (Fruit Fly)

43A: Flower named for a legendary best: SNAP DRAGON (Dragonfly)

51A: Fruity spread: APPLE BUTTER (Butterfly)

69A: Unstable, metaphorically: BUILT ON SAND (Sandfly)

79A: Stylish but simple dress color: BASIC BLACK (Black Fly)

101A: 1964 Burt Lancaster thriller: SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (Mayfly)

30D: Take some heat: COME UNDER FIRE (Firefly)

34D: Put away platefuls: ATE LIKE A HORSE (Horsefly)

Ah, I believe I can fly. This puzzle is so doable. Must be an eased-up one.

All of them are insects, aren't they? Sandfly, black fly and mayfly are all new to me. I wonder why Noah Webster did not change fruit fly and black fly into one word during his spelling reform.

I like the golf referrences on this Masters Sunday:

20A: Golfing countryman of Seve: SERGIO. Dubbed as "The Best Golfer Never to Win a Major". This should be gimme to those who read my blog regularly. I like SERGIO Garcia a lot. He plays with passion. Close friend of Rafael Nadal (Tiger's buddy is of course Roger Federer). Seve Ballesteros is fighting brain tumor now. What a genius around the green!

43A: Putting concession: GIMME. You should never concede to those who yip.

59D: __ game: golf competition: SKINS. For some reason, Fred Couples dominates the SKINS Game. Only 4 players are invited to this match-play style competition. Each hole has a different value.

I got IGN (14D: Starter: Abbr.) because Argyle blogged it last time. Wayne Williams once clued it as "Elec. switch". Most of the other clues are quite straightforward. Several clue/Answer repetitions in today's grid. A WHILE is the answer for 85D: "For a little bit". Then it's part of clue for TOMES (110A: They took a while to read). I've never read a TOME, unless you count my dictionary as one.

"Madama Butterfly" accessory would be a great clue for OBI (27A) on any other day, but as BUTTER (fly) is part of the theme answer for 51A, I think a simple "Kimono closer" works better. The button-like fixture on man's kimono is called netsuke. Remember these highly collectible erotic netsukes I linked last time? The small case attached to kimono is called INRO.

Across:

5A: "For Whom the Bell Tolls" actor Tamiroff: AKIM. Stranger to me. Wikipedia says he is the first Golden Globe Award-winning actor for Best Supporting Actor (1944). Emil Jannings is the first Oscar winner for Best Actor (1927).

9A: Early bird?: EGG. Of course! I should eat a worm, as I did not get it until the very end.

12A: Ben Franklin's belief: DEISM. How is it different from theism? And why single out Ben Franklin? Somehow I thought he advocated self-discipline.

17A: "A Chapter on Ears" essayist: ELIA. Easy guess. I've never heard of this essay. Since TIN EAR (66A: Musical liability) is an answer in the grid, I wish the clue were just a simple "Charles Lamb's pen name".

19A: Lot, often: ACRE

24A: Stat: PRONTO. Stat here is doctor's "Immediately". From Latin statim. I was thinking of baseball stat.

25A: "My Fair Lady" girl: ELIZA. ELIZA Doolittle. And Professor "Enry Higgins.

26A: Bars bought dry: SOAPS. Not the bars I was picturing. Good clue.

31A: Former French coin: ECU. I put SOU first.

32A: Exercise done on a bench?: ETUDE. Why? Do pianists call their chair "bench"?

33A: Luggage checker: SKYCAP. A portmanteau of Sky and Redcap.

38A: Maine campus town: ORONO. We have a city named ORONO here in MN too.

40A: From __: slight progress: A TO B. Is it a slang? I am not familiar with this phrase.

45A: Bridge expert Culbertson: ELY. No idea. According to Wikipedia, this guy was the most significant American Contract Bridge personality and was widely regarded as "the man who made contract bridge". What is contract bridge?

49A: Skirt feature: SLIT. Too much?

50A: Dallas school: SMU. The new Bush Libary will be here. It's Laura Bush's alma mater.

55A: A-list: ELITE

56A: Two-time Golden Lion winner: ANG LEE. He won for "Brokeback Mountain" (2005) & "Lust, Caution" (2007). Golden Lion is Venice Film Festival's best film award, just like Palme d'Or in Cannes. I would not have got the answer without down fills. ANG/AN means "Peace" in Chinese. My favorite ANG LEE movie is "Eat Drink Man Woman".

58A: Scrub the launch: ABORT

59A: Quenches: SLAKES

60A: Hinder: DETER

61A: Old Greek assembly area: AGORA. I am used to the marketplace clue, you know, Socrate's shopping mall. Had no idea it can refer to a political assembly area.

62A: Perform using blades: SKATE

65A: Trial answers: PLEAS. Consist of "Guilty", "Not guilty" and "No contest", correct?

72A: Carpooler's __ Lane: HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle)

74A: Flabby: SOFT. Made me think of Greenspan and his "We've hit a soft patch".

75A: Mediation agcy: NLRB (National Labor Relations Board). New agency to me.

77A: Studio stance: POSE. Say "Qiezi" (eggplant)! Chinese way to elicit a smile. Like our "Cheese".

78A: ABC dramedy "__ Stone": ELI. Have never heard of this TV series. Dramedy (Drama & Comedy) is a new word to me.

83A: Long eared bounders: HARES. What's the difference between HARES and Rabbits? Latin for hare is lepus.

84A: Old Italian bread: LIRA. Or LIRE. Bread here is slang for money.

86A: Enzyme suffix: ASE. Our old editor liked to clue ASE as "Peer Gynt's mother".

88A: Assembles: SETS UP

89A: Last to come out: NEWEST

91A: Flip call: HEADS

92A: "... the grace of God __": GO I. No idea. Is it a very famous Bible quote?

93A: Superfund enforcer: Abbr.: EPA. I did not know that superfund is the US environmental policy. But since SUPER is the answer for 43D: "Very, in slang", I am not fond of this clue. So many ways to clue EPA. The old "Air quality org." works just fine.

94A: Word heard before hiking?: HUT. Big stumper for me. I don't understand football at all. I might have heard of the "hut, hut, hut" noise though.

95A: "__ porridge hot ...": PEASE. Nursery rhymes stumps me often too. Peas/PEASE porridge does not sound appealing to me.

96A: Steinbeck family: JOADS. From "The Grapes of Wrath''. I learned it from doing Xword. I finally watched "East of Eden" the other day. Now I will remember James Dean's Cal (Caleb).

98A: Horror dubbed "Mistress of the Dark": ELVIRA. No idea. She looks very calculating. Wikipedia says ELVIRA is Arabic for "white".

106A: Gob: SAILOR. Did not know "gob" is a slang for SAILOR. Salt and tar, yes.

107A: Seine sights: ILES

111A: Old map letters: SSR. On pre-1991 maps.

112A: Old Sinclair rival: ESSO

Down:

1D: Exec often seen in his PJs: HEF. Hugh Hefner, publisher of Playboy magazine. Thought of Chris in LA's Playboy GROTTO visit.

2D: Band with the 1977 album "Out of the Blue": ELO. Here is the album cover. I guessed.

4D: Broccoli __: RABE. Very popular veggie in southern China. Also called rapini. It needs to be blanched because of the bitter taste. Cantonese like to stir-fry Broccoli RABE with a little garlic (no red pepper flake), then serve it as a side dish to seafood. See also STALK (62D: Broccoli part), though I call it as stem. STALK is for celery.

5D: Nut: ADDICT

6D: Invasive Asian vine: KUDZU. Japanese origin.

7D: It can be half-baked: IDEA. I like this clue.

9D: Home of the volcano Chimborazo: ECUADOR. Chimborazo (inactive) is ECUADOR's highest summit, according to Wikipedia. Cotopaxi (active) is the second highest summit.

11D: Laughs at: GETS. One of the reasons I don't watch TV series is because it's difficult for me to get the jokes.

12D: Rounded felt hat: DERBY. Also known as bowler hat.

13D: Symphony that includes a funeral march: EROICA. Beethoven's Symphony No. 3. Originally dedicated to Napoleon. EROICA is Italian for "heroic".

15D: Watch the kids: SIT

20D: Pacific Northwest metropolis: SPOKANE. Mine was SEATTLE. Wikipedia says SPOKANE means "Children of the Sun" in Salish, whatever it is. And Gonzaga University is located here.

22D: Graff of "Mr. Belvedere": ILENE. No idea. It's 80's TV show. She is wearing purple, Mr. Belvedre is the one with the moustache.

23D: SLR setting: F-STOP

33D: Smith, at times: SHOER. SHOER is a person who shoes horses or other animals.

37D: Places to see smileys, briefly: IMS (Instant Messages)

38D: Scott Turow memoir: ONE L. It's about his first year in Harvard. Very intense reading.

39D: Lace end: AGLET

41D: Memory units: BYTES

44D: Media workers' org: AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). Union representing professional actors, dancers, singers, and broadcasters. Another new org. for me.

47D: Celerity: SPEED. I kept reading the clue as "Celebrity".

49D: Roofing material: SLATE. Also the name of the online Ezine SLATE.com.

52D: Bread that's boiled before it's baked: BAGEL. BAGEL & lox, sandwich in heaven.

53D: Lusitania sinker: U- BOAT

54D: Trunk: TORSO

55D: Savanna grazer: ELAND. The spiral-horned antelope.

57D: "The Maids" playwright": GENET (Jean). Have never heard of "The Maids". It's about two housemaids who construct elaborate sadomasochistic rituals when their mistress is away., according to Wikipedia. Sounds awful. Not familiar with the author either. Looks like a hard man.

61D: Defendant's need: ALIBI. Hmm, perp's need. Our jargon "perp" simply means perpendicular.

63D: Lemon of the '50s: EDSEL. Collectible item now, correct?

64D Concertmaster's instrument: VIOLIN

65D: Race prize: PURSE. I wanted medal.

67D: Rebelled: ROSE UP. The answer feels like a clue, the clue feels like an answer.

69D: Big blowout: BLAST

70D: Creeps up on: NEARS

73D: "Roman Holiday" scooter: VESPA. Loved the movie. Can't remember the name of the scooter. It's manufactured by the Piaggio, which has operations in 50 countries, including China.

75D: LeBron James, e.g.: NBA STAR

80D: Chop chopper: CLEAVER

81D: Reasons for recusal: BIASES

83D: Fictional Swiss miss: HEIDI. Shirley Temple is so lovely as HEIDI. This real German Heidi (Klum) is lovely too.

88D: In order that one might: SO AS TO

90D: Cypriot currency since 2008: EUROS. Easy guess. I was unaware that Cyprus adopted EURO on Jan 1, 2008. It joined EU in 2004. Now Turkey wants to join EU too.

91D: Cads: HEELS

92D: "The Nude Maja" and "The Clothed Maja": GOYAS. Gimme to you, correct? I've linked both "The Nude Maja" and "The Clothed Maja" several times before. Both are housed in Museo del Prado.

95D: Omega preceders: PSIS

96D: Penny holders: JARS. Also holders for pickles.

98D: Ballpark fig.: EST (Estimate). ERA, RBI are Ballpark fig. too.

99D: Mekong River native: LAO. See this map. Their language is called LAO as well. See the China part? We call it Lancang River.

100D: Pep: VIM. Reminded me of JFK's special way of pronouncing "vigor".

102D: Capital of Denmark?: DEE. First letter of Denmark, which is capitalized. Good clue.

103D: "Cool" amount: MIL. Who says this? Those millionair rappers?

105D: Archery wood: YEW. I wonder how they get rid of the poisonous element when making archery bows.

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Sunday April 5, 2009 Will Nediger

Theme: In the Nonfiction Section (Add HOW to a familiar phrase)

23A: Handbook of euphemisms?: HOW TO PUT IT MILDLY

37A: Manual for talk show guests? HOW TO BE ANNOUNCED

44A: Guide for sore losers?: HOW TO BLAME

62A: Self-help book for compulsive liars?: HOW TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK

78A: Reference work for modelists?: HOW TO SCALE

85A: Vade mecum for neologists?: HOW TO COIN A PHRASE

105A: Therapeutic book for blowhards?: HOW TO SAY THE LEAST

I did not know a modelist is a person who makes models (as of planes). And I also did not know the meaning of "Vade mecum (manual, literally "go with me" in Latin). I think I need a dummy's "How to Read Rich Norris' Mind" crossword guide.

Look at these tricky clues he devised:

56A: Bouncer?: BALL. Sure, BALL bounces. I saw the question mark in his clue. And I know he is trying to play with my mind, yet I was still fixed on the bar bouncers.

13D: Take-out order?: DELE. Once again, the question mark did nothing to prevent me from thinking of food. I am so used to the "Editor's mark" clue.

30D: Notions holder: ETUI. To me, "notions" are just ideas. So I wanted HEAD. I was totally ignorant of the "small articles, such as buttons, thread, ribbon, and other personal items" meaning of "notions".

They are clever and entertaining clues once you understand the rationale. But quite frustrating if you can't think outside the box and see where the editor is trying to mislead you. Anyway, I picked up where I left yesterday. Another round of struggle.

Now looking back at my finished grid, I feel that I know lots of answers. But the cluing is so vastly different from the old Williams style that the puzzle was made so much harder to solve.

Oh, why "Ring site" for EAR (107D)? The "Ring" here is not earring, isn't it?

Across:

1A: Motorists' warnings: HONKS. My husband loses patience easily and HONKS when I don't think he should.

6A: A great deal: GOBS. And A TAD (103D: To a slight extend).

15A: "Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer" musical: CATS. Know the musical. Have never heard of the song. Very intimidating clue.

20A: Nimbus: AURA

21A: Humble home: HOVEL. I like the alliteration.

22A: Where Camus' "The Plague" is set: ORAN. Camus was born here, so was Yves Saint Laurent.

26A: Opening word?: MAMA. I thought of opening word in a letter, so I wanted DEAR.

27A: MD's workplaces: ORS. ERS too.

28A: Film introduction?: MICRO. Microfilm.

29A: Close call: SCARE

30A: Hinder: EMBAR

31A: Thread-spinning Fate: CLOTHO. No idea. Have never heard of the Moirae the Three Fates before. Only knew the three Furies (Erinyes) who are chasing Orestes.

33A: It's commonly twisted: ANKLE. I was thinking of PLOT.

34A: Sight in le ciel: ETOILE. Might be tough for those who don't speak French. "Le ciel" is "the sky". "Star in le ciel" would have been an easier clue.

40A: Large envelope feature: CLASP

43A: Patty Hearst alias: TANIA. Unknown to me. Surprised to learn that Patty Hearst is still alive.

48A: He played Sheldon in "Misery": CAAN (James). Someone mentioned this film at the Comments section a few months ago.

50A: Future elm: SEED. Oh well, I thought there might be a special term for the seed, like ACORN for "Future oak".

54A: Sushi fish: EEL. Or AHI occasionally.

55A: Item stolen in Pope's "The Rape of the Lock": TRESS. Uh-uh, nope. Have never heard of this Pope poem. I was confused by the title, thinking of the door lock.

57A: Bareback rider's lack: SADDLE

59A: Hindu god who rides a bull named Nandi: SHIVA. This detailed clue only makes the answer harder for me to obtain. I know SHIVA the "destroyer". Had no idea that he rides a bull. Why those male gods are pictured as feminine is beyond me.

60A: Programmer's output: CODE

61A: Bronze coatings: PATINAS. Heard this word a lot in Antique Roadshows.

67A: U-Haul rental: TRAILER

68A: Drift gracefully: WAFT. Why "gracefully"?

69A: Hard thing to kick: HABIT. Good clue. What's the one bad HABIT you want to get rid of now?

70A: Penn pal: TELLER. Tough clue for me. I am not familiar with Penn & TELLER . Are they very famous?

71A: Nincompoop: BOZO

72A: Lord's home: MANOR. Thought "Lord" was God.

76A: Facebook user's nudge: POKE. No idea. Not into Facebook or Twitter.

77A: Stand-up comic's need: MIKE. "Karaoke need" too.

80A: "Use your head": THINK. Well, obviously I don't know how to "Use my head". The answer did not come to me readily at all.

84A: Antidote target: TOXIN. What's the difference between antidote and antibody?

93A: Jason's vessel: ARGO. His band mates are called Argonauts. I can't remember the story. Did they find the Golden Fleece in the end?

94A: Melodious: ARIOSE. Need to chew some acorn. I can never remember this word.

95A: Drinks for Radar: NEHIS. Very odd poster. What is she holding on her hands?

96A: Get lovey-dovey: CUDDLE. And NESTLE (88D: Get cozy). So sweet!

98A: "Bingo!": RIGHT

99A: Quaint denial: TISNT. No idea. It isn't?

100A: Fencer's move: LUNGE

101A: Flapper's wrapper: BOA. Love the rhyme in the clues. All these flappers seem to have short hair.

104A: Venetian elder of yore: DOGE. Learned this word from doing Xword. It's like English "duke".

108A: __ Girl: former teen fashion mag: ELLE. Oh, I was unaware the short life of ELLE Girl (August 2001-July 2006).

109A: Colorado senator Mark: UDALL. No idea. He needs to appear on Chris Matthews' "Hardball" often for me to pay attention to him. Last time Wayne Williams clued UDALL as "Morris or Stewart of Arizona". I suppose they are all related somehow.

110A: Court statement: PLEA

111A: Jazzman Hines: FATHA. No, I don't know this Earl Hines nickname. What does it mean? Father?

112A: React in shock: REEL

113A: Ready to ship: BOXED. My first reaction is CRATED.

114A: "Sesame Street" guy with a unibrow: BERT. Learned his name from doing crossword. Who's the guy on the left?

115A: Walk, often lightly: TREAD. Really? If TREAD already means "Walk, often lightly", why do we often say TREAD lightly?

Down:

1D: "The Farmer in the Dell" syllables: HI-HO

2D: Wavy lines, in comics: ODOR. I like this clue.

3D: Scrolling 25-Down feature: NEWS CRAWL. And MSNBC (25D: 24-hr. news source)

5D: Replay technique: SLO-MO

6D: Pampean cowboy: GAUCHO. Does GAUCHO and gauche have the same root?

7D: Beat in a regatta: OUTROW. Holy cow! This is a real word. I thought it's made-up.

8D: Con__: spiritedly: BRIO. I bet it's a gimme for Crockett.

9D: Took a load off: SAT

10D: Actor Alan: THICKE. New actor to me. A Canadian. Wikipedia says he was in "Growing Pains".

11D: "Très chic!": OO LA LA

12D: Blockbuster transaction: DVD RENTAL. The cluster of 4 consonants at the beginning of the fill looks quite cool together.

15D: Utterly ordinary: COMMON AS DIRT

16D: Mauritania's official language: ARABIC. I don't where Mauritania is. Dictionary says it's a former French colony. I am surprised that ARABIC is their official language then.

17D: Food wrapped in a corn husk: TAMALE

18D: Trapped: SNARED

24D: Heart: PITH

32D: Complex ABC drama: LOST

36D: Baffin Bay sighting: FLOE. See this map of Baffin Bay. I need an "Arctic" clue for the answer to leap to me.

38D: Rolaids rival: TUMS

41D: Road problem: POTHOLE

45D: Hush money payer: BRIBER

46D: Obsolescent vote finalizer: LEVER. Unknown to me. Here is a picture of a LEVER voting machine when I googled.

47D: Exec's "Fast": ASAP

48D: Citadel student: CADET. Would have got the answer immediately if the clue were "West Point student". I am not familiar with the military college The Citadel.

52D: Panache: ELAN

53: Student's station: DESK

56D: Big, in Variety: BOFFO. Here are more Variety jargon.

57D: Make a peep: SAY BOO. Why? I don't grok it at all.

58D: To begin with: AT FIRST

59D: Part of a femme fatale's outfit: STILETTO HEEL. Great answer.

60D: Pet rocks, once: CRAZE. We had a wild Twins medallions CRAZE several years ago.

65D: Fighter in the Battle for Endor: EWOK. Once again, the extra information in the clue is useless to me. I am used to the "Furry "Star Wars"creature" clue.

66D: Spring event: THAW

71D: Sunbather's depilatory: BIKINI WAX. Another great fill.

72D: Heath: MOOR

73D: 2008 economic stimulus provision: TAX REBATE. I like this answer also.

74D: Sacha Baron Cohen persona: ALI G. Were you thinking of Borat?

77D: 6, on a phone: MNO

79D: West Virginia resource: COAL. China accounts for almost 4/5 of the total deaths in COAL mine accidents.

81D: Party giver: HOST

82D: Bar stock: ICE

83D: Barely rains: SPITS. Dictionary defines SPIT as "fall in scattered drops or flakes, as rain or snow". New to me also.

85D: Higher on the Mohs scale: HARDER. Good clue. Diamond is 10 in Mohs scale.

86D: Colorful songbird: ORIOLE. Cal Ripken Jr. is an ORIOLE too. The price of his baseball cards really does not reflect his achievements.

87D: Toe movement: WIGGLE

89D: California's governor, facetiously: AHNOLD. Because of his accent? I got the answer. Don't understand the reason.

90D: More intense: ACUTER

91D: Beach topper: SUN HAT

92D: Trim or rim: EDGE. D'oh. Of course! V-8 moment for me.

97D: Jan Vermeer's hometown: DELFT. I like Vermeer's "Milkmaid" and "Girl with a Pearl Earring"(the Scarlett Johansson movie is good too). But I don't know he was born in DELFT, a city noted for its fine blue-and-white pottery.

99D: List heading: TO DO

102D: Wrokplace stds. org.: OSHA

105D: Where spokes meet: HUB

106D: LAPD alert: APB. This is probaly the only LA reference today.

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Sunday March 29, 2009 Kathleen Fay O'Brien

Theme: Los Angeles Clippers

23A: Toy guns?: FALSE A(LA)RMS

24A: Education for lab rats? (LA)MAZE CLASSES

39A: Thug down in the dumps?: BLUE (LA)GOON

43A: Where the South American school grp. meets?: RIO DE LA P(LA)TA

65A: Dana Carvey doing The Police's lead singer?: (LA)STING IMPRESSION

92A: Cop who brings back the genie when he goes AWOL?: ALADDIN'S (LA)MP

94A: Dubbed-in sounds of disgust?: (LA)UGH TRACK

113A: Appropriate style of dress for exams: (LA)TEST FASHION

115A: ATM accesses that nobody can guess?: GREAT P(LA)INS

Probably too obvious if the theme title were "LA Clippers".

This is a Sylvia Plath "Ariel" puzzle to me. I only started to understand "Roses are red..." not long ago. Struggled again.

Lots of wonderful clues in this puzzle. My favorites:

38A: Head lines?: EEG. Very clever. Always "Brain scan letters" in our old puzzle.

51D: Foreign correspondents?: PEN PALS

87D: Writing feature?: SILENT W. Letter W is not pronounced in "Writing".

123A: Henna and her sisters?: DYES. Play on movie title "Hannah and Her Sisters".

Things I need your help:

62D: Not counting fas and and las, word after "holly": 'TIS. Big stumper. Why?

76D: Walks like House: LIMPS. How come? What/Who is "House"?

83D: Stretch in the '90s, e.g.: HEAT WAVE. Again, why?

To those LA Times solvers who are offered Sylvia Bursztyn's "Light Fair". Please go to LA Times website for the Rich Norris puzzle we are discussing here today.

Across:

5A: Off-the-market apple spray: ALAR. Sometimes it's clued as "Wing-shaped". Did Ralph Nader play a big role in its banning?

9A: African expanse: SAHARA. I thought of DESERT first.

15A: Hanks Oscar-winning role: GUMP. "Forrest GUMP". "Life is a like a box of chocolate..." It's all about choices actually.

19A: Like some training program: IN SERVICE. Military?

21A: Cloisonné material: ENAMEL. Cloisonné technique was first developed in China.

22A: Ending for stink: AROO. Or "Ending for buck". EROO is the ending of smack & switch.

26A: Political essay: TRACT. It's always clued as "Political pamphlet" in our old puzzle.

29A: Capital on the Hudson: ALBANY

34A: Intersection caution: BLINKER

46A: Cold symptom: SNEEZE

48A: Fight ender, briefly: TKO. Boxing term.

49A: Coal industry labor org.: UMW (United Mine Workers). First encounter with this org.

50A: Bridge bid: NO TRUMP. And NO BET (42D: "Check"). Both are new terms to me. Not a bridge/poker player.

52A: Insect-world animated film: ANTZ. This film has become a gimme.

53A: Dungeness delicacy: CRAB. Have never heard of Dungenss CRAB. Wikipedia says it's named after Dungenss, Washington. And there is an annual Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival held there every October.

54A: Furniture wood: TEAK. "Shipbuilding wood" too. Oily, oily!

56A: Cubs' A.L. rivals: SOX. Both based in Chicago.

57A: 'Enry's Broadway protégée: ELIZA. "My Fair Lady". ELIZA Doolittle. Took me a while to realize 'Enry is Henry.

59A: Mr. Magoo, notably: MYOPE. Learned who Mr. Magoo is from doing Xword.

60A: Ralph Kramden's friend: ED NORTON. Stumper. This is the ED NORTON I am familiar with. He is so good in "American History X".

63A: Where to see 60A across: ON TV

64A: Loafs on the job: DOGS IT. New phrase to me.

72A: Musical syllables: TRAS

73A: The Azores are part of it: PORTUGAL. Barry Silk clued AZORES as "Portuguese islands" in his last puzzle.

80A: Hodges of baseball: GIL. Hmmm, no Dodgers reference? GIL Hodges spent most of his career with Brooklyn and LA Dodgers. Some of the old Brooklyn Dodgers collectibles are ridiculously high priced.

81A: Niño's emphatic yes: SI SI. In Chinese, it's "Shi, Shi'.

82A: Jordon's dowager queen: NOOR. She is rumored to have been dating Carlos Slim. Not sure if he is still the richest man in this world. Listened to some of her interviews when she was promoting her book "Leap of Faith". Very compelling personality.

84A: Biological subdivision: SPECIES

88A: '60 theater, briefly: NAM. I don't understand why they picked "What a Wonderful World" for "Good morning, Vietnam". They don't really match well.

89A: Rubble creator: TNT

98A: Arch city: ST LOUIS. The Gateway Arch was designed by Eero Sarrinen, who appears in crossword often.

99A: Including: WITH

100A: Some dirty politics: SMEARS

103A: November honoree: VET. Nov 11, to be exact.

104A: Observable: IN VIEW

107A: Powerful shooter marbles: STEELIES. See this picture. They don't look like to be made of steel.

109A: Massage targets: NECKS. The answer is always ACHE in our old puzzle.

117A: Camaro __ -Z: IROC. Completely unknown to me. Here is a photo. Wikipedia says it's named after the popular competition International Race of Champions. I thought it's play on "I Rock".

118A: Boys' Choir home: VIENNA. No idea. Have never heard of VIENNA Boys' Choir before.

119A: Tidal maximum: HIGH WATER. Also a new term to me. Just learned what WATER LINE is yesterday.

121A: Makes rhapsodic: ELATES

122A: Bugs, for one: TOON

Down:

1D: Baking instruction: SIFT. Mine was STEP.

2D: Tree trunk bulge: KNAR. Made-up crossword word.

3D: Cuba, to Cubans: ISLA. I like this clue.

4D: Come down: DESCEND. Thought of ALIGHT first.

6D: N.Y.C. commuter line: LIRR

8D: What's left, in Le Mans: RESTE. French for "rest". I was thinking of gauche, the real "left".

9D: Israeli, e.g.: SEMITE. OK, this is a word I've never understood. Arabs are Semitic, right? Why Anti-semitism is about prejudice against Jewish people then?

10D: Substances similar in structure, in chemistry: ANALOGS. No idea. I thought it should be ISO something.

11D: Fogs: HAZES

14D: Teeming with activity: ALL ABUZZ. Have to get used to this kind of 2-word fill.

15D: Blowhard: GASBAG

16D: __ Minor: URSA. My first reaction: ASIA

17D: Big name in faucets: MOEN. MOEN has several joint ventures in China.

18D: Bride's throwaway: POSY. All I could think of are flowers & bouquett.

25D: "Tiny Alice" dramatist: ALBEE. I've never heard of "Tiny Alice". But five letter dramatist has to be ALBEE.

33D: Prince Valiant's bride: ALETA. Another unknown. Only Just learned ARN ("Prince Valiant's son") a few months ago.

34D: Big bully: BRUTE. Give a whole new meaning to "Et tu, BRUTE?"

35D: Treated the soil, in a way: LIMED. What's the purpose of liming the soil?

36D: Davenport native: IOWAN. "Is this heaven?" "No, it's IOWA". My favorite baseball movie: "Field of Dreams".

37D: Fingers, so to speak: RATS ON. New definition of "Fingers" to me.

39D: Auto pioneer Karl: BENZ. I need the name Mercedes to get BENZ.

40D: Others: Span.: OTROS. OTRAS is also "Others: Span."

41D: Giraffe cousin: OKAPI. Hey, tell me, is giraffe your cousin?

44D: Plug projection: PRONG. Sounds silly, but I really blanked on Plug PRONG.

47D: Gullible: NAIVE. Won't be long, Rich Norris. Sooner or later, I am going to figure out all your "Little butter?".

53D: Swan constellation: CYGNUS. Forgot this word. Latin for "swan". See this diagram. PromiseMe mentioned Rush's song "CYGNUS X-1" last time when we encountered DENEB (clued as "Star in CYGNUS". In his words, "The song is about a journey through space to the black hole at the heart of the constellation Cygnus." Maybe he will provide a clip later.

55D: Authentic: KOSHER. Opposite tref. Kind of like Arab Halal/haraam, right?

58D: P.O. sackful: LTRS. In this electronic age, still "sackful" of letters? I doubt.

59D: No longer at issue: MOOT. Or still debatable. Janus letter, 2 meanings.

61D: Numbered rds.: RTES

63D: Actor Katz: OMRI. I forgot this "Dallas" actor. He appeared in our old puzzle before.

64D: N, E, S or W: DIR

66D: Roman prefix: ITALO. Williams liked to clue ITALO as "Author Calvino". In fact, I don't believe he ever tried "Roman prefix".

67D: Star in Virgo: SPICA. New to me. Here is the diagram.

68D: Pyramids, e.g.: SOLIDS

69D: African language group: BANTU. Both Zulu & Swahili belong to BANTU.

71D: Crown location: TOOTH. I was picturing a crown over someone's head.

74D: Infomercial knife: GINSU. They are of very poor quality, correct?

75D: "Me, too!": AS AM I

78D: Show the rope: TEACH

79D: Pool accessory: RACK. Billiard. Not swimming pool.

80D: It holds locks in place: GEL. Well, I was thinking of real locks. Key does not fit.

85D: Like the Holy See: PAPAL

86D: 1999 Ron Howard film: EDTV. See this poster. I saw identical clue somewhere before. But I could not recall the film name.

90D: Lawyer's writing: BRIEF

91D: "Give me an example!": NAME ONE. Like this clue also.

93D: Jotting place: NOTE PAD

95D: Muscle spasm: TWITCH. Or TIC for a 3-letter fill.

97D: Perceived to be: SEEN AS

100D: Tour of duty: STINT

101D: Correct: RIGHT. Verb or adjective?

102D: Comic opening: SERIO. Have never heard of seriocomic before. Derived from SERI(ous) + O + Comic.

104D: Tendon suffix: ITIS. Tendonitis. Did not come to me immediately. I am used to the " Medical suffix" clue.

105D: Husband of Octavia: NERO. I know the NERO who fiddled while Roman burned. Don't know who Octavia is. Dictionary says Marc Anthony's wife is also called Octavia, a name rooted in Octavius, meaning "the eighth".

106D: Brandy letters: VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale). Unknown to me. Here is a bottle.

107D: 2000 World Series venue: SHEA. Yankees beat the Mets. I was unaware of this. My US history started in May 16, 2001, almost 8 years.

108D: Lily with an edible root: SEGO. Really? I only know tiger lily buds are edible.

111D: Cello stabilizer: KNEE. I still marvel at the CELLIST clue ("Ma, for one") the other day. Just brilliant. Crossword constructors/editors are so creative.

112D: Georgia et al., once: Abbr.: SSRS. I love this "Georgia" ambiguity. In late 1980s and early 1990s, I was very into Eduard Shevardnadze, who later became the President of Georgia. Later one, I moved to Netanyahu. I don't know what they have in common. They just attracted me.

116D: "Kung Fu" actor: AHN. No idea. Interesting trivia: His parent were the first Korean married couple admitted into the United States, according to Wikipedia. He looks very Korean. His surname AHN would be spelled An or Ang in Chinese, as in director Ang Lee. An simply means "Peace".

Full Answer Grid.

C.C.

Sunday March 22, 2009 Willy A. Wiseman

Theme: Parting Words

1A: With 132A: parting words to a hermit: FAREWELL,

132A: See 1A: MY LONELY ("Farewell, My Lovely")

27A: Parting words from a gambler: GOODBYE, MY CHIPS ("Goodbye, Mr. Chips")

36A: Parting words extended with a look: ALOHA STARE (Aloha State)

58A: With 61A: parting words to a swamp daddy: SEE YA PATER,

61A: See 58A: ALLIGATOR (See ya later, alligator)

70A: With 83A & 86A, parting words from Douglas Adams to a gossip: SO LONG, AND

83A: See 70A: THANKS FOR

86A: See 70A: ALL THE DISH ("So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish")

102A: Parting words in person: BYE BYE LIVE ("Bye Bye Love")

113A: Parting words when going to meet Mr. Reed: I'LL BE SEEING LOU ("I'll be Seeing You")

I only know "BYE BYE LOVE" , ALOHA STATE & "I'LL BE SEEING YOU". But it's not difficult to figure out what names the constructor was playing.

I still don't quite get why "a swamp daddy" is PATER. Also, the clue for RABIN (109D: Itzshak of Israel) is missing one letter Y. Or are Yitzshak and Itzshak the same?

Quite a few misstarts today. Wrote down EATS instead of AILS for 72D: Has something. And penned in PATSY instead of SOFTY for 70D: Easy mark. I don't know. After more than a year of solving Mr. Williams' puzzles, I still struggle mightily. Hard to read his mind.

Got a bit emotional solving this grid. Whatever you do, whereever you go, Mr. Williams, I wish you all the best. Thanks for the fun and frustrations.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank Philip J. Anderson, Diane C Baldwin, Matthew Higgins, Annabel Michaels, Alan P. Olschwang, Allan E. Parrish, Doug Peterson, Tom Pruce, Barry Silk, Norma Steinberg, Verna Suit, John Underwood, Ed Voile, Michael T. Williams, Stan B. Whitten, Robert H. Wolfe and other TMS Daily contributors. Thank you so much for the great puzzles. I look forward to seeing your byline in LA Times.

Across:

9A: Host of "Scientific American Frontiers": ALDA (Alan). I was unaware of this PBS program.

20A: Formal written defense: APOLOGIA. No problem this time.

22A: New version: REVISAL. New word to me.

25A: Outbreeding: EXOGAMY. Opposite of endogamy. Exo is prefix for "outer", and "endo" is prefix for "within". Both unknown to me.

26A: Classic TV sitcom equine: MR. ED

35A: Marketing starter?: TELE. Telemarketing.

50A: Arquette of "Desperately Seeing Susan": ROSANNA. Googled her name. Very unusual surname, Arquette.

53A: Hoover Dam's lake: MEAD. Have never been here before.

64A: Verdi classic: AIDA. Can you believe it debuted in Cairo in 1871?

69A: Tahleuah, OK school: NSU (Northeastern State University). Easy guess. I don't know where Tahleuash, OK is.

93A: Evening in Montmartre: SOIR. Lingered in Montmartre for a long time trying to feel Monet & van Gogh. Also went to Sacré-Cœur. My first time ever in a church.

99A: Little lion of stars: LEO MINOR. Here is a diagram.

104A: Cat's-paw: DUPE. "Cat's-paw" is a new word to me.

120A: Utah ski resort: ALTA. Thought of Liam Neeson's wife. She was actually alright immediately after the skiing fall and she refused the medical help.

121A: Sibyl: DIVINER. Cassandra is one, though no one would ever believe what she divined.

123A: Man from Windhoek: NAMIBIAN. Windhoek is the capital of Namibia. New to me. The letter W is pronounced like V, strange.

1129A: Like raw footage: UNEDITED

130A: Heads side of a coin: OBVERSE. Vs. REVERSE.

Down:

1D: Granges: FARMS. I used to confuse "Grange" with "Grunge".

7D: Half of CIV: LII. Roman 52. The number of weeks for Caesar. Did they have Sunday off at that time?

8D: Pioneer director: LANG. Have never heard of Fritz LANG. "Pioneer" for what?

9D: If all goes wrong: AT WORST

10D: Navigation guide (var.): LOADSTAR. Variant of lodestar. Neither is a familiar word to me.

14D: Compound radical: HEXYL. The last 2 letters "yl" is a suffix used in the names of radicals, like "ethyl". Dictionary defines HEXYL as "the hydrocarbon radical", whatever that is.

15D: Shorebirds with upturned beaks: AVOCETS. Forgot. They belong to the same wading family as stilts. OK, her beak does seem to turn upward.

33D: Book after Daniel: HOSEA. Before Joel.

37D: Preliminary race: HEAT. Why is it called HEAT? Because the competitions are heated?

39D: Barrett or Jaffe: RONA. RONA Barrett is the gossip columnist. And RONA Jaffe was a novelist. Learned their name from doing Xwords.

41D: Vishnu incarnation: RAMA. No idea. RAMA is a she?

42D: First ceremony: INITIATION

43D: Nightmarish Belgian artist: ENSOR (James). Unknown to me. It does look nightmarish. I was thinking of Edvard Munch and his "The Scream", but he was from Norway.

44D: Pelvic bones: SACRA. Singular is sacrum. Unknown to me. I don't know its Chinese equivalent either. I definitely don't know my body. Such strange sacr-prefix, what's so sacred about that bone?

47D: Actress Frances: STERNHAGEN. Googled her name. I like the way she looks.

48D: Legumes with oily seeds: SOYAS. I've never called them as SOYAS, always soybeans.

59D: Wild way to run?: AMUCK. Need a "Var." mark.

62D: "Beau __": GESTE. Saw this clue a few times when I first started solving TMS puzzle in 2008. Is the movie good?

76D: "Chico and the Man" co-star: CHARO. Holy cow! Look at her original long name, and look at her body. Are they real? I would never have gotten the answer without across fills.

80D: Tuesday before Ash Wednesday: SHROVE. No idea. I only know Fat Tuesday.

81D: Analogy phrase: IS TO

85D: Mcllroy of golf: RORY. Uh-uh, no, can't recall his name. He looks like Tony Blaire. I used to follow European Tour when Adam Scott was playing.

88D: Promo link: TIE-IN. Should be the full term "Promotional link", as the answer is not abbreviated.

92D: "12 Angry Men": ED BEGLEY. Maybe Chris in LA knows. I can only remember Henry Fonda.

96D: Horizontal expander: WIDENER. So the "Vertical expander" would be DEEPENER? Made-up words.

98D: "__ in Gaza": EYELESS. Here is the book cover, written by Aldous Huxley.

103D: "Do Ya" grp.: ELO. Every crossword constructor's three letter go-to music grp due to its unique letter combination. See the clip.

106D: Intrinsically: PER SE

111D: Madame de __: STAEL. Got her name from crossing fills. Had a quick google afterward, then realized I had searched for her before. Her life sounded very complicated.

112D: Actress Jessica: TANDY. Unknown to me. She won an Oscar for "Driving Miss Daisy". She was also a Tony winner for her Blanche DuBois role in "A Streetcar Named Desire". I watched Vivien Leigh's movie. Very heavy. Not my type.

115D: Ukrainian city: LVOV. Also LVIV. On the upper left corner. Wikipedia says part of "Schindler's List" was shot here. My answer was KIEV.

116D: Fast food: BITE. Okey-dokey, I suppose "Grab a BITE" means "Eat it fast".

C.C.