Wednesday, December 30, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: PH LEVEL (33A. Acidity or alkalinity measurement, which is literally 8 for this puzzle's four longest answers) - There are total 8 digraph PH's in the 4 longest theme entries.

17A. Plato's field: PHILOSOPHY. What is your definition of Platonic love?

22A. Wedding hiree: PHOTOGRAPHER

45A. City named by William Penn: PHILADELPHIA. The City of Brotherly Love.

54A. Its white variety glows upon exposure to oxygen: PHOSPHORUS. New word to me.

I like that all of the theme answers are long-lettered one-word entries with two consecutive PH combination (instead of phrases with one word ending in P and other starting in H. You know, the word spanning P H style). Very narrowly focused, as Nancy Salomon advocates. Can you think of any other word with the same pattern?

Nice "driving" rya Dan weaved in the clues:

30A. Driveway surface: GRAVEL

32A. Driver's aid: TEE. Golf "driver".

30D. Driving hazard: GLARE

Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 20. Pretty high. But not many sparkling clues. Guess that's why it's a Wednesday rather than a wicked Friday Dan Naddor.

Across:

1. Japanese noodle dish: RAMEN. I like the real soup-based, soy sauce flavored Ramen, not the instant noodle.

6. Starbuck's boss: AHAB. Starbuck is Captain Ahab's first mate in "Moby-Dick".

10. Stern's opposite: STEM. Hence the idiom "from stem to stern".

14. Words after complete or close: A SALE

15. One of the Simpsons: LISA. Bart has 4-letters too.

16. Head shape in a recurring "SNL" skit: CONE

20. Like mozzarella: SEMI-SOFT

21. Journalist __ Boothe Luce: CLARE. Wife of Henry Luce, founder of Time, Life, and Fortune.

25. "The Jazz Singer" subject: JOLSON (Al). "The Jazz Singer" is the first talkie movie ever made.

28. "The Ten Commandments" role: RAMESES. So many Rameses in ancient Egypt.

29. Lake near Niagara Falls: ERIE

35. 3.0, e.g.: Abbr.: GPA

39. Jerusalem temple site: ZION. Hence Zionism?

40. Soft-shell clam: STEAMER. Is the clam steamed? I've never had it.

43. Foul: SMELLY

48. "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN (Harold)

49. 1996 bride of comic books and television: LOIS LANE. "Superman".

57. 2008 American League champs: RAYS. Lost to the Phillies in the World Series.

58. Absorbed the loss: ATE IT

59. Form 1040 IDs: SSNS. So easy to lose our identities in this Internet Age, no matter how careful we are.

60. Shoppe sign word: OLDE

61. Jr.-year exams: PSATS

Down:

1. Knocks: RAPS

3. Hurt badly: MAIM. Ouch!

4. Orbital shape: ELLIPSE

5. River past Iola, Kansas: NEOSHO. Native Indian for "clear, cold water". I've never heard of Neosho River, nor the city Iola.

6. Up in the air: ALOFT

7. Aware of: HIP TO

10. Surgeon's tool: SCALPEL

11. Contents of some arks: TORAHS

12. Chef's preparation: ENTREE. Robin mentioned tamales and black eyed peas as her New Year's Day traditional food & Jeannie has crab legs & corn on the cob for New Year's Eve. What's your family ritual? We always have walleye fish and some form of sweet mochi rice. Not often ice cream though.

13. Ann __, only woman to sign a contract with an NBA team: MEYERS. With the Indiana Pacers in 1980. Wikipedia says "She participated in three-day tryouts for the team, but eventually was not chosen for the final squad.".

21. Bedouin's mount: CAMEL. Bedouin refers to nomadic Arab.

24. Speak wildly: RAVE

25. Lockheed product: JET

26. Tram filler: ORE

31. On a pension: Abbr.: RET (Retired)

33. Spin doc: PR MAN. PR PERSON to be PC.

35. __ Grissom, former "CSI" role: GIL. Got his name from crosses.

36. Campaign hustler, for short: POL

38. Fortes: TALENTS. They are not the same to me.

39. Gung-ho types: ZEALOTS

40. Involuntary contractions: SPASMS. Cramps too.

41. "__ Company": old sitcom: THREE'S

42. Astronaut Collins: EILEEN. The first female Space Shuttle pilot/commander.

43. Ocean traveler: SHIP

44. Accident: MISHAP

46. London insurance pioneer: LLOYD

47. Ad hoc oater group: POSSE. Why "Ad hoc"?

51. Dark time for de Gaulle: NUIT. French for "night". "Bonne Nuit" is "Good night". Alliteration again.

52. Ballpark figs.: ESTS (Estimates)

54. Veteran: PRO

55. Prince of Broadway: HAL. Wikipedia mentioned that he's got a record 21 Tony Awards. That's incredible.

Huge thanks to Argyle and Al for making today's blogging possible. And a belated Happy Fermat-numbered Birthday to Lorraine!

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday December 23, 2009 Brendan Emmett Quigley

Theme: G-CLEF (69A. Staff figure, and a hint to the starts of 17-, 23-, 37-, 53- and 59-Across) - The first words of the theme answers - Every Good Boy Does Fine - yield the mnemonic for EGBDF, the notes on the lines of the treble clef.

17A. 1989 Bobby Brown hit: EVERY LITTLE STEP. Have never heard of the song. Bobby Brown is the ex-husband of Whitney Houston.

23A. "Well played!": GOOD GAME

37A. Culture Club lead singer: BOY GEORGE. He seems to be in legal trouble all the time.

53A. Serves a sentence: DOES TIME

59A. Metaphorical search tool: FINE-TOOTHED COMB

Very nice successive order!

Today's constructor Brendan Emmett Quigley is also a musician. He plays for the band Boston Typewriter Orchestra in his spare time. And he tends to sprinkle various music/musician/band references in his puzzles. So, besides the music theme and the two music related theme clues, we also have:

58A. "Watermark" musician: ENYA. I liked her "May It Be".

4D. Singer Grant: AMY

25D. "__ in a Manger": AWAY. Lovely (Celtic Woman).

26D. "Watermelon Man" musician Santamaría: MONGO. Total stranger to me. Wikipedia describes him as an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist.

35. __ voce: softly: SOTTO. Literally "under" in Italian.

57D. Rapper Snoop __: DOGG

60D. "Discreet Music" composer Brian: ENO

How was your solving experience today? The new words/names, the trickiness of the clues and the D'oh moments all felt like a Friday puzzle to me. Maybe I was just not in the constructor's wavelength.

Across:

1. Civil War org.: CSA (Confederate States of America)

4. Multilevel marketing giant: AMWAY. Huge presence in China. AVON too.

9. Political pamphlet: TRACT

14. Witch: HAG

15. Thanksgiving decoration: MAIZE. Indian corn.

16. "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speaker: HENRY (Patrick). I confused him with Ethan Allen.

20. Cunning trick: WILE. Wrote down RUSE first.

22. Suffix with cyan-: IDE. Cyanide. Blue color I presume.

28. Dinar spenders: IRAQIS. IRANIS too. This puzzle is only one letter J away from a pangram.

30. Caterer's container: URN. For Coffee.

32. Military action?: SALUTE. Oh, the greeting. I was picturing the real military action.

33. Stir-fry additive: MSG. Not in my stir-fry.

36. Licensing prerequisite, often: TEST

40. This, to Ricardo: ESTO. Also ESTA.

43. "What the Butler Saw" playwright: ORTON (Joe). No idea. I've never heard of the playwright or the play.

44. Did nothing: SAT

47. Page size with four leaves: QUARTO. New word to me. Makes sense, since quart- is Latin prefix for "four".

50. Words to a backstabber: ET TU. "Et tu, Brute?", Caesar's rebuke to Brutus.

51. Brit. monarch's title: HRH

52. Disentangle: UNKNOT

55. Soreness?: IRE. Without the question mark, the clue will be valid too.

56. Certain candidate's goal, briefly: PHD. Got me.

65. Unanimously: AS ONE

66. Icy look, maybe: GLARE. Tiger Wood's cold glare can be very intimidating.

68. Gas used in arc lamps: XENON. Noble gas. Rooted in "xeno", prefix for "alien"/"foreign".

Down:

1. Some baseballers do it all game long: CHEW GUM. Yes indeed.

2. Redeemers: SAVIORS

3. Lasting quite a while: AGELONG

5. Adjusted opening?: MAL. Maladjusted. Nailed it.

6. Game system played with gestures: WII. Nintendo.

7. AIDS-fighting drug: AZT. The name escaped me again.

8. Bigfoot cousin: YETI. The Abominable Snowman.

9. Second Amendment-supporting gp.: THE NRA. And THE ABCS (46. What preschoolers learn). I think one THE is enough for a grid.

10. __ judicata: decided case: RES. Latin for "thing". Res judicata = a thing adjudicated, a decided case.

11. Many an auction piece: ANTIQUE

12. Movie trailer?: CREDITS. The film enders. Very clever clue.

13. Prepare for printing: TYPESET

19. "Family Guy" mom: LOIS. Stumper. I wonder if our Lois knows.

24. Helicopter's predecessor, briefly: GIRO. Or Gyro, right?

29. Der __: Adenauer epithet: ALTE. Konrad Adenauer's nickname. Der Alte is German for "the old man".

37. Delivered: BORN

39. Migratory antelopes: GNUS. Had no idea that they migrate.

40. Big name in credit reports: EQUIFAX. Wikipedia says it's considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Not a familiar name to me at all. Credit/CREDITS duplication, though of different meanings.

41. Dawn follower: SUNRISE. Wanted MORNING.

42. Hired: TAKEN ON. Did the answer come to you immediately?

44. Classic shoe polish brand: SHINOLA. Nope. Have never heard of the brand.

45. Stereotypical toy soldier: ARMY MAN. Not enough blanks for my GI JOE.

48. Hit list: TOP TEN

49. Roman emperor in 69 A.D.: OTHO. The emperor with a short three-month reign. Tripped me again.

54. Private eye, briefly: TEC (Detective)

61. Dr. Mom's forte: TLC

62. "2001" computer: HAL

63. Before, in verse: ERE. Simple palindrome.

64. OED offering: DEF (Definition). I am using Webster's New World College Dictionary. How about you?

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday December 16, 2009 Merl Reagle

Theme: Note-orious - Three consecutive musical notes are embedded in each theme entry.

16A. Comfort: CONSOLATION. So La Ti. Thought it's Sol.

61A. Sister Sledge hit: WE ARE FAMILY. Re Fa Mi.

39. Queen whose name contains three apt words in a row, as does each of this puzzle's four longest answers: LATIFAH. La Ti Fa. I like Queen Latifah in "Chicago". Then we had A ROW (5D. In __: lined up). Undesirable duplication.

10D. Outnumber all others: PREDOMINATE. Re Do Mi.

24D. Pooped: ALL TIRED OUT. Ti Re Do.

And two more musical instrument references from Merl Reagle, who plays keyboards:

52D. Instruments with pedals: HARPS. I don't associate harps with pedals.

64D. Concert finale?: INA. Concertina. Stumped me.

Unusual numbers of tricky and fresh clues for a Wednesday, no? Despite the heavy proper names, the puzzle itself is not hard. Fair crossings.

Across:

1. First name in nursing: CLARA (Barton). Founder of American Red Cross.

6. Bridges of Los Angeles County: JEFF. He's "The Dude" in "The Big Lebowski", directed the Coen brothers. Hollywood/LA is in LA County. The clue reminds me of "The Bridges of Madison County". Very romantic!

14. Shooting Starr: BELLE. Have never heard of Belle Starr. Wikipedia says she's a notorious American outlaw. I could only recall Ken Starr.

15. Cry that's a laugh backward: RAH. Nice new clue.

18. Eddie's "Green Acres" co-star: EVA (Gabor)

19. Contraction that's an "i" dropper: 'TWERE. Contraction of "it were". Got me. I liked the "eye"/"i" dropper pun.

22. Rhyme scheme used in a villanelle: ABAA. Maybe Clear Ayes can find us a villanelle today.

25. Follow: ENSUE

28. The __ Parade: ROSE

29. Co-creator of "The View": WALTERS (Barbara)

31. It gets let off: STEAM. Let off steam.

33. Specter on the Hill: ARLEN. Capitol Hill. Senator from PA.

34. Actor Dillon: MATT. He's awesome in "Crash".

35. Alcatraz, e.g.: Abbr.: ISL (Island). "The Rock" is a great movie.

38. Nap or nip preceder: CAT

42. PBS funder: NEA (National Endowment for the Arts)

43. Go down a slippery slope: SKI. Vivid clue.

44. Work without __: A NET

45. Mil. schools: ACADS (Academies)

47. Play delayers: RAINS. Twins new stadium has no roof.

49. Beethoven specialties: SONATAS. Beautiful "Moonlight Sonata".

51. "Mermaids" actress: CHER. Was ignorant of the film.

53. Online business: E-TAIL

55. __ Sweeney, Ethel Merman's "Anything Goes" role: RENO. The answer emerges itself.

56. "You __ be there": HAD TO

58. "The Crucible," e.g.: DRAMA. Arthur Miller play.

60. Guillermo's gold: ORO. Guillermo is the Spanish form of the name "William".

67. PC core: CPU

68. Thinks the world of: LOVES. "Ai" in Chinese. "Wo Ai Ni" = "I love you". Chinese does not have singular/plural forms for verbs.

69. Oscar de la __: RENTA. Laura Bush's favorite designer.

70. Sunrise direction, in Stuttgart: OST. German for "east". New to me, so is the German city Stuttgart.

71. Flip out: SNAP

72. Lewis or Lois colleague: CLARK. Lewis & Clark Expedition. Lois & Clark, Superman.

Down:

1. L x VI: CCC. 50 x 6 = 300

2. Oft-visited pub room: LOO. Nailed it.

4. Say another way: RESTATE

6. Ballet leaps: JETES (/ʒəˈteɪ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation zhuh-TEY). I forgot. Here is a clip. PLIES is the "Ballet bends".

7. Passing Manning: ELI. Quarterback for the NY Giants. Nice rhyme.

8. __-Jo: Olympic sprinter's nickname: FLO. Lovely nickname.

9. Sedge-filled wetlands: FENS

11. #1 picks: FAVES

12. Phillies all-star slugger Utley: CHASE. Second baseman for the Phillies. I bet Dennis was excited to see Merl's byline today. He's been solving Merl's Sunday for years.

14. Tractor shelters: BARN. I like the double-syllable sounds of the clue.

17. Look like a wolf: LEER. Was picturing a real wolf.

21. Tax-deferring option, briefly: IRA

22. Spy plane acronym: AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System). Completely unknown to me.

23. Netanyahu's successor: BARAK (Ehud). Same pronunciation as Barack?

26. Gp. with F-16s: USAF

27. Henri's conclusion?: ETTA. No idea. I suppose it refers to Henrietta the town in NY.

30. Zhou __: EN-LAI. Mandarin Chinese. Cantonese is Chow En-Lai.

32. A Coen brother: ETHAN. Pride of Minnesota.

34. Where Ben Bernanke got his Ph.D.: MIT. Somehow I thought it's Yale. Bernanke was just named as Time Person of the Year 2009. Netanyahu graduated from MIT too.

36. Ford Taurus, e.g.: SEDAN

37. Calf catcher: LASSO

40. Actress Hathaway: ANNE. She's in "The Devil Wears Prada".

46. Apple topping: CARAMEL. Sweet!

48. Word before or after thou: ART. New spin on a common crossword fill.

49. Foal fathers: SIRES

50. Norse saint: OLAF. No Olaf/Olav wobbling today.

51. Intro to -holic: CHOCO. Chocoholic.

54. TV spot pro: AD REP. Fell into the ADMAN trap.

57. Temple's team: OWLS. Wikipedia says Temple was the first school in the United States to adopt the owl as its symbol.

59. Painter Chagall: MARC

62. Awfully long time: EON

Answer grid.

Ming tian jian!

C.C.

Wednesday December 9, 2009 Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: Bad Boys - The surname of each theme answer is synonymous with "malicious".

17. Bassist for the Sex Pistols: SID VICIOUS. He died of heroin overdose in 1979. Sex Pistols pioneered the punk rock music.

36. Muttley's evil master in Hanna-Barbera cartoons: DICK DASTARDLY. No idea. Wikipedia says he's a racer who aimed to win "solely through cheating and trickery".

59. "The Wonder Years" star: FRED SAVAGE. I only knew his brother Ben Savage. I really liked watching "Boy Meets World" when I first arrived in the US.

Wish DICK DASTARDLY were a real person. The theme would have been tighter and more focused.

Quite a scrabbly puzzle, with 3 J's, 2 Z's and several K's. A rather smooth solving for me, despite several unknowns. The crossing sure helped.

Across:

1. Hurts with a horn: GORES. Gruesome start.

6. Trudge: PLOD. Not today.

10. Where E.T. came from?: AFAR. Could only think of UFO. Nice clue.

14. As vertical as possible, as an embedded anchor: APEAK. New word to me. And ROPE (15A. Anchor attachment). Nice 'anchor" sequence.

16. Charm: MOJO. Tiger's is fading fast.

19. Run off at the mouth: BLAB

20. Made the trip: CAME. Awful storm outside now.

21. Uncommonly big: OUTSIZED. Like ego.

28. Friend you probably never met: PEN PAL

30. Spread with cocktails: PATE. Who doesn't like pâté de foie gras?

33. Leopardlike critter: OCELOT. Nice to see you again.

35. Skye of film: IONE. She's in "Say Anything ...".

40. Like many a 45-Across: DANK. And CELLAR (45A. Underground room).

41. Hitchcock classic: PSYCHO. Wish I had never seen the movie.

42. Swing voter: Abbr.: IND. And JAN (43D. Pres. inauguration month).

43. Singer Feliciano: JOSE. Got him today. See, I am capable of learning.

49. '50s Kenyan revolutionary: MAUMAU. Great to see the full name rather than the half MAU. "When doubled, Kenyan revolutionary" is just as bad as the old "Half fly" for TSE.

51. PBS funder: NEA

53. Cancún coins: CENTAVOS. Spanish for "cents". Alliteration again.

56. Hebrew prophet: AMOS. Got the answer from crosses. He's a minor prophet.

57. Fast fliers: JETS. SSTS too.

61. War god: ARES. In Greek myth. TYR is the Norse war god.

62. "Law & Order: SVU" actor: ICE-T. Yawner.

63. Sloping edge of a chisel: BEZEL. See this picture.

64. Author Zane: GREY. Again, strung his name together from crosses.

65. Big name in lawn equipment: TORO. Or DEERE. Toro is based here in MN.

66. Fish basket: CREEL

Down:

1. It's replaced after a fill-up: GAS CAP. Its symmetrical partner in the grid is RESELL (48. Transfer for a price, as a used car: RESELL). I like the car connection. Good bookends for the grid.

2. Sedative: OPIATE

3. St. John's athletes, until 1994: REDMEN. Now Red Storm. Native American sensitivity issue.

5. Go downhill fast?: SKI. Can't fool me.

6. Toyota hybrid: PRIUS. Latin for "prior".

7. Pirate's haul: LOOT

8. Music with a number: OPUS

9. Stop: DESIST. Cease and desist.

10. The color of honey: AMBER. Sweet! I love honeyed nuts.

11. Nonsense: FOLDEROL. Often see the answer as clue.

12. Steely Dan album pronounced like a continent: AJA. Pronounced like "Asia".

13. Stick up: ROB

18. Air-conditioned: COOLED

22. Ballet-dancing Muppet: ZOE. I've never even seen one episode of "Sesame Street".

24. Pass rusher's success: SACK

26. VAIO computer maker: SONY. Our old editor once clued VAIO as "Sony computer".

27. Golfer's gismo: TEE. I spell gismo as "gizmo".

30. Rapper's entourage: POSSE

31. Mem. of the bar: ATTY. Much better than ATT.

34. Indy 500's 200: LAPS

35. Golden calf, e.g.: IDOL

36. Agent Scully of "The X-Files": DANA. Not a fan of "The X-Files" either.

37. Hall of Fame guest of honor: INDUCTEE

38. Permission to use: ACCESS. Access to database. Permission to use the database. OK.

39. Perlman of "Cheers": RHEA. Danny DeVito's wife.

44. Uniform: OUTFIT

46. Childbirth education pioneer: LAMAZE. I like the answer.

47. Orbital high point: APOGEE. Low point is Perigee.

51. Acknowledge with a head movement: NOD TO

54. Sacramento's __ Arena: ARCO. Home to Sacramento Kings.

56. Say assuredly: AVER

57. Binge: JAG. Both mean "a drinking spree".

60. "Desperate Housewives" network: ABC

Happy Birthday, Hahtool! Thanks for bringing us inspiring QOD every morning.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday December 2, 2009 Ed Sessa

Theme: RAIN CATS AND DOGS (65A. Come down in buckets; also, when applied in sequence to the answers to starred clues, this puzzle's theme)

17A. *Nightly news show segment: WEATHER FORECAST. Rain.

27A. *Big Apple show: BROADWAY MUSICAL. "Cats", one of our Buckeye's favorite musicals. Clear Aye's too, I think.

49. *1955 Disney animated film featuring Darling Dear: LADY AND THE TRAMP. Both are dogs.

Very innovative theme, isn't it? I've never seen such type before. And all of the theme answers have grid-spanning 15 letters and intersect every Down entry.

Only letter X is missing, otherwise it would be a pangram. Quite a few nice clues in the grid. My favorites are I DO (23A. Veiled consent?) and YALE (60D. It's a lock). The latter is similar to "It's a wrap" for SAREE/SHAWL.

Across:

1. Square after Connecticut Avenue: JAIL. Monopoly property. Scrabbly start.

10. Wax remover: Q-TIP. Oh, earwax.

15. Israeli seaport: HAIFA. The only 5-letter Israeli port that I know.

16. Choice in a booth: VOTE. Have never voted in the US. Not a citizen. China does not allow dual citizenship.

20. Match starter: SERVE. And LOVE (62D. Tennis score). Both tennis terms.

36. Houston Aeros' org.: AHL (American Hockey League). Just realized that Houston Aeros is the affiliate of our Minnesota Wild. Sadly an unknown fact for me.

37. Brass or pewter: ALLOY. Wanted METAL.

38. Overplay a part: EMOTE

39. Breakfast corner: NOOK. What did you have for breakfast today? I've been loving mochi rice balls (with honey walnuts & chopped dates inside) lately.

41. Long Island __: SOUND. The answer revealed itself. I only knew Long Island Iced Tea.

43. Poker Flat chronicler Harte: BRET. Learned the name from doing Xword. Not familiar with his book "The Outcasts of Poker Flat".

44. To the point, in law: AD REM. AD = To. REM is accusative of RES (matter/thing). I can never remember this Latin phrase.

46. Author Nin: ANAIS. The famous diarist.

48. Evian, par exemple: EAU. French for "water".

53. Show about Capote: TRU

54. Candy in 12-piece dispensers: PEZ. Look at her pez collection. Some of the vintage no feet ones are worth hundreds of dollars.

57. Pisa place: ITALY

61. Two-time opponent of Ike: ADLAI (Stevenson)

68. Witty Bombeck: ERMA. Often confuse her with IRMA, The "Joy of Cooking" author Rombauer.

73. Doctor's advice: REST. Wrote down TEST first.

Down:

1. __ of Life: JAWS. Have never heard of this tool. Tiger's wife just used an iron. His sterling brand is now seriously endangered.

2. Not windward: ALEE. It's clued as "Dodging the draft?" in one of Paul's Clever Clue of the Month candidate list. Brilliant.

3. Construction beam: I-BAR

4. Baltic country: LATVIA. Capital is Riga.

5. One who'll be comin' round the mountain, in song: SHE. Easy guess. Was unaware of this folk song.

6. Bellyache: CARP

8. Get an __ effort: A FOR

9. Henner of "Taxi": MARILU. Got her name from Across fill.

10. Home shopping channel: QVC

11. Small hopper: TOAD. Brought to mind Arliss's horny toad in "Old Yeller".

13. Folk icon Seeger: PETE. Peter, Paul and Mary covered several of his songs.

18. Ibsen's "__ Gabler": HEDDA. Nope. See the book cover. Is it very famous?

19. Beethoven's "Für __": ELISE

24. Mice catchers: OWLS. Wanted CATS.

27. Clichéd: BANAL

28. Neighbor of Mary: RHODA. Another stumper. I had no idea that Mary here refers to Mary Tyler Moore.

29. Prayer starter: O LORD

30. Tons: A LOAD

31. Hall of Famer Robin of the Milwaukee Brewers: YOUNT. Gimme. Hall-of-Famer. Unfortunately his baseball cards are not worth much.

32. Mimicking bird: MYNAH

33. Chick of jazz: COREA. The favorite jazz musicians of Katherine, one of the earliest posters on this blog. She is now happily married to a drummer and does not do puzzles any more.

35. Ease off: LET UP

40. Piano's 88: KEYS

42. Reduction plan: DIET. Reduction of weight. "Losing plan" would be a great clue too.

45. Frenzied: MANIC

47. Valuable violin, for short: STRAD. Sometimes it's Amati.

50. Write, as music: NOTATE

51. Steering device: RUDDER

54. Co. VIP: PRES (President). We see EXEC more often.

56. Coors malt beverage: ZIMA. ZIMA means "winter" in Russian.

58. Razor brand: ATRA

59. Exam for an aspiring D.A.: LSAT

63. Important periods: AGES. Of course, I fell into the ERAS trap.

66. Afternoon break: NAP. Not TEA.

67. One of the Bobbsey twins: NAN. Bert's twin sister. Learned from doing Xword of course.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday November 25, 2009 Gareth Bain

Theme: RAMA LAMA DING DONG

Yikes! I never imagined seeing that here. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

17A: 360 degree artwork: CYCLORAMA. Never heard of it.

26A: Former resident of Lhasa's Potala Palace: DALAI LAMA. Easy answer. Hard to spell. Had to rely on perps.

41A: Wildly exciting, in slang: RING-A-DING. OK, I guess - but not very common.

52A: Long Time Chinese Leader: MAO ZEDONG. Another easy answer, but a real spelling challenge.

And 43D Named for a car model, group who sang the 1961 hit formed by the end of 17-, 26-, 41-, and 52-Across: EDSELS. I went from Freshman to Sophomore in High School in 1961. I remember the song, almost, and the car, but not the group. The YouTube link says 1957-58, not 1961, and that sounds right to me.

Hi, gang - it's Jazzbumpa, your displaced OHIOAN trombonist. Let's dedicate today's puzzle to Buckeye and Crockett. Hope I didn't miss anyone.

Rather a fun puzzle. I had no clue on the theme until I got to 43 D.

Quite a few long fills and nice 5-stacks. I counted 36 black squares. Let's work it out.

Across:

1A Workout room: GYM. Dennis can give us the details.

4A Bit of hardware: SCREW. I think of it as a machine part, but hardware is OK, too. Other meanings are possible.

9A Suffix with sea: SCAPE. I wasn't sure what to expect here. Had to get perp help.

14A Extinct ostrich like bird: MOA. The MOA, the merrier. Too bad they're gone.

15A Games authority: HOYLE. He wrote the book on many card games.

16A Give_________: care: A HOOT. I tried A DAMN first, thinking about Rhett and Scarlet. Then I got A____T from the perps, and was a bit concerned for a while.

19A Hardly the gregarious type: LONER. Thought of this guy. Wonder if he's in solitary confinement?

20A Buckeye: OHIOAN. Needs no explanation. But here, anyway. I have a semi-closely related horse chestnut tree in my backyard. I think Buckeyes were declared illegal in Michigan last Saturday. We had a great time at the game and tailgating, but the outcome was sure hard on the locals.

21A "Skip the sordid details." SPARE ME. Or a bowler requesting assistance on a 7-10, perhaps.

23A Like many Airports: Abbr.: INTL. Internal, like near the center of a continent. Oh, wait - maybe it's international.

24 A ________ FIRMA: TERRA. Well, what else could it be?

25A Well fluids: INKS. The stuff in the ink well. Nice, clever clue, it you're old enough to remember ink wells. Did anybody under about 50 have trouble with this?

30 A God of hawks: ARES. We think of him as the god of war, and therefore hawks = warmongers. But Wikipedia points out that ARES is the god of bloodlust and slaughter. Lovely.

31 A Gear part: COG. A single tooth, a cogwheel, or someone like Mongo, only pawn in game of life.

32 A Frank: WEENIE. I stumbled all over this one. Like Diogenes, I was looking for an honest man. Or at least some nice buns.

33A Fanzine, e.g. MAG Abbrv. fr. Mgzn. I gss.

34 Limerick's place: IRELAND. The Emerald Isle. Ye Olde Sod. Home of Guinness. Oddly, I have a limerick on my blog today. First one ever. Go figure

36A Old Prizm automaker: GEO. And 1D Canyon or Sierra: GMC. Correct, and correct. This time there can be no dispute.

37A Represent as Identical: EQUATE. Do you equate EQUATE with "make identical?" How about correspond, match, similar or analogous? Just askin . . .

39 A _______ And outs. INS. Are they talking about doorways, or something else?

40 A East Berlin's Cold War Counterpart: BONN The two capital cities.

43 A Guesses "true" when the answer is false: ERRS. Or drops the ball. It's only human.

44 A Pulizer winner Walker: ALICE. Won Pulizer Prize for "The Color Purple." I forgot.

46A Golfer who won the 1992 U.S. Open: TOM KITE. I couldn't tell you who won the 2009 U.S. Open.

49A Prescription measure: DOSAGE. It's just the right amount.

51 A Nebraska city: OMAHA Founded in 1854, the nations 42nd largest city.

55 A Boston Airport: LOGAN. It's just about surrounded by water.

56 A Throw out: EXPEL. Like, from school.

57 A Nitrogen based dye: AZO. Al? Dr. Dad?

58 A Pork Cuts: LOINS. Them's good eatin'!

59 A Essentials: NEEDS. If you need it, it's essential.

60 A Go one better. TOP. Lions over Browns. Crazy finish.

Down:

2 D Toy on a string: YOYO. Or a honker, dinger YOYO jamboree.

3 D Rapid fire weapon: MACHINE GUN. Rat-a-tat-tat.

4 D "Eats, ______, & Leaves" : Punctuation handbook: SHOOTS. Beware of koalas with MACHINE GUNS.

5 D Reef Stuff: CORAL And starfish fodder.

6 D "Saving Private ______" RYAN War really is hell.

7 D Common street name: ELM Formerly, a common tree. Now ash is in trouble, too.

8 D Cunning sort: WEASEL. Seems wrong. Should be "a sneaky, untrustworthy, or insincere person".

9 D Not paid hourly: SALARIED. Either way, it's take home pay.

10 D Bach Work: CHORALE Bah! I can't find a YouTube link to one actually being sung. We'll have to settle for this.

11 D Superior: A ONE. Or Minnesota's Lake.

12 D Keats work: POEM Better than a Yeats work, C.A.?

13 D Raison d'_________: Reason for being: ETRE. A bit strained, IMHO.

18 D Golf course: LINKS. Or breakfast before a round, perhaps.

22 D Shrimp like crustaceans: PRAWNS Anybody know the difference?

24 D "In space no one can hear you scream" for "Alien.": TAG LINE A memorable branding slogan used in advertising.

25 D Mosul resident: IRAQI

26 D Forest female: DOE. And the start of a genuinely horrible song. I won't link to it.

27 D Source of mohair: ANGORA GOAT Rather a handsome fellow.

28 D Bearings: MIENS I wanted more machine parts, not demeanor.

29 D Near eternity: AEON When you need a bunch of vowels, you need a bunch of vowels!

30 D From the U.S.: AMER. Abbrv. in Cl. Abbrv. in Ans.

31 D Cash Alternative: CREDIT Use it if you have it.

34 D Neopolitans, e.g. ITALIANS Originating in Naples, or Napoli

35 D Director Lee: ANG Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, etc.

38 D Shi'ite leader: AGA KHAN The hereditary title of the Imam of the Nizārī Muslims, I had no idea.

40 D Server's basketful: BREAD In a retaurant, or at the sermon on the mount, with fish.

42 D Bygone bringers of cold blocks: ICE MEN They were cool.

45 D Leaked Slowly: OOZED. The word sounds viscous and slimey.

46 D Turnpike fee: TOLL To pay for the snack, I suppose.

47 D Melville Novel: OMOO. Unknown outside of crosswords.

48 D "The gift of the___": MAGI Sad, ironic story of loving and giving, by O Henry.

49 D Info: DOPE I haven't heard it used this way in AEONS.

50 D Auto designer Ferrari: ENZO. Must have a picture.

53 D Stump creator: AXE Sharp clue.

54 D Red State Org.: GOP. Grand Old Party. The erstwhile party of Lincoln. 'Nuff said.

Answer grid.

Pictures of the Day: Here are four fantastic photos J.D. took during her Safari expedition. Click on each one, the picture will enlarge.

Cheers!

Jazzbumpa

Wednesday November 18, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: BAR (65A. Happy hour site, and word that can follow each last name in the answers to starred clues) - Famous people whose last name can precede the word BAR.

18. *"Seven Year Ache" country singer: ROSANNE CASH. Cash bar. Rosanne Cash is Johnny Cash's daughter. I was not familiar with the song.

20. *"All I Wanna Do" singer: SHERYL CROW. Crowbar. I love "All I Wanna Do". Is this the seed entry, Dan?

32. *Longtime "American Bandstand" host: DICK CLARK. Clark bar. Brand of candy bar.

45. *Notable member of The Second City improv group: JOHN CANDY. Candy bar. I was ignorant on The Second City. Did recognize John Candy's mug when I googled.

59. *French writer who befriended Chopin: GEORGE SAND. Sandbar. "Befriended" is an understatement. They were lovers, though they might not be sexually involved due to Chopin's health.

63. *"The Mark of Zorro" star (1940): TYRONE POWER. PowerBar. I've only seen Antonio Banderas's "The Mask of Zorro".

It's been some time since we last saw Dan's stacked theme style (the first two and the last two theme answers have a 6-letter overlap). Such a tightly focused & colorful BAR unifying theme. Very nice. Heavy themage too, total 63 theme squares.

Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 16. Once again, two of the Down ones, ie, ACRYLIC and CODE RED, intersect three theme entries.

I've been thinking lately how crossword solving can be a very personal experience. Certain answers resonate with some people and bring back sweet memories. I was just musing on George Sand's "I love strongly, exclusively and steadfastly" yesterday morning, and was so pleasantly surprised to see her name in the grid. What were your touch points today?

Across:

1. Popular: HOT. And COOL (5D. Not nerdy).

4. Takes steps: ACTS

8. Does some garden maintenance: WATERS. And ADAM (26D. Eden gardener).

15. Masked critter: COON. Raccoon.

16. "Ditto": I DO TOO

17. Ecol. or agric.: SCI

22. 1963 role for Liz: CLEO. "Cleopatra". Shortened name in clue, shortened name in answer.

24. Nissan sedan: ALTIMA. More luxurious than Nissan Sentra but less so than Nissan Maxima, according to Wikipedia. All of them have 6 letters.

26. Mimosa family tree: ACACIA. The gum-yielding tree. I was unaware of its biological classification.

29. Part of TNT: NITRO

36. Lover of Christine, in "The Phantom of the Opera": RAOUL. I could only remember ERIK the Phantom.

38. Gardner of "Mogambo": AVA. And UTA (41A. Hagen of Broadway). Still remember "Yma Dream" sketch from Anne Bancroft? Both Ava Gardner and Uta Hagen were mentioned. And Ida Lupino, Oona Chaplin and many other Xword friendly names.

39. Parkinsonism drug: L-DOPA. I forgot again.

42. Bette's "Divine" nickname: MISS M. The "The Divine Miss M". Bette Midler.

48. "The Merry Widow" composer: LEHAR (Franz ).

50. Time-share units: CONDOS. Thought of Annette and her ordeal in the past 4 years.

51. Rolled oats cereal: MUESLI. Not fond of the taste.

55. Banned pesticide: DDT. Banned in 1972.

56. Voice above tenor: ALTO

66. World's largest river by volume: AMAZON. Nile is the longest.

67. King, to a subject: SIRE

68. Greater N.Y.C. campus: L.I.U. (Long Island University). I got the answer from down fill.

69. Not naked: DECENT

70. City west of Tulsa: ENID. Both Oklahoma cities.

Down:

1. "Bonanza" brother: HOSS. I can never remember those brothers name.

3. Hears arguments in court: TRIES A CASE.

4. Painter's medium: ACRYLIC. And CODE RED (46D. Official emergency status). Both connect three of the theme answers.

6. Puccini opera: TOSCA. Puccini answer is always Tosca.

7. Warning from a doghouse: SNARL

8. Best type of situation: WIN-WIN

9. Fruit drink suffix: ADE

10. Bach work: TOCCATA. New word to me. From Italian "toccare" (touch). Dictionary defines it as "a composition in the style of an improvisation, for the piano, organ, or other keyboard instrument, intended to exhibit the player's technique".

11. Catchall abbr.: ET AL. And others.

13. Fashionable London area: SOHO

19. "Just kidding!": NOT

21. Gibraltar landmark: ROCK

25. Fallen space station: MIR. Fell in 2001. Russian for "peace".

27. __ union: same-sex relationship status: CIVIL

30. King Arthur's meeting spot: ROUND TABLE. Camelot! Camelot! Summer lingers through SEP (52D: Labor Day mo.).

31. Finish ahead of: OUTDO

33. Noun modifier: Abbr.: ADJ

34. Friend of Pooh: ROO. From "Winnie-the-Pooh". Kanga's kid.

35. Canadian rd. sign letters: KPH (Kilometers Per Hour). I felt goosey, did not know Canada uses metric system.

37. Fires, with "off": LAYS

40. Very old: Abbr.: ANC (Ancient). Have never seen this abbreviation before.

43. Chat idly: Var.: SHMOOZE. Only knew schmooze.

44. Half a Kenyan rebel: MAU. Mau Mau. Learned from doing Xword.

49. University officer: REGENT

54. Author Shaw: IRWIN. Mindlessly penned in ARTIE the Clarinetist Shaw.

56. Just barely: A TAD

57. __ tick: disease carrier: LYME. Wanted DEER. Lyme disease & deer tick.

58. Gillette's __ II: TRAC. Fell for ATRA, anyone?

60. Spice Girl Halliwell: GERI. Ginger spice.

61. Wood fastener: NAIL

62. Bongo or conga: DRUM

64. Nantes negative: NON. Alliteration again. Nantes is French city on the Loire River. Edict of Nantes.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday November 11, 2009 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: Hit List - The first word of each # 1 hit song title is a synonym of "permanent".

20A. 2002 #1 hit for rapper Ja Rule: ALWAYS ON TIME. I've never heard of the the song or the rapper. Ja Rule's real name is Jeffrey Atkins.

36A. 1989 #1 hit for Paula Abdul: FOREVER YOUR GIRL. Know Paula Abdul from her previous gig with "American Idol". The song faintly rings a bell.

56A. 1989 #1 hit for the Bangles: ETERNAL FLAME. Someone just linked the Bangles on the blog the other day. The song is a total unknown to me.

Were all the above hits familiar to you?

This theme reminds me of David W. Cromer's "Always Faithful" puzzle, but with a tighter structure. Only three 12-letter theme answers, which allow for plenty of sparkling long entries (I counted 22 non-theme fill with 6 letters or more). And only 32 blocks. We often see 38 on weekdays.

Great to see Allan E. Parrish's byline again. Like Barry Silk, he likes to use scrabbly letters, though not much in this puzzle.

Across:

1. Taylor of "The Nanny": RENEE. She played Fran Fine's mother.

10. Patsies: SAPS

14. Are: EXIST. ARE is often clued as "Exist".

15. ''Star Wars'' royalty: LEIA. Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher. I am surprised that her mother, Debbie Reynolds, is still alive. Tough luck in men.

17. Senate minority leader McConnell: MITCH. From Kentucky. His wife is Bush 43's Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. Contemporary political names are normally my gimmes.

18. Enchilada wraps: TORTILLAS. And REESE'S (51D. Popular candy pieces). Hmm, food is always welcome in our blog. By the way, care to share with Jeannie and all of us your thanksgiving stuffing recipe? A bit of Minnesota wild rice can flavor up the taste immensely.

22. Lake Wobegon creator: KEILLOR (Garrison). Ah, Minnesota reference. Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average...

23. Without any help: UNAIDED

27. "¿Cómo ____ usted?": ESTA

28. "__Cop": 1987 film: ROBO. Always wanted "Mall Cop".

30. Sugar coating: GLAZE

31. Thrice, in Rx's: TER. Again, no TID (ter in die), Latin for "three times a day".

33. Bone: Pref.: OSTE. As in osteoarthritis.

35. Rural area: LEA

41. Milne marsupial: ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".

42. Airline to Ben-Gurion: EL AL. Ben Gurion International is EL AL's home base. Named after Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

43. 1950s-'60s "Man on the Street" comic Louis: NYE. Learned his name from doing Xword.

44. Radio station alert sign: ON AIR

46. Academia VIP: DEAN. The clue seems to be asking for an abbreviated answer, doesn't it, Jerome?

48. Apt. balcony: TERR (Terrace). I am inured to the "territory" clue.

52. He shared a Nobel Peace Prize with de Klerk: MANDELA. In 1993. For their work in ending the apartheid in South Africa.

54. Will beneficiary: LEGATEE. With TEE in place, I mindlessly wrote down TRUSTEE.

58. Ploy: STRATAGEM. Awesome entry.

61. Country singer McCann and others: LILAS. No idea. Here is her "I Wanna Fall in Love". Do you like her bangs?

62. Mil. no-show: AWOL

63. Heavyweight bout?: SUMO. Heavyweight indeed.

64. Blazing: AFIRE

66. Grandson of Eve: ENOS. Son of Seth.

67. Hardwood trees: TEAKS. The wood is used in shipbuilding.

Down:

2. Forces out of the country: EXILES. Stupid Saddam should have accepted exile offer. War would have been avoided.

3. Jerk: NITWIT

4. Intensify: ESCALATE. Another great entry.

5. __ alcohol: ETHYL

6. Corrida charger: EL TORO. Spanish for "the bull".

7. Quite a long time: AEON

8. Master performer: VIRTUOSO. Italian for "skilled".

10. Cirque du __: SOLEIL. Literally "sun" in French. Has anyone seen a Cirque du Soleil show in person?

13. '60s activist gp.: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)

19. Mental pictures: IMAGERY

21. Chestnut horse: SORREL. And ROAN (38D. Colorful horse).

24. Mustachioed Spanish surrealist: DALI. Most famous for his melting clock ("The Persistence of Memory")

25. Former Israeli president Weizman: EZER. Wanted EBAN. Confused him with Abba Eban.

29. Peter of "Everybody Loves Raymond": BOYLE

32. City NNE of Seattle: EVERETT. Obtained the answer from crosses. What's Everett famous for?

34. Prison escape route, perhaps: TUNNEL. Love "The Shawshank Redemption".

36. Gift tag word: FROM. Christmas is coming.

37. Chaplin's last wife: OONA. The "Alley Oop" character OOOLA.

39. Speed trap device: RADAR GUN

40. "Mind your own business!": GET A LIFE. Oh, I had the wrong understanding that "Get a life" means "Don't be so obsessed with something".

45. Role models, say: IDEALS

47. Los __: Manhattan Project site: ALAMOS. In New Mexico.

49. And others: Latin: ET ALIA. Neutral plural of et al; et alii is masculine plural, et aliae is feminine plural.

50. Comment: REMARK. Here is a detailed explanation on this "How to Post a Comment" on our blog. Come and join us for the daily crossword (or non-crossword topics as the day goes on) discussion.

53. Purchase alternative: LEASE

55. F-sharp equivalent: G-FLAT

57. Verne captain: NEMO. Literally "no one" in Latin. From Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea".

59. Pan Am rival: TWA. Once owned by Howard Hughes.

Answer grid.

Happy Veterans Day, Dennis, Argyle and all those who have served in the military.

C.C.