Sunday July 20, 2008 Arlan and Linda Bushman

Theme: Break Up to Make Up

23A: Result of an XL body in S clothing?: SEAM STRESS (SEAMSTRESS)

28A: Dinner servings for an NFL athlete?: PRO PORTIONS (PROPORTIONS)

50A: Kisses done in error?: BLUNDER BUSSES (BLUNDERBUSSES)

80A: Best-in-class vessels?: CHAMPION SHIPS (CHAMPIONSHIPS)

103A: Testimonials for reformed prisoners?: CON TRIBUTES (CONTRIBUTES)

111A: Nutty reason for doing something?: LOCO MOTIVE (LOCOMOTIVE)

42D: Alarms on certain vehicles?: VAN GUARDS (VANGUARDS)

46D: Prop boulders?: SHAM ROCKS (SHAMROCKS)

Out of the 8 theme answers, I was confused by 50A for a long time. I did not know that BUSS means KISS, nor did I know that BLUNDERBUSS is an actual word. I still have difficulty understanding 46D. How does "Prop" connect with "SHAM"?

Except 21A & 111A, all other theme answers are in plural forms. So symmetrically balanced. I truly appreciate this attention to details. I also like how JIMMY (66A: Pry open) anchors the whole grid.

This is a very solid, well constructed puzzle, with no annoying affixes or obscure proper names crossing one another. The grid covers a broad range of topics, not just dead/old movie stars and singers who frustrate me all the time. I think our fellow solvers in Asia (esp those in India) will enjoy this puzzle too.

I wonder if the clues for SCARCE (10D: Hard to come by) and CIDER (80D: Drink that can be hard) are the original submission. Theoretically they are not allowed due to HARD TOP (97A: Car style). But I really like the CIDER clue, hard but sweet!

Across:

1A: Sign of sadness: TEAR. Now I start to understand why SWEAT (102D: Fret about) is not clued as a noun (like "Perspiration" for example). The more the parts of speech are used, the livelier the puzzle is I think.

10A: Kind of card or bomb: SMART. Know SMART bomb, not the SMART card.

19A: Spokane event of '74: EXPO. '74 World's Fair. Unknown to me. I had no idea where Spokane is 'til today.

22A: "The Lion King" character: NALA

25A: Range name: AMANA

27A: Pile of discarded stuff: SCRAPHEAP

30A: Up and about: ASTIR

31A: Shortfall: DEFICIT

33A: Much searched-for-guy: WALDO. Why? I don't understand this.

37A: Fall toiler: RAKER

40A: Macadamize: PAVE. I did not know the meaning of "Macadamize", which is to "Pave road with macadam". Macadam is named after "J. L. McAdam, the Scottish engineer who invented it."

45A: Calm area of the Atlantic: SARGASSO. Wikipedia says "the Sargasso Sea is the only "sea" without shore, and it is sometimes called the "graveyard of ships" due to its closeness to the Bermuda Triangle.

49A: Just like: A LA

58A: "Thief" star: CAAN (James). I've never heard of this movie before, have you?

59A: Tabby: TIGER CAT. Is TIGER CAT a cat?

65A: World War II prowler: U-BOAT

70A: Popular aquarium fish: GUPPY. Strange peacock looking GUPPY.

74A: cloud of comet: OORT. Named after the astronomer Jan Hendrick OORT who first proposed the existence of the cloud. Unknown to me.

78A: At the right moment: ON CUE

92A: Songwriter Laura: NYRO. Here is "Wedding Bell Blues" written by NYRO, whom I had never heard of before.

94A: Party ticket: SLATE. SLATE.com is probably the best known Ezine (Web Mag).

112A: Salinger girl: ESME. "For ESME – with Love and Squalor".

117A: Male red deer: HARTS. Really, are they red-colored? That's 3-day in a roll we have a deer in our puzzle.

DOWN:

1D: Judith Krantz title heroine: TESSA. "The Jewels of TESS Kent". Another unknown. I had never heard of Judith Krantz before.

3D: Off to one side: APART. Are you OK with this clue?

4D: Iceberg alternative: ROMAINE. The lettuce for Blood Type O.

7D: Mountain nymph: OREAD. Wood nymph is DRYAD, River nymph is NAIAD. All gimmes for Dennis I am sure. He said that the 3 things he would bring to an island should he be stranded were "nymphomaniac, a pistol and an airplane".

8D: Outlaw: DESPERADO. Enjoy this Eagles' DESPERADO, "... You better let somebody love you, before it’s too late."

11D: Personal account: MEMOIR

12D: Go with the flow: ADAPT

16D: Holiday tune: CAROL. I don't think our CAROL gets the Sunday TMS puzzle though.

17D: Large antelope: ELAND. Look at his twisted horns. Huge!

18D: Authority: SAY-SO

24D: Light-footed: SPRY

28D: Cheapskate: PIKER. New word to me.

36D: Premier pointillist: SEURAT (Georges). His name is not familiar to me. I've barely heard of pointillism. Here is his "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte".

39D: Trudged (on): PRESSED. I wanted PLODDED. PRESSED does not have a "Trudged" connotation in my opinion.

40D: Concordat: PACT. "Concordat" is a new word to me also. Is it a commonly used word to you?

41D: Kirghiz mountains: ALAI. I simply forgot. I wanted URAL. ALAI is part of Tien Shan Range. I cannot find the word ALAI in the map though.

50D: Shelley cohort: BYRON. I always thought "Cohort" has a negative undertone (like an accomplice in criminal activities).

51D: Mild and pleasant: BALMY

58D: Marker made of stones: CAIRN. Another new word to me. From the Gaelic word "carn" (heap of stones, rocky hills). See this picture, so aesthetically simple.

60D: Become all the rage: CATCH ON

61D: "Adoration of the Magi" painter: LIPPI (Filippino). Here is LIPPI's "Adoration of the Magi". Here is Sandro Botticelli's "Adoration of the Magi". Which one do you like better?

62D: Diamond arbiter: UMP (Umpire). I like every baseball-related clue.

76D: Maui retreat: HANA. No idea. I got it from the across clues.

77D: Science of signs?: ASTROLOGY

83D: Thickness: PLY. I have difficulty connecting thickness with PLY, which is always "layer" to me.

86D: Paid, as a bill: SETTLED

90D: Made no changes: SAT PAT

93D: __-Rooter: ROTO. This refers to the ROTO-Rooter company, right?

95D: Unattached: LOOSE. The cluing does not feel tight to me. Are those two words really synonymous?

96D: Japanese cartoon art: ANIME

105D: Silent films vamp: BARA (Theda). The "Cleopatra" in 1917.

108D: Apple offering: IMAC

111D: Resinous secretion: LAC. What's the difference between LAC and Lacquer?

C.C.

Saturday July 19, 2008 Josiah Breward

Theme: None

Total blocks: 32

I think I am going to count the total blocks for Saturday themeless puzzles from now on. Maybe someday we will get a puzzle with less than 25 blocks. Who knows? Our editor himself is certainly capable of pulling such a feat. There have been some enigmatic ingenuities sparking in his puzzles occasionally. He is just a bad editor.

Anyway, I struggled mightily today, lots of googling. Without the theme as my guiding sherpa, I simply could not climb this Mount Everest, way too many actor/actress/singer names for me to handle (16 out of the 70 answers are names).

I truly dislike the two "Er" clues today:

28D: Bringer of news: HERALD. Bring-er? Is it a word? I stared at the clue for a long time, thinking Bringer might be the name of a news reporter I had never heard of.

5D: Sleeper rousers: WAKENERS. So agonizing to see "ers" both in the clue and the answer. Did it look cute to you?

On the other hand, I really like 23D: Po-land?: ITALY. Very cleverly misleading/tricky clue, esp since PO is not a well-known river.

ACROSS:

1A: Raucous parrot: MACAW. A moment of quietness. Glamorous plumages! So intensely & brightly colored.

6A: Easily annoyed: IRRITABLE. I wanted Irascible.

16A: "Love Story" star: RYAN O'NEAL. Saw "Love Story" in Chinese long long time ago. Had no idea that "Love means never having to say you're sorry" came from this movie.

17A: Norman's nickname: SHARK. Greg Norman. Might be difficult to those who don't care about British open or golf at all. I don't think his name will be on the first page of the leaderboard on Sunday morning. Adam Scott's will be!! Padraig Harrington is a sleeper.

18A: Amusing disrespect: SAUCINESS

21A: Pip: LULU. Why? Isn't pip the mark on a die?

22A: Tropical porches: LANAIS

25A: Hearty enjoyment: RELISH. It does not refer to the hot dog RELISH here, does it? If yes, why hearty?

31A: July 26th honoree: ST. ANNE. Absolutely no idea. Is it a gimme to you? If the answer ST. is abbreviated, the clue should be too.

32A: Metric measure: ARE (100 square meters). Learned from doing Xword.

33A: Laughing: RIANT. New word to me. Do you use it in your daily conversation? FYI, "rire" is French for laugh (verb & noun). Je ris, ha ha!

37A: Peter of "Being There": SELLERS. I've never heard of this film.

43A: Country on the Gulf of Aden: YEMEN. Here is the map. See Gulf of Aqaba? It's shouting "Clue me, clue me!"

48A: Separated lineman: SPLIT END. Unknown to me. Not a football fan at all.

50A: Cornell's location: ITHACA. Have to show you this beautiful ITHACA again. I love it so much.

51A: Bochco or Brill: STEVEN. Both are unknown to me.

54A: Cloth stretcher: TENTER. Completely foreign to me. Here is a TENTER frame.

57A: Where brook trout sleep?: RIVERBEDS. Don't all the freshwater fish sleep on the RIVERBEDS?

62A: Actress Rainer: LUISE. Another unknown actress to me. She was O-Lan in "The Good Earth", my favorite Pearl Buck book.

63A: Highest peak in the Western Hemisphere: ACONCAGUA. So beautiful.

65A: Skitch or Florence: HENDERSON. Both are strangers to me.

66A: Apollo's birthplace: DELOS

DOWN:

1D: Supermodel Kate: MOSS. London would not have won for the bid for 2012 Olympics without MOSS's barelegged support. See her STILETTO (29A: Short dagger)?

3D: "Behind Closed Doors" singer: CHARLIE RICH. Here is the song. I've never heard of it before.

7D: Nordic rug: RYA. I simply forgot. It appeared in a March TMS puzzle.

8D: Julia of "One from the Heart". RAUL. His name looks familiar to me. Danielle might have linked his film to the blog before. I've never heard of the film.

11D: Ring-shaped: ANNULAR. Lois will probably connect this word with PECCAVI.

24D: Like a family of girls: SONLESS. Boy, this was not a gimme to me at all.

26D: Not vital: INESSENTIAL

27D: Easily attached accessory: SNAP ON. I penned in "CLIP ON" first, thinking of earrings.

29D: Serengeti trek: SAFARI

30D: Hot-platter platform: TRIVET

39D: Whined: SNIVELED

47D: Asiatic deer: SAMBAR. It looks like this. New to me also. Why the clue is "Asiatic"???

42D: Cul-de-sac: DEAD END. I am still learning the intricacies of crossword cluing. I don't know for sure if two ENDS (48A: SPLIT END) are allowed in a grid. They just don't look appealing to my eyes.

56D: Jed of "The Chris Isaak Show": REES. No, nope. Who is that girl in his arms?

58D: Clinch: ICE. Enjoy Foreigner's "Cold As ICE" on such a hot summer's day!

C.C.

Friday July 18, 2008 Barry Silk

Theme: Crowd Scene

18A: 1979 Broncos' nickname: ORANGE CRUSH

58A: Steady date: MAIN SQUEEZE

3D: Seal out air: VACUUM PACK

31D: Gridlock: TRAFFIC JAM

I did not know that the nickname for the 1979 Broncos is ORANGE CRUSH, such a theme friendly phrase. With LEMON TWIST, ACORN SQUASH, PEACHBLOW, you've got another explosive puzzle.

I've never heard MAIN SQUEEZE either, nobody has ever called me that. Very interesting slang, SQUEEZE!

I really like this puzzle. Only one letter (Y) away from a pangram. Challenging but rewarding. I've emerged as new person after battling through the Q fever. I suggest Barry Silk watch some movies starring Maggie Q, the exotic & well-known model/actress in Asia. Or he can read Ah Q, a masterpiece in Chinese literature. I am sure he will be inspired.

The only corner I dislike is the intersection of FREEZER (43D: Cold storage) and STORE (66A: Stockpile). Bad clues. "Stockpile" does not sound powerful at all for STORE, in fact, it's anemic.

I could not finish this puzzle unassisted. It's out of my ability.

OK, let's tee off!

FRONT NINE:

1A: Actress Tyler: LIV. She starred in "The Lord of Rings". She is also the spokesperson for Givenchy, irresistible indeed!

4A: In flames: AFIRE. What would you do "When You Are Engulfed in Flames"?

9A: Standing by the plate: AT BAT

14A: Palindromic constellation: ARA. No idea. But ARA is the only feasible palindromic choice here.

16A: Capital of Tibet: LHASA. "H" is a very puzzling letter to me. Why added "H" to the words when it's not pronounced? I am also bewildered by the order of "H' in a word. Is there any rule for it? I always want to spell Gandhi as Ghandi.

20A: Times and Herald, e.g.: SQUARES

23A: Samovars: URNS. Samovar is a kind of Russian urn.

26A: Words of woe: OH ME. Not AH ME?

30A: Web page file letters: HTML

34A: '50s dance: HOP. Not familiar with this dance at all.

36A: Sealy rival: SERTA. Nope. I've never paid attention to the name of those mattress manufacturers. I slept on hard, mattressless, wooden bed until I was 24 years old.

41A: Four-sided figs.: RECTS (Rectangles). I would not have got it without the down fills.

42A: Drink heartily: QUAFF

44A: Rival of 1-800-FLOWERS: FTD (Florist's Transworld Delivery). I still have not received this, have you sent it out yet?

48A: Jimmies: PRIES. I only knew Jimmy as a man's name. Had no idea that it could also be a crowbar or a verb.

52A: Be contiguous: ADJOIN

61A: Fla. city: JAX (Jacksonville). Isn't it an airport designation?

BACK NINE:

5D: Anticipated: FORESAW. Remember last Friday I FORESAW a price drop of $25/barrel for those stupid crude oil? So far so good, $15 plummet in the past 3 days.

6D: Tax-sheltered $: IRAS. Free fall in the past months?

9D: Aluminum company: ALCOA. No way AA can reach $43 this year!

10D: Atlanta pro: THRASHER. Which NHL team do you think have the coolest name? I like our Minnesota Wild.

11D: One bit per second: BAUD. No idea. Pure guess.

12D: African fox: ASSE. The Cape fox. It appeared on May 26 TMS puzzle.

13D: Asian mountain goat: TAHR. Or THAR. Nepali language. Completely unknown to me. so ugly.

24D: Lousy excuses: COP-OUTS

25D: One-celled organisms: AMEBAE

27D: Shanty: HOVEL. New word to me.

29D: Slightly blue: RISQUE. Oh, only slightly.

32D: School calendar letters: MTWTF

46D: Tanning lotion letters: SPF (Sun Protection Factor). I think mine is SPF 50 (Coppertone Sport).

38D: Get a move on!: STEP ON IT

46D: Flaubert's five: CINQ. My favorite answer of the whole grid. I like the alliteration in the clue too. Without the letter C, I would have penned in RARER for 46A: More precious (CUTER).

53D: Limp watch painter: DALI. Here is "The Persistence of Memory", a classical surrealistic piece. It's hot. Those hard watches are melting. What time is it? 6pm?

55D: Presidential turndown: VETO. Don't VETO the wrong bill please!

C.C.

Thursday July 17, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Listen Carefully

17A: Start of Kin Hubbard quip: LOOK OUT FOR

27A: Part 2 of quip: THE FELLOW WHO

48A: Part 3 of quip: LETS YOU DO ALL

64A: End of quip: THE TALKING

Hmm, wise saying, isn't it? But structurally speaking, the last Kin Hubbard "Optimism" puzzle is much superior than this one.

This grid feels like it was hastily done. I am a bit annoyed by the affixes, esp the S'es and the 2 RE prefixes: RESTART (38D: Begins a new) and REARM (3A: Get a new weaponry).

I truly don't understand why we must have a QUIP/QUOTE every Thursday. Mr. Williams, why are you so SILENT? Why can't you LISTEN (SILENT, anagrammed) to our views and change your style a bit? Why can't we have some rebus puzzles?

Across:

1A: Hacienda room: SALA. Hacienda house will be CASA (same in Italian).

15A: Dizzying pictures: OP ART. Too mathematically-tilted for my taste.

16A: Trade show: EXPO. Or Montreal's MLB team ('til 2004). They've never won a World Series, have they?

20A: Skater Slutskaya: IRINA. Wikipedia says her name is typically pronounced as "e-Ree-nah Sloots-kah-yah." I wonder if there are some subtle differences in meaning between the names IRINA and IRENA in Russian language.

21A: NHL star Phil, to fans: ESPO. Unknown to me. Wiki says he is in Hockey HOF. Wow, 2 Stanley Cups with the Bruins?

22A: Cannes conception: IDEE. I like this alliterative clue. Much better than "IDEE fixe". FYI, "chou", the endearingly sweet French cabbage, means "ugly" (laid/laide) in Chinese, though pronounced differently.

25A: Cosmo competitor: ELLE. I like Vogue.

35A: __ cit: LOC. And another Latin: 12D: ___ dixit: IPSE

36A: Blow a gasket: SEE RED. I've never heard of "Blow a gasket" before. I got ED quickly and was so confused about the tense of the answer. I was really picturing someone doing a gasket- blowing job in my mind.

52A: Infield protector: TARP

53A: Glacier component: BLUE ICE. New to me. It looks so pretty.

57A: Blithering: GAGA. I would not have got GAGA without the perps. "Blithering" is a new word to me.

63A: Ananias, e.g.: LIAR. I caught the LIAR this time.

66A: College credit: UNIT. I don't know. I've never attended any school here. Is credit called UNIT?

70A: Bikini blast: A TEST

71A: __ of Worms: DIET. Complete foreign to me. Thought of "Cans" of worms for a fleeting moment. Did not know that "DIET" also means "a general assembly". Beautiful city - Worms.

Down:

1D: Concrete: SOLID

3D: Pope after Sergius II: LEO IV. Very tricky fill.

4D: Start of JFK line: ASK NOT. From his 1961 Inaugural Address. It's not his nor Ted Sorensen's original lines. JFK just paraphrased Khalil Gibran's 1925 essay "The New Frontier": "... Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country? If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in a desert...". My favorite JFK book is probably Pierre Salinger's "With Kennedy". What is yours?

8D: Row, row, row your boat: PROPEL. Sounds so hard!

9D: Leisurely walks: STROLLS. I want to take STROLLS here, the Royal Birkdale Golf Course, and follow Adam Scott this morning.

10D: Film critic: REVIEWER

26D: Leopold's cohort: LOEB. No, no, not familiar with LOEB at all. Did you nail him?

30D: VIP in a will: HEIR. And 41D: Will proceedings: PROBATES

39D: Author Angelou: MAYA. Here is her wonderful "On the Pulse of Morning" at Clinton's inaugural in 1993: "A rock, a river, a tree....COME, you may stand upon my back...and say simply, very simply, with hope, Good morning."

44D: Actress Swit: LORETTA. Unknown to me. Pure guess.

51D: Oozed out: LEAKED

54D: Formal response to "Who's there?": IT IS I

55D: Swing a thurible: CENSE. Swing? That forcefully?

56D: Destructive plant fungus: ERGOT

58D: Hokkaido native: AINU. Very accurate clue. AINU do live in the very northern part of Japan.

65D: Nova Scotia hrs.: AST (Atlantic Standard Time)

C.C.

Wednesday July 16, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: Backup Band

17A: Hootie & the ___: BLOWFISH

30A: Prince & the ___: REVOLUTION

37A: Jay & the ___: AMERICANS

49A: Gerry & the ___: PACEMAKERS

49A: Echo & the ___: BUNNYMEN

They are all rock bands, aren't they? Out of those 5 bands, I've only heard of Hootie & the BLOWFISH. Know Prince, but not familiar with his backing band "The REVOLUTION".

I really like the baseball sub-theme:

23A: Ballplayer Garciaparra: NOMAR

44A: Yankee Slugger, in headlines: AROD

53A: Red Sox player "Big ___": PAPI (David Ortiz, an ex-Twin)

13D: Letters on Cardinal caps: STL

43D: Mark of home runs: MCGWIRE

I don't think this constructor likes "Field of Dream", otherwise he would have clued IOWA ( 4D: Davenport state) baseball related. If you build it, they will COME. Is this heaven? It's IOWA. Wonderful lines. I can not tell you how much I love this movie.

Several flaws with the puzzle:

1) 67A: Agua, to Fifi: EAU. The clue should be FiFi. No one spells this annual award as Fifi. (Addendum: My bad, the clue is correct. Fifi is French girl's name).

2) 6D: "___ Street": SESAME. And 10D: Main or Maple: STREET. Ridiculous!

3) 18D: Stock-ticker stn.: FNN (Financial News Networking). Where? In Sue Herera's dream? When was the last time FNN was ticking? Unbelievable! CNBC took over FNN long long time ago.

Across:

1A: Tenth of MXXX: CIII. I dislike the clue, can you think of a better one?

16A: Substantiate: ATTEST

19A: Servitude: THRALL. New to me. Only know ENTHRALL, which takes its root from THRALL I suppose. Dictionary shows that THRALL can also be a verb (enslave).

20A: "Star Trek: Voyager" character: B'ELANNA. No idea. I strung the answer from the down fills.

33A: 1985 John Malkovich film: ELENI. I've never seen it. Is it good? The only Malkovich movie I like is "In the Line of Fire". Which is your favorite?

41A: Resistance unit: OHM. Its sign is Ω (Omega).

61A: Trivial talk: TWADDLE. I like the clue and the answer, nice T's.

63A: Critical point: CLIMAX. Tell me what follows CLIMAX.

66A: Scale notes: DO RE MI. Tangentially theme related.

68A: Philosopher Immanuel: KANT. He wrote "Metaphysics of Morals".

69A: Button holder: EYELET

71A: Inside: pref.: ENTO

Down:

1D: Moolah: CABBAGE. Slang for money. Chou in French, "mon petit chou", how I hate it!

5D: "Sense and Sensibility" heroine: ELINOR. I like Ang Lee's "Sense & Sensibility": Lose your heart, and come to your senses. Kate Winslet is such a brilliant actress.

7D: Old English letter: EDH. Or ETH.

9D: Holy Roman emperor: OTHO. Ugh, I simply forgot. His name appeared last time when I googled GALBA (Nero's successor). OTHO had a short 3-month reign. Here is the list of all the Roman emperors.

11D: Bowler's target, perhaps: HEAD PIN

12D: Class for U.S. immigrants: ESL (English as a second language)

21D: Rodeo mount, briefly: BRONC (Bronco). Not familiar with this abbreviation.

32D: Annapolis inst.: USNA (United States Naval Academy). Senator McCain's alma mater.

40D: LCD month: SEP. Why? What is LCD here?

41D: Goddess of the harvest: OPS. I would not have got her name without the across references. She is "the ancient Roman goddess of plenty, and the wife of Saturn and mother of Jupiter. Identified with the Greek goddess Rhea."

42D: Yokohama yes: HAI. It's "Haiya" in Cantonese. "Shi" in Mandarin Chinese.

46D: Bedtime visitor: SANDMAN. No idea. Pure guess. I've never heard of SANDMAN before.

47D: Luxurious: OPULENT

48D: All spice: PIMENTO. Also unknown to me.

52D: In the bag: SEWN UP

60D: Turnpike turnoff: EXIT

64D: Actress Myrna: LOY. Ah, Nora in "The Thin Man". Learned her name from doing Xword. Wikipedia says "In 1938 she was voted the "Queen of Hollywood" in a contest which also voted Clark Gable the "King". Interesting, you would think Vivien Leigh or Katherine Hepburn would be voted the "Queen".

C.C.

Tuesday July 15, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: LIGHT (30D: Word after 20A, 54A, 11D and 29D)

20A: Home-purchase investigation: TITLE SEARCH

54A: Fighter flier: COMBAT PILOT

11D: Gary Larson's comic: THE FAR SIDE

29D: Decoration for valor: BRONZE STAR

Sub-theme: "CAR TALK"

62A: Saab model: AERO

22D: Automobiles: CARS

28D: Autobahn auto: AUDI

58D: REO maker: OLDS

This puzzle is very similar to the ROOM puzzle we had on July 11, though it has one less theme answer. Structurally speaking, this grid is superior, with LIGHT emitting from the very center and brightening up the whole grid. "ROOM" was placed at the very end of the puzzle last Friday.

The clue for 30D is regrettably inaccurate again. It should be the "Word after the end of 20A, 54A, 11D and 29D). A simple "Theme of the puzzle" will just be fine. Or, to make the puzzle fun, clue LIGHT as "Not heavy" and have the solvers struggling to find the theme. A precious "Aha" moment is woefully missed.

I can think of Candlelight & Moonlight right now, what other LIGHT can you think of?

Across:

1A: Drawn out periods: AGES. Is it a good clue to you? "Drawn out" brings the sports overtime play to my mind.

14A: Controversial 1987 Supreme Court nominee: BORK (Robert). This Johann Sebastian BORK Get Lei'd CD sounds wonderful.

18A: ___ Royale, MI: ISLE. Not familiar with this island. Odd name, part English, part French.

19D: Done in: SPENT. Why? "Do in" means "off"/"slays", doesn't it?

24A: Utah ski resort: ALTA. Unknown to me. These flowers look so happy to be at Devil's Castle.

25A: Make bubbly: AERATE. I still don't understand why golf courses AERATE their greens in the fall.

27A: Hack driver: CABBIE

40A: USMC rank: SGT. There is also a subtle military sub-theme flowing in the grid. SGT, COMBAT PILOT and BRONZE STAR. ELITE (21D: Type of type) also reminds me of the Navy Seals. I was so disappointed last night when Jesse Ventura, our ex-governor/ex-Navy Seal, announced on "Larry King Live" that he would not run for the Senate seat. He is really a hard man, with "The Body".

41A: Inuit craft: UMIAK. Completely foreign to me. Dictionary says it originated from "Umiaq" (woman's boat). "Kayak", on the the other hand, means "man's boat). That's a rather large UMIAK. Strange "Skull-and-crossbones site", Yale bonesmen I suppose?

42A: Marchetti or Cappelletti: GINO. I know neither of them. Sewed the answer together from the down fills. Sounds like opera singers.

46A: Gung-ho so-and-so: ZEALOT. I've never seen "so-and-so" in any clue before.

48A: Socialist Debs: EUGENE. No idea. I thought of some society "debutantes". Delve into here for more information on him.

50A: Cardin of fashion: PIERRE. I like their leather wallets.

60A: Quantity of cookies: BATCH. The "BATCH" here refers to the unbaked cookies, right?

65A: Welsh actor Novello: IVOR. Another unknown. Wikipedia says he was also a singer and composer. And there is an IVOR Novello Award given to songwriters every year in London. Do we have a similar award in the US?

66A: Muslim pilgrimage: HADJ. Or HAJJ. Gimme.

67A: Legal wrongs: TORTS

68A: Big apple letters: NYNY

Down:

4D: Early space station: SKYLAB (1973-1979)

7D: Tex. neighbor: OKLA. And 51D: Gem State: IDAHO. Hmm, I can picture Lois philosophizing in front of her computer on these two clues, and I can see the TWISTER (5D: Tornado) swirling in her mind.

6D: Minor prophet: HOSEA. Saw it often clued as "Old testament book". Did not know that "HOSEA" is Hebrew for "salvation".

36D: "Home improvement" co-star: KARN (Richard). I did not pay attention to his real name before. I actually saw several episodes of "Home improvement" (in Chinese) before I came to the US.

37D: Kind of terrier: SKYE. It has appeared twice in TMS puzzle since I started blogging.

44D: Vicarage: RECTORY

47D: Insteps: ARCHES

49D: Japanese companion: GEISHA. "Japanese men's companion", to be exact. And 59D: Japanese dictator: TOJO (Hideki). Evil man.

50D: Big name in brewing: PABST. How old do you think this tray is? I like the slogan: "It's blended, it's splendid"!

52D: Mr. Copland: AARON. No, not a familiar name to me. Baseball's "Hammerin" Hank ARRON, yes! I was so elated that Justin Morneau won the Home Run Derby last night. Oh, I strayed, back to Copland, Wikipedia says Leonard Bernstein "was considered the finest conductor of Copland's works". Was he a gimme to you?

56D: Group of girls: BEVY. New to me also. I was only aware of "a BEVY of bird".

61D: Part of TV: CRT (Cathode -Ray Tube)

C.C.

Monday July 14, 2008 Barry Silk

Theme: Swap Meet

20A: Change in basic assumptions: PARADIGM SHIFT

27A: Righty and lefty: SWITCH HITTER

49A: Import-export restriction: TRADE EMBARGO

58A: Wall Street fixture: STOCK EXCHANGE

Very nice theme concept! I like the cluing of the theme answers too. And I am always happy to see my Chinese name initials (ZQ) showing up in one grid. I think we are on our way to a pangram puzzle soon, either from Barry Silk or Allan E. Parrish.

I dislike the clue for OWE (56A: Be indebted) due to the answer DEBT (34A: Outstanding loan). Obviously someone drank way too much before he constructed/edited the puzzle: BEER (35D), ZIMA (5D: Coors product) and ALE (67D: Bottle of brew), since he could not see STAMP (71A: Philatelist's purchase) when he clued REC'D (21D: Shipping dept. stamp).

Or he simply binged on ARBY'S (57A: Meaty fast-food chain) and General TSO's chicken (26A: Chinese menu general), those fatty food can dull your intelligence quickly.

I have a homemade cure for the hangover: Mix one cup of TRIX (64A: Cereal for kid), one cored PEACH (40A: Georgia fruit) and two sliced & cubed RYES (72D: Deli bread) together, use a LADLE (63A: Soup dispenser) to scoop up a cup of plain STOCK (58A) and eat. It won't be TANGY (36D: Zestful), but it will sure sober you up!

Across:

5A: Uses a laser weapon: ZAPS. What exactly is a "laser weapon"? Ground based or airborne?

9A: Burlesque bits: SKITS

15A: Reykjavik's isl.: ICEL (Iceland). Not familiar with this abbreviation. Iceland is too quiet (no army) and chess-madden to be on my radar. Björk does make noise occasionally. This is her infamous swan dress at the 2001 Oscars.

16A: Brimless hat: TOQUE

18A: South of France: MIDI. No, I am not familiar with "Le MIDI" at all. I wanted SUD. "MIDI" is always "noon" to me. Here is a great explanation: "Midday was synonymous with the direction of south because in France the Sun is in the south at noon".

19A: Legend automaker: ACURA

32A: Boxer's stat.: KOS (Knockouts). Not "stats"?

38A: Greek Cupid: EROS. Here is the Avril's title page illustration of "De Figuris Veneris" (Manual of Classical Erotology).

44A: Star in Cygnus: DENEB

68A: Nice farewell?: ADIEU. "SAYONARA" in Japanese, "ZAI JIAN" in Chinese, Barry Silk should like this scrabbly phrase.

70A: Jewish month: ELUL (the 12th month of the Jewish calendar). And 47D: "Voice of Israel" author: EBAN (Abba)

73A: Unit of force: DYNE

DOWN:

3D: Skull-and-crossbones site: RAT POISON. Isn't it on the box of RAT POISON?

4D: Genetic surprise: MUTANT. And 6D: Part of DNA: ACID

5D: Coors product: ZIMA. I did not know until this morning that ZIMA is not a beer.

8D: Minimal: SLIGHT. Are they really synonymous?

11D: Resignation declaration: I QUIT

12D: Gang territories: TURFS

13D: Old Pac. pact: SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization). Abolished in 1977.

35D: Six-pack abs?: BEER BELLY. I like this clue.

41D: Cav. on a scoreboard: CLE (Cleveland). They'd better keep LeBron James beyond 2010.

45D: Burst into laughter: BROKE UP. Ha ha, it's new to me. I always associate "Break up" with "ending a relationship".

51D: Showtime original series: DEXTER. No idea. Is it good?

52D: Had words: ARGUED

53D: ___ Filipinas: ISLAS. Is this the Spanish for "The Phillippin Islands"?

54D: German city: STADT. "City" in German. Unknown to me.

59D: Skelton's Kadidlehopper: CLEM. Absolutely no idea. I got both CLEM & STADT from the across fills.

60D: Supercomptuter maker: CRAY. Another new name to me. See here for more information.

C.C.

Sunday July 13, 2008 Willy A. Wiseman

Theme: True or False?

24A: True or false?: (TRUE) BLUE AMERICAN

33A: True or false?: A DREAM COME (TRUE)

50A: True or false?: SHOW ONE'S (TRUE) COLOR

66A: True or false?: (FALSE) SENSE OF SECURITY

89A: True or false?: BE (TRUE) TO YOUR SCHOOL

103A: True or false?: SET OF (FALSE) TEETH

115A: True or false?: MAKE (FALSE) PROMISES

3D: True or false?: TO GOO TO BE (TRUE) - Mistake here, should be TOO.

16D: True or false?: (FALSE) IMPRESSION

73D: True or false?: MAKE A (FALSE) START

77D: True or false?: (TRUE) TO ONE'S WORD

So creative a theme concept! Stunning grid (only 68 blocks). I like how LIARS (65D: Perjurers) intersects with one TRUE and one FALSE theme answer.

I went through a very hard time today, esp the "MAKE PROMISES" corner. I simply forgot TOMBA (104D: Italian Olympic skier Alberto), did not know BROGAN (121A: Stout, workman's shoe), and could not figure out what was 118D: Four CDs (MDC). Very cleverly misleading Roman numberal clue.

I burned out Mr. Google today, way too many unknown words for me to handle: MYRRHS, ANNULI, MYNAH, ICHORS, SIAL, MADRAS, HOKKAIDO (91D: Japanese Island. I only knew the Chinese word for for this place. G-8 Summit was held there only 2 days ago), BROGAN, ANCON and several other actor/actress/singer/furniture designer names.

ACROSS:

5A: Painter Degas: EDGAR. He once said "In painting you must give the idea of the TRUE by means of the FALSE". No other words have expressed "Impressionism" more perfectly in my view.

10: Hurries: SCOOTS

16A: Here by the Eiffel Tower: ICI. "You are here" is "Vous êtes ICI" in French.

19A: Clarinet relative: OBOE. KittyB can probably come up with a bunch of OBOE clues.

21A: Hindu mystic writings: TANTRA. Here is the definition: "Any of several books of esoteric doctrine regarding rituals, disciplines, meditation, etc., composed in the form of dialogues between Shiva and his Shakti (wife)", also called "Agama". I vaguely heard about it before. Knew MANTRA though. What's your MANTRA?

22A: Bon __ (witticism): MOT

23A: Mil. group: REGT. And 12D: Maritime spy. grp.: ONI And 52D: College military org.: ROTC. Oh, also 97A: Navy commando: SEAL

26A: Air pressure unit: PSI. Also the penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet (before OMEGA).

29A: Post-dusk: EEN. Needs "in poetry" or "to a poet" in the clue.

30A: Aromatic resins: MYRRHS. Completely foreign to me.

32A: Earthy color: OCHRE. This is the British spelling, isn't it?

36A: Indian seaport: MADRAS. No idea, Wikipedia says MADRAS the city is now called Chennai. Is there another seaport called MADRAS?

38A: Filmmaker Riefenstahl: LENI

40A: Greek portico: STOA

45A: Cabinetmaker Phyfe: DUNCAN. Sorry. I don't know anything about furniture. Can't understand why some of the pieces are worth that much on the "Antique Road Shows".

53A: Broken-bone support: SPLINT. And 48D: Sound of a wet impact: SPLAT. Are you OK with the SPL intersection?

56A: Muffle: SOFTEN

59A: Infamous hotelier Helmsley: LEONA. The "Queen of Mean". What's that lucky dog's name? "Trouble"!

60A: Zeno's birthplace: ELEA

71A: Bitter regret: REMORSE

93A: __-masochism: SADO. That's Caligula's pervert indulgence, isn't it?

95A: Ring-shaped geometric figures: ANNULI. Singular form is ANNULUS, which originated from Latin ānulus. Hmm, interesting root word.

101A: "Five ___ Pieces": EASY. From the movie soundtrack, here is Tammy Wynette "Stand by Your Man".

102A: Slammers: POKEYS. Slang for jails.

110A: Stores for later: SALTS AWAY

119A: State of two of the Quad Cities: IOWA. Davenport & Bettendorf.

122A: Henry James novel, "___ Miller": DAISY. Another unknown. Have you read it before?

126A: Social stratum: CLASS

DOWN:

1D: Part of FDIC: CORP. I wish it were clued as "NYSE listing" to balance OTC (13D: Nasdaq milieu).

2D: Over in Bonn: UBER

4D: Device to regulate spring tension: SET SCREW. It looks like this.

6D: "La ___ Vita:": DOLCE. I've never seen the movie. DOLCE is "sweet" in Italian.

10D: Take the wheel: STEER

11D: "Bette Davis Eyes": CARNES (Kim). No idea. Very nice clip.

14D: Mine vehicles: TRAM CARS

15D: Electronics giant: SANYO. And 88D: Tokyo ta-ta: SAYONARA

17D: Hit on the head: COSH. Did anyone pen in CONK?

18D: Tonsil ending?: ITIS (Medical suffix)

25D: Average: MEDIAL. I wrote down "MEDIAN".

28D: Seven Wonders lighthouse: PHAROS. Or the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

31D: Sandhurst sch.: RMA (Royal Military Academy)

33D: Cornice bracket: ANCON. Not familiar with this architectural term. This illustrates pretty well.

34D: Alamogordo, NM event: A TEST

36D: Dayan or Arens: MOSHE. Know Dayan, the guy with the eye patch. Not Arens.

38D: British sheen: LUSTRE. I like our spelling LUSTER.

42D: Heavy metric weight: TONNE

43D: Sequence of eight: OCTAD. Why is "Sequence of eight"?

45D: Made less dangerous: DEFUSED

46D: Time being: NONCE. For the NONCE. I've never used this phrase in my daily conversation.

58D: Deductive: A PRIORI. Can you give me an example?

67D: Moran and Gray: ERINS. No idea. I pieced it together from the across fills.

68D: Caen's river: ORNE

69D: Soft-drink choice: FANTA. I've never had it before. I am a loyal Pepsi fan.

82D: Dangerous sub: U-BOAT

83D: Talking bird: MYNAH. It can also be spelled as MYHA, MINA, MINAH. Completely unknown to me. She looks very content, satisfied and eager to talk. Dictionary says they are "Any of various starlings of southeast Asia, having bluish-black or dark brown coloration and yellow bills. Certain species, are known for mimicry of human speech."

84D: Paper bets: IOUS. (The clue should be "Paper debts".)

85D: Discharges from wounds: ICHORS. Ick. Dictionary says it's also "the rarefied fluid said to run in the veins of the gods" in Greek Mythology.

90D: Boxing combination: ONE TWO

94D: 3 on the phone: DEF

100D: Cross back over: RESPAN. I dislike both the clue and the answer.

102D: Cline and Kensit: PATSYS. Sigh! No, they are total strangers to me.

110D: Light, granite rock: SIAL. Another new geological term to me. It's "the assemblage of rocks, rich in silica and alumina, that comprise the continental portions of the upper layer of the earth's crust".

111D: Polo goal?: ASIA. Marco Polo. Good clue.

113D: Swerves off course: YAWS

C.C.

Saturday July 12, 2008 Willy A. Wiseman

Theme: "I celebrate myself, and sing myself..."

1A: "American Woman" band: GUESS WHO

24A: "Snow White" dwarf: HAPPY

27A: Minute fraction: SIXTIETH

41A: Info. needed by an astrologer: BIRTHDAY

43A: Great Gretzky: WAYNE

60A: "Moon River" singer: WILLIAMS

Happy Birthday, Mr. Editor! May you have many many more years of good HEALTH (42D: Fine fettle) and happiness!

For those who are new to this blog, our TMS crossword editor, Mr. Wayne R. William often HIDES ( Stashes away) behind this alias name Willy A. Wiseman (an anagram of "i.e. Wayne Williams"). He did bravely show his true identity once on the tough "Quad Cities" puzzle last month.

I wish GORE (1D: Piece with a horn) were clued as Al GORE related, it would pair nicely with ELECTION DAY (11D: November date). The clue for NORM (52D: Avg.) should not have been abbreviated. And the clue for ORS (8D: Surgery rms) is screaming for editing, how can you have "Rooms" in both the clue and answer? Very inapt. "Surgery ctrs" would just be fine.

ACROSS:

9A: Breakfast choice: OMELET. Perfectly cooked.

15A: Broadcasting: ON THE AIR. Not "ON AIR"? What's the difference between the two?

16A: Small traveling bag: VALISE

17A: Jagger's partner: RICHARDS (Keith). How he could climb over a coconut tree is beyond me.

18A: Puts up: ERECTS. I've never seen the noun form of ERECT clued in a puzzle, have you?

21A: Chirping insect: CRICKET. Wasn't Buddy Holly a CRICKET?

22A: Give guff to: SASS

32A: Sweet, thick liqueur: CRÈME. Here is some CRÈME brûlée for you, Mr. Williams.

34A: Eye defect: suff.: OPIA. Myopia for example.

35A: Conrad or Barbara: BAIN. Big stumper here. I know neither of them.

36A: More mature: RIPER. Very nice anchor for the puzzle!

40A: Two times CCLVII: DXIV. And 56D: Twenty percent of DXXX: CVI. Can you think of better clues for these 2 answers?

44A: Canine command: HEEL

45A: Validate: OKAY. I like how OKAY parallels with BAN (50A: Interdiction).

47A: Object of a computer instruction: OPERAND

54A: Spring back: RESILE. I've never used this verb before. I suppose that's how we get "Resilient".

55A: Meat choice: PORK CHOP

57A: Plant unions: GRAFTS. I was actually thinking of the workers' unions in those manufacturing plants.

58A: Soothing plant juice: ALOE VERA. The juice does not look soothing to me. So sticky.

DOWN:

2D: Les Etats- ___: UNIS

3D: Customary extras, briefly: ETCS

5D: St. Lawrence, e.g.: SEAWAY. New to me. I only knew St. Lawrence the river.

9D: Tax: OVEREXERT. I like how it intersects REST (23A: What's left).

10D: Poughkeepsie college: MARIST. New to me. I only know VASSAR, which is also based in Poughkeepsie.

12D: Guitar run: LICK. New term to me.

21D: Black Sea peninsula: CRIMEA

22D: Wastrel: SPENDTHRIFT

24D: Beloved in Arabic: HABIB. It's a mysterious word to me. I've never seen it before. Chinese characters for "beloved" are : 心爱的人.

25D: Chinese adders: ABACI. Headache, headache. I really struggled with ABACI in my elementary arithmetics studies.

26D: One who works at a trade: PLIER. I don't under this clue. What is "works at a trade"?

27D:Indian soldier: SEPOY. Another new word to me. Dictionary defines SEPOY as "an indigenous soldier serving in the army of a foreign conqueror, especially an Indian soldier serving under British command in India."

28D: Strong glue: EPOXY

29D: Advertising gimmick: TIE IN. I really like McDonald's Madame Alexander Happy Meal mini-dolls, so cute. Look at this set of "The Wizard of Oz". The "wicked witch of the west" was very hard to get.

30D: Make two: HALVE. I was thinking of "DOUBLE".

32D: Raw state: CRUDENESS

33D: Blue and funny: RIBALD

43D: Rotary engine name: WANKEL. No idea. It's named after Felix WANKEL, the German inventor.

45D: Ancient Greek coins: OBOLI. Or OBOLS. Dictionary says that OBOLUS (plural is also OBOLI) is "a modern Greek unit of weight equal to 0.1 gram". Does it mean that OBOLI can be ancient and modern in the same time? So confusing.

46D: Pope John Paul II's first name: KAROL (Józef Wojtyła). Another unknown. He was always Pope John Paul II to me. Pope Benedict's original name is Joseph Alois Ratzinger. He is such a brilliant writer.

47D: Bacchanal: ORGY. Just learned this morning that the original wild bacchanalia was attended only by women. The admission to the mysterious rites was extended to men only later on.

48D: Nevertheless, in Napoli: PERÒ. In Spanish, it's PERO. Italian and Spanish are so similar.

51D: Mother of Hera: RHEA

C.C.

Friday July 11, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: ROOM (59A: Word that can follow 18A, 39A, 60A, 3D and 31D)

18A: Seasonal theater: SUMMER STOCK

39A: Foul-shooter's miss: AIR BALL

60A: City near Norfolk: NEWPORT NEWS

3D: Forecaster, of sorts: OUIJA BOARD

31D: Non-swimmer's hangout: WADING POOL

Hmm, room, MUSHroom... Is MOREL season over yet? Hard, hard puzzle! The letter "Z" of HERZOG and METZ intersection simply refused to crumble, the same with the K from ONKP/KAYE crossing.

Sub-theme: "I am Woman"

28A: "Hedda__": GABLER. Ibsen's play. New to me.

38A: Ms. Thurman: UMA

42A: "Ninotchka" star: GARBO (Greta)

66A: Lennon's love: ONO

4D: Glasgow girl: LASSIE

6D: "La ___ Nikita": FEMME. I like Peta Wilson's "La FEMME Nikita".

7D: Salinger girl: ESME. "For ESME with Love and Squalor" heroine.

45D: Caron title role: GIGI. Colette's work. Pretty good. "Love, my dear GIGI, is a thing of beauty like a work of art, and like a work of art it is created by ARTISTS (10D: Monet and Manet)."

53D: Deborah of "Quo Vadis": KERR. Not familiar with this film at all. "Quo Vadis" is Latin for "Where are you going". Japanese probably know this move movie very well.

54D: Org. founded in 1858: YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association)

I suppose A-LINE (48A: Dress shapes) should be added to the above list too. The clue for DEGAS (33D: "Women Drying Her Feet") is a very interesting & deliberate choice. Is there any hidden BATHroom concept here?

Feels like this constructor likes impressionist painting. I wonder why he did not clue "Mary Cassatt, e.g." for ARTISTS (18A), it would add more feminine touch to the puzzle.

Boy, it would be so easy for him (if he has not) to create another similiar *ROOM themed puzzle with some simple yet sensual words like BED, ELBOW, LEG & WIGGLE. All he needs to do is to spend 10 minutes looking at Renoir's various "After BATH" paintings.

Across:

1A: Blood-typing letters: ABO

8A: Acted as a leader: HEADED

16A: Nobelist Fermi: ENRICO. Nuclear Physicist. Nobel winner 1938. Been clued 2 since Jan 21.

17A: Israeli gun: UZI

20A: Voodoo charms: MOJOS. Do you carry a lucky charm? If so, what is it?

22A: City near Nancy: METZ. Here is a map. I see METZ, but Bill, where is Nancy?

26A: "Bonanza" role: HOSS. No idea. Which one is HOSS?

30A: Pennypincher: TIGHTWAD. New word to me.

45A: Sphinx location: GIZA. The Great Sphinx of GIZA.

51A: Coach Amos Alonzo ___: STAGG. Foreign to me. I am not into college football at all. Sounds like a very accomplished renaissance sports man, a perfect model for Twins' catcher Joe Mauer.

52A: Terrier breed: SKYE. It's clued as "Scottish terrier" on March 25.

55A: Per unit: A POP

57A: Pickled-peppers picker Peter: PIPER. Pure guess. I thought PIPER has something to do with rats.

65A: Comic Danny: KAYE. No idea. Wikipedia says he was the original owner of Seattle Mariners.

67A: Talked to God: PRAYED. And 11D: God of Spain: DIOS. And 27D: Synagogue: SHUL. A slight undercurrent of religiosity here.

69A: Quick getaway: LAM. And meet Karena LAM, the incredibly talented actress from Hongkong. FYI, LAM is a very common surname in Cantonese speaking regions. It's a variant of Mandarin Chinese LIN meaning forest.

DOWN:

2D: Knucklehead: BOZO

8D: Director Werner: HERZOG. No, no, I've never heard of this "German New Wave Movement" director. HERZOG means "duke" in German, according to Wikipedia.

9D: Nixon has two: ENS. 2 letter N's in his name.

12D: Behold, Nero!: ECCE. I like how ECCE intersects I SEE (23A: Got it).

13D: Okey-_: DOKE. I always thought it's "Okey-DOKEY".

19D: Part of PETA: ETHICAL

21D: Capital on the Aker: OSLO. And 29D: Capital on the Jabbok: AMMAN. Wild guess. I have no idea that Jabbok is a river in Jordan. I like the consistent cluing pattern of these 2 answers.

28D: Overcharge: GOUGE. One of these days, the crude oil will drop $25/barrel.

30D: Roman river: TIBER

32D: Transfixed: AGAZE

36D: Prevent by anticipatory action: PREEMPT

43D: Standard salary: BASE PAY

47D: Equipped: GEARED

49D: Ran out: LAPSED

56D: Working in a mess?: ON KP (Kitchen Police). Toughie for me. Not familiar with this GI term.

58D: Old lab burner: ETNA. I've never heard of it. Does it look like this?

C.C.

Thursday July 10, 2008 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: "To Be Continued..."

17A: Start of a quip: BEFORE I DIE

24A: Part 2 of a quip: I WILL GET ON A SOAP

43A: Part 3 of quip: OPERA SO I CAN COME

59A: End of quip: BACK TO LIFE

And OBIT (8D: Funeral info.), and OFF (56D: Slays, slangily), and FATAL BLOW (52A: Coup de grace). How dark! Don't you want to experience some "Coup de foudre" on this beautiful hot summer's day?

Not a good puzzle at all, too many unsightly eye sores:

1) AGO (38A: In the past); 12D: Othello's nemesis: IAGO; 24D: Insect stage: IMAGO.

2) OBI (29D) and OBIT (8D).

3) ANA (48A: Gasteyer of "SNL"); ANAT (46D: Me.school subj.) and ANALOGY (42D: Comparison).

The cluing for MAE WEST (9D: With 57D: life jacket) would be great if "LIFE" were not part of the 59A theme answer. Dennis would probably think the QUIP is perfectly complete without 59A.

Anyway, let's have a contest today and see who can come up with the best clue for MAE WEST.

ACROSS:

1A: Crooner Mel: TORME. "The Velvet Fog". "Chestnuts roasting on a open fire..."

10A: Greek letters: CHIS. CHI looks like our X.

15A: Sunscreen ingredient: PABA (Para-AminoBenzoic Acid). Why doesn't the clue reflect the acronymic nature of the answer? Or has PABA been fully assimilated into English language like OPEC?

16A: Act of faith?: LEAP. Good clue.

20A: Vegetarian rule: EAT NO MEAT

21A: Keaton/Garr movie: MR. MOM. No idea. Got it from the down fills.

37A: One-time homer king: MARIS (Roger). You've got to see Billy Crystal's 61*, it's so good.

40A: Gingiva: GUM. "Sweet stick in one's mouth" would be a better clue.

42A: French writer Gide: ANDRÉ. Noble Literature Winner 1947.

60A: Inventor Sikorsky: IGOR. New to me. So many IGOR's in crossword: The opera "Prince IGOR", Composer IGOR Stravinsky, and Frankenstein's IGOR.

61A: Actor Katz: OMRI. He was in "Dallas". Big stumper for me. I've never heard of his name before.

62A: Chasms: GULFS. And 3D: Breach: RIFT

63A: Distiller's grain: MALT. And 65A: Brewery supple: YEAST

DOWN:

1D: Inner attachment?: TUBE. What is Inner TUBE? I wanted Inner SELF.

10D: Some cigars: CLAROS. Mild and smooth. Here are some Torpedo Cigars (6"x50), ultra robust!

13D: E-mail splatter: SPAM. What is "Splatter"? Such an odd word to clue junk mail. We have a SPAM museum here in MN.

18D: Webzine: EMAG

25D: Had already been awakened: WAS UP. Are you OK with this clue?

28D: Anklebones: TARSI. Tarsus (s).

29D: Oriental sash: OBI. Which kimono do you like?

30D: Better: OUTDO

32D: Martinique volcano: PELÉE. Another new name to me. Wikipedia says it had a violent eruption in 1902.

37D: Inspiration for some: MUSE. This is Picasso's "La MUSE". You can see it in Centre Pompidou (great snacks at the second floor cafe).

44D: Bly or Block: ROBERT. Know Bly (MN's first poet laureate), not Block. Good job, Mr. Wolfe, way to clue your own name into the grid!

45D: Willow flower cluster: CATKIN. New word to me. CATKIN is defined as "a spike of unisexual, apetalous flowers having scaly, usually deciduous bracts, as of a willow or birch". Also called ament.

52D: Cara film: FAME. Is this a well-known film? I've never heard of it.

55D: Actress Kedrova: LILA. Another unknown to me. She won an Oscar (Best Supporting Actress) for her performance in "Zorba the Greek" in 1964.

59D: Hit on the noggin: BOP. Is it Mel TORME's style?

C.C.

Wednesday July 9, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: Color Songs

17A: Fruitful infatuation?: ORANGE CRUSH

24A: What fellow travelers live in?: PINK HOUSES

38A: Cowardly hero?: YELLOW SUBMARINE

52A: Murex shower?: PURPLE RAIN

63A: Valuable ticker?: HEART OF GOLD

The color GOLD in the last one seems to be positionally out of order with the other theme answers. Can you think of another 11-letter song whose title starts with color GOLD (or red, blue, or any color)? I thought of "GOLD Digger", Kanye West's signature song, but it's 1 letter short and therefore symmetrically impossible to be clued for 63A.

There are TINGES (51D: Slight traces) of smallness in this grid:

16A: Slightest bit: TAD

19A: Smallest bill: ONE

60A: Jerkwater: ONE-HORSE. Both the clue and the answer are new to me.

61A: American lizard: ANOLE. No idea. Obtained it from the down fills. Dictionary says it's related to iguana, "characterized by a distensible throat flap" and the ability to to change the color of their skin among a wide range of green and brown shades." That's very gecko-ISH (62A: Sorta), isn't it? Hmmm, very interesting photo, good timing!

11D: Molecular building blocks: ATOMS

I like how MEDAL (59D: Badge of honor) intersects GOLD. Hate the 64D: Isl. off Australia (TAS). TAS is not a commonly accepted abbreviation of Tasmania, TASM is.

Lots of wild guesses today. I did not know that "Murex" is purple color, and had no idea what connects "Fellow travelers" with color "PINK".

ACROSS:

1A: Produced roe: SPAWNED

14A: Cleanliness: HYGIENE

26A: Equestrian game: POLO. Where did Water POLO get its name? There is no horse play involved. The colors of those balls are hard to tell. Can't be blue though.

44A: Roman unlucky number: XIII(13). My instinct first response was IDES.

46A: Aussie's friend: MATE. Or Bloke.

50A: Parks or Convy: BERT. Pure guess. I know neither of them.

67: Esq. affixer: ATT (Attorney). I am starting to get tired of this "affixer" lawyer clue. Isn't ATT the ticker symbol for AT&T? Wait... Oh, no, it's T now. I did not know that.

68A: Nerval novel: AURÉLIA. No idea. I've never heard of the novel nor the author. Wikipedia says he successfully translated Goethe's "Faust" into French. And Marcel Proust was greatly influenced by his surrealist work.

70A: Oh yeah, __ who?: SEZ. The clue needs quotation marks.

71A: John of "20/20": STOSSEL. He is not my type.

DOWN:

2D: Funeral piles: PYRES. I saw this old Life magazine (June 1964, the Cremation of Nehru) at the flea market a few days ago. It's in pretty good condition.

3D: Former name of Hagatna, Guam: AGANA. Capital of Guam.

4D: Pitcher's motion: WINDUP. My favorite pitcher (Johan Santana) in mid-WINDUP position.

5D: Images in rev.: NEGS (Negatives)

8D: Full of vigor: SPUNKY

9D: Violinist Elman: MISCHA. Unknown to me. This is a beautiful serenade. Slow can be so good. Who is your favorite violinist? Here is a bit of Sara Chang for you.

12D: Dugout: CANOE. I only know baseball's "Dugout".

22D: Ponderer: MUSER

30D: Soak flex: RET

39D: Body liquid: LYMPH

40D: Actress Anderson: BIBI. I've never heard this actor/actress. To me, BIBI is always Netanyahu, my old unfruitful infatuation/CRUSH.

41D: Demeanor: MIEN. And 52D: Composure: POISE

48D: Shaped like a cylinder: TERETE. New to me.

49D: Bogus: ERSATZ. Gimme Gimme. Spent several years working for an IP investigation firm in China.

53D: Family of Indy winners: UNSER. Learned from doing crossword. I am not into racing at all.

54D: Actress Ada: REHAN. How quickly I forgot about her! She appeared on June 29 Sunday puzzle. Very very obscure actress.

65D: Into circulation: OUT. What? Magazines? Coins? Virus?

C.C.