Sunday, April 20, 2008 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: AFTER TAX (Not BEFORE TAX? I don't get it. Please educate me on this!)

29A: Everything-must-go tax?: CLEARANCE SALES

112A: Generous endowment tax?: CHARITABLE GIFT

3D: Non-dropout's tax: FINISHING SCHOOL

10D: Bourgeoisie tax?: THIRD ESTATE

43D: REM tax?: DREAM STATE

45D: Whiskey tax?: HARD LIQUOR

49D: Tar-reduction tax?: FILTER CIGARETTE

71D: In-demand tax?: HOT PROPERTY

A quick question first: This puzzle appears on Star Tribune (Mpls) on April 20, 2008 Sunday. and I know that many of you solve this puzzle on a much later date. Pls let me know how long is your lag time. I only know for sure that this puzzle appears on The Globe and Mail (Canada) one day before us. You can either leave a comment here or send me an email. Thanks.

Now back the puzzle. It's a stunner! I thoroughly enjoyed solving it. Felt so silky and velvety. Much more delightful than last week's "The Masters" themed puzzle (too many stupid author names).

Great theme. Very topical. For those fellow TMS solvers in Asia, April 15 is American Tax Day. Some of our Editor's Sunday themes have been pretty impressive: the "Broken Heart" around Valentine's Day, the "Play Ball" when baseball season started, and "The Masters" when Masters Tournament was on. I was also pleased with yesterday's "Pope Benedict" tinted themeless puzzle. Good stuff.

I had a solid start, and breezed through most of the areas without being stumped. I did encounter some unfamiliar names, but most of them were inferable. I did get stalled in the upper middle corner though. I put ETTE for 14D, and I filled in EGRET for 21A. Did not know Former Airline of Eng. (BOAC), had no idea who was the character in "The Faerie Queene". Have heard of REMAND so often in "Law & Order", but I could not commit it to "Send back" for 11D. So, I was floundering in that wet & spongy ground until "I MEAN" lent me a solving hand.

I was also soaked in the SALAD OIL area for eons. I put OSSA instead of OSSO for 77D. And I wrongly put LIQUER instead of LIQUOR for 45D. My reference bk is "OED" instead of "ENC", and I just blanked on DHOTI. ONONDAGA was definitely beyond my ken of knowledge. So, my "Early course additive" became a strange mix of weird letters instead of a simple SALAD OIL.

All in all, an hour well spent. I hope you enjoyed this puzzle too.

ACROSS:

1A: Davenport: SOFA. Did the original manufacturer come from Davenport, IA?

10A: Clan: TRIBE

15A: Intro to physics?: META. The founding father of Metaphysics is Aristotle, isn't it? Meta also means self-referential.

21A: Wading bird: HERON

22A: Last bio?: OBIT

25A: "That is to say...": I MEAN. I felt stupid tanking on this one.

27A: Certain vacuum tube: TRIODE. Unknown to me. It's "a vacuum tube containing three elements, usually anode, cathode, and control grid." See here.

36A: Singer Travis: TRITT. Stranger to me. Looks like he is an accomplished country music singer/writer. Watched "My Cousin Vinny" before, did not realize that he wrote the lyric for the song"Bible Belt".

37A: Small salmon: COHOS. Saw it before, but I forgot. It's also called "silver salmon" or "silvers". Wikipedia says "Its popularity (in Pacific Northwest) is due in part to the reckless abandon which it frequently displays chasing bait and lure while in salt water". Very interesting. Even fish have reckless behavior. They still look pretty big.

39A: Narrowing: TAPERED. Not TAPERING? I don't get this one.

42A: Rx watchdog: FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Hard to trust those folks! Don't they all go to pharmaceutical lobbying firms eventually? American Health Care system is definitely FUBAR.

44A: State of the union: IDAHO. I was thinking of Bush's State of Union address.

46A: Israeli guns: UZIS. Did not realize UZI was named after its designer Uzi Gal. I got very excited after seeing letter Z & Q, thought this might be a pangrammatic grid (containing all 26 letter), but alas, I could not find J or X.

47A: Like a requiem: DIRGEFUL

52A: Succeeded big: GONE FAR

54A: Nasty kid: BRAT. Wow, isn't the clue a bit too harsh?

55A: One of the French: UNE. Saw Vanessa Paradis' "Une Chance Sur Deux" before?

57A: Chang's twin: ENG. The Siamese Twins. Eng and Chang Bunker. 22 children between them, unbelievable, how did they accomplish that?

58A: Use a grenade to a fellow solider: FRAG. I have a muted reaction to this word today after learning its meaning from Dennis last time.

60A: California county: ALAMEDA. I've never heard of it. Strung it together from the down clues.

62A: "Paper Lion" star: ALDA. I guessed. I've never watched "Paper Lion".

66A: Ollie's chum: STAN

67A: Photo finish: MATTE

69A: Reference bk.: ENC (Encyclopedia)

70A: Clasp tight: CLENCH

72A: Actor Borgnine: ERNEST. Could not remember him clearly. But the answer is highly inferable.

76A: Hindu loincloth: DHOTI. Alright, he is wearing DHOTI. So clumsy!

80A: Mediterranean country: MALTA. I tend to confuse MALTA with YALTA (the Yalta Conference).

82A: Actor/director Tarantino: QUENTIN. Where did I see his name before? A recent TMS puzzle?

86A: Scoria: SLAG. Did not know the meaning of "Scoria". Latin for scum.

94A: Early course additive: SALAD OIL

96A: Old-time newspaper section: ROTO. Please take next week off, I've seen you enough this week.

97A: Son of Eber: PELEG. Literally "division". So called because "in his days was the earth divided", according to dictionary.com.

99A: Lethal stuff: POISONS. Did not know that "stuff"'s plural is still "Stuff".

101A: Jungle vine: LIANA. Here is a picture. See those intertwining climbers?

104A: Fable finale: MORAL

108A: Crunch of cereal?: CAP'N. No idea. I don't eat cereal for breakfast.

109A: First name in architecture: EERO. His father is ELIEL (Sarrinen).

117A: Cheerful: UPBEAT

119A: Carol of "Taxi": KANE. Took an educated guess. I don't know her.

120A: Muslim VIP: var: AMEER. I thought of EMEER first, but then President TAFT said NO.

121A: Actress Lindsay: LOHAN. Know her. One of the "Mean Girls". She has ruined her once promising career.

123A: Gridder Graham: OTTO. Vaguely remembered him. Easily gettable from the down clues. Bet this word "Gridder" baffles many of our fellow TMS solvers in Asia. It's American football player.

125A: Top position: FIRST. My mind was picturing something else! Teehee!

126A: Napped leather: SUEDE

127A: British gun: STEN. And UZIS earlier, this is one powerful puzzle.

129A: Peevish: TESTY

130A: Rich tapestry: ARRAS. Whoa! This obsession with ARRAS has to stop!

DOWN:

1D: Infected: SEPTIC

2D: Exaggerate: OVERDO

4D: Sax for Bird: ALTO. Had no idea that ALTO could also be instrument. Did not know that "Bird" was Charlie Parker's nickname. In fact, I've barely heard of Charlie Parker. Good clue though.

7D: Safe place: SANCTA. Plural of SANCTUM.

8D: Mountains of Russia: URAL. Why is "Mountains" in plural form? Wouldn't that dictate "URALS" as an answer?

9D: Fictional Jane: EYRE

11D: Send back: REMAND

12D: "The Faerie Queen" character: IRENA. No idea, I've never heard of "The Faerie Queen". Actually I could not find IRENA in the list of major characters, where was she?

13D: Former airline of Eng.: BOAC (British Overseas Airways Cooperations). Now British Airways.

14D: Feminine ending: ENNE

15D: Back tooth: MOLAR

16D: Levi's "Christ Stopped at __": EBOLI. Somehow I put EBOLA, so my 36A Singer was TRATT, which looked like a reasonable name to me.

17D: Lhasa's land: TIBET. Here is a good quote from Dalai Lama during his visit to Mayo Clinic on Wednesday: "If there is no solution, why worry? If there is a solution, why worry?" So, don't worry, be happy!

18D: 1950's Bikini blast: A TEST (Atomic Test)

28D: Alienate: DISAFFECT

30D: Antennae: AERIALS

31D: Dateless: STAG

34D: Depository for goods: STORAGE

40D: Tavern near a tube station: PUB. Hmm, I could picture that pub and its endless supple of ALE.

41D: Pound of poetry: EZRA

42D: Locate: FIND

47D: Chaperones: DUENNAS. No idea.

50D: Submarine: UNDERSEA

51D: Where the kine dine: LEA. I like the rhyme of the clue.

52D: Heredity information carrier: GENE

53D: Tribe of the Five Nations: ONONDAGA. A disaster for me. Here is the complete list: "Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca, and, after the 18th century, the Tuscarora."

59D: Overly polite and refined: GENTEEL

61D: School teacher of the Old West: MARM. Need your help on this one. I could not find it in my dictionary.

68D: Riding fast: AT A GALLOP. Very nice.

73D: Certain conic section: ELLIPSE

75D: Egyptian god of sun: ATEN. Could also be spelled as "ATON". Utterly beyond my grasp!

77D: Peak in Thessaly: OSSA. MT. OSSA.

79D: Storing, as grain: SILOING. Did not know that SILO could also be a verb.

82D: Bandleader Brown of renown: LES

84D: "Exodus"author: URIS

91D: Slime: GOO

99D: Most ashen: PALEST

100D: Of the underworld: NETHER

102D: More tidy: NEATER. I am not fond of today's DOWN clues overall, too many "er, est, ing".

103D: Play start: ACT ONE

104D: Jim of "ABC's Wide World of Sports": McKAY. Was he in the movie "Munich"? I could not remember it clearly. I like his "Thrill of victory, agony of defeat".

105D: Busy hub: O'HARE. Don't like the clue. Too arbitrary.

106D: Arrested: RAN IN

108D: Talking truckers: CB'ERS. Do they still use CB radio now? You'd think they all have cell phones.

110D: Mystical characters: RUNES

113D: 27th President: TAFT. The only US president to serve on the Supreme Court. TAFT family has been pretty active in US political arena (OHIO). What a disaster for Bob TAFT!

115D: Ingrid's "Casablanca" role: ILSA. Where is Rick?

118D: Flapdoodle: BOSH. I've never heard anyone say "Flapdoodle" before.

122D: Vladimir Nabokov novel: ADA. Learned from doing crossword. I've never read the book. Might give a "Lolita" if I have time, that's a big IF.

C.C.

Saturday, April 19, 2008 Matthew Higgins

Theme: NONE

I feel that our editor has been saving this themeless puzzle just for this specific Saturday to coincide with Pope Benedict's visit. There are 2 "Christian"s in the clue, and "Book, bk, bks". NICENE, ECCLES, and BABI all have some religious overtone. And 9D: CISTERCIAN (under the rule of St. Benedict) is kind of self-revealing, isn't it? Or maybe I am just over-stretching my imagination?

I tanked again today. I think I am still in my C. C. Sabathia style slump now, "My arms feel fine, I just can't command either side of the plate".

I actually had a shock and awe start, filling in APERÇUS, CYCLIST TONG, UPSET and SATRAP like they were all sweet "OREO". I dazzled myself by conquering the whole upper left corner in less than 3 minutes. Then I rushed to the other battle fields eager to vanquish all the insurgents. But I was greeted with heavy resistance everywhere I set my feet upon. Horrible. I could not even get TONELESS for 63A. My TREELESS stood proudly there until the very end.

ACROSS:

1A: Signed for: ACCEPTED

9A: Of the ribs: COSTAL. No idea. The root word is "costa", Latin for rib.

15A: Disappearing communication device: PAY PHONE

16A: Glacial epoch: ICE AGE

17A: Some of Whistler's works: ETCHING. Did not know who Whistler was, but the answer was easily inferable.

18A: Molded: SHAPED

19A: Death rattle: RALE. Pure guess. I forgot this word.

20A: Sparkling: GLISTENING

22A: Weather of a region, so to speak: CLIME. Poetically I suppose?

24A: Organic compound: ESTER

26A: Underdog wins: UPSETS

28A: Rocky outcrops: TORS. Great picture. Want to take a walk?

30A: Petty tyrant: SATRAP. Nailed it this time.

31A: Part of ASCAP: SOC (Society). Don't like it. This abbreviation just doesn't fit my eyes.

32A: Soviet news agcy.: TASS (Abbreviation of Telegraphic Agency of the Soviet Union, in Russian). Ah, gimme for me, mainly because of my intense interest in him for a short period of time. Now it's ITAR-TASS in Russia, with ITAR focusing on domestic news and TASS on international affairs. Oh, the Soviet newspaper is PRAVDA (The Truth).

35A: Designer Christian: DIOR. J'adore! For those who dare, try Poison, in the evening!

37A: Webber play: CATS

42A: Humiliated: ABASED

47A: Icelandic epic: EDDA

48A: Creed of Christians: NICENE. Nicene Creed. No idea.

49A: One of a set of bks: VOL

50A: Black suit: CLUBS. Good clue.

52A: Certain dagger: SKEAN. Hmm, this would be the second time Dennis met with Ms. SKEAN. Hope he remembered her name.

53A: Free from bondage: EMANCIPATE. Like this Emancipation of Mimi? Very creative name for her latest album: E=MC2. I figure it's "The Emancipation = Mariah Carey 2". What does that 2 stand for then?

56A: Persian sect: BABI. Now replaced by Baha'i. I wanted SHIA.

57A: Tex-Mex pick: TAMALE

58A: Word for barely acceptable writing: READABLE

61A: Signer-upper: ENROLLER. What the heck is "Signer-Upper"? Is it the person who "Sign-up?"

62A: Hereditary ruler: DYNAST. Ah, that's how we got Dynasty! Good to know.

63A: Lacking shading: TONELESS

DOWN:

1D: Revealing glimpses: APERÇUS. Or a synopsis.

2D: Tree with trumpet-shaped flowers: CATALPA. See this picture. I can smell summer.

3D: Tour-de-France racer: CYCLIST

4D: Transitory things: EPHEMERAS. The plural form can also be EPHEMERAE. Don't you wish you saved all your childhood ticket stubs/programs? Stunning price on Ebay!

5D: Greek letter: PHI. Ugh, dislike the clue due to 23D. Can't you reclue this as something Philly related, to salve the wounds of those depressed Philly fans? Good job, Santana, you rocked last night!

6D: Chinese secret society: TONG (堂). Literally "assembly hall". In fact, it's a "Chinese American secret society". You won't find TONG in modern China.

7D: Writer Medeleine L'___: ENGLE. No, completely unknown to me. Oh, she also graduated from Smith College, she might have bumped into Sylvia Plath then.

8D: Stops: DESISTS

9D: Member of an austere monastic order: CISTERCIAN. It's "a member of an order of monks and nuns founded in 1098 at Cîteaux, near Dijon, France, under the rule of St. Benedict." Looks like the word CISTERCIAN is derived from Cîteaux the site.

10D: Earthy pigments: OCHERS. Here is more information for you. Drdad probably knows a ton about this stuff.

12D: Starch from cassava root: TAPIOCA. "Tapioca Pearl Tea" is a very popular drink in Southern China and Southeast Asia.

13D: Meeting schedules: AGENDAS

14D: Business books: LEDGERS. Too bad, Mr. Higgins missed a precious opportunity to pay tribute to Heath Ledger. It's so hard letting you go, Heath, you were so young!

21D: Arose: STOOD. I mis-read this clue as "Arouse".

23D: Greek letters: ETAS

27D: Most long, thin, and frail-looking: SPINDLIEST. This guy is really getting very wordy today.

32D: Monitor cursor mover: TRACKBALL

34D: Sick and tired: FED UP. That's how I felt about the whole Bittergate brouhaha. Crazy!

37D: Wished for excessively and culpably: COVETED. Oh, that's what "COVET" means! Thank you for the detailed explanation. Should I stop coveting certain things then?

38D: Incongruity: ANOMALY

39D: Father of Ajax: TELAMON. No, no idea. The dictionary says he is "an Argonaut and friend of Hercules, and the father of Ajax and Teucer." It also says that TELAMON is "a figure of a man used as a supporting pillar." It looks like this.

41D: Striped fabric: TABARET. It's "a durable silk or acetate fabric having alternating stripes of satin and moiré, for drapery and upholstery."

43D: Within view: SEEABLE

45D: Makes possible: ENABLES

45D: Withholders: DENIERS. This suffix of "er" sounds so arbitrary to me.

47D: Bk. of the Old Testament: ECCLES (Ecclesiasticus). Just found out that ECCLES, the Australian neurophsiologist, won Noble Prize (Physiology/Medicine) in 1963.

51D: Off. skill: STENO

C.C.

Friday, April 18, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: CONTAINERS

7A: Stunt pilot's maneuver: BARREL ROLL

61A: Jersey add-on: CHEST PATCH

11D: Louella Parsons' rival: HEDDA HOPPER

25D: Roe v. Wade, notably: FEDERAL CASE

26D: Fight with feet: KICKBOX

A few things first:

1) As I replied to the whoo in yesterday's comment, this blog has about 3,000 visitors every day (Record: 5,750 on April 7). So, on average, about 1% of the solvers leaves comment.

Many of you still prefer to send me emails, and I am grateful for you kind words and I am happy that you are willing to share with me your daily solving experience. But please do not feel ignored if you've received no response from me. I simply do not have enough time. I do, however, read every one of your email. And I believe that I've replied to all the emails with a crossword-related question in them.

I really hope you guys will join us at the Comment section, it's only 2 clicks away. And it's so much fun there. Besides, your question will be addressed more quickly and expertly. Dennis, Dick and Drdad all check in regularly during the daytime.

You've also been watching me blundering my way out of this crossword labyrinth every morning, and you've been seeing me asking all kinds of questions. Some might sound silly to others, but honestly they are TERRA INCOGNITA to me, and I am not afraid to ask. I hope you will do the same if you are baffled by certain clues/cluing. Remember, no question, as long as it's crossword related, will ever be deemed silly or dumb here in my blog. And to quote Will Rogers, "Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects"

2) To those whose local newspapers only carry Monday-Friday TMS puzzle: You can always go to Chicago Tribune's Crossword website for Saturday puzzle. It's always themeless and quite fun to solve sometimes.

Now, back to today's mammoth headache. Oh what a nightmarish puzzle! Stupid CERF/PARI section! CERF appeared on last Sunday's puzzle, and irked me greatly as I had never heard of his name before (there were 7 authors' names in that brutal puzzle). So I googled, whined in my blog, then I promptly forgot.

I also could not remember Parimutuel and XKE, both of them appeared in this constructor's Feb 1, puzzle. Did not know that BARRIO is Spanish for neighborhood. Vaguely heard of Hedda Hopper, but I could not retrieve her surname out of my brain. So, a total quagmire there.

MOHS, HILLEL, EMILO, KEMP, AMECHE are all my Muqtada al-Sadr this morning. So formidble and hard to catch. I simply do not have enough ammo or strategy to fight them. The only thing that made me happy was to see NIC Robertson intersecting KICKBOX. I adore NIC.

Boy, it's been such a sluggish week for me. I guess I was distracted by something Philadephia related. Could be Obama's anemic off-performance, or Hillary's begrudging "Yes, Yes, Yes" comment, or I was simply bothered by Chris Coste, Ryan Howard and their fans. Twins suck!!

Across entries:

1A: Big name in book publishing: KNOPF. Gimme for me. Carl Bernstein's "A Woman in Charge" (Hillary Clinton)'s publisher. It also published Clinton's "My Life". KNOPT is now owned by Random House.

6A: Minerals scale: MOHS. No idea. Mineral hardness measure scale, named after German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. Now, how I can remember such a forgettable name?

10A: Cut with an ax: CHOP

14A: Actress Garson: GREER. Ha ha, got her this time.

15A: Reebok rival: AVIA. Curious about the history of Adias and Puma? And a bit Nike? Read this book (Three Strips Verus Puma). English version is now available.

19A: Deuce follower, perhaps: AD IN

21A: Puzo book, with "The": LAST DON. Since "Godfather" and "Sicilian" do not fit. He also wrote "Omerta" of course. I've read all of them, in Chinese naturalmente.

23A: IRS payout: REFUND

26A: Dole's 1996 slate-mate: KEMP (Jack). I am not familiar with American politics in the '90s. I've only lived under one president, the current occupant of the White House!

28A: Courtroom declaration: PLEA. Really? I thought you declare "guilty" or "not guilty" in the courtroom. I wanted OYEZ.

29A: Actor Estevez: EMILIO. Forgot. He has to change his name in Sheen for me remember him.

31A: "__ Jude": HEY

32A: Anti -DUI org.: MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)

33A: Roberson of CNN: NIC

38A: Classic Jaguar: XKE

40A: Actress Hedren: TIPPI. Wow, she is Melanie Griffith's mom, did not know that before. She was in "The Bird"? That's one scary movie.

43A: Vitamin-bottle data, briefly: RDAS (Recommended Dietary Allowance). Why do they make the vitamin pills so big? It's so hard for me to swallow.

45A: _ humbug!: BAH. Hmm, Scrooge is thy name Mr. Williams!

47A: Straddle: SPAN. Astraddle is also a word, like yesterday's astride.

50A: Leon lady: SENORA. Did not know where Leon was. But SENORA was easily inferable. Leon is in north Spain by the way. I love the movie LÉON a lot.

52A: Bennett of Random House: CERF. Founder of Random House.

53A: Bad French: MAL. Pas MAL a clue at all. In fact, I like it a lot. Much better than "_ de mer".

54A: Kentucky fort: KNOX

55A: Spanish neighborhood: BARRIO. No idea.

57A: Makes allowances for: EXCUSES

59A: What cons do: TIME. Good clue. Too bad I tanked this one.

60A: Quahog, e. g.: CLAM. Nailed it this time.

66A: Padlock partner: HASP

67A: Prefix for spaces: AERO

68A: Sadat of Egypt: ANWAR. He succeeded Nasser, then Mubarak succeeded him. He and Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace prize. He was indeed a visionary who dared.

69A: Merino mamas: EWES

71A: Bacterial infection: STAPH (Staphylococcus). No idea.

Down entries:

2D: Gun Lobby: NRA. Needs an "Org." in the clue to indicate an abbreviation.

4D: Won over: PERSUADED

5D: Refrigerant gas: FREON. All right, "FRE" stands for "refrigerant", and "-on" is suffix for inert gas.

6D: Slugger McGwire: MARK. Too bad, he screwed up his HOF chance. McGwire is also a scratch golfer, very powerful swing.

7D: Lacto - __ vegetarian: OVO. "Lacto" is milk, "ovo" is egg. Basically it's Vegan + Egg + Milk. I have discipline problem, so I can only be a flexitarianist at best!

8D: Ancient Jewish rabbi: HILLEL. No idea. It's "Palestinian rabbi who greatly influenced the interpretation of Judaic law". Literally the word means "he praised" in Hebrew.

9D: Seasoned sausages: SALAMIS

12D: Bobolink's cousin: ORIOLE. Not a bird person, did not know what was a bobolink. Would've got it had it clued as "Baltimore ball player" or "Cal Ripken Jr. is one".

13D: J. C. follower: PENNEY

18D: Heavily burdened: LADEN

22D: Gush forth: SPOUT

23D: Turning figs.: RPMS (Revolutions Per Minute)

24D: Israel's airline: EL AL

26D: Fight with feet: KICKBOX. Let me show you how.

30D: Shuffle: MIX

35D: Wrongdoer: MISCREANT. I suppose this word is too harsh to describe Jeff Immelt. But can I say his mind-boggling behavior is "MISCREANT"? Crazy, if you could not deliver, why would you promise? Would things changed that dramatically in a month? Time to leave!!

37D: To-do list stuff: TASKS

41D: __-mutuel: PARI. What can I say? I have a picky brain. It just refuses to remember certain things.

42D: Skinny, sort of: INFO. If I were the constructor, I would clue it as "Skinny, short".

44D: Five Nations tribe members: SENECAS. Nope. I totally forgot this word 5 seconds after I met him last time. SENECA is "a members of the largest tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy of North American Indians, formerly inhabiting western New York and being conspicuous in the wars south and west of Lake Erie."

46D: Convent attire: HABIT

48D: "Cocoon" star: AMECHE (Don). No, total stranger to me.

49D: Accountant's concern: TAX LAW

51D: Snacks: NOSHES

56D: Oscar org.: AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Flirted with ASCAP until PATCH (61A) came along.

63D: Hughes' airline: TWA (Trans World Airlines)

64D: Tooth topper: CAP

65D: Monarch's letters: HRH (His/Her Royal Highness)

C.C.

Thursday, April 17, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: QUIP

17A: Start of a quip: A MAN THAT MAKES NO

38A: Part 2 of quip: WILL MAKES

62A: end of quip: LAWYERS HIS HEIRS

The original quote is "A man who dies without a will has lawyers for his heirs." (Anonymous).

Almost had a bogey-free round today. Breezed through most of the holes without dunking my Top-Flite into the lake or getting trapped in the bunker. But, omigod, what a hellish Amen Corner the dogleg of ISLE/FEN was! And I did not have a prayer!

I did not know the meaning of "Cartographic" and I had no idea where Pau was. I filled in BOG for 47D: Marsh, then I decided TEAM B sounded good for 44A: Supporting group, but then ASTI would be wrong. I stared at "Avoirdupois unit" and saw lots of green peas on a plate. Avoir du pois? Have peas? Have peas unit? I guess I've heard of ASTRIDE before, but it's not a word I can fish out of my brain so early in the morning. I like how it parallels with FLOOR though (if my understanding of ASTRIDE is correct).

Across entries:

1A: Abstention periods: FASTS. No, I will not deny myself of any pleasure in life.

6A: Period on the job: SHIFT. Wanted STINT.

14A: Bandleader Shaw: ARTIE. Again? Needs to lock this name up and sends it exile with key thrown away. Let me see what other ARTIE is available... ARTIE Ziff of "The Simpsons". No, not familiar with him.

20A: Rugged ridges: ARETES. I like this word "Rugged", exhibitive of a craggy, harsh, rough, weather-beaten image.

21A: Ticket details: SEATS. I rather like last time's misleading "Pants part" clue. "By the seat of your pants".

23A: "Bellefleur" author: OATES. Joyce Carol Oats. A Mensa member also? Amazing. Hope she wins Nobel Literature next year then. Wonder why the book title is "Bellefleur" rather than "Belle Fleur"? Has anyone misread the clue as "Ball Four" author?

26A: Removed moisture: DRIED

30A: Strained: TAXED

32A: Paul Anka's "__ BESO": ESO. "ESO Beso", that kiss. Give me my back my heart!

35A: Dining option: A LA CARTE

41A: Ice cream option: ONE SCOOP. I like strawberry mochi ice cream, no scooper for me.

44A: Supporting group: STAFF

48A: Dolphin Marino: DAN. Speaking of Dan, where the heck is Dan Quayle?

49A: Honest!: NO LIE!

52A: Cartographic speck: ISLE. Alright, cart(e) means map.

53A: Big name in rap: DR. DRE. Like this one.

56A: Actress Berger: SENTA. No, have never heard of her. She looks stunning.

58A: Avoirdupois unit: TON. OK, avoir-de-pois, have the weight. But why pois, why not poids? You don't say "perdre du pois", do you? Whatever, a made-up word.

59A: Arledge of ABC sports: ROONE. Ugh, ABC, what a horrible gossipy gotcha nonsense debate last night! Stephanopoulos, are you auditioning for Hillary's Press Secretary job? Bill's "Stumping and Simmering" torture was not enough?

61A: Fidel of Cuba: CASTRO

67A: Shoshone: UTE

68A: Old newspaper sections: ROTOS (Rotogravure). Saw this word before, forgot what it was.

70A: Dropout's doc.: GED (General Equivalency Diploma).

71A: Missouri River feeder: OSAGE. Could not catch a good map out of the google ocean. Hope this one works for you.

72A: Luges: SLEDS

Down entries:

1D: CAB's successor: FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). CAB stands for "Civil Aeronautics Board". Name change occured in 1967.

2D: Fleet groups: ARMADAS

3D: Intense lookers: STARERS. This suffix "er" simply drove me nuts.

5D: Melee: SET-TO

6D: California peak: SHASTA. Got it this time, aren't you proud of me?

7D: __ up (excited): HET

8D: Descartes' conclusion: I AM. I think, therefore I am. Like this clue a lot. "Cogito, ergo sum".

9D: Italian monks: FRAS. Repeat offender.

10D: Clicked one's tongue: TSKED

11D: More irritable: TESTIER

12D: Hardest to penetrate: DENSEST. Physically yes.

13D: Winter ATV, _ -CAT: SNO

18: Warm up: HEAT. Not HEAT up? Shouldn't the clue be "Warm (up)".

19D: Musician's pride: EAR

24D: Case in point: EXAMPLE

27D: Buck lover: DOE. Thought of Pearl Buck and Olan first.

34D: As written: Lat.: SIC

36D: Pau pronoun: CES. These, or those. Too tough a clue. Pau is "a city in and the capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in SW France: winter resort. " Anyone been there before?

37D: Vino region: ASTI

39D: Nol of Cambodia: LON. Great palindromic name: LON NOL.

40D: Writer Anita: LOOS. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" author. "But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" also.

41D: Unmatched: ODD

42D: Tell the tail: NARRATE

43D: Funded: ENDOWED

45D: Spanning: ASTRIDE. Astraddle. Not fond of this contrived "a" word.

46D: Bowled over: FLOORED

50D: Cut into: INCISE

54D: Rogers of oaters: ROY. Totally agree with him, "The minute you read something you don't understand, you can almost be sure it was drawn up by lawyer."

55D: Lain American January: ENERO

60D: Aphrodite's child: EROS. Cupid in Roman.

62D: Renowned archer: TELL. Would be an OK clue if not for 42D: Tell the tale. Sin, Mr. Editor!

57D: Grate deposit: ASHES

63D: Loutish fellow: LUG. Not familiar with this slangy word.

64D: Amtrak stop: STA. Rework on your clue next time.

65D: Overeater: HOG. Great, FASTS & HOG in the same puzzle.

C.C.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Philip J. Anderson

Theme: DATE

17A: Date: TAKE OUT SOCIALLY

39A: Date: PALM TREE FRUIT

62A: Date: DAY MONTH AND YEAR

Nope, could not get on Anderson's wavelength today. ACH, what does it mean? Alas? Oh no? Knew Chinese word for YOKOHAMA (横浜市), not English. The crossing of these 2 words drove me nuts. This "H" is very hard to fish it out. I toyed with T, K, G, never even though of H.

Got SINÉAD easily as I love her "Nothing Compared 2 U" (Tell me baby where did I go wrong?). But I've never met with 25D: ENTERIC before, and ANDRÉ Gide was a complete étranger to me. Vaguely remembered 54A: ESCARP, but could not retrieve it easily from my brain, esp letter "A" as I was not familiar with NAPALM either. So a total disaster at very heart of this puzzle. Too panicky to enjoy any of the dates, so I decided to turn to Mr. Google for comfort.

Across entries:

1A: Check words: PAY TO

14A: Cancel, as a launch: ABORT. Would be NO GO if it's 4-letter I gather?

20A: Cheri of "SNL": OTERI. She definitely craves crossword solvers' constant attention.

21A: Shea corners: BASES. Good clue. Shea Stadium (METS).

22A: German exclamation: ACH. No idea.

24A: Singer O'Connor: SINÉAD. She should not have torn Pope John Paul II's picture into pieces in front of a live performance. But she has suffered enough!

29A: Swedish auto: SAAB

31A: Writer Gide: ANDRÉ. Nobel Literature winner in 1947. Is it a gimme for you?

33A: Mal de__: MER. Or Debussy work La __. Or "MER, sexe, soleil" should you dare! J'adore Gainsbourg.

37A: Udder ends: TEATS. Audacious enough!

43A: Arab leader: var. EMEER. Or EMIR. Literally "prince" in Arabic.

44A: Ashe's game: TENNIS

46A: Matter form: GAS

49A: Poker player's declaration: ALL IN

54A: Steep slope: ESCARP. It was clued as "Slope of a rampart" before. It's "a steep artificial slope in front of a fortification''. Derived from French "escarper" (to cut).

58A: Tapestry in "Hamlet": ARRAS

60A: Sphere of wisdom?: PEARL. Great clue. Would be better if it were in plural form. Pearls of wisdom.

65A: Summer on the Somme: ÉTÉ. Good one. Alliteration. "Somme river" is in northern France. Let's try "Sand's summer" next time. George Sand, the French writer.

69A: Lag behind: TRAIL

70A: French annuity: RENTE. French for "pension", "annuity". Our "rent" is "loyer" in French, like "loyer mensuel" (monthly rent).

71A: The German: DER. Another good clue. Masculine form of "the" in German. "DIE" is the feminine form and "DAS" is the neuter form. Learned this from Dennis.

72A: Witch trial city: SALEM

73A: Sen. Kefauver: ESTES. Does ESTES park (CO) have something to do with Sen. Kefauver and his family?

Down entries:

1D: Sajak of "Wheel of Fortune": PAT. Don't know him. Pure guess. I've never watched "Wheel of Fortune".

3D: City on Tokyo Bay: YOKOHAMA. Major port in Japan, together with Kobe, Osaka, Tokyo.

4D: Waste allowance: TRET

5D: Nebraska Sioux: OTOES

6D: Membrane of the inner eye: RETINA

7D: Hesitant sounds: ERS. Lots of "R' in today's puzzle, 22.

9D: FEMA command facility: EOC (Emergency Operations Center)

11D: Aromatic fir: BALSAM. Saw this clue before.

12D: Assert to be true: ALLEGE. Are you curious about who is Client No. 8 or Client No. 10?

13D: Yellowstone Park sight: GEYSER. See this picture, so misty.

18D: Tell's canton: URI. Or Swiss Canton. Tell is William Tell, the legendary archer. He was forced to shoot an apple from his son's head with bow and arrow.

19D: Bern's river: AAR

23D: Goldfish relative: CARP. The ornamental carp I suppose. This carp is way too big.

25D: Intestinal: ENTERIC. This word screwed up the whole grid for me! The noun is "enteron" (the alimentary canal; the intestines)

26D: "Zip- __-Doo-Dah": A DEE. Nope, I've never heard of it.

27D: Working copy: DRAFT

30D: Ill humor: BILE

32D: To be, in Toulon: ÊTRE. or Raison d'___.

33D: Mme. Bovary: EMMA. Ah, the danger and thrill of adultery! The only Flaubert's work I've read.

36D: Engrave slab: STELE. Look at this piece from Xi'An Forest of Stele Museum, beautiful calligraphy. Those texts are from the Confucian classics.

41D: Audaciously rude: INSOLENT

42D: Tiny birds: TITS. Pretty, isn't it? (Thomas, I did not know the slang meaning of "tit", so I was at sea when you warned me earlier.)

46D: Arranged in steps: GRADED

47D: Expose to oxygen: AERATE. Have to ask this question again: Why green keepers aerate the greens in fall rather than spring? Where have you been Alex in PGA?

48D: More agile: SPRYER. Can also be spelled as SPRIER.

50D: Flame-thrower fluid: NAPALM. No idea. It's "a highly incendiary jellylike substance used in fire bombs, flamethrowers, etc". From Na (phthene)+PALM (itate). All gibberish to me.

53D: Senator Nunn: SAM. No, I've never heard of him. He left the Senate before I arrived here. SAM Snead tomorrow?

55D: Stimpy's pal: REN. Repeat offender.

56D: San Diego pro: PADRE. What's their record this season? 8-6, not bad. Twins bullpen sucks!!

64D: Latvian chess master: TAL (Mikhail). Not Russian?

67D: Legal thing: RES. Latin.

Quip, or quote, that's the question, for tomorrow.

C.C.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 Verna Suit

Theme: 3 WHITE THINGS

17A: 3 white things: WATER BREAD HOUSE

61A: 3 white things: LIE SOX CHOCOLATE

3D: 3 white things: RAT ELEPHANT MEAT

11D: 3 white things: SAUCE COLLAR WALL

And some NECCO wafer (52D) and some unagi sushi rolls (25D: EEL). YUM! (40D: Dee-lish!)

This puzzle felt like it was originally constructed for TV guide, very movie-concentrated. I was annoyed by the inconsistency in the cluing of actors'/actresses' names. If you clue ABLA as Jessica, ADAM as Comic Sandler, EMIL as Actor Jannings, then 58A: MAE should be simply clued as Actress West, no need to mention the movie title (West of "My Little Chickadee"). The cluing for the role parts is pretty consistent, everyone of them has the movie/TV title: "Casablanca" heroine (ILSA), "Damn Yankees" vamp (LOLA), Ted's "Cheers" role (SAM).

Anyway, I tanked again today. I guess I was still dazed by yesterday's ULRIC/SHIV puzzle. And this vast field of Movie/TV related entries is definitely my TERRA INCOGNITA. I've got to find a way to turn this Achilles' heel into strength, somehow.

I threw in the towel very quickly, oh, probably after 15 minutes of floundering, then started my hot and heavy flirting with Mr. Google! Did not enjoy this puzzle at all.

Across clues:

4A: Ms. Andress: URSULA. Alright, let's start with her picture in Dr. No.

10A: Atlas section: ASIA

14A: Physician's org: AMA. Told you yesterday I was IATROPHOBIC. But I guess it will drive some people nuts if it's clued as "Japanese pearl diver". I wonder why most of the AMA Divers are women.

15A: Self-assured: POISED

19A: Date tree: PALM. Clue is not accurate, should add "Some". Look at these dates, they don't grow on palm trees.

20A: Foes: ENEMIES. They are us.

23A: Preserve, in a way: CAN

23A: "The Persistence of Memory" and others: DALÍS. Need to add "Painter" in the clue. Here is the painting.

24A: Founding Shaker: ANN LEE. Mother ANNE LEE. I've never heard of her.

26A: Late-night news hour: ELEVEN. I wish the entry were ÉLÈVES. It would be a perfect match for 65D: ÉCOLES.

29A: Tiny particles: SPECKS

36A: Approaches a red light: SLOWS

37A: Qatar's capital: DOHA. Today is the last day of DOHA Forum.

39A: Willy follower: NILLY. I thought of WONKA first, but quickly dismissed it.

41A: Smelting waster: SLAG

42A: Warning sound: ALARM. I put ALERT there for a long time.

44A: Remove errors from: DEBUG. "Remove errors" is sufficient, not need to add "from".

47A: Lunatic: MANIAC

49A: 1936 Loretta Young title role: RAMONA. Had no idea about this film. I am surprised by the specificity of the clue though, is 1936 that essential to string together the answer?

53A: __ incognita: TERRA. Unknown land. The plural form is TERRAE incognitae.

56A: Ted's "Cheers" role: SAM (Malone). Ted Danson role. No idea. But I am pleased that the Editor decided to put the pianist SAM on the DL today.

58A: West of "My Little Chickadee": MAE. Filled in MAE simply because she is the only West in Hollywood. Have never heard of the movie. (Update from superfrey: Adam West is the original Batman)

59A: Corridor: HALLWAY

64A: Aleutian island: ADAK. No idea. Looks like ATKA is also an island here. (Update from Dennis: ATTU is another Aleutian island)

65A: Schools near Seine: ÉCOLES

68A: Burns or Browning: ROBERT

69A: Pres. or CEO.: LDR (LEADER). No, nope, not familiar with this abbreviation at all.

Down clues:

1D: Spoke crow? CAWED. I like this clue a lot.

2D: Appliance maker: AMANA

4D: Rebels: UPRISES. Verb form here.

8D: Memorize: LEARN

9D: Extras: ADD-ONS

12D: "Casablanca" heroine: ILSA. OK, she said "Play it, Sam". Now I am waiting for RICK to appear in the next puzzle.

18D: Actor Jannings: EMIL. I vaguely remember I saw his mug before. Maybe his name came up when I was searching for Runner Zatopek.

24D: Moose toppers: ANTLERS. I prefer the clue to have "?".

28D: "National Velvet" author Bagnold: ENID. "Author Bagnold" should be sufficient!

30D: "The Bridge on the River __": KWAI. No, total stranger to me.

31D: Certain N. C. O. : SSGT

32D: Comic Sandler: ADAM. Mr. Deeds.

33D: "Damn Yankees" vamp: LOLA

35D: Actress Jessica: ALBA. She and mkat both eat peach for breakfast! Isn't she beautiful?

38D: "Tosca" tune: ARIA. Puccini work.

43D: Swedish city opposite Copenhagen: MALMO. Alright, here is the map. See Copenhagen (København) on the left?

45D: Had to ask directions: GOT LOST

48D: Cajoler: COAXER

50D: Jodie Foster film: NELL

52D: Tasty wafter brand: NECCO (Acronym for New England Confectionery Company).

55D: Per annum: A YEAR. Groan!

56D: Criticize severely: SLAM. Hmm, Hillary, I wonder who is the real "Elitist" here? Not someone who attended Wellesley College? Not someone who spent years working for the ""the ultimate establishment law firm"? Not someone who earned over $100 million in the past 8 years?

57D: Verdi opera: AIDA. The only Verdi opera I know.

60D: Maple genus: ACER. Also a big PC manufacturer

62D: Jamaican music: SKA. Nope. I only like Bob Marley & his Reggae.

63D: Fireplace shelf: HOB

C.C.

Monday, April 14, 2008 John Underwood

Theme: BAR

17A: Bar: UNIFORM INSIGNIA

27A: Bar: MUSICAL MEASURE

47A: Bar: COCKTAIL LOUNGE

62A: Bar: LEGAL PROFESSION

The theme entries today are not as awe-inspiring as Underwood's last "Chess Mate" theme, still great though. Would be better if BAR is not clued as the Answer to 70A: Stand in the way.

But I tanked! Could not get on his wavelength this morning. He was in AUGUSTA, MA. I was in AUGASTA, GA bemoaning Tiger's lost chance and his draggy putter. Coulda, shoulda, woulda, oh, Tiger!

All in all, a very foggy round of golf. Sun never came out and water never parted. Teed off OK, but lost my ball quickly after 2 holes. Put MING for Ho Chi _ City, had no idea what was SHIV, did not know the meaning of "licketys-split". Nightmare there! Also made a Herculean effort trying to putt ULRIC into the hole. Had trouble reading the line. Could not see where the breaks were. "Tack room" was a complete stranger to me.

Had lots of fun at the upper right corner though. The intersection of SEX with MANS, Knee-bending movements and IMAX made me laugh. BRAS & INKY night brought up a vivid picture, not to mention the evocative French words PARC, Semisoft BRIE, FEU (fire), AMIS (though not clued as male friends)!

Did you pay attention to the Front Nine (ACROSS) clues? They are probably the shortest I've ever seen in TMS puzzle. Felt like John Daly's golf style, powerful & quick.

Alright, let's take a mulligan and tee off again!

Front Nine:

1A: Sphere of power: ORB. A nice change from the "Poetic peeper" or "Eye, poetically" clue.

4A: Shillong's state: ASSAM. Have never heard of Shillong. It's the Capital city of ASSAM state. I want to take a walk at this ASSAM tea garden. Darjeeling tea is pretty good too.

9A: Adagio, allegro, etc.: TEMPI. Plural form of Tempo. Would have never strung this word together if not for the IMAX.

15A: Florida city: MIAMI. I love Will Smith's "Welcome to MIAMI".

16A: King's territory: REALM

20A: Audiophile's setup: STEREO

21A: Street-fighter's blade: SHIV. A knife, esp switchblade. Dictionary.com says it is probably originated from gypsy language "Chiv", meaning blade.

25A: Go lickety-split: ZIP. Now I know that "lickety-split" means "At great speed, rapidly".

35A: Tint: COLOR

36A: Closet type: LINEN

37A: Longfellow's bell town: ATRI. The Bell of ATRI.

39A: Go-ahead: SAY SO

41A: Tater: SPUD. Do you know that "murphy" is also a potato?

42A: Tack room gear: REINS. Alright, "tack room" is "a room in or near a stable for storing saddles, harnesses, and other tack."

44A: __ Loa volcano: MAUNA

46A: Switchback curve: ESS

52A: "Dune" composer Brian: ENO. The Microsoft Sound guy (Windows 95 start-up sound).

55A: High shots: LOBS. This would be a great clue entry for yesterday's The MASTERS puzzle.

58A: Code for one-on-one: DUELLO. No idea. It's of Italian origin. "The code of rules regulating dueling"

65A: Lennon's "Instant __": KARMA. Never heard of it. The only Lennon song I like is " Imagine"

68A: Simple weapon: SPEAR. Very simple indeed. Wikipedia shows 8 different kinds of wielding methods!

69A: The March King: SOUSA

Back Nine:

1D: Untitled work: OPUS. How so? Why untitled?

3D: Semisoft cheese: BRIE. Have some, avec Pinot Blanc.

4D: Of a single-celled organism: AMOEBIC

5D: Hot Sahara winds: SIROCCOS. Also spelled as SCIROCCO. Weird looking word. My Webster's says it originated from Arab word "sharq", means "east, to the rise of sun". Hot, oppressive wind blowing from Libyan deserts (Sahara Desert) across Mediterranean into S Europe. It seems more like north wind rather than east wind, doesn't it?

6D: "Casablanca" pianist: SAM. "As Time goes by", play it again, Sam. I don't like the crossing of SAM with 4A: ASSAM. (Updates from drdad and the Gargoyle. In the movie, Ilsa said, "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By"'. Rick said, "You played it for her, you can play it for me. Play it!")

7D: Writer Kingsley: AMIS. Father of Martin Kingsley, who was romantically involved with Tina Brown in her earlier lumpy days in London.

8D: Ho Chi _ City: MINH

9D: Insignificant: TRIVIAL

10D: Med. printout: EEG

11D: Provides with a crew: MANS

12D: Knee-bending movement: PLIÉ. Ballet movement.

13D: Big name in big pictures: IMAX (Image Maximum)

18D: Monks' titles: FRAS

24D: Genoese specialty: SALAMI

19D: Magnitude: SIZE

26D: Greek letters: PSIS

27D: San __, CA.: MATEO

28D: First Pope-canonized saint: ULRIC. Or Saint ULRICH, bishop and patron saint of Augsburg. Big stumper for me.

29D: True blue: LOYAL

30D: Crewman under Capt. Kirk: MR. SULU. Like this clue a lot.

31D: Dismantle mortise joints: UNPEG. Hurry up, you EMIRS of the Golf states, unpeg your currency from US dollars, Greenspan might be right this time!

32D: Try it again: REUSE

33D: Extremes: ENDS. Tire of this cluing.

34D: Paris Greenery: PARC (Park in French)

38D: Black as night: INKY

40D: As commanded: ON ORDERS. This phrase, together with SAY SO, A POP and a few other colloquial expressions in his other 2 puzzles has convinced me that Underwood is a very young guy. What do you think?

43D: Of constellations: STELLAR

45D: Maine's capital: AUGUSTA

48D: Each: A POP

52D: Moose cousins: ELKS

53D: Tidal situation: NEAP

54D: Made-up Monster: OGRE. Indeed, it's made up.

56D: Bikini parts: BRAS

59D: An arm or a leg: LIMB

60D: _ Linda, CA.: LOMA. Nope, I have never heard of this city.

61D: Unique person: ONER

63D: Doctor's org. AMA. I am an IATROPHOBIC, deeply skeptical of anything AMA recommends.

64D: Pot-au-__: FEU. Literally Pot on Fire. Needs some Dijon extra strong to spice it up!

C.C.

Sunday, April 13, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: The MASTERS (The theme is an Arnold Palmer quote, to be exact)

27A: Start of an Arnold Palmer quote: WHAT OTHER PEOPLE MAY

48A: Part 2 of quote: FIND IN POETRY OR ART

85A: Part 3 of quote: MUSEUMS I FIND IN THE

114A: End of quote: FLIGHT OF A GOOD DRIVE

Sub-theme:

70A: Garb at The Masters: GREEN JACKET

125A: Golf ball choice: DUNLOP

108A: Cromwell's nickname: IRONSIDES

130A: "Lelia" author: SAND (a bit of stretch for sand trap, but I want the puzzle to look better).

30D: Nobel Prize winner Wiesel: ELIE

No TEE for golf puzzle? You never cease to amaze me Mr. Editor! How can you clue TEE so many times in the past week yet fail to bring it up when it's aptly needed?

I marveled at the great timing of this puzzle when I first saw the titled theme (The MASTERS). I expected the theme entries to be the architectural features of Augusta National, you know, like the Hogan Bridge, Magnolia Lane, Crow's Nest, or just plain old Amen Corner, or some of the hole names, Azaleas, Juniper, Camellia, etc.

Alas, only GREEN JACKET and ARNIE (4 times Masters Champion) himself are directly related to The Masters. But the quote here is pretty good. Watching Tiger hitting his tee shots, or chipping or putting, is indeed much more enjoyable than going to an art museum or reading a poetry book, to me at least. His swing is poetry in motion. I really admire how GREEN JACKETS is positioned in the very center of the grid. Very nice concept and execution!

However, I am clearly not cut for the Sunday puzzles, still too forbidding and unapproachable to me. Way too many authors and actresses' names. I knew none of the actresses. And out of the 7 authors, I only knew ERLE Stanley Gardner. I vaguely remembered ERMA Bombeck, but I could only penned in _RMA as I was not sure whether her name is IRMA, or ERMA. I suppose George SAND (130A: "Lelia" author) was inferable, but only if you knew 105D: author EUDORA Welty, who was a total stranger to me. Susan SONTAG's name simply escaped my brain, though her photos taken by Annie Leibovitz came to my mind vividly.

"Lady Jane Grey" dramatist Nicholas ROWE was an utter tragedy for me. I had big problem with that knotty 3-author corner. Who else? Oh, Writer Shiley Ann GRAU, another weird name for me. And I pieced together CERF (Bennett of Random House) by the crossing clues. Not familiar with him either.

I hope you tamed this golf course with your TITLEIST PRO V1. I struggled with my stupid DUNLOP.

Front Nines:

1A: Sheriff's gang: POSSE. One bullying repeat offender!

6A: Political cartoonist (1840-1902): NAST (Thomas)

10A: Pastry shells: CRUSTS

16A: One of Ted's stations: TBS. The SAWYERS for 18D saved me from messing around with CNN or TNT.

19A: Arrivederci, Andre: ADIEU. Arrivederci is Italian for goodbye, ADIEU is French.

20A: "Star Trek: TNG" character: TROI. Learned it from doing crossword. Not a fan of Star Trek or Star War, or any science fiction stuff, or Lord of Rings fantasy.

21A: Cool due: HEPCAT

23A: Crevasse pinnacle: SERAC. This toughie tortured me on a Feb puzzle, and tormented me again today.

24A: Airfoil: WING. Not familiar with this term. It's "any surface, as a wing, aileron, or stabilizer, designed to aid in lifting or controlling an aircraft by making use of the air currents through which it moves".

25A: Satellite of Jupiter: EUROPA. Guess who sighted it first? Galileo! I dislike the word SATELLITE appeared again as the answer to 35A: Spy-in-the-sky.

26A: Spat: ROW

22A: Old-time high note: ELA. Nope, I don't know you.

31A: Classify: ASSORT

34A: Part of NLCS: NATL (National). NLCS is National League Championship Series.

35A: Spy-in-the-sky: SATELLITE. Would be a great clue if not for 25A.

36A: Private seals: SECRETA. Singular Secretum. No idea. Have never heard of "Sigillum Secretum". It's used "for private correspondence by medieval monarchs". My dictionary only explains SECRETA as "substances secreted by a cell, tissue, or organ."

41A: Way of old Rome: ITER

42A: Romance Lang.: ITAL

45A: Alternative to 9: SEPT.

55A: Ballet turn: PIROUETTE. I am proud that I got this one.

60A: Elroy Jetson's dog: ASTRO. Nailed this one too.

64A: Back and Red, etc: SEAS. Would be a good clue if SEAWORLD were not the answer for 4D.

68A: Devoted to schoolwork: STUDIOUS

69A: Commercial award: CLIO. The Clio Awards. Clio is the Muse of History in Greek.

75A: One who meddles: TAMPERER

77A: Hamlet or Ophelia: DANE

78A: Yields: CEDES

79A: Equipped with a tiller: STEERABLE. OK, I suppose so.

81A: Hindu tunes: RAGAS. Second appearance this week.

93A: Greek letter: THETA. My first fill is OMEGA, as I did not know the meaning of "Strumpets" for 94D. Did any of you fill in DELTA first?

97A: Bum around: ROAM

98A: __ Mahal: TAJ

100A: Pro __ (in proportion): RATA

104A: Hunt and peck: TYPE. First time I see this phrase. It's "a slow and inefficient method of typing by looking for each key separately before striking it: used by untrained typists." Opposite of Touch System/Typing.

106A: Ones who caution: WARNERS. I would prefer the clues to be "Virginia Senator John and others".

108A: Cromwell's nickname: IRONSIDES. No idea, why is it in plural form?

111A: Turn sharply: SLUE

113A: Get cozy: NESTLE

118A: Ambrosia of immortality: AMRITA. Hindu word. No, have never heard of it. Alright, so "A" is not, MRTA is dead! Try me next time then.

119A: "Lady Jane Grey" dramatist: ROWE (Nicholas). See here for more information. Dislike ROWE and ROW (26A) in the same puzzle.

126A: _ go bragh!: ERIN. So, the original Irish was "Éire go Brách". "Brách" is equivalent to "eternity" or "end of time". Ireland forever then? Wikipedia says that the other derivative spelling is "Érin go Brea". 'Brea" means beautiful. Is this the Irish poetic confusion? Beauty is seldom eternal.

127A: Digression: ASIDE

129A: Ancient Jewish mystic: ESSENE. Faintly remembered this word. It's "a member of an ascetic Jewish sect that existed in ancient Palestine from the second century B.C. to the second century A.D."

130A: "Lelia" author: SAND. George SAND. Chopin should have stayed with her. He could have lived a longer and more productive life. This is a very interesting name to mess up with the solvers' brain for any French related clues, like Sand's Sea for MER, or Sand's Salt for Sel (wonderful alliteration, isn't it?). Please share with us if you have some other clever ideas.

Back Nines:

4D: Orlando attraction: SEAWORLD. Could've been reclued as "Golf Channel's neighbor" to mislead solvers and highlight the MASTERS theme, since Golf Channel's HQ is in Orlando.

5D: Game played with 32 cards: EUCHRE. No idea.

6D: Content abbreviation: NT WT

7D: Greek poet saved by a dolphin: ARION. Ugh, another Greek myth. Wikipedia says ARION is also "the Greek music awards show". I guess it's like our Emmy Award. It's also a character in DC Comics called "ARION, Lord of Atlantis". Are you a fan of DC Comics?

8D: "Illness as Metaphor" writer: SONTAG (Susan). Her son David Rieff ("Swimming in a Sea of Death") was just on Terry Gross' Fresh Air a few months ago. Agonizing to hear how she came grips with illness!

10D: "Moonstruck" star: CHER

11D: Stays on in the military: REUPS

12D: Lift hooves, say: UPREAR. I did not get this one immediately.

13D: Gets a move on: SCOOTS

14D: Valve attachment: TAPPET. No idea. It's "a sliding rod, intermittently struck by a cam, for moving another part, as a valve".

15D: Delay by deception: STALL

16D: Wood eater: TERMITE

17D: Swollen: BLOATED

19D: Ruth and Diane: SAWYERS. Knew Diane Sawyer. Have no idea who Ruth Sawyer is.

28D: Harmonize: ATTUNE

29D: Mr. Fudd: ELMER. Got it this time.

32D: Planet-finding grp.: SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence)

37D: Cobra's cousins: ASPS

47D: Poker choice: STUD

49D: Simpson trial judge: ITO (Lance)

56D: Dublin's country: EIRE. See also 126A: ERIN

57D: Natterjack: TOAD. Sewn it together from down clues. I've never heard of "Natterjack".

58D: Use a diapason: TUNE. Did not know the meaning of "Diapason". Not fond of TUNE and ATTUNE appeared in the same puzzle.

61D: Louver piece: SLAT. (Update: I misread it as Louvre piece, so I wanted ARTS first)

62D: What cons do: TIME. Good clue. I am just so happy that "ET. AL" got some jail time today. It appeared in our puzzle 4 times in the past 6 days.

63D: Weapons in Clue: ROPE. Have never played this board game before.

66D: Steely Dan album: AJA. Saw this clue before, but I could not squeeze anything out of my brain quickly. It revealed itself after I got GREEN JACKET.

70D: Write Shirley Ann: GRAU. She won a Pulitzer in 1965 for her "The Keepers of the House".

72D: Agatha's contemporary: ERLE. ERLE Stanley Gardner.

73D: Bennett of Random House: CERF. Bennett CERF, founder of the Random House.

76D: "Maggi" creator Bombeck: ERMA. If Bombeck was not clued, I would've jumped into the train of the novel "Maggie". Of course, Stephen Crane did not fit. I've never heard of the sitom "Maggie". Old TV series are definitely my Achilles' heel.

82D: River island: AIT

83D: Do beaver work: GNAW

84D: Actress Isabelle: ADJANI. Non! Étrangère à moi!

86D: Witticism: MOT. Always thought it's "Bon Mot".

87D: Final authority: SAY SO

88D: Beseeches: IMPLORES

89D: Bilge water: NONSENSE

90D: Waste allowance: TRET

91D: Flax filament: HARL. Would've never got this one without the across clues. It's "hemp filament as well".

93D: Nothing to worry about: TRIFLE

94D: Strumpets: HARLOTS. Strumpet is such a weirld word. Where is the origin? Let me check. ... OK, so one theory says it's connected with "stuprare", Latin for "have illicit sexual relations with," or "strupum" (dishonor, violation). Others suggest "strompe" (stocking) or "strompen" (to stride, to stalk, as a prostitute might a customer). TO STRUM: to have carnal knowledge of a woman, also to play badly on the harpsichord or any other stringed instrument. I think I will remember it next time. STRUM PET.

95D: French stars: ETOILES

96D: Space juice?: TANG. By the way, TANG is also the name of a culturally very prosperous dynasty in China. Its capital city is Xi'An, where I grew up.

101D: Benchmark test: LITMUS

102D: Decorates: ADORNS

103D: Pollute: DEFILE

105D: Writer Welty: EUDORA. No idea. I had a quick glance at her bio at wikipedia, she wrote a book called "A Curtain of Green". Green is at least golf related. So "A Curtain of Green" author might work better here if not for the GREEN JACKET.

110D: Squelched: SAT ON. "Sit on" here means "to suppress or to silence". To "sit on" a bad news, to "squelch" a negative report, etc.

112: Booth or Meese: EDWIN

116D: Rip angrily: REND

121D: Actress SCALA: GIA. She appeared in the TMS puzzle before, but I forgot! My brain is very picky in what it chooses to remember.

122D: News chiefs, for short: EDS (Editors). How about Crossword Editors? They are not in charge of any news.

C.C.