Saturday October 18, 2008 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total blocks: 26

ANNA NICOLE SMITH (39A: Playmate of the year) would have been very pleased with the attention she got from Barry Silk. Her named appeared on Barry's Sept 20 Saturday themeless as a run-through 8D answer.

Last time it's TELL HER NO, this time it's SUSPICIOUS MINDS (7D: Presley's hit). I think Barry was born in early 1950's.

Interesting to see ISHMAEL (27D: Abraham's eldest) and WHALER (44A: Queegueg, e.g.) in the same grid. I am curious to see Barry's original clue for ISHMAEL.

Across:

1A: Leader of the Huns: ATTILA. He is the "Scourge of God".

15A: Currency in Freetown: LEONES. I did not know where Freetown is. It's Sierra Leone's capital. Here is a 500 LEONES banknote.

16A: Like some runs: UNEARNED. I hope Tampa Bay can close the deal tonight. I sure don't want Red Sox repeat what they did in 2004.

17A: Grieve audibly: LAMENT

18A: Rousing to action: SPARKING

19A: Edwards or Andrews, e.g.: AFB (Air Force Base). This clue used to stump me. Not any more.

20A: Plains tribe: ARAPAHO. No idea. Wikipedia says they are "tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux."

28A: Bandleader Shaw: ARTIE. He must be very good at double tonguing.

30A: Strangles: SCRAGS. New definition to me. Always thought SCRAG as scrawny.

32A: Drank to excess: BOOZED

45A: Flip do-over: RETOSS. Another RE word is RESEALED (64A: Mended leaks).

49A: Pipe-stem end: TENON. Our editor likes to clue TENON as "Mortise's partner".

52A: City on the Irtysh River: OMSK. I forgot. I can never remember this city. Here is the map again.

54A: Director Wertmuller: LINA. Foreign to me. Wikipedia says LINA Wertmuller is the first woman ever to be nominated for an Oscar for directing with "Seven Beauties".

55A: Outer: pref.: EXO

56A: Desktop publishing acronym: WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). Big stumper. I've got no idea what it is.

60A: Falling pollution: ACID RAIN

62A: Bob Marley's genre: REGGAE. "Could You Be Loved". Wonderful song.

65A: Practical trainee: INTERN. I wish I were in the US when Monica Lewinsky scandal broke. I can't imagine how Chris Matthews covered the story in his "Hardball". He is my favorite TV HOST (35A: Website job).

66A: Dark horses: SLEEPERS

Down:

1D: Nehru's birthplace: ALLAHABAD. Here is the map. I've never heard of this place before.

2D: Song from Led Zeppelin's "Presence": TEA FOR ONE. Agonizingly slow. I've never heard of song.

3D: Wyatt Earp's town: TOMBSTONE

5D: Jetson's dog: ASTRO. I am convinced that our editor does not like Houston Astros.

10D: Polynesian wraparound: SARONG. I like this color.

24D: Founder of Lima: PIZARRO (Francisco). No idea. How sad, he was assasinated. What kind of hat is that?.

33D: Intervening space: abbr.: DIST. Are you OK with this clue?

36D: Well worker: OIL RIGGER

37D: Discount store chain: STEIN MART. Unknown to me. I don't believe they have a store in MN.

40D: More fussy: CHOOSIER

46D: Absorb completely: ENWRAP. New definition to me also. Food network has a very interesting program called "Unwrapped".

49D: Waterworks: TEARS. I guessed. I did not know that "Waterworks" is a slang for TEARS.

53D: ___ eleison (Lord, have mercy): KYRIE. Was it a gimme to you? Lord is not going to show me any mercy.

58D: Generation after boomers: GEN X. I am a GEN Xer.

63D: Verizon, once: GTE

C.C.

Friday, October 17, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: Three Bigs

17A: Three Bigs: BANG CHEESE HEART

39A: Three bigs: IDEA BROTHER BEND

63A: Three bigs: WIG PICTURE APPLE

3D: Three bigs: BEN VALLEY LEAGUE

7D: Three bigs: TOE COUNTRY HOUSE

11D: Three bigs: DEAL WHEEL DIPPER

Does Big VALLEY refer to the TV series? I've never heard of it before.

The clue for HUBERT (49D: V.P. Humphrey) should not have been abbreviated. But I am so happy to see his name in the puzzle. He is Minnesota's favorite son. There is a certain enigma about him, so idealistic yet realistic. He was so right when he said "Asia is rich in people, rich in culture and rich in resources. It is also rich in trouble."

Some of you might not like this kind of 3- thing theme concept, but I really like this puzzle. It only has 32 blocks, compared with 38 we get often. Besides, there are 6 run through 15-letter theme answers. That's 81 white squares, 36% of the grid. Most of the time we get somewhere between 45 and 55 I think. I've never counted it before though. There are 50 white squares themed entries in yesterday's quip puzzle.

I wonder if Michael T. Williams thought of the real "Big Three" Churchill, Roosevelt & Stalin when he constructed his puzzle.

Across:

1A: Watch pockets: FOBS. I was surprised that "watch chain" is not the #1 definition of FOB.

10A: Norse Zeus: ODIN. He only has one eye. The God of Thunder THOR is his oldest son.

15A: "Christ Stopped at ___": EBOLI. It's written by Carlo Levi. I learned the book title from doing Xword. The spelling is so close to ECOLI.

25A: Stu of early TV: ERWIN. Nope, he is a stranger to me. I wonder if ERWIN is variation of IRWIN.

28A: Jodie Foster film: NELL. Have you seen the movie? It does not look interesting to me.

30A: Celtic worshipper: DRUID. No idea. Dictionary says DRUID is rooted in DRU, Celtic for tree (esp oak tree). So DRUIDS worshipped trees then? It's animisim, isn't it?

43A: Napoleon's commander at Waterloo: NEY (Michel). The "Bravest of the Brave". Wikipedia says that NEY is also an "end-blown flute" in the middle east. What is an "end-blown flute"? Is there any flute called "front-blown"?

44A: "It's a Wonderful Life" director: CAPRA (Frank). I also like his "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." Too bad, our politicians today promise so much and deliver so little.

45A: Impresario Hurok: SOL. No idea. Very impressive career.

48A: __ out (intimidate): PSYCH. One letter away from PSYCHE, the beautiful girl Cupid (Eros) loves. I just learned this morning that they have a daughter named Voluptas, the goddess of "sensual pleasures. " Wikipedia says "the first known mention of Voluptas was made by the Roman author Lucius Apuleius in his book "The Golden Ass" - the only Latin novel to survivie in its entirety."

58A: Painter Modigliani: AMEDEO. Not familiar with his name. I do remember seeing "Girl in Pigtail" somewhere before.

71A: Before, before: ERST. Or "Formerly, formerly"; "Once, once".

Down:

1D: Teen idol of the fifties: FABIAN. I've never heard of FABIAN before. That's an odd looking swimwear. What's that white stuff on his waist?

8D: Lohengrin's love: ELSA. I can never remember this Wagner heroine name. Can anyone give me a brief recap of what the story is about?

10D: Mark of the PGA: O'MEARA. Gimme for me. He is one of Tiger Woods' best buddies. He won both the Masters and British Open in 1998.

26D: Somali supermodel: IMAN. She is married to David Bowie. So close to IMAM in spelling.

31D: Cornell's town: ITHACA. Beautifully done. Barb B should like the background music.

40D: Novelist Koontz: DEAN. Not me?

42D: Scary word?: BOO. Ha ha, this reminds of BOOER (Raspberry blower) we had in early Sept.

59D: 651: DCLI. I actually like some math calculations in the clue.

56D: Poetic meadow: LEA. Ewe would love this clue. I am bored.

C.C.

Thursday October 16, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Be Brief

17A: Start of quip: I DON'T CARE

26A: Part 2 of quip: HOW MUCH A

33A: Part 3 of quip: MAN TALKS

46A: Part 4 of quip: IF ONLY HE

52A: Part 5 of quip: SAYS IT IN

66A: End of quip: A FEW WORDS

Yes indeed, brevity is the soul of wit after all. But don't be so brief that your comment is incomprehensible to others.

It's a Josh Billings quip. He also said: "Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done." It reminds me of Bill Clinton's eulogy for Jackie: "God gave her very great gifts and imposed upon her great burdens. She bore them all with dignity and grace and uncommon common sense."

I don't understand this quote though: "The wheel that squeaks the loudest is the one that gets the grease. " Does he think that complaining is a good thing?

The clue for ABC (5D: Opening letters) is very jarring to my eyes. LETTER is the answer for 36A: Epistle. So many ways to clue ABC. In China, we call American-born Chinese as ABC.

Across:

5A: Takes steps: ACTS. I like verbs in a puzzle. A noun "Play parts" bores me.

9A: Donna lead-in: PRIMA. PRIMA Donna is the same as "Diva", isn't it?

15A: Record spoiler: BLOT

20A: Remove the rime: DE-ICE. And ICINESS (45D: Frigidity).

21A: Break down, as a sentence: PARSE. I don't understand the grammatical structure of the italicized part: "Who could Jenny be talking to that was worth appropriating moments set aside for a date with me? Some musical wonk?” ("Love Story")

32A: Reclined: LAIN. Lie's past tense LAY and past participle LAIN often confuse me.

40A: Isinglass: MICA

44A: White-collar worker?: CLERIC

56A: Long or hot finish?: SHOT. Nice clue. My instinctive thought was "Double eagle", which is actually long AND hot.

68A: Tapestry in "Hamlet": ARRAS. The Scandinavian rug rug RYA seems to be on exile now.

73A: Those, to Jose: ESAS. And BANCO (4D: Barcelona bank).

Down:

2D: Boggs of baseball: WADE. Nice HOF induction photo. The guy on the left is RYNE Sandberg, who often appears in our puzzle. WADE Boggs spent most of his career with the Red Sox. But I think he will root for the Rays tonight. I really like Matt Garza.

3D: Shunning: AVOIDANCE. I am not fond of the ING clue. "Dodger's goal" is better. Sorry about your loss last night, Carl V and all your Dodgers fans, but Phillies are a better team.

6D: Sound of thunder: CLAP. I thought of PEAL.

7D: Pentateuch: TORAH. "Pentateuch" is a new word to me.

8D: Unsaturated alcohol: STEROL. No idea.

9D: Early neonate: PREEMIE. New word to me also.

18D: Colorful tropical fish: TETRA. It's also prefix for four.

22D: Ingests: SWALLOWS. I don't quite grok this Plautus quote: "To blow and swallow at the same moment is not easy." Blow what?

25D: Pilgrimage destination: HOLY CITY

34D: "___ Bulba": TARAS. I forgot. I actually linked this TARAS Bulba clip last time when we had COSSACK ("Russian horseman") in our puzzle. Taras Bulba is an Urkraine COSSACK.

35D: Snow runner: SKI. So many Polish name end with SKI. White Sox's A. J. Pierzynski is of Polish descent.

39D: Dawn Chong and Carruth: RAES. We had Charlotte RAE before.

47D: Not by any means: NO HOW. Is it a slang? I've never heard of this before.

54D: ___ for the taking: YOURS. "... You are mine and I'm YOURS for the taking ... Lay Your Hands on Me..."

57D: Milton of Uganda: OBOTE. Unknown to me. I only knew Idi Amin. OBOTE is both Amin's predecessor and successor.

65D: Gun in old slang: GAT. Have not seen GAM for a long time. Alessandra has very long legs. She is my favorite Victoria's Secret model.

C.C.

Wednesday October 15, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: PRO (18D: Word before 17A, 57A, 11D and 25D) & CON (52D: Word before 17A, 57A, 11D and 25D)

17A: Davy Crockett portrayer: FESS PARKER

57A: Certain nuclear weapon: FUSION BOMB

11D:Early TV transmission: TEST PATTERN

25D: Plot: TRACT OF LAND

The clues for 18D & 52D are inaccurate. They are the words before the first word of above 4 theme entries.

I wonder if Mr. Parrish thought of extending CLAIM (10D: State as true) into CLAIM TO FAME (clued as EDMUND Hillary & Mt. Everest related), then we would have a PROCLAIM. Don't you think "Explorer Hillary" is a better clue for EMDUND (34D: Novelist White)? I've never heard of White before. Does he compare his works to Proust's?

I thought of 4 more phrases for another PRO themed puzzle: DUCT*, GRAM*, POSE* and FILE*. And BODY*, DOTE*, TRUST* and QUE* for an ANTI grid. "QUE será, será" will be an awesome theme answer.

(Addendum: Please ignore the above two paragraphs. I failed to see 52D clue and misread the whole theme of this creative puzzle).

Before I forget, do you know why "Pinkie" is cited as an example for visual pun? I can not grok it.

Across:

1A: "The Grapes of Wrath" family: JOAD. Without J from JIF (1D: Peter Pan rival), I would not have got this one. Can never remember this name.

5A: Clever remarks: QUIPS. I really have difficulty in understanding the cleverness in Allan P. Olschwang's QUIPS.

10A: Keyboard key: CTRL. Wish it were clued as "PC Key" to indicate an abbreviation, but theoretically the clue is flawless.

16A: "Star War" princess: LEIA. Carrie Fisher co-hosted TCM's "The Essentials" with Robert Osbourne for a short period of time. TCM should be a solid answer for clue 30A: "All-films stn. " (AMC), right?

19A: Author of "The Nazarene": ASCH (Sholem). I forgot. He appeared in our puzzle before. He wrote in Yiddish. Is "Sholem" the same as "Shalom"?

21A: Paper boss: EDITOR. It's sad that the NY Sun newspaper was shut down. I seldom solved their puzzles though, too hard for me.

23A: Beat circuits: PATROLS. I would prefer PATROLS clued as a verb.

27A: Dublin's land: EIRE. Have not seen ERIN for a long time.

38A: ASCAP's counterpart: BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated). I am more familiar with Body Mass Index.

41A: Letters for shock treatment: ECT (ElectroConvulsive Therapy). Absolutely no idea.

45A: 1904 roadster: REO. I did not know it was introduced in 1904.

51A: Legal go-ahead: LICENSE

55A: "Tuesdays with Morrie": ALBOM (Mitch). He also wrote "The Five People You Meet in Heaven".

62A: Brass element: ZINC. Do multivitamins really help? What's your favorite brand? I have a hard time swallowing those big pills.

63A: "The Maltese Falcon" co-star: ASTOR (Mary). Have never seen this movie.

64A: Pasternak character: LARA. Refreshing clue. Our editor likes cluing LARA as "Dr. Zhivago's love". Yuri is also 4-letter. Nice pictures for "LARA's Theme". Simple, beautiful music, probably one of the best movie theme music.

Down:

3D: __ longa, vita brevis: ARS. It's clued as "___ gratia artis" last time.

4D: Identifiable as a unit: DISCRETE. The clue feels odd to me.

5D: Shrank in fear: QUAILED. I only know QUAIL as birds.

9D: Final run: STRETCH. I would love STRETCH to be clued as seventh-inning related to pair up with HOMER (29D: Round-tripper). I am rooting for Phillies and Rays. How about you?

13D: Lion of Oz: LAHR (Bert). Very strange surname, hard to remember.

24D: Top flier: AIR ACE. "Take My Breath Away" popped into my mind.

32D: La ___, WI: CROSSE. I wonder if the constructor considered putting in LACROSSE as a fill.

38D: A/C figures: BTUS

40D: Matched outfit: ENSEMBLE

43D: Singer Gloria: ESTEFAN. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You".

44D: ___ Bridge (NYC span): TRIBORO. When will it officially become RFK Bridge?

47D: "Billy __ ": ELLIOT. No, I've never heard of the movie or the musical. Only know "Mama" Cass ELLIOT.

53D: Haagen- ___: DAZS. I really like mochi ice cream.

55D: Hammett's terrier: ASTA. Toto is probably jealous of ASTA's status in our crossword world. He also has two vowels in his name.

59D: Single grain: OAT. I don't understand this clue. Why "Single grain"?

60D: Richie's father, to Fonzie: MR. C

C.C.

Tuesday October 14, 2008 Norma Steinberg

Theme: Types of Lumber

17A: Legitimate: ABOVEBOARD

65A: Package delivery service: PARCEL POST

10D: Gymnastics apparatus: BALANCE BEAM

25D: Taper holder: CANDLE STICK

I am not sure I got the theme right.

Lately I've been obsessed with the consistency of theme entries. Strictly speaking, 17A does not really fit into the other 2-word pattern. But I cannot think of 2-word *BOARD with 10 letters, can you?

Interesting to see ST. PETER (48A: Heavenly gatekeeper), SATAN (26A: Head of Hades) and EVIL (31D: Devil's doings) in one grid. I would prefer cluing EVIL as "Axis of ___" , as I am averse to having duplicated letters in both the clue and the answer. I always thought the "Head of Hades" is Hades himself. Hard for me to associate SATAN with Greek Hades.

The clue for CHARM (1D: Bracelet bangle) is incorrect. "Bracelet dangler" yes.

Across:

1A: Dollar, slangily: CLAM. Dennis said last time that CLAMS is always used in plural form when it refers to money slangily.

14A: Sword handle: HILT. Sometimes it's haft. I don't know what's the difference between the two.

19A: Yearn (for): LONG. I thought of PINE first.

24A: Team animal: MASCOT. This is our Goldy Gopher.

28A: Pronto!: ASAP. And STAT (45D: Immediately, in the O. R.). STAT is from Latin "statim". Unknown to me. I am more used to the baseball "ERA or RBI" clue.

30A: Way down: DESCENT. I have problem understanding the structure of "Way down". Is "down" an adjective here?

34A: TV journalist Paula: ZAHN. Not any more. She left CNN last year.

37A: Bandleader Puente: TITO. Here is Carlos Santana's "Oye Como Va", composed by TITO, so rhythmical. I like Santana's "Smooth" a lot: "... Give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it...".

44A: Rings out: PEALS. Why "out"? "Rings" is enough.

58A: Small cave: GROTTO. This Blue GROTTO looks magical.

64A: Son of Leah and Jacob: LEVI. Or LEVI Strauss of jeans. A bit of religious undertone in today's puzzle. See also IDOL (6D: Religious statue).

69A: Inventor Howe: ELIAS. I had no idea that he invented the sewing machine. Always thought it's Singer.

71A: Student grind: WONK. Fascinating word origin.

Down:

2D: Qaddafi's land: LIBYA. It belongs to OPEC (68A: Oil cartel).

3D: Medicinal lilies: ALOES. I did not know that ALOE is of lily family. (Note: The clue is "Medicinal plants" in syndication papers).

4D: Cable channel choice: MTV

9D: Unruffled: SEDATE. Always thought SEDATE is a verb. I wanted SERENE.

18D: Personalities: EGOS. Really? They are not the same to me.

59D: "__ Man", Harry Dean Stanton film: REPO. I've never seen this movie.

62D: Winner's mantra: I CAN. Yes, I CAN. "I am just hot, I am totally ready to lead..."

C.C.

Monday October 13, 2008 Stanley B. Whitten

Theme: Breakfast Sandwich

17A: "Apollo 13" co-star: KEVIN BACON

56A: Decorative molding: EGG-AND-DART

11D: Horse of the year, 1938: SEABISCUIT

27D: Tough luck: HARD CHEESE

So heavy, a glass of fresh orange juice and a lightly toasted English muffin is more healthy.

I have never heard of EGG-AND-DART before. I don't think I like "EGG" being placed in front of the phrase. It's inconsistent with the other three theme entries. I wonder why the constructor did not consider CODDLED EGG or POACHED EGG, which has the same number of letters.

I don't mind seeing O'HARE (26D: Midwest airport) and O'HARA (31D: Scarlett's last name) in the same puzzle. But I really can't stand having SEEKS (62A: Goes after) and SEEK (49D: Endeavor to obtain) in one grid. Very lazy construction/editing.

I wish WAR (24D: Word with cry or chest) were clued as WAR Admiral (1937 Triple Crown winner) to pair up with SEABISCUIT. They raced together several times, didn't they? I cannot remember the movie too clearly.

Across:

5A: Malcolm __ Warner: JAMAL. He was in "The Cosby Show". Unknown to me. Wikipedia said he was named after Malcolm X and Jazz pianist Ahmad JAMAL.

14A: Mine entrance: ADIT. Here is a picture.

15A: Shaped like Humpty Dumpty: OVATE. I thought of OVOID first.

24A: Japanese horseradish: WASABI. Do you like WASABI peas?

25A: Minerals scale: MOHS. Mineral hardness is measured by MOHS scale. I did not know this. Wikipedia says the hardness of TALC (19A: Soft mineral) is 1, Diamond is 10. Interesting, on the MOHS scale, a fingernail has a hardness of 2.5. I wonder what are the numbers for frozen bananas and hard-boiled eggs.

35A: Like bags under eyes: POUCHY. Only know pouch.

36A: Sail support: YARDARM. No idea. What is it?

38A: Kind of reality?: VIRTUAL

40A: Artist Holbein: HANS. This is his famous portrait of Catherine Howard, "the rose without a thorn".

42A: Right-hand page: RECTO. Verso is left-hand page (even-numbered page).

55A: Zeno of __: ELEA. The other Zeno, Zeno of Citium, the Stoic, was born Cyprus.

59A: Cake cut: PIECE. Ha, this was not a PIECE of cake for me. Mine was slice.

61A: Tot seat: KNEE. Joint for jerks? Yes!

Down:

1D: Capital of Azerbaijan: BAKU. Garry Kasparov was born in BAKU. He showed guts running for Russian presidency last year. He is very articulate and idealistic in a certain way.

2D: March's middle: IDES. Or the middle of May, July and October, and the 13th of other months.

3D: Seedy bar: DIVE. I just learned this word a few days ago.

4D: Steps over fences: STILES

5D: Grass beads: JOB'S TEARS. I've never liked JOB'S TEAR soup, which is very popular in Asia. It's supposed to soften your facial skin.

18D: Beatty of "Deliverance": NED. Remember this dueling banjos scene?

22D: Small drums: TABORS. Is 10" the average diameter of those TABOR drums?

25D: Urban honcho: MAYOR

32D: Strong polyester film: MYLAR. I strung the answer together from across clues. What a strange name!

35D: Evergreen droppings: PINE CONES. "Droppings" conjures up a very unpleasant image to me.

43D: Thick-heeled shoe: WEDGIE

44D: Smear or blur: SMUDGE

50D: Highlands group: CLAN. It's rooted Scottish Gaelic "clann", meaning family.

C.C.

Sunday October 12, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Ex Libris

25A: Start of Ed Howe quip: WHEN I GET HOLD

38A: Part 2 of quip: OF A BOOK I ADMIRE, I

50A: Part 3 of quip: AM SO

72A: Part 4 of quip: ENTHUSIASTIC THAT I LOAN

96A: Part 5 of quip: IT TO

103A: Part 6 of quip: SOME ONE WHO NEVER

122A: End of quip: BRINGS IT BACK

So he does not really like the book, does he?

Wikipedia does not have an entry for Ed Howe, so I suppose he is not very famous.

He also said: "As a man handles his troubles during the day, so he goes to bed at night a General, Captain, or Private." I don't think I get it either. He has different rank because the way he is treated by his wife?

This is probably the most boring Sunday TMS puzzle I've ever solved. Nothing thrilling. Quip never excites me. I guess I have difficulty understanding English puns or irony/sarcasm contained in the quip.

It's nice to see MAHATMA (9D: Gandhi's title) and INDIRA (42D: Gandhi of India) in the same puzzle though. They are different Gandhi's, but both great leaders. I am surprised that Indian people are not tired of the Nehru/Gandhi family dynasties.

I wanted TORN APART for 90D: Ripped open (TORN INTO). "Tear into" has a different meaning, doesn't it? The clue for STRIA (79A: Glacially produced grooves) is simply wrong. The clue is asking for STRIAE.

Across:

8A: Shadows: UMBRAS. I suppose "umbrage" is rooted in UMBRA.

21A: Kickback money: PAYOLA

23A: Scottish river: TAY. I think I linked this one several days ago. See Perth? Heath Ledger was born in Perth, Australia.

27A: Like the pounding surf: AROAR

32A: Data on jackets: TITLES. I wish TITLES were positioned where SMITE (62D: Hit hard, old-style) is, in singular form of course.

48A: Trues up: ALIGNS. I would like to see TRUES UP clued as "Align" next time.

57A: German city: STADT. German for "city".

63A: Loses traction: SLIPS. I wanted SKIDS.

66A: Tank top?: GAS CAP. I liked the question mark.

78A: Captive of Paris: HELEN. PARIS was clued as "Helen's abductor" yesterday. Who is the singer of the song "Poison"?

80A: "Oedipus" composer: ENESCO (Georges). I've never heard of his name before. This violin piece sounds so good.

83A: Extras in a theater production: SUPES. Should be SUPERS of course.

89A: Shoe form: LAST. I really had no idea that this wooden shoe model is called LAST.

93A: Runs in the heat: MELTS

97A: "The Devil Wears Prada" star: STREEP. Meryl STREEP is so talented. She pulled off the evil Miranda role so beautifully.

99A: Golfer Mediate: ROCCO. I think this is ROCCO Mediate's crossword debut.

112A: Japanese mat: TATAMI. This TATAMI bed looks a bit hard. Interesting, I recognize Japanese kanji "First time" and "High" on the pillow sheet.

113A: Fleet leaders: ADMIRALS

118A: Stretch of unchanging weather: SPELL. New definiton of SPELL to me.

125A: Franc's follower: EURO. Since Jan 2002.

128A: Literary anthology: CENTO. It's "a literary or a musical composition formed by selections from different authors disposed in a new order." New to me. ANA is a collection of work from one particular author, right?

135A: Some of the French?: DES. Good clue.

Down:

6D: Currier's partner: IVES. Got it this time.

8D: Prey's perilous position: UPWIND

12D: First Arabic letter: ALIF. Dictionary says ALIEF is the first letter of Hebrew alphabet.

14D: Gold-rush name: SUTTER (John). I had no idea that the SUTTERS built Sacramento.

15D: Gossamer: ETHEREAL. "Gossamer" is a new word to me.

17D: Cherbourg she: ELLE. Here is the map. Cherbourg is a seaport in Northwest France on the English Channel. Unknown to me.

30D: Complete failures: FIASCOES. The plural form can also be FIASCOS.

33D: Woman alone on stage: SOLA. Solus for man. I did not know this before.

35D: Monet's medium: OILS. Here is Monet's "Haystacks". Both Millet and van Gogh painted some great hayfield scenes too.

39D: Nancy of "The Beverly Hillbillies": KULP. No idea. I googled her name.

41D: Deuce, at the French Open: EGAL. I always associate EGAL with "equal" rather than "even".

44D: Jerry Reed song: AMOS MOSES. Here is the song slip. What is it about?

49D: Tampa neighbor: ST. PETE. Should have "informally" in the clue.

52D: "The Good Earth" heroine: OLAN. The best book about pre-1949 China, in my opinion, very real.

53D: Quickly: POSTHASTE. I did not know that "lickety-split" also has DF meaning until several weeks ago.

67D: Pretentious sorts: PSEUDS

74D: Golden-brown quartz: TIGER EYE. This reminds me of the blue glass Turkish evil eye amulets.

75D: Revere: HALLOW

77D: Norse goddesses of fate: NORN. New to me. It refers to "any of three goddesses of fate, the goddess of the past (Urd), the goddess of the present (Verdandi), and the goddess of the future (Skuld)".

98D: Cayenne car: PORSCHE. Pure guess. Why is it called Cayenne?

100D: Achieve victory after victory: ON A ROLL

102DL Akkadian kingdom's founder: SARGON. Unknown to me. He conquered Mesopotamia.

104D: Laptop item?: NAPKIN

106D: Improvised: VAMPED. Not familiar with the jazz term VAMP. VAMP is always siren to me.

119D: Soup ingredient: LEEK. I don't think so, unless you are making a potato leek soup.

C.C.

Saturday October 11, 2008 Matthew Higgins

Theme: None

Total block: 27

I really don't understand why Mr. Higgins continues to construct themeless. If the only weapons he has are those annoying affixes-laden "artificial long fills" (Embien's term) and obscure libraian words, then he should give up. There should be a limit on the number of ER, RE, ED, EST, ING & S allowed in a puzzle.

He could have fiddled with the grid a bit and made LANCES (55A: Knight's weapons) singular. He could have tied it in with ITO (21A: Simpson trial judge) and created a O. J. Simpson themed puzzle, with CHASE in the middle.

I really dislike the clue for ASCENDANCE (42A: Coming into prominence). The clue is asking for ASCENDING, isn't it? "Several" in the ROES (27D: Several small Eurasian deer) made me feel condescended. The clue for ARABLE (42D: Suitable for farming) is simply horrible. SUITABLE is the answer for the crossing 51A "Fitting".

I do like "Type of committee" for STEERTING (6D). Nice one.

Across:

1A: "When __ Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd": LILACS. "And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night..." Whitman's elegy for Lincoln. Nice "O Captain! My Captain!" animation.

15A: Ark's resting place: ARARAT. I always thought that Mountains of ARARAT and Mount ARARAT are the same.

16A: Soapstone: STEATITE. New word to me.

17A: Bell's clapper: TONGUE. I had no idea that the metal in the middle of the bell is called TONGUE.

18A: Horse-drawn vehicle operator: COACHMAN

19A: Lack of sufferance: INTOLERANCE. Are you OK with the clue? It feels so strained to me.

21A: Simpson trial judge: ITO (Lance). He has never written a book about the trial, has he?

22A: Himalayan gazelle: GOA. I always want YAK, which is an ox. Argyle found this GOA picture last time when we had the "Tibetan gazelle" clue.

25A: Cantankerous state: ORNERINESS. I always associate ORNERY with stubborn.

30A: Edible mushroom: MOREL. Another 5-letter edible Asian mushroom is the long-stemmed ENOKI, which has a very firm, chewy and textured taste if prepared properly.

34A: Helen's conductor: PARIS. He was portrayed by Orlando Bloom in "Troy". The guy on the left is Hector, played by Eric Bana ("Munich"). Helen's wife is Oenone.

47A: Part of APB: ALL. I had a mental block and wrote down AIR, thinking of the Air Pollution Index.

48A: Evil-doers: MALEFACTORS

53A: Compel with force: COERCE. Another "compel" clue is 38D: Compel: ENFORCE.

54A: Spotless: UNSOILED

57A: Thrust out: EXSERT. Unknown to me. I wanted EXERT.

Down:

1D: Cinch tightening straps: LATIGOS. No idea. Is LATIGO the white leather belt around the horse's stomach?

3D: Verbena plant: LANTANA. Doesitinink mentioned this Geoffrey Rush movie "LANTANA" last time. Have you seen it?

5D: Greater omentum: CAUL. No idea.

9D: Corps, pipes and officers: PEACES. Peace Corps, peace pipes, peace officers. Wow, is this a legitimate cluing? I do like it though.

10D: Portion of humanity: RACE. "Portion"?

12D: Degree of eminence: STATURE. I wish the constructor had tied in Lincoln with the clue.

14D: Ancient Greek beverage: OENOMEL. OENO is prefix for wine, MEL is from Greek MELI, meaning honey. I've never heard of this drink before. I only knew mead.

20D: Futhark alphabet: RUNES. Saw this clue before.

26D: Descried: ESPIED. I tend to confuse descry with decry.

33D: Highest point: PINNACLE. I rather like PINNACLE golf balls. Distance Doesn't Have to be Hard: Softer Feel.

34D: Winged horse: PEGASUS. I forgot. It's created from Medusa's blood. Red PEGASUS is the old Mobil mascot.

35D: Moon orbiter's apogee: APOLUNE. Absolutely no idea. It's opposite perilune, which is "Moon orbiter's perigee".

37D: Diatribes: SCREEDS

48D: Flexible type of armor: MAIL. New meaning of MAIL to me.

49D: Persuade gently: COAX. Lovely "Maggie May": "... I laughed at all of your jokes, my love you didn't need to COAX..."

C.C.

Friday October 10, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: Festive Occasions

17A: Diplomatic dustup of 1790s: XYZ AFFAIR

21A: Spongelike plaything: NERF BALL

39A: Hail Mary conclusion?: PASS RECEPTION

58A: CNN Capitol Hill reporter: DANA BASH

64A: Crew: WORK PARTY

Somehow I thought DANA BASH is CNN's White House correspondent.

A bit of Italian sub-theme:

36A: Christmas in Italia: NATALE

3D: Italian eatery: PIZZERIA

10D: Italian Olympic skier Alberto: TOMBA

Also some baseball undertone:

20A: 2002 Cy Young Award winner: ZITO (Barry)

50D: Bronx Bomber: YANKEE

62D: Ted or Connie: MACK. Connie MACK is in Baseball's HOF.

I wish HOME (60D: Web-site page) were clued as diamond plate related. PACKS (31D: Decks of cards) refer to the baseball card PACKS, right?

I suppose the clue for DR. J (25A: Erving of hoops) is OK, but I would prefer "Erving of NBA" to reflect the abbreviation in the answer. But the clue for ET ALII (27A: & others: Lat.) is inaccurate. "Lat" should not be shortened.

The clue for TONER (68A: Salon lotion) is simply wrong. TONER is not lotion.

Overall, I did not enjoy this puzzle. Too many unfamiliar names for me.

Across:

9A: Panache: STYLE. I like really like George Clooney's STYLE. I think he should go to politics, so should Ben Affleck. There are certain idealististic "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" optimism in them.

15A: German wife: FRAU. It's QI ZI in Chinese, very scrabbly.

23A: Haggard novel: SHE. I wonder if our editor has ever read the book. He seems to be very fond of this SHE clue.

30A: Shakur of rap renown: TUPAC. I've never heard of his name (2Pac) before.

34A: Word before tale or ring: FAIRY. FAIRY ring is new to me. Why do those mushrooms grow in a circle?

44A: Tony Randall movie role: DR. LAO. Have vaguely heard of "7 Faces of DR. LAO".

49A: Hot blooded: LUSTY. New to me also. I only know lustful.

51A: 1999 Ron Howard film: EDTV. No idea. It looks interesting. Matthew McConaughey is stud muffin.

69A: Pure Prairie League hit: AMIE. Unknown to me also. Very unique album covers.

70A: Red's Kaddlehopper: CLEM. Nope. Had no idea what the clue is about. Here is an interesting clip.

72A: Ms. Neuwirth: BEBE. Saw her at "Celebrity Jeapardy!" once.

73A: Pioneering U. S. radio station: KDKA. Wikipedia says it's "the oldest commercial radio station in the US". New to me.

Down:

1D: Author Stout: REX. NERO is often clued as "Stout's wolfe".

7D: Actor Conrad: BAIN. He is in "Diff'rent Strokes". Another unknown to me.

9D: Mine passage: SHAFT. No idea.

12D: Actor Nielsen: LESLIE. He is in "The Naked Gun". I googled his name.

13D: Mascara site: EYELID. I would clue CANINE (48D: Eyetooth) simply as "Long tooth". I don't like the duplication of eye's.

18D: Bouquet-delivery syst.: FTD. Syst? I thought FTD is the name of the company.

23D: Tanning lotion letters: SPF

26D: Northernmost state capital: JUNEAU. Only learned this morning that it's named after the gold prospector Joe JUNEAU.

39D: Richie's mom, to Fonzie: MRS. C. Finally I remembered her this time.

32D: Explosive trials: A TESTS

35D: Fashion monogram: YSL

37D: Old Ford model: LTD. Or the British "Inc."

40D: City in Central Missouri: ROLLA. Here is the map. University of Missouri is located there. New to me also.

45D: Lactor- ___-Vegetarian: OVO. They eat eggs and dairy products. Are any of you vegans?

47D: Alternative to digital: ANALOG

66D: Shatner novel: "___ War": TEK. Is it a very famous novel?

C.C.

Thursday October 9, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Cut Losses

21A: Start of Molly Irvin quote: THE FIRST RULE OF

28A: Part 2 of quote: HOLES:

34A: Part 3 of quote: WHEN YOU

47A: Part 4 of quote: ARE IN

51A: End of quote: ONE, STOP DIGGING

Is this an original quote from Molly Irvin?

Too many 3-letter words for my taste. I guess the constructor has no other way to get around unless he shortens 21A into "THE FIRST RULE" and move "OF" into the next line. But then he will have difficulty grid the remaining quotes symmetrically.

I don't know. I do remember reading it somewhere that the theme answers for Quote/Quip puzzle do not have to follow the 180-degree rule, though all of them should be structured in all Across instead of Down.

Across:

1A: FDR Program: WPA. It's shut down in 1943 as WWII created lots of jobs in the military.

7A: Fella: BUB. I penned in BUD.

15A: Candler of Coca-Cola: ASA. It could also be clued as "Happy ____ clam" if partial fill is allowed in our puzzle. I don't understand why our editor stubbornly eschews this. Remember Barry Silk said last time that this actually makes it harder to construct for TMS than for other papers?

18A: Bad in Sedan or Limousin: MAL. Sedan is town in Northern France, and Limousin is one of the 26 regions in central France. I had never heard of them before. Very clever clue though.

19A: One with lots to offer?: REALTOR

30A: Rhyming verse: POESY. New word to me. I only know POETRY.

36A: Mike of talk radio: MALLOY. His name is foreign to me.

41A: Christiania today: OSLO. Wiki says "it's called Christiania from 1624 to 1878, and Kristiania from 1878 to 1924."

45A: With all one's might: AMAIN. I forgot this word.

50A: Site of ancient games: NEMEA. I've never heard of this place before. Doesitinink probably will give us more information about this site.

54A: Inhuman being: ANDROID. What is the difference between a ANDROID and robot?

56A: Eerie poet: POE. Very nice "Annabel Lee" interpretation.

57A: Douglas' tree?: FIR. It's also the state tree for OREG (41D: Neighbor of Calif.)

60A: Basic of edu: RRR. Mine was ABC. What is RRR again?

61A: Scottish river: TAY. The longest river in Scotland.

Down:

1D: Huh?: WHAT THE. Shouldn't "Huh" be in quotation mark?

2D: Haystack odd one out?: A NEEDLE. Is this playing on "needle in a haystack"? What does "odd one out" mean?

4D: Negligent: REMISS

6D: Pimento: ALLSPICE. Yes, no need for you to check again, Bill. Pimento is a synonym for ALLSPICE.

9D: Ancient fertility god: BAAL. I was thinking of Isis, the Egyptian goddess of fertility.

11D: Abundant: PROFUSE. So many *FUSE word: diffuse, defuse, confuse, infuse, refuse, effuse, etc. I suppose they are all of the same root.

20D: Strung along: LED ON. I did not know this "deceive" meaning of "String along".

23D: Overland excursion, perhaps: TRAIN TRIP

27D: Sweat shop?: GYM. Do you walk, jog or go to the GYM for exercise?

30D: City near Lourdes: PAU. I forgot all about PAU. Last time Mr. Olschwang clued CES as "Pau pronoun". See this map. It's a winter resort.

35D: Inclined to give in: YIELDING. It's so hard not to yield to certain temptations in life.

37D: Pungent gas: AMMONIA. Both AMIDE and IMIDE are AMMONIA compound, right?

38D: Hamper collection: LAUNDRY. Do you wash your bras in the washing machines? I don't. Never.

39D: Metric unit: LITER

42D: Part-time athlete: SEMIPRO. Amateur has the same number of letters as SEMIPRO.

43D: Some claimants: LIENORS. "claimant" is a new word to me.

44D: Wild Asian asses: ONAGERS. I forgot. Here is a picture. Its spelling reminds me of grilled eel UNAGI. Delicious!

46D: __ oo!: TOODLE. New to me. I've never heard of "chin chin" as "ta ta" either.

49D: Steps over a fence: STILE. This "fense" is easier for me to grok. I really had difficulty understanding the "Steps over a wall" clue yesterday.

52D: Peau de ___ (soft silk): SOIE. French for silk. "peau" is skin. "mal dans sa peau" is "Ill at ease."

C.C.

Wednesday October 8, 2008 Doug Peterson

Theme: Oops!

17A: Beginning of autumn: FALL EQUINOX

28A: Cam-controlled tool: TRIP HAMMER

44A: Windblown vegetation: TUMBLE WEED

60A: Place to jot a note: SLIP OF PAPER

Great puzzle. Very smooth. Lots of nice compound words.

Only one letter (Z) away from a pangram. Did you notice that we only have 35 blocks today? So many times we have been offered a 38-block puzzle. I think that's the maximum number of blocks allowed in a grid.

Was ALAN (22A: Sillitoe or Paton) a gimme for you? I found this clue to be very obscure. I guess I am used to the ALAN Alda/Greenspan/Shepard clue. Tell me who is your favorite famous ALAN.

Have a look at Justin Smith's new puzzle site when you have time. He says he adds puzzles and updates daily.

Across:

1A: Token booth: KIOSK. Besides Kodak, knack, knock, can you think of any other 5-letter word that starts and ends with letter K?

6A: Kick out: EJECT. I like how it crosses JOINS IN (7D: Becomes part of).

11A: 2nd sight: ESP. I don't understand this one. "Sixth sense" yes, but why "2nd sight"?

15A: Shearer of "The Red Shoes": MOIRA. I've never heard of her before. See "The Red Shoes" clip. The music sounds great. Dictionary says MOIRA is also the personification of fate in Greek mythology.

25A: Thin pancake: CREPE. Here is some raspberry CREPE suzette for you, Razzberry. It has real flour.

35A: Russian horseman: COSSACK. No idea. Dictionary says it's a Turkish word meaning "adventurer". They are noted for "their horsemanship and military skill; they formed an elite cavalry corps in czarist Russia." See this clip. Taras Bulba is an Urkraine COSSACK.

41A: Infamous cow owner: O'LEARY (Catherine). I forgot. She appeared in our puzzle before, clued as "Chicago cow owner". (Addendum: Today is Mrs. O'LEARY's Cow Day. Nice one, Editor).

43A: Steps over a wall: STILE. What wall?

50A: One-ups: TRUMPS. Not us? You are fired.

59A: Verizon, once: GTE. It's merged with Bell Atlantic in 2000. Verizon is probably one of the better performers of Dow 30. Immelt, you are no Jack Welch.

66A: Pages in papers: OP-EDS. Ha, I struggled with this one.

67A: Rumormonger: YENTA. The name of the matchmaker in "Fiddler on the Roof" YENTE.

Down:

1D: Diplomat Anna: KOFI. I find it very hard to understand Ban Ki-moon's English.

8D: "__ kleine Nachtmusik": EINE. Enjoy this bit of Mozart. "Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius".

12D: Mexican shawl: SERAPE. It's the same as poncho, right? I like these ones.

13D: Board smoother: PLANER. What's the difference between a plane and a PLANER? Don't you call a worker who uses the plane to smooth things a PLANER also?

26D: Space-saving abbr. ETC

27D: Old card game: LOO. I've never played it. I really like "Elton's john?" clue for LOO, so clever. See here, Barry Silk's "Curly Poker" (MOE) made Paul's "Clever Clue of the Month".

29D: Devout request: PRAYER

39D: Land in la mer: ILE

45D: Long overcoat: ULSTER. I've never heard of ULSTER coat before.

46D: King novel: MISERY. No idea. Is it good?

47D: Hilary of pop: DUFF. She is so sweet. Her sister Haylie is very pretty too. We just had Howard DUFF last Wednesday.

51D: One of Potter's rabbits: MOPSY. Absolutely no idea. I've never read any Harry Potter novel. (Addendum: My bad. Potter here refers Beatrix Potter).

55D: Center of activity: HIVE. This reminds me of the Beehive hair.

C.C.

Tuesday October 7, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: Space Music (All Song Titles)

17A: Wernher von Braun?: ROCKET MAN

21A: Cageless canary? FREE BIRD

37A: Pilot's request?: COME FLY WITH ME

56A: Elevens, not ones, in blackjack?: ACES HIGH

61A: British flyer?: AEROPLANE

Wow, Michael T. Williams sure loves space science. Remember his Celestial Cinema (Sciene Fiction Films) puzzle?

I am not familiar with any of above songs. In fact, I was thinking of "HOME SWEET HOME" for 37D, so many similar letters with COME FLY WITH ME.

Several obscure clues/answers for me. Had to google. I did love seeing ETS (43A: UFO pilots) in the grid, so fitting to the theme. And I thought "Cockpit communication device" would be a better clue for RADIO (19A: Brit's wireless) today.

Had to admire the symmetry of TOO (2D: Also) and NOR (64D: And also not). Very well done!

But "Cut sheep" for SHEAR (54D)? I think EWE are wrong.

Across:

1A: Alone: STAG. I penned in SOLO first.

5A: Acronym before World Series: NLCS (National League Championship Series). Whom are rooting for this year, Dodgers or Phillies? Very interesting, ORIOLES (42A: Ripken's team) won the World Series in 1966 (against Dodgers), and won it again in 1983 (against Phillies).

9A: African fever: LASSA. I've never heard of this disease. It's first discovered in a town called LASSA in Nigeria. Sade was born in Nigeria.

14A: Unhinged: LOCO. Are they really interchangeable?

30A: Sacred river of India: GANGES. See this map. It flows into the Bay of Bengal.

34A: San ___, CA: ANSELMO. Here is the map. New to me. What is it famous for? What's the origin of its name?

45A: Geisha garb: KIMONO. And NOH (32D: Japanese drama). This masked NOH character doll in KIMONO costs $295. Too much.

48A: Card poets: RHYMERS. Are you OK with this clue?

59A: Letters for 1051: MLI

60A: Strong, cotton thread: LISLE. It's named after the French city Lille (formerly Lisle), where it was first made.

66A: God of Assyria: ASHUR. Also spelled as ASSUR. I wanted ALLAH, thinking "Assyria" a Muslim name. See this map. Assyria is an ancient empire in northern Mesopotamia (Iraq). So confusing: ASHUR was not only one of the capitals of Assyria, but also its highest God. I don't understand this information. Is ASHUR the "Silly Hunter" Nimrod ( Noah's great-grandson) then?

71A: Blow-gun ammo: DART. I did not know what a blow-gun is.

Down:

1D: Camera letters: SLR. What a boring clue.

3D: Coll. sports. grp.: ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference)

4D: Mini-racer: GO KART

6D: Hasty retreat: LAM. Somehow "Retreat'' brought SPA to my mind.

7D: Cause friction: CHAFE. I tend to confuse CHAFE with CHAFF.

8D: Composer of "The Nubians of Plutonia": SUN RA. Nope, I've never heard of him. What a cool name he picked for himself. RA is Egyptian God of Sun.

11D: Short section of a track: SIDING. What track?

22D: Pool spin: ENGLISH. Lois can probably provide us with her expert opinion on sidespin, topspin and backspin.

24D: Weakly colored: pref.: LEUC. Or LEUCO, LEUKO. As in "leukemia". Completely unknown to me.

26D: __ Park, NJ: MENLO. EDISON is often clued as "The Wizard of Menlo Park".

29D: Group in "The Godfather": MAFIOSI. The singular form is MAFIOSO. Their code of silence is OMERTA, which is also the title of a Mario Puzo book. I've also read his "The Last Don".

35D: Part of a wd.: SYL (Syllable)

44D: Old pol. unit: SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic)

45D: Furry marsupials: KOALAS. Time to get up! Crossword has arrived.

46D: Carve: INCISE

47D: Brandy's sitcom: MOESHA. I have never heard of MOESHA. Brandy used to date Kobe Bryant, right?

59D: City near Essen: MORS. Also spelled as MOERS. Here is the map. Absolutely no idea. Dictionary says it's "a city of west-central Germany west of Essen. Chartered in 1300, it is a market center. In Ruhr district."

C.C.

Monday October 6, 2008 Barry Silk

Theme: ReTAIL Tag

17A: User interface navigation technique: BREADCRUMB TRAIL

26A: Abbott/Haney board game: TRIVIAL PURSUIT

42A: Futile quest: WILD GOOSE CHASE

55A: Proceeding normally: ON THE RIGHT TRACK

WITHOUT A TRACE will be great too.

AL HUNT's name is probably too short for a theme answer. Is he famous enough or people know him only because he is Judy Woodruff's husband?

Felt like I was watching CNN's "The Situation Room" this morning:

47D: Newsman Blitzer: WOLF

18D: Powell of the Bush White House: COLIN

58D: GOP gathering: RNC

Too bad JACK (10A: Writer Kerouac) is not clued as "The Situation Room" commentator Cafferty. He whines too much though. I would prefer KILL (13D) to be clued as "Veto" rather than "Murder". That upper right corner felt weird to me this morning.

I disliked the clue for ATHLETES (38D: Track figures) because TRACK is part of the theme answer for 55A. Tell me how you would have clued ATHLETES. I really enjoyed hearing everyone's NURSE clue last time. So many sparkling ideas, esp Barry G's "One may be registered".

Across:

1A: Stamp pad: INKER. This reminds me of the boring Chinese calligraphy classes we were required to take in primary school.

16A: Race in "The Time Machine": ELOI. This has become a gimme, so are LOEB (21A: Leopold's co-defendant), ICBM (1D: SALT subject) and LSATS (28D: Exams for future attys). They used to be big stumpers for me.

20A: V x CCXXI: MCV. Roman 1105.

23A: Base on balls: WALK. Very nice clue.

33A: Audacious: BRAZEN. The spelling is quite close to CRAVEN.

35A: "___ la Douce": IRMA. I tend to confuse the name of this movie with "La Dolce Vita". TREVI (26D: Fountain of Roma) is featured in the movie.

36A: Actor Burton: LEVAR. He is so good in "Roots".

37A: GI Jill, once: WAC (Women's Army Corps). I would not have got it without the down clues.

38A: Blood vessel: pref.: ANGIO. Angioplasty e.g. Tough crossing with IMIDE (31D: Ammonia compound). I knew neither of them. "I" was hard to obtain.

Down:

3D: Ukraine's capital: KIEV. I like their prime minister (Yulia Tymoshenko). She is very pretty.

5D: Aussie lefty of tennis: ROD LAVER. I had no idea that he is a lefty. Whom do you like more, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal?

10D: Abrupt yank: JERK. Is "The JERK" a good movie?

23D: Washington cager: WIZARD. I don't follow NBA. Who is their best player?

27D: "Bolero" composer: RAVEL. Once again, the flowery "Bolero", to keep your blood flowing.

29D: Singer O'Connor: SINEAD. Her "Don't Cry for me, Argentina" is the best.

43D: Mavin of Motwon: GAYE. I learned his name from doing Xword. Not familiar with his songs. I like this song title.

54D: Hebrides island: SKYE. Here is the map. Did you see IONA on the south? Maybe that's how actress Ione SKYE (with John Cusack in "Say Anything") got her name. IONE was clued as "Actress Skye" on our August 29 puzzle.

C.C.