google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner

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Jan 3, 2010

Sunday January 3, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: 51 Pickup - Roman numeral LI (51) is inserted into familiar phrases.

22A. Space cadet's selection?: OB(LI)VIOUS CHOICE. Obvious Choice.

30A. "Let's go, Mr. North": COME ON O(LI)VER. Come on Over. Olive North.

52A. Fish-eating bird's dessert?: PE(LI)CAN PIE. Pecan Pie.

61A. Powell's portrait painter?: CO(LI)N ARTIST. Con Artist. Colin Powell.

76A. Badly neglected vehicle?: SQUA(LI)D CAR. Squad Car.

95A. Scores kept by Cinderella's godmother?: FAIRY TAL(LI)ES. Fairy Tales.

109A. Ultimate caterer?: THE LAST SUPP(LI)ER. The Last Supper.

3D. Seasoning for kielbasa?:PO(LI)SH SPICE. Posh Spice (of the Spice Girls).

14D. Sarah's campaign strategist?: PA(LI)N HANDLER. Panhandler.

57D. Lassie's luggage carrier?: COL(LI)E PORTER. Cole Porter.

66D. Analgesic for a post-snorkeling headache?: CORAL RE(LI)EF. Coral Reef.

And CII (54D. MXX ÷ X). 1020÷ 10= 102. It doubles the theme number 51 and connects two of the theme answers. Neat!

Quintessential Dan Naddor puzzle: very heavy themage, clever, entertaining & bold wordplay. I counted a total of 129 theme squares among the 11 entries. We don't often see Down theme answers overlapping each other.

An unusual number of people names in the grid though. Fortunately most of them are recognizable. I did have to peek at the cheat sheet for a few obscure ones.

I suspect Dan got the theme inspiration during his 51 birthday celebration. Alas, I can not just send him an email now and ask. But I was comforted by the fact that he celebrated his last birthday with us on Oct 16, 2009, and he knew he was adored and respected.

Across:

1. Flavorful: SAPID. Boy, the third appearance in the past 8 days. Still sounds "insipid"/"vapid" to me. Do read this funny "How I Met My Wife" Bill G brought to us a while ago (sorry for the wrong credit yesterday, Bill.)

6. Tennyson poem that begins "He clasps the crag with crooked hands": THE EAGLE. Got the answer from crosses.

14. Scorecard numbers: PARS. Another golf term is CART (61D. Golf rental). Dan loves golf.

18. Leachman who is the oldest "Dancing With the Stars" contestant to date: CLORIS. Nope. Have never heard of this lady.

20. Is guaranteed to work: CAN'T FAIL

21. Ike's mate: MAMIE. And BESS (70D. 21-Across predecessor). Bess Truman.

24. Fly on the wind: GLIDE

25. Buddy: PAISANO. Paysan is French for "peasant".

26. Madre's boy: NINO.

27. Coleridge storyteller: MARINER. Albatross the wearisome burden (also the golf score) is derived from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".

29. USNA grad: ENS (Ensign)

34. Bridge site: NOSE. Of course I was picturing a real bridge, not the ridge of my nose.

35. "So that's it!": OHO. Crossing OOH (36D. "I'm amazed!").

37. Sporty Pontiac: GTO

38. Start of Caesar's boast: VENI. "Veni, vidi, vici"

39. Crack reaction: HA HA

40. Novelist Susan: SONTAG. Long time lover of Annie Leibovitz.

44. Inclined: LEANT. Oh, I thought it's leaned.

46. Burrowing rodents of Central and South America: PACAS. No idea. Dictionary says this rodent is almost tailless and valued as food.

47. Vatican Palace painter: RAPHAEL. The Italian Renaissance painter.

49. Had in mind: MEANT

50. "Meet the Fockers" actor: DE NIRO (Robert). Fun movie.

51. Judo sash: OBI

55. Blush: REDDEN

56. Muhammad's birthplace: MECCA. Hence the annual Hajj to Mecca.

58. Swoon: FAINT

59. Gloom: PALL

60. Promise, for one: OLEO. The Promise brand margarine.

65. Creamy shade: ECRU

69. Angle iron: L-BAR. In the form of an L (90 degree bend)

71. Like tortoiseshell: HORNY. Man, Dennis/Carol would have fun kidding with Dan about his clue.

72. Like Niagara Falls: AROAR. I like the two consecutive "Like ...".

73. Large envelope: MAILER

80. Needle: RIB

81. Sign up: ENLIST

82. Lion-colored: TAWNY

83. Water polo teams, e.g.: HEPTADS. Heptad is a group of seven.

85. Chicago suburb: NILES. Unknown to me.

86. Merited: RATED

87. Back fin: DORSAL. Learned from doing Xword.

89. Isinglass: MICA

90. Org. concerned with PCBs: EPA

92. Piece of work: ERG. Normally clued as "Unit of work".

94. Casa pet, perhaps: GATO. Spanish for "cat". Los Gatos (CA) means "The Cats".

101. Pitching stat: ERA

103. Going on and on: ETERNAL

105. "Charity thou __ lie": Stephen Crane: ART A. Was ignorant of the poem.

106. Ralph Nader in the 2000 election, according to Gore supporters: SPOILER. Indeed.

108. Bit of gaucho gear: RIATA. Or reata.

113. Atlas feature: INSET

114. Abscissa's counterpart: ORDINATE. Had to look up in my dictionary for the meaning of "abscissa".

115. Jungle queen: SHEENA. From "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle".

116. Hungarian castle city: EGER. I wonder if it's a gimme for our Hungarian trombonist Jazzbumpa. I only know Eger the river.

117. Grading period: SEMESTER

118. Hotel amenities: SAFES

Down:

1. Range: SCOPE

2. Wrestler Lou: ALBANO. Nope. Was he very famous?

4. The cornea covers it: IRIS

5. Former NBA center Vlade: DIVAC. A Serbian. I peeked at the answer sheet again.

6. Horned Frogs' sch.: TCU (Texas Christian University). In Ft. Worth.

7. Lacks: HAS NOT

8. Valley Girl's home, perhaps: ENCINO. Spanish for "evergreen". It’s in San Fernando Valley. District of LA. Stumper for me.

9. Culture: Pref.: ETHNO

10. "__ Such As I": Elvis hit: A FOOL

11. Merry, in Metz: GAI. French for "gay".

12. Contractor's ID: LIC (License)

13. Natural environment: ELEMENT

15. Body builder?: AMINO ACID. Builder of protein. Great clue.

16. Carpooling: RIDESHARE. Did the answer come to you immediately?

17. Allow oneself to be persuaded: SEE REASON. New idiom to me.

19. Chinese: Pref.: SINO. As in Sino-American relations.

21. Dugout ldr.: MGR (manager). "Ldr" is such a weird abbreviation for "leader", isn't it?

23. Pah lead-in: OOM. Oom leads the word "Oompah".

28. Bush spokesman Fleischer: ARI. Too smooth a tongue.

31. Easter roller: EGG

32. Russian prince known as "Moneybag": IVAN I. Easy guess. 14th-century Russian prince.

33. Sale, to Seurat: VENTE. French for "sale". Does Seurat here refer to pointillist Georges Seurat or is Seurat is a popular French surname, Kazie?

41. Western wine region: NAPA

42. Simple top: TEE

43. Totally behind: ALL FOR

44. Helped out: LENT A HAND. Nailed it. This fill connects three theme answers.

45. "The Raven" monogram: EAP (Edgar Allan Poe)

46. Spa treatment: PEEL

47. Dallas quarterback Tony: ROMO. Now who's he dating?

48. Brother of Cain: ABEL. Or SETH (the youngest).

49. Jazz flutist Herbie: MANN

50. "Shoot!": DRAT

53. Adverb ending: IAL. The ending of the word adverbial. Not the real adverb LY ending.

59. Movie with a memorable shower scene: PSYCHO. Wish I had not seen it.

63. Penta- minus two: TRI. Shouldn't be "Penta - minus bi-" since they are all prefixes?

64. Corn Belt st.: IND (Indiana)

67. Bust: RAID

68. Cities, informally: URBS

72. Dadaist collection: ARPS. Jean Arp. The Dadaist pioneer.

73. Where the wild things are: MENAGERIE. Awesome entry.

74. Bringing to life: ANIMATING

75. Uptight: ILL AT EASE

76. Keanan of "Step by Step": STACI. No idea. Quite heavy foundation on her forehead, no?

77. Persian Gulf nation: QATAR. Where Al Jazeera is based.

78. German director Boll known for film adaptations of video games: UWE. Man, this guy has a weird name. How do you pronounce UWE?

86. Theater districts: RIALTOS. Another new word to me. This solely refers to those districts around Broadway, right?

87. Indian lentil dish: DAL. Not to my taste. Indian dish is a bit too strong for me.

89. Juilliard deg.: MFA

90. Really bugs: EATS AT

91. Nebraska river: PLATTE. Missouri tributary.

93. "The Quiet American" author: GREENE (Graham)

96. Either Bush, once: YALIE. Both members of Skull and Bones too.

97. __ fat: TRANS

98. Ames sch.: ISU (Iowa State University)

99. "House" actor Omar: EPPS

100. Next year's juniors: SOPHS. Need "briefly" in the clue for abbreviation hint.

102. Tapestry behind which Polonius hid: ARRAS. In "Hamlet''.

104. Rebellious Turner: NAT

107. Intestinal parts: ILEA. Plural of ileum.

110. Realm until 1806: Abbr.: HRE (800 A.D. -1806 A.D.)

111. Teacher's deg.: ED. M (Master of Education)

Updates: In his Facebook, Dan Naddor said: "Don't send me flowers, don't send-in-the-clowns...make my life count. Please donate to Hoag Cancer Center -without them I would have been gone a long time ago." If you are attending the service on Jan 7th, Dan requested "no coats, no ties, no mourning attire, flip flops preferred".

Answer grid.

C.C.

Jan 2, 2010

Saturday January 2, 2010 Bob Peoples

Theme: None

Total blocks: 31

Total words: 66

Rather low in terms of word count. Lots of great multiple-word entries in this grid. I counted 13, among which eight have 10 or 11 letters. I also liked some of the long one-word entries, not the three ING-ending fill though.

Somehow I was very bothered by the "it" in the clue for VENUE (28A. Where it's at). Grammatically it's confusing. I do love the pronoun "they" for ETS (6D. They travel a great distance to get here).

Choppy solving. The lower right corner crumbled rather easily for me. Lower left was steely. The Down clues/fill today sure felt more accessible than the Across, didn't they?

Across:

1. Hedged reply: I BELIEVE SO. Great answer.

11. Gawain and Kay, e.g.: SIRS. Both knights at King Arthur's Round Table. Sir Gawain is Arthur's nephew. Kay is Arthur's foster brother.

15. Hustlers: CON ARTISTS

16. Slicing, dicing, etc.: PREP. I rather like the clue.

17. How preordained events are written?: IN THE STARS. Is this a idiom? I've never heard of it before.

18. Start to till?: ROTO. The start of the word rototill. I only know rototiller.

19. Fr. company: CIE. And another simpler French word MERES (45A. Metz mothers). Kazie explained to us CIE before.

20. Frazier rival: ALI. Joe Frazier.

21. Altercation: RUN-IN

22. Impart: LEND

24. Warning: OMEN

25. Zipping through: ACING. And ESTEEMING (26A. Looking up to). And IRONING (12D: Household drudgery). Any repining about the three ING's?

29. Saturate with: STEEP IN

30. Gulped with gusto: SWIGGED. Alliteration.

32. Cherished: PET. As project.

33. __-ha: stink: HOO. I was unaware that "stink" can mean "fuss/commotion".

34. Gathering with much rapping: GABFEST. Stumper.

38. __ Observatory, site of the larger Hale Telescope: PALOMAR. In San Diego County. Spanish for "pigeon house". Lots of pigeons can be seen during spring/autumn months atop Palomar Mountain, according to Wikipedia & JD.

42. Asteroids game company: ATARI

43. Alarming: WORRISOME

46. "Carmina Burana" composer: ORFF (Carl). German composer. Maybe Jazzbumpa/Crockett can tell us more about this guy. Complete stranger to me.

47. Part of Q.E.D.: ERAT

48. I.Q. test pioneer: BINET (Alfred). The inventor of the first widely accepted test for measuring intelligence. His name escaped me.

49. "__ Mir Bist Du Schoen": Andrews Sisters hit: BEI. Yiddish for "To Me You're Beautiful".

50. Taxonomic suffix: OTE. As in Capriot/Cypriot. I obtained the answer from crosses.

51. All-encompassing phrase: A TO Z. With the second T in place, I wrote down ET AL.

52. Locks out of a store?: HAIRPIECES. Locks = hair. Tricky clue.

56. Herbert sci-fi classic: DUNE. Nope. Have never hear of the book, nor the author.

57. Antique diamond shape: OLD MINE CUT. Educate me on what exactly is a old mine cut.

58. Phone abbr.: OPER

59. Sliders at home, perhaps: GLASS DOORS. The DOORS part emerged to me early on, so I was not misled into the miniature burgers or baseball sliders direction.

Down:

1. Cold fish, so to speak: ICICLES. Cold fish (aloof/reserved person) is a new expression to me.

2. Skinny to the max: BONIEST

3. Political agreement: ENTENTE

7. Daily supplement: VITAMIN

8. Big Sur retreat: ESALEN. The Esalen Institute is named after the Native American tribe Esalen. Another unknown to me.

9. Philharmonic section: STRINGS

10. WWII hush-hush gp.: OSS (Office of Strategic Services). CIA precursor.

11. Flying boat built by Hughes Aircraft: SPRUCE GOOSE. The one Dick (in black) and Carol (in red) visited last year.

13. Following: RETINUE. VIP's following.

14. Cleaned (off), as a counter: SPONGED

21. Ristorante fare: RAVIOLI. Does it always have cheese inside?

23. Long-term storage solution: DEEP FREEZER

24. Forgets about: OMITS

27. Modern pentathlon competitor, at times: EPEEIST (ey-PEY-ist). I had no idea that modern pentathlon include epee fencing.

31. Landing site: WHARF

34. Long legging attached to a saddle: GAMBADO. No idea. Rider's legging. Maybe "The Talented Mr. Argyle" can find us a picture link. Gamba is Italian for "leg", kind of like our "gam" I suppose.

35. Had the time of one's life: ATE IT UP

36. Without exception: BAR NONE

37. Blue pool target: TWO BALL. Billiard. It's blue.

38. Image adjusters: PR FIRMS. Nice clue.

39. Casablanca locale: MOROCCO

40. Pro's opposite: AMATEUR

44. Golden Crinkles maker: ORE-IDA. Portmanteau of Ore(gon) + Ida(ho).

52. Monopolize: HOG

53. Magnum et al.: Abbr.: PIS (Private Investigators).

54. Unaffiliated: Abbr.: IND (Independent)

55. Want-ad abbr.: EEO. Penned in EOE first. Three consecutive abbrs. Not SAPID at all.

Should you have time, read this SAPID defintion Annette linked yesterday. Do click on "How I Met My Wife", a big hit last time when Jazzbumpa brought to the blog.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Jan 1, 2010

Friday January 1, 2010 Andy E. Sawyer

Theme: Happy New Year! - The first words of three familiar phrases are Scottish-ized and together they form the song title "Auld Lang Syne".

20A. Steamy Western attraction, today?: AULD (Old) FAITHFUL. Old Faithful Geyser is in Yellowstone National Park. Why is "Western" capitalized in the clue?

36A. Airport convenience, today?: LANG (Long) TERM PARKING

52A. "I wouldn't have said this, but ...," today?: SYNE (Since) YOU ASKED. "Syne" is Scottish for "since".

Quite simple a theme concept, which resulted in sparse numbers of theme answers I suppose. But also plenty of long & lively non-theme fill.

I am very fond of the "it" clues in the grid:

2D. It sucks: VACUUM

33D. The one who started it: AGGRESSOR

45D. It turns litmus paper blue: ALKALI

How is your solving experience today? I felt it's an easier Friday than our recent offerings. Still had to cheat though.

Across:

1. "Variations on 'America'" composer: IVES (Charles). Wikipedia says he is widely regarded as one of the first American composers of international significance. I was stumped.

5. Hurry: RACE

9. Lit: AFIRE

14. Cantata composer: BACH. "Fugue composer" too.

15. Birds that lay green eggs: EMUS. Yep, their eggs are dark green. Edible, right, Kazie?

16. Activist with Raiders: NADER (Ralph). Dader's Raiders.

17. Behold, to Brutus: ECCE. "ECCE homo" (Behold the Man).

18. Hot flower: MOLTEN LAVA. Need to parse "flow-er" here as things that flow.

22. Oaty cereal: MUESLI. Not to my taste.

23. Chose not to discuss now: TABLED

27. '70s Citroën models: SMS. Have never heard of Citroën SM. What does SM stand for?

28. JFK, LBJ, etc.: INITS. Can't mislead me into Democrats/Presidents abbr. any more.

32. Muhammad's daughter: LAILA

33. San __ Fault: ANDREAS. Just learned that the San Francisco 1906 earthquake ruptured along the San Andreas Fault.

35. Scratch: CLAW. Oh, scratch from cat.

40. Designing first name: OLEG (Cassini). Designer for Jackie Kennedy.

41. Complains: REPINES. New word to me. Same root as opine, I presume.

42. '60s attorney general Ramsey __: CLARK. Under LBJ. I remember the brouhaha surrounding his defense of Saddam.

44. Lightheaded: GIDDY

45. 1977 Grammy-winning Steely Dan album: AJA. Pronounced like "Asia". Jeannie's favorite album.

48. Out: ASLEEP. Got me. Great clue.

50. "CSI" set: DNA LAB

56. Probably not a teacher's pet: CLASS CLOWN. Thought of Dennis.

59. Prego alternative: RAGU

60. Asian capital: HANOI. Vietnam's capital.

62. Lighting svc.: ELEC. Have never seen "service" abbreviated as svc before.

63. Embellish: ADORN

64. Get smart with: SASS

65. Gossip: DIRT

Down:

1. Steel girders: I-BEAMS

3. Bk. after Proverbs: ECCLES. And ESTH (8D. Bible bk. named for an orphaned maiden). Bible books are my weak points, that's for sure.

4. Gets rid of: SHEDS

5. What's left: REMAINDER. Wrote down REMAINING.

6. Pierre's possessive: A MOI. French for "mine". Alliteration.

7. Religious offshoot: CULT. Wanted SECT.

9. Like many awards: ANNUAL

10. Alternative plans: FALLBACKS

11. Wash. neighbor: IDA. In my mind, Idaho is full of potato fields.

12. Gun in a garage: REV. Gun/Rev your engine. I was picturing the real gun.

13. Important time: ERA

19. Terrestrial newt: EFT. Young newt.

21. City where General Motors was founded: FLINT (Michigan)

24. "Hi-__ Hi-Lo": LILI. The song was featured in Leslie Caron's "Lili". Have never heard of it before.

25. Vivacity: ELAN

26. Deputy __: cartoon canine: DAWG. Easy guess.

29. Discount store abbr.: IRREG

30. Allegro et al.: TEMPI

31. Pleasing to the palate: SAPID. This word sure does not look tasty.

34. Areas for buggies: SAND DUNES. Obtained the answer from crosses.

36. Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida __": LOCA. Great song.

37. "__ fair in ...": ALL'S. All's fair in love and war.

38. C&W singer McCoy: NEAL. Here is his "Wink". Alien to me.

39. Former U.S. soccer team captain Claudio: REYNA. Nope, sorry. Don't follow soccer.

43. Adds to the database: KEYS IN

46. Predatory seabird: JAEGER. How do you pronounce this bird: YEY-ger or JEY-ger?

47. Kidnap: ABDUCT

49. __ Park: Pirates' stadium: PNC. Named after PNC Bank.

51. Comparable to a beet: AS RED. As red as a beet.

53. Skull and Bones members: ELIS. George W Bush was a member, so was his father.

54. Star Wars character who uses strange syntax: YODA. "Do or do not. There is no try".

55. Night fliers: OWLS

56. Chinese tea: CHA. Yes, literally "tea".

57. Boy: LAD

58. Spanish year: ANO. ¡Felíz año nuevo!

In his letter to constructors yesterday about Dan Naddor's passing, Rich Norris said: "... Dan was one of my favorites, a fun and imaginative guy to work with. I will miss him. His unique style, creativity, energy and willingness to learn were assets that catapulted him to the top echelon of the puzzle constructors since his 2006 debut. In the three-plus years that followed, the LA times published more than 100 of his puzzles. His legacy will live on through much of 2010: there are quite a few more of his puzzles to be edited and published over the coming months ..." A tough loss for Rich too.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Dec 31, 2009

Thursday, December 31, 2009 Bill Thompson

Theme: CATCH (65A. Verb associated with the beginnings of 18-, 26-, 43- and 57-Across)

18A. Impossible to get close to: COLD AS ICE. Catch a Cold.

26A. Surrender: WAVE A WHITE FLAG. Catch a Wave.

43A. "Jerry Maguire" catchphrase: SHOW ME THE MONEY. Catch a Show.

57A. Right-click result, often: POP-UP MENU. Catch a Pop-up (fly ball).

I like how CATCH is gridded at the very end, providing the ultimate "Aha" moment. And of course, at my solving level, I'd prefer the unifying clue to be "Seize, or verb associated with the beginnings of 18-, 26-, 43- and 57-Across).

Was surprised to see VETCH (28D. Climbing legume). I faintly remember Lemonade mentioned that this plant often appeared in his parents' old old NYT puzzles. No relationship to kvetch.

A bit of slog for me. I was not engaged and did not give the puzzle its deserved attention. Still in shock and saddened by the news of Dan Naddor. His family told me that Dan passed away on the eve of Dec 28, 2009, from the complications of the cancer treatment (radiation to head/neck). He was considered cancer-free.

Dan began constructing crosswords 5 years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer at the back of his throat at the age of 48. He quickly became probably the most prolific LAT constructor in the last few years. He told me constructing crossword distracted his brain so he would not focus on how lousy he felt physically. He family believed that this prolonged his life and gave him something to strive for & enjoy. Dan enjoyed reading our comments and "entertaining my friends each week in puzzle-land".

His family have started a Facebook page under Dan Naddor and said the crossword people are welcome to visit and post. They also mentioned that he had several puzzles on queue in LA Times and NY Times, so we will see his byline in 2010. Dan, you will be deeply missed!

Across:

1. Sluglike "Star Wars" crime lord: JABBA. Jabba the Hutt. Scrabbly corner.

6. Sound from someone who's down: SOB

9. Legal orders: WRITS

14. To go, in Grenoble: ALLER. French for "go". Grenoble is a city in SE France.

15. Supermarket chain founded in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: IGA (Independent Grocers Alliance). Obtained the answer with the crosses.

16. Wore: HAD ON

17. Scrabble 10-pointer: Z TILE

20. Lifetime-guaranteed lighters: ZIPPOS. Did quite a bit of Intellectual Property investigation for Zippo in China.

22. Soft drink choice: DIET COKE

23. Out of balance: A-LOP. Yep, it exists in some dictionary Argyle checked last time.

25. __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone: LIA. Lia Fáil is pronounced like "Lee-a Fall". Had a ton of DF fun in the old TMS Daily puzzle.

33. Having a lot to lose, maybe?: OBESE. The clue sounds very Dan Naddor, doesn't it?

34. "Waiting for Lefty" playwright: ODETS (Clifford)

35. Mme. in Madrid: SRA

37. Beach toy: KITE. PAIL too.

38. Circle Line : Hudson :: Bateaux-Mouches : __: SEINE. Bateaux-Mouches ("Fly Boats". Bateaux = boats. Mounches = Flies) are open excursion boats that provide visitors to Paris with a view of the city from along the river Seine, a la Wikipedia.

39. Smart guy?: ALEC. Smart Alec.

40. Wall St. enforcer: SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)

41. Wooden shoe: SABOT. Same root as sabotage, according to Kazie.

42. Send, so to speak: ELATE. Slangy "send", right?

46. Moo goo __ pan: GAI. Gai is literally "chicken" in Cantonese.

47. Apartment manager, for short: SUPE. Only in crossword world.

48. Lark: ESCAPADE. One of my favorite entries in this grid.

53. Indiana and Purdue, e.g.: RIVALS. Oh, I was unaware of this fact. Don't follow college sports.

59. Knot over: RETIE

60. Spitting __: IMAGE

61. Oven cleaner component: LYE

62. "__, Therefore I Am": Dennis Miller book: I RANT. See the book cover. New to me. Dennis Miller does rant a lot though.

63. Checked out before a heist: CASED

64. Nonexpert: LAY. Wrote down HAM first.

Down:

1. Cat's passion: JAZZ. Cool cat jazz.

2. Some glee club members: ALTI. Plural of alto?

4. Semi-soft Italian cheese: BEL PAESE. Literally "Beautiful Country" in Italian. I've never had it.

5. Anatomical rings: AREOLAE. Singular is Areola: Are(a) + Ola. The nipple rings.

6. [thus]: SIC. [error left as is].

7. Common prayer opening: O GOD. Not O LORD?

8. Island in the Java Sea: BALI

9. Hypotheticals: WHAT IFS

10. Imp: RASCAL

11. Personal: Pref.: IDIO. Or "Peculiar: Pref". As in idiosyncrasy.

12. Pendulum sound: TOCK. Tick too.

13. Bygone dagger: SNEE. Learned from doing crossword.

24. "Friends" friend: PHOEBE. "Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat ...".

26. Stir-fry cookware: WOKS

27. "__ Irish Rose": ABIE'S. Abie is Irish Rose's lover.

29. Nincompoop: IDIOT

30. Tithe portions: TENTHS

31. Narnia lion: ASLAN. Turkish for "lion". I've never seen "The Chronicles of Narnia". The "Born Free" lioness is ELSA.

32. Norwegian marathoner Waitz: GRETE. This lady won a record nine-time New York City Marathon. Not a familiar name to me at all. Is Grete pronounced like "great"?

36. __-deucy: ACEY. Guessed.

38. "I do not like them, __": Seuss line: SAM-I-AM. From "Green Eggs and Ham".

39. Medicinal plant: ALOE VERA

41. Traded: SWAPPED

42. Derived from observation: EMPIRIC. John Locke is the founder of Empiricism.

44. Model railroad scale: O GAUGE. Or O SCALE. We had this clue before.

45. Part of EEC: Abbr.: EUR. EEC = European Economic Community

48. Like "Lawrence of Arabia": EPIC

49. Vedic drink for an immortal soul: SOMA. The drug in "Brave New World".

50. Balancing experts, briefly?: CPAS. Nailed it.

51. Valley: DELL

52. One-named New Age singer: ENYA

54. Rat tail?: A TAT. Rat-a-tat. Good clue.

55. Friend of Pete and Julie on "The Mod Squad": LINC

56. Brother of Abel: SETH. Broth of Cain too.

58. One-eighty: UEY. Slang for U-turn?

Answer grid.

C.C.

Dec 30, 2009

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 Dan Naddor

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

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

22A. Wedding hiree: PHOTOGRAPHER

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

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

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

Nice "driving" rya Dan weaved in the clues:

30A. Driveway surface: GRAVEL

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

30D. Driving hazard: GLARE

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

Across:

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

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

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

14. Words after complete or close: A SALE

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

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

20. Like mozzarella: SEMI-SOFT

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

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

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

29. Lake near Niagara Falls: ERIE

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

39. Jerusalem temple site: ZION. Hence Zionism?

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

43. Foul: SMELLY

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

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

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

58. Absorbed the loss: ATE IT

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

60. Shoppe sign word: OLDE

61. Jr.-year exams: PSATS

Down:

1. Knocks: RAPS

3. Hurt badly: MAIM. Ouch!

4. Orbital shape: ELLIPSE

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

6. Up in the air: ALOFT

7. Aware of: HIP TO

10. Surgeon's tool: SCALPEL

11. Contents of some arks: TORAHS

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

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

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

24. Speak wildly: RAVE

25. Lockheed product: JET

26. Tram filler: ORE

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

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

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

36. Campaign hustler, for short: POL

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

39. Gung-ho types: ZEALOTS

40. Involuntary contractions: SPASMS. Cramps too.

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

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

43. Ocean traveler: SHIP

44. Accident: MISHAP

46. London insurance pioneer: LLOYD

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

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

52. Ballpark figs.: ESTS (Estimates)

54. Veteran: PRO

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

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

Answer grid.

C.C.

Dec 29, 2009

Tuesday, December 29, 2009 Julian Lim

Theme: "On a Roll" - Progressively better bowling scores.

20A: Panhandler's request: "SPARE CHANGE?". Knocking all the pins down with two tries.

27A: Hit the mother lode: STRIKE IT RICH. All the pins fall with one try.

48A: Certain tour bus: DOUBLE DECKER. Two strikes in a row.

58A: Easy job, in slang: TURKEY SHOOT. Three strikes in a row.

Argyle here. This puzzle must be right up Boomer's alley. A good step up in difficulty from Monday. A new constructor for us, too. One problem: 35A: Object of a doctor's office phobia: NEEDLE. so close to 41A: Demur: OBJECT.

Turkey shoot: (This is the best description I found and I believe it is true. They use paper targets these days.) "In the old days they would put a live turkey (with a foot tied to the ground) behind a large log. They would scatter corn on the ground and as the turkey pecked at the corn his head would appear and disappear behind the log. Each participant(for a fee) would be given a shot (with a rifle). If you hit the turkey you claimed the bird."

Across:

1A: Tibetan capital: LHASA. Lhasa Apso

6A: Winged stinger: WASP.

10A: Tool in a wood shop: ADZE. A tool used to square-up beams, not often inside a shop.

15A: "At last it's clear!": "I SEE!". "D'oh!"

17A: Kiri Te Kanawa specialties: ARIAS. Born: March 6, 1944 - Gisborne, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island. The Maori soprano, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, is the adopted daughter of an Irish mother and Maori father and had a highly successful international opera career between 1968–2004. Not an aria, I believe.

18A: "Beautiful Girls" singer Kingston: SEAN. Sean Kingston (born 1990) is a Jamaican-American reggae fusion singer and rapper. He is best known for his debut single and #1 hit Beautiful Girls.

23A: New Orleans-to-Detroit dir.: NNE.

24A: Anacin Aspirin Free competitor: TYLENOL.

25A: Parking places: CURBS. Who started "kicked to the curb"?

31A: Third deg.?: PHD. After your B.A. and your Master's, you get your Doctorate.

34A: Invitation encl.: SASE. Self-Addressed,Stamped Envelope.

36A: Cathedral cross: ROOD. The rood from the website of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Reading, England

38A: Coll. helpers: TAS. Teaching Assistants

40A: Gradually disappear, with "off": WEAR.

51A: Oliver who directed "W.": STONE. Also directed...Platoon (1986), Wall Street (1987), Talk Radio (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989),The Doors (1991), JFK (1991)...to name a few.

52A: They may be tossed in an Easter contest: RAW EGGS.

62. Not at all bored: RAPT.

63. Piglet's creator: MILNE.

65. List-ending abbr.: ET AL..

66. Former forest near the River Avon: ARDEN. The Forest of Arden is stated by Shakespeare to be the setting for As You Like It.

68. Voluptuous: SEXY. Big can be beautiful .

Down:

1D: Minimum: LEAST.

2D: Shrew: HARPY. In classical mythology, harpies are a lot worse than just a shrew. Harpies

3D: Sans serif font: ARIAL. No curlicues.

4D: Catches: SNARES.

5D: Green lights: ASSENTS. Give the "go ahead".

6D: Letter to Santa, e.g.: WISH LIST. Done for another year.

8D: Medium session?: SEANCE.

9D: Umbrella-toting "Batman" villain: PENGUIN. Danny DeVito as "The PENGUIN"

11D: Drawbacks: DOWNSIDES.

12D: Utah national park: ZION.

13D: Alternatively: ELSE.

21D: Julius Dithers's wife, in "Blondie": CORA. Mr. Dithers is Dagwood's boss.

22D: Art Deco designer: ERTE.

28D: "The Family Circus" cartoonist Bil: KEANE.

30D: Rescuer, often: HERO. As in the movie with Dustin Hoffman. Good film.

31D: Cajole: PROD.

32D: Vagabond: HOBO. The HOBO does get around lately.

33D: Appreciate properly: DO JUSTICE.

37D: Borrowing consequence: DEBT. But if you're big enough, you don't have to pay the consequences. What a country!

39D: How plots are planned: SECRETLY.

43D: Lengths of service: TENURES.

45D: "Sounds good!": "OKAY!".

46D: One working on columns: NEWSMAN.

49D: Lower the assessed electrical capability of: DERATE. The clue is almost word for word from the dictionary.

50D: Bring back to the firm: REHIRE.

53D: Meir of Israel: GOLDA. Elected Prime Minister of Israel, 1969 until 1974.

54D: One surrounded by the enemy, maybe: GONER. But only maybe, if he is the star of the film.

55D: Old British guns: STENS.

57D: Word with sign or strategy: EXIT.

59D: 2001 Spacey film: K-PAX.

61D: Work on a seam: SEW.

There won't be Answer Grid until C.C.'s computer is fixed. Should you have any question, please feel free to go to the Comments section and ask.

Argyle

Dec 28, 2009

Monday, December 28, 2009 Sharon E. Petersen

Theme: Pals of Snell - Common S?ELL patterned word leads off each theme answer.

20A: React to one's child's achievement, say: SWELL WITH PRIDE.

25A: Retail establishment with a mollusk feature as its logo: SHELL STATION.

43A: Word processing feature: SPELL CHECKER.

50A: Imminent winner's whiff: SMELL OF VICTORY.

Those are all the S?ELL patterned common words you can find in a dictionary, I believe. Or can you think of something else?

Argyle here. Four entries but still a weak theme. Ah, it's a Monday. 7 K's though.

Across:

1A: "Outta my way!": "MOVE!". Rude start for a Monday.

9A: Place to store firewood: SHED.

13A: Cereal "for kids": TRIX.

14A: Burstyn of "The Exorcist": ELLEN. She played the part of the mother, Chris MacNeil.

16A: Golf shirt: POLO.

17A: Prez's next-in-command: VEEP.

18A: Most-preferred invitees: A-LIST.

19A: "__ and Away": Fifth Dimension hit: UP, UP.

23A: Gimlet garnish: LIME. Four parts gin, one part sweetened lime juice. Mix and serve. Garnish with a slice of lime.

24A: Beau's dozen: ROSES. Who doesn't like roses? And 31A: Treat for Pooh: HONEY. Who doesn't like honey? Honey Roses

32A: Award nominations, e.g.: NODS.

33A: Sasha, to Malia: SIS. The Presidential kids.

36A: Nursery school song opener: A B C D.

37A: Frozen waffles: EGGOS.

39A: Pain in the neck: KINK.

40A: Wednesday's child is full of it: WOE.

41A: Haggard's "__ from Muskogee": OKIE. One for you country lovers.

42A: Fab Four member: RINGO.

46A: Columbus's Santa __: MARIA.

49A: Jeopardy: RISK.

56A: All's opposite: NONE. (All or none.)

57A: Jail, slangily: CLINK.

58A: Body fuel: FOOD. And 60A: Fiber source: BRAN.

61A: Argentine dance: TANGO.

62A: Actress Dunaway: FAYE.

63A: Boston hoopster, for short: CELT.

64A: Calendar row: WEEK.

65A: Tobogganer's need: SNOW. Got the snow, need the toboggan.

Down:

1D: "The Osbournes" airer: MTV. No link (I just couldn't do it.)

3D: Panorama: VIEW.

4D: Kicked out of school: EXPELLED.

5D: Spheres of influence: REALMS.

6D: Totally wrong: ALL WET. The original allusion in this expression is unclear, that is, how moisture or dampness is related to wrongness. Here's a theory. The newly born of most species are "all wet." So maybe it means ignorant, born yesterday.

7D: The year 1052: MLII.

8D: Mosquito, e.g.: PEST.

9D: Urge forward: SPUR ON.

10D: Pueblo dwellers: HOPIS. A scene

11D: Sidestep: ELUDE.

12D: Lunkheads: DOPES.

21D: Bell-shaped bloom: LILY.

25D: "Rich Man, Poor Man" novelist Irwin: SHAW. "Rich Man, Poor Man" was a 1976 miniseries that aired on ABC in one-hour episodes a week for twelve weeks. It was produced by Universal Television and was the first time programming of this nature had been attempted. It proved to be a critical and ratings success and was the forerunner for similar projects based on literary works, such as "Roots" and "Brideshead Revisited".

26D: Bum kin: HOBO. Another bum heard from.

27D: Suffix with exist: ENCE. (existence)

28D: Celestial messenger: ANGEL.

30D: Bouncer's requests, briefly: IDS.

33D: Hole, as a putt: SINK.

34D: "Picnic" playwright: INGE. William Inge (1913-1973). "Picnic" earned him a Pulitzer Prize (1953).

35D: Hershey's toffee bar: SKOR. Watch your teeth when you bite into one of these!

38D: Hodges of the Dodgers: GIL. Major league debut was October 3, 1943 for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

39D: Football openers: KICKOFFS. A different kind of football opener

43D: Like the "h" in honor: SILENT.

44D: Shrink in fear: CRINGE.

45D: "Wild" West lawman: HICKOK. Wild Bill Hickok really existed although some of his exploits are fictionalized.

46D: 24-hr. TV news source: MSNBC.

47D: Leonardo's love: AMORE. Italian.

52D: Imperfection: FLAW.

53D: Plant with tendrils: VINE.

54D: Mottled equine: ROAN.

55D: Cellist __ Ma: YO-YO.

59D: Dawn drops: DEW.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Dec 27, 2009

Sunday December 27, 2009 Barry Silk & Doug Peterson

Theme: And Another Thing ... - "And Another Thing" is inserted into two-word common phrases, creating theme answers which start with a " __ and __" familiar phrase.

23A. Result of a battle of bighorns?: BLACK AND BLUE SHEEP. "And Blue" is inserted into Black Sheep. Black and Blue. Bighorns are wild sheep. The clue is playing on "Battle of the Little Bighorns".

38A. Fire alarm during kindergarten?: SHOW AND TELL STOPPER. "And Tell" is squeezed into Show Stopper. Show and Tell.

56A. Attracting outdoorsy readers, say?: FIELD AND STREAM GOAL. "And Stream" is popped into Field Goal. "Field and Stream" is an outdoor magazine. Unknown to me.

77A. Crustacean with an electric guitar?: ROCK AND ROLL LOBSTER. "And Roll" is injected into Rock Lobster. Rock and Roll.

94A. Web site security expert?: POINT AND CLICK GUARD. "And Click" is embedded into Point Guard. Point and Click.

115A. Kids' puppet show script?: PUNCH AND JUDY LINES. "And Judy" is set into Punch Lines. I've never heard of the puppet show "Punch and Judy".

Barry (Phillies fan) and Doug (Yankees fan), also sprinkled a few baseball references in the grid:

26A. One of Rose's 4,256: HIT. Pete Rose. A record 4,256 hits.

63A. "Baseball is 90% mental; the other half is physical" speaker: BERRA (Yogi). Yankees' #8. Mantle wore #7.

40D. D.C. ball team: NATS. Washington Nationals. NL East.

66D. Minute Maid Park team: ASTROS. Houston Astros. NL Central.

Lots of proper names in this grid, no? Fortunately most of them have become gimmes to me. But I definitely needed the cheat cheat for a few hard crossings.

Fun puzzle. I was amused by the theme answers and slapped my head hard several times after grokking the tricky clues. Precious "D'oh" moments!

Across:

1. Escher Museum site, with "The": HAGUE. Escher is a Dutch painter.

6. Rolls: WADS. Money rolls.

10. Like Mr. Magoo: MYOPIC

16. Capital of Slovakia?: ESS. The capitalized letter of Slovakia.

19. When many return from lunch: AT ONE. Wanted ONE PM.

20. Vision: IDEA

21. Symphony originally dedicated to Napoleon: EROICA. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3.

22. Ball support: TEE. Golf ball.

27. Province in northern Finland: LAPLAND. No idea. See this map. It's also a regions stretching across N Norway & N Sweden.

28. It's pitched: TENT. Would be a nice clue for IDEA too.

29. Holds on to: RETAINS

31. Fishing, maybe: ASEA.

34. Apple's G4, e.g.: IMAC

37. "See ya!": I'M OFF

44. Search uncertainly: GROPE. Bet it's a gimme for President Clinton. He's a pretty good crossword solver.

47. Cross shapes: TAUS

48. Talked nonstop: RAN ON

49. Martinique, e.g.: ILE

50. Lever with a blade: OAR. Did not come to me readily.

51. Selling points: ASSETS

54. Madagascar tree climber: LEMUR. Madagascar & LEMUR. Crossword pair.

55. Commanded: BADE

60. Elided greeting: 'ELLO. In Cockney. Letter H is omitted.

61. Car wash option: WAX

67. Hoarse: RASPING. RASPY is a much better answer.

69. Ballroom that made the Lindy Hop famous: SAVOY. Stumper. Sounds quite storied.

71. Brimless caps: BEANIES

73. "The Avengers" guy: STEED (John). Emma Peel is the only character I know of "The Avengers".

75. Many a joke involves one: PUN. Many times I simply don't get others' joke.

83. Budget rival: AVIS. Car rental.

87. Colorado county or its seat: PUEBLO. The answer emerged itself.

88. Psyche component: EGO

89. Top: LID

91. Proceed: WEND. Do you actually use this word in your daily conversation?

92. Surveyor's units: ACRES. Wanted PLOTS.

99. Alleged Soviet spy Hiss: ALGER. Alleged? I thought he's a real spy.

101. Alien's course: Abbr.: ESL (English as a Second Language). I always connect aliens with illegal immigrants though.

102. Lackluster: DRAB

106. Unfinished framework: CARCASS. Not a familiar defintion to me.

112. "The Disrobing of Christ" painter: EL GRECO. Spanish painter. "The Disrobing of Christ" is one of his best known works.

114. Follower's suffix: ITE. Penned in IST.

119. Rejections: NOS

120. Gerald Ford, by birth: OMAHAN. Thought he was born somewhere in Michigan.

121. Players: CAST. Theatrical players.

122. Racing paths: OVALS

123. Places for organ repairs, briefly: ORS (Operation Rooms)

124. Apartment restriction: NO PETS. Allergy is such a big problem for many.

126. Secure, as a nautical rope: BELAY. Can never remember this word.

Down:

1. "Aquí se ____ español": HABLA. "Speak" in Spainish.

2. Travel guide: ATLAS

3. Have a cow, so to speak: GO APE

4. Open, as a large envelope: UNCLASP

5. Reggae star __-Mouse: EEK-A. Named after the race horse he always bet on, according to Wikipedia. It appeared in our puzzle before.

6. Teller's spot: WINDOW

7. Say "Furthermore ...," say: ADD

8. Collector's item?: DEBT. The question mark did not preclude me from thinking of (baseball) card.

9. Discount event: SALE

10. Tryster's request: MEET ME

12. "I'm impressed!": OOH. I always say "Wow!"

14. Slush Puppie maker: ICEE

15. Something that may help you get the picture?: CAPTION. Excellent clue. I bet camera crossed everyone's mind.

16. Kenya neighbor: ETHIOPIA

17. Its 5/14/1998 final episode was seen by 76 million viewers: SEINFELD. "The Soup Nazi" is my favorite episode.

18. Liberates: SETS FREE

24. Monument word: ANNO. Would be ESTD if there were an abbr. hint.

25. Army divisions: UNITS

30. Band piece: AMP. Music band. And HEAD (39D. Spot for a band). Headband.

33. For adults only: RATED X

35. "So soon?": ALREADY

36. Cold and moist: CLAMMY

41. Bookshelf buildup: DUST. Just had MOTE ("Dust unit") yesterday.

43. Company that acquired Lawn-Boy in 1989: TORO. Easy guess.

44. Errand runners: GOFERS

45. Bawl out: RAIL AT

46. Implicit warning: OR ELSE. It's a rather explicit warning to me.

52. Cut: SAWN. Past participle "cut".

53. Glitch: SNAG

54. "Leading With My Chin" author: LENO (Jay).

57. Horses running leisurely: LOPERS

58. Actress Kim of "24": RAVER. Total stranger to me.

59. Org. concerned with suits: ABA. Lawsuits.

65. Weasel out: RENEGE

68. Part of a mating ritual: I DO. And PLEDGE (75D. 68-Down, for one). "Mating ritual" sounds very DF.

69. Basking locale: SUN DECK

70. "What Women Want" actor: ALDA (Alan). Red roses, and the man I love.

71. Cluster of cloves: BULB

72. Organic compound: ENOL

74. Got by: MADE DO

78. Pet with green fur?: CHIA

79. "Ol' Man River" composer: KERN. Hi, Jerome!

80. Gp. that includes Iran and Ecuador: OPEC

81. Muttonhead: LUNK. Not lunkhead?

82. Tusked animal: BOAR

83. "Ocean's Thirteen" actor: AL PACINO. I love "Ocean's Eleven" the most.

84. Lawbreaker, e.g.: VIOLATOR

85. Acknowledgement of a deviation, usually after "but": I DIGRESS. Great fill.

90. Attach, in a way: STRAP ON

93. PC component: CD DRIVE

95. Tokyo-based computer giant: NEC. Three letter Japanese company name, what else could it be?

96. 24 Hours of __: annual auto race: LE MANS. Same as Grand Prix, isn't it?

97. Comfortable with: USED TO

98. Confederate: ALLY

103. Of the kidneys: RENAL

104. Northeast express train: ACELA. Wikipedia says the name "Acela" is meant to be evocative of acceleration and excellence.

105. Everycow: BOSSY. Nickname for a cow. Is "Everycow" a real word?

107. Sport for big grapplers: SUMO

108. Piece of cake: SNAP

110. L x XXXIV: MDCC. 50 x 34 = 1700

111. City near Santa Barbara: OJAI (OH-high). Native Indian for "Valley of the Moon." I peeked at the cheat sheet.

113. Squishy lump: GLOB

116. Argentinian Marxist: CHE. Thought he was Cuban.

117. It may be passed or tipped: HAT. Nice clue.

118. TNT alternative: USA

Answer grid.

C.C.

Dec 26, 2009

Saturday December 26, 2009 Michael Wiesenberg

Theme: None

Total blocks: 31

Total words: 72

This grid is framed by a pair of triple stacked 15-letter two-word answers at the top and bottom:

1A. Medieval castle feature: SPIRAL STAIRCASE. Nice entry. Good visual imagery.

16A. Harding's Laddie Boy, for one: AIREDALE TERRIER. Originated in Airedale, England. Laddie Boy was President Harding's dog. Stumped me.

17A. Health club option: PERSONAL TRAINER

59A. With "The," 1958 Hudson/Stack movie about a former WWI ace: TARNISHED ANGELS. See this poster. I've never heard of the movie.

63A. Longtime pal: OLD ACQUAINTANCE. My favorite fill today.

64A. Christianity dominates it: WESTERN RELIGION. Buddhism dominates Eastern religion. Hinduism too, I suppose, considering the number of followers in India.

Hard workout for me. Only penned in a few short entries on my first try. Then I gnawed and gnawed. Was amazed by how much I actually filled in before peeking at the cheat sheet.

Across:

19. Indicates: SAYS. Wanted CUES.

20. Asian holidays: TETS. Only in Vietnam.

21. Univ. awards: DEGS (Degrees)

23. Risked: STAKED

26. Actor Harris et al.: EDS. I liked him in "Stepmom".

29. Three-time A.L. MVP: A-ROD. Finally got his World Series ring.

30. Help a checker: BAG. Checker here refers to cashier, right?

33. Gamblers' mecca: MONTE CARLO. Las Vegas too.

37. Composer Bartók: BELA. Hungarian.

38. Barhopping: ON A TOOT. New phrase to me.

39. Some specials: ENTREES. Excellent clue.

41. Uproar: TO-DO. Nice crossing with SET-TO (22D. Tiff). We also have ADOS (5D. Fusses).

42. Gadget largely pooh-poohed by men until the 20th century: WRISTWATCH. Was unaware of this fact. How silly.

44. Dubbed period: ERA. I rather like this new clue.

45. Russian pancake: BLIN. Only know the plural blini.

46. Oldest child in the comic strip "Baby Blues": ZOE. Tough crossing with KOONTZ (25D. Dean of horror). I knew neither of them.

47. Under-the-sink item: SOS PAD. Yeah, I store mine under the sink.

53. Open end?: TOED. Open-toed (shoes).

55. "Do or do not. There is no try" speaker: YODA. From "Star Wars".

58. Miss out?: DEB (Debutante). "Miss" here is a noun. I was not fooled.

Down:

1. Tasty: SAPID. This word sure doesn't sound tasty. Maybe I am influenced by tepid.

2. See 40-Down: PIECE. And TWO (40D. With 2-Down, like a bikini).

3. Not std.: IRREG. IRR appears in grids more often.

4. They precede mis: RES. Scale notes. Do, Re, Mi ...

6. Turner, for one: LANA. Lana Turner.

7. Really cracks up: SLAYS

8. Launch of 1962: TELSTAR. Just learned that NASA was only established in 1958.

9. 1-800-CALL-__: rival of 1-800-COLLECT: AT & T

10. Cash add-on: IER. Cashier.

11. Violent, probably: R-RATED

13. Frowned-upon contraction: AIN'T. Widely used though.

14. Views: SEES

24. City that inspired van Gogh: ARLES. Absolutely love his "Bedroom in Arles".

27. __ gratias: DEO. Latin for "thanks to God".

28. Glares: SCOWLS

30. Sugar source: BEET. Pickled beet is very tasty, so is pickled herring.

31. Pollster Gallup: ALEC. Did not know Gallup's given name. So now we've had Elmo Roper and John Zogby, all pollsters.

32. Razor cut, maybe: GASH. Did not come to me readily.

33. Dust unit: MOTE

34. Words before before: ON OR. Was this a gimme to you?

35. Zilch: NADA

36. Anchor position: ATRIP. Just clear off the bottom. Learned from doing Xword.

37. Highland hillsides: BRAES

43. Next Christmas: IN A YEAR. Not really fond of this clue, despite its Christmas connection.

45. Dirndl part: BODICE

47. Gérard Larcher is its current president: SENAT. French Senate. Don't think Gérard Larcher is well known outside France.

48. Stevens who sang "Pink Shoe Laces" (1959): DODIE. No idea. Here is the clip. Wikipedia says she's only 13 when she recorded the song.

50. Certain Arabian Peninsula native: ADENI. Oh, the native of Aden is Adeni.

51. Car battery pioneer: DELCO. Unknown to me also. It stands for Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co.

52. "Barnaby Jones" star: EBSEN (Buddy). Recognized his face only when I googled him.

53. Account: TALE

54. Traffic regs., e.g.: ORDS (Ordinances)

56. Twain's jumping frog: DAN'L (Webster). Completely foreign to me. Why Dan'l instead of Daniel?

57. Like contrarians: ANTI

59. Auto club service: TOW

60. Plaza abbr.: SQR. Square?

61. Vandal: HUN. Like Attila.

62. Choke or joke: GAG. Superb clue. Nice rhyme.