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.

Sunday October 5, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: Let's Face It

23A: Offer no resistance: TURN THE OTHER CHEEK

34A: All talk and no action: LIP SERVICE

42A: Old: LONG IN THE TOOTH

66A: Avoid danger like an ostrich? BURY ONE'S HEAD IN THE SAND

86A: Ideal of perfection: APPLE OF ONE'S EYE

96A: No time for photographs? BAD HAIR DAY

111A: Be way overcharged: PAY THROUGH THE NOSE

I always thought APPLE OF ONE'S EYE means something/somebody one loves and treasures. Besides, IDEAL is the answer for 37A: Perfect example. So I am not fond of 86A clue.

I've never heard of OMER (104A: Hebrew harvest month) before. But it's not really a Hebrew month, isn't it?

I dislike the clue for APRICOT (Peachlike fruit). Nectarine looks like peach, APRICOT? No!

The clue for ADIEU (19A: Farewell, mon amour) made me laugh. If you clue it as "mon amour", why don't you clue RIEN (36D: Nice nothing?) as Edith Piaf's "Non, je ne regrette RIEN"? Or better yet, clue SES (88D: His, in Hyeres) as Pascal's "Le coeur a SES raisons..."? We can launch a whole new discussion about love & reason today.

Great puzzle though, very nice theme concept and great execution. I think I like having 7 theme entries (all Across fills) for a Sunday 21*21. It requires longer theme answers and makes the grid look simpler and prettier. Oh, by the way, nearly all of quip/quote puzzles have their theme answers structured in the across clues.

As usual, I had to google. Some of the names are too obscure to me. But I only used Liquid Paper a few times, so I must be getting better.

Across:

16A: Dawber of "Mork and Mindy": PAM. I like her BANGS (60D: Forehead cover).

20A: Dishevel: TOUSLE

22A: Troy, NY sch.: RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). I can never remember this name. Wiki says it's "the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world". Which university is the oldest in the world, Cambridge?

27A: Initials of the "Wizard of Menlo Park": TAE. A stands for ALVA.

29A: Hodges of baseball: GIL. Gimme. He was the manager for the 1969 Miracle METS (63D: Queens Nine).

41A: Ex-quarterback Boomer: ESIASON. No idea. Only knew him as Boomer.

50A: Roman galleys: BIREMES. Another unknown. See this picture. It has two tiers of oars on each side.

51A: Baltimore player: RAVEN. Or the "Nevermore" bird.

53A: Liquid appetizers: APERITIFS. I've never had ouzo, have you?

57A: "Woman Drying Her Feet" painter: DEGAS. OK, here is the painting. He painted so many "After the Bath" scenes.

62A: Larry McMurtry western, "Streets of ___": LAREDO. I forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before.

63A: Grayish violet shades: MAUVE. I like this James Whistler line: "MAUVE is just pink trying to be purple". You'll find Whistler's Mother at Musée d'Orsay also.

65A: Six Day War battleground: SINAI

72A: Production figure: QUOTAS

74A: Guitarist Lofgren: NILS. Vaguely heard of his name. Who is Keith?

75A: Crushes to mush: PULPS. I penned in PUREE first.

76A: Amount of charm: SUAVENESS. If you say so.

79A: French solider of WWI: POILU. New to me. It's a slang for French solider during WWI. Literally, hairy one.

80A: More crude: CRASSER. I wanted COARSER.

106A: Not a people person: ASOCIAL

109A: The Racer's Edge: STP

116A: Cacoon fiber: SILK. This reminds me of a big childhood mulberry tree our neighbor used to have. Silkworms ate mulberry leaves, and I ate mulberries.

117A: "Bewitched" grandmother: ENDORA. I forgot. I am going to eat worm if I forget her name again next time.

122A: Arctic bloom: AVENS. No idea. They seem to have long STEMS (6D: Flower holders).

Down:

1D: Type of comb: RAT TAIL. Why is it called RAT TAIL?

2D: Da Silva of soccer: EDUARDO. Nope, I've never heard of his name before. Is he very famous?

11D: Saul's uncle: NER. Got it from across fills.

12D: TV screener?: V- CHIP

13D: Threat ender: OR ELSE

18D: Kitten's loss: MITTENS. Pure guess. Was not familiar with the "Three Little Kittens" nursery rhyme.

24D: Possess like a Scotsman: HAE. Scottish for HAVE.

25D: PC pic: CGI. No idea. Computer Generated Imagery?

30D: Terrible czar?: IVAN

34D: Sayer the singer: LEO. I had no idea that he is the original singer for "When I need you". Beautiful song.

38D: Sexual desire: LIBIDOS. Hmmm, I did not expect such a clue/answer.

40D: Romaine: COS. Originated from Greek COS/KOS Island.

43D: Radon, originally: NITON. Big stumper. I've never heard of it before.

45D: Playboy's founder, fondly: HEF. What a strange life he has lived!

47D: Fountain of coins: TREVI. Have you seen "La Dolce Vita"?

48D: Walter of golf: HAGEN. Gimme for me. He was the first American to win British Open.

53D: Composer Berg: ALBAN. No idea. This is a clip from his opera "Wozzeck". I only understood one word: Marie.

54D: 1945 Nobel Prize winner Wolfang: PAULI. Another unknown.

56D: Point NW of San Francisco: REYES. No idea. See this picture of Point REYES National Seashore. How to pronounce REYES?

67D: Distant beginning? EQUI

68D: Roman dictator (82-79B.C.): SULLA. No idea. Wikipedia says "His character was once described as being half fox and half lion, due to his perceived cunning and bravery." And Machivelli alluded to "this description of SULLA in outlining the most desirable characteristics of a prince."

69D: Jump aboard: HOP UP

75D: Sophie's Carlo: PONTI. Great marriage. PONTI produced "Doctor Zhivago".

77D: Tampa sch.: USF (University of South Florida). I did not know this.

78D: Kyushu volcano: ASO. Only know the Chinese word for ASO mountain (阿蘇山). Wiki says it's "the largest active volcano in Japan." By the way, is A SO the same as AH SO (Charlie Chan)?

79D: Tony or Carlos: PENA. So many great baseball players are from Dominican Republic.

81D: Sleep letter: REM (Rapid Eye Movement)

82D: "Lolita" novelist: NABOKOV. He also created the first Russian crossword.

83D: Worsted cloth: ETAMINE. Not familiar with this fabric. It's stamen in French, see this flower picture.

85D: Asian goat: TAHR. Too ugly for me to remember. It's a kind of Nepolese mountain goat.

87D: Be a buttinsky: PRY. "Buttinsky" is a new slang to me.

93D: Kind of socks: ARGYLE. Great ARGYLE socks.

97D: Iron Mike of the Bears: DITKA. Wikipedia says DITKA and Tom Flores are "the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach and a head coach." I know neither of them.

100D: Earthy color: OCHRE

101D: Dove and Rudner: RITAS. Have never heard of poet RITA Dove before.

107D: Brewskie: SUDS. "Brewski" is also a new slang for me. I don't drink beer.

C.C.

Saturday October 4, 2008 Linda Bushman

Theme: None

Total blocks: 27

We seem to have a lot of 27-block themeless on Saturdays. FYI, our lowest is a 26-block puzzle (a hard one) by Robert Wolfe on August 23.

I like this puzzle. It has such an eye-pleasing grid, so open and receptive. I wish I could solve it unassisted. But I enjoyed my struggle today.

I did not know why NIMRODS (8D) is clued as "Silly hunters?". After seeing the explanation from dictionary, I thought it's rather clever to have both NIMRODS and NOAH ( 19A: Ancient miner?) structured in one grid.

Across:

1) :-), for example: EMOTICON. A happy start for me.

9A: Zigzag braid as trimming: RIC-RAC. See Little Trimmings. New term to me.

15A: So-called feather of song: MACARONI. From "Yankee Doodle". I did not know this.

16A: Contend: ALLEGE

17A: Top-to-bottom renovation: EXTREME MAKEOVER

20A: Red-and-white sign: BARBER POLE

21A: Saharan formations: DUNES. This reminds me of "The English Patient".

24A: Take off the top: SKIM. Really? Is this the "Take off the top" in your mind?

25A: Infuses: STEEPS

27A: Brit bombshell Diana: DORS. She sure has the Marilyn Monroe look.

32A: Galley notation: STET. I got it from the across fills. Not familiar with "Galley" as a printing term.

34A: Scope of Tweed's influence?: BOSSDOM. Big stumper. I had never heard of Boss Tweed or Tammany Hall before.

38A: Parched: THIRSTY

43A: Poetic palindrome: ERE. Able was I ERE I saw Elba.

46A: Confuse: MUDDLE. And STIR UP (29D: Agitate)

52A: David's "Kill Bill" co-star: UMA. Don't know who David is. But UMA Thurman is always clued as "Kill Bill" star.

55A: Highly respected woman: GRANDE DAME. Like whom?

60A: Call a truce but remain at odds: AGREE TO DISAGREE

63A: Happening quickly and dizzingly: IN A WHIRL

64A: Entertainer O'Shea: TESSIE. Total stranger to me.

65A: Super bowl start: COIN TOSS

Down:

1D: Puts right: EMENDS

2D: Use up all credit: MAX OUT. Have you seen "MAXED OUT"?

4D: Carolina athletes: TAR HEELS. No idea. Why are they called TAR HEELS?

10D: Robert of "The Sopranos": ILER. I can never remember his name. It's a very rare surname, isn't it?

11D: Equine footfalls: CLOPS

12D: Those who annul: REVOKER. If you say so.

13D: Maturity cutoff point: AGE LIMIT

14D: Formal event: CEREMONY. I've never attended a Japanese tea CEREMONY, have you? That geisha's face is too white.

18D: Costello's straight man: ABBOTT. "Who's on first?" I love baseball.

22D: Web user: SPIDER. Ha, so simple, but I overthought.

34D: Boastful individual: BRAGGART. Learned a new word this morning: blow-hard.

35D: Win a debate: OUT- ARGUE. Is this a word?

36D: Track officials: STEWARDS. What track?

37D: Latino boy band: MENUDO. No idea. Did not know that Ricky Martin was a member of MENUDO.

39D: Stop signal: RED LIGHT

42D: Always on the move: NOMADIC

47D: Hollywood Dolores: DEL RIO. No idea. Wikipedia says she starred in "Madame DuBarry". That's the same DuBarry in the song "Lydia" (Guiess, DuBarry, Garbo./Rolled into one), right?

49D: Detroit duds: EDSELS. I am used to the "Ford flops" clue.

51D: Places for pads: KNEES

57D: Disk extension: ETTE. Diskette.

58D: Morales of "La Bamba": ESAI. I've never seen "La Bamba". I like his role Tony Rodriguez in "NYPD Blue".

61D: Grass bristle: AWN. This is Paul's Word of the Day.

C.C.

Friday October 3, 2008 Barry Silk

Theme: EDU (Email address ending in 18A, 23A, 40A, 53A and 62A)

18A: Two-rope jumping: DOUBLE DUTCH

23A: Goods tax: EXCISE DUTY

40A: Manhattan Project's oralloy: ENRICHED URANIUM

53A: Stipulatory: AGREED UPON

62A: Waste land?: GARBAGE DUMP

Neat puzzle. But I messed up the upper left corner, trying so hard to cram in MORSE instead of HARD C for 3D: First letter sound in code?

It seems that our editor is now obsessed with ENYA (19D: "A Day without Rain" singer). She appears in our puzzle so often, always as the answer though. I suppose he can clue MAY (66D: Just might) as "Enya song "MAY It Be"" next time.

If you were the constructor, how would you clue NURSE? I don't like "RN word".

Did you notice that most of our weekday puzzles have 38 blocks?

Across:

14A: Nutritionist's abbr.: RDA. And NO FAT (69A: Like Jack Sprat's diet). The Zone diet probably has the most sensible combination (40% carb, 30% protein and 30% fat). The most effective way to lose weight is to fall in love. Your mind will be AWHIRL (31A: Spinning) with everything but food.

15A: Pele's first name: EDSON. I did not know this before. Wikipedia says "While his birth certificate shows his first name as Edison (after the American inventor), he prefers to call himself EDSON". See this autographed EDSON =Pelé ball.

20A: Chinese vine: KUDZU. If not for ZIP (21D: P. O. code), I would not have got this vine. It sounds so Japanese.

22A: 1940's computer: ENIAC. How to pronounce ENIAC?

34A: Bear greeting?: HUG. Such a tender loving hug.

37A: Yemeni seaport: ADEN. Shouldn't Somali explore its Gulf of EDEN coast for oil? Why is it so poor?

39A: Drum type: BONGO. They are handmade, aren't they? I am surprised that some of the vintage Ludwig snare drums are worth thousands of dollars. I don't understand "Let There Be drums."

47A: Right-angle degrees: NINETY And CIR (70A: Geometric fig.).

52A: Brit's omega: ZED. I like this clue.

58A: Lustrous finish for velvet: PANNE. New word to me. I like her outfit.

67A: Japanese drama: NOH. Or Nogaku. The Japanese opera. Funny NOH/Kabuki clip.

71A: __ sense (keen intuition): SIXTH. Have you seen Bruce Willis's "The SIXTH Sense"? Sounds scary.

72A: Salty calls: AHOYS

Down:

2D: For two: A DEUX. Dinner A DEUX, are you ready?

4D: One Gorgon: MEDUSA. She really looks awful. The other two are Stheno and Euryale.

11D: Walk-in veterinarian: PET CLINIC

24D: Porter's "Well, Did You __?": EVAH. Why EVAH? I wanted EVER. I actually saw "High Society", but I don't remember this song.

25D: Fiddle follower?: DE-DEE. New to me also. Maybe I've heard people say it, I just never pay attention to it.

29D: Video effect: SLO-MO

34D: Big name in pickle packing: HEINZ. My first thought was Vlasic.

36D: Intl. road race: GRAND PRIX

54D: Davis of "Hero": GEENA. I've never seen "Hero". I like her "Thelma & Louise" & "A League of Their Own".

55D: Old pound parts: PENCE. Mark, is it old? How old?

60D: Writer Ogden: NASH. Ha, gimme. Have to thank Clear Ayes/Ken for their "Candy is dandy" posts. But why "Writer" instead of "poet"?

C.C.