Thursday May 6, 2010 Jack McInturff

Theme: AFTERLIFE (62A. Spiritual existence, and where the ends of 17-, 23-, 39- and 49-Across can go) - Life can precede the end of each theme answer.

17A. Hunk: DREAMBOAT. Lifeboat. Ah, Daniel Craig, my dreamboat. Jeannie does not seem to be attracted to him.

23A. Upstages a performer, e.g.: CRAMPS ONE'S STYLE. Lifestyle. I thought "cramp one's style" just means "restrict your style".

39A. Becomes less leery: LOWERS ONE'S GUARD. Lifeguard. More familiar with "let one's guard down".

49A. Gets a single, double, triple and homer in one game: HITS FOR THE CYCLE. Life Cycle. Gimme. If a player hits the above in the exact order, then it's a natural cycle.

Jack also gives us two more baseball references:

2D. Boot in the field: ERROR

18D. N.L.'s Pujols and A.L.'s Mauer in 2009: MVPS. Mauer is with the Twins. Pjulos is my husband's favorite current player.

Very nice three 15-word grid spanner theme entries. AFTER LIFE is a great unifier too. To borrow Spitzboov, Bravo Zulu, Jack!

Across:

5. Muslim journey: HADJ. Or HAJJ.

9. Dig deep: PROBE. Alliteration.

14. First name in mystery: ERLE. Erle Stanley Gardner.

15. '50s Hungarian premier Nagy: IMRE. Pronounced like EEM-ruh. Thanks again for Inogolo, Lucina. What does dtr mean, by the way?

16. Kind of police gun that doesn't use bullets: RADAR. Nailed it.

19. Thus follower: AND SO

20. It's charged: ION

21. One of a Latin trio: VICI. Caesar's boast: Veni, vidi, Vici.

22. Called, old-style: DIALED

26. 33-time Rose Bowl sch.: USC (University of Southern California)

27. You, to Yves: TOI. Alliteration.

28. Campus home for some: FRAT

31. "Whoops": UH -OH

34. Pat, for one: NFLER. Oh, Pat here refers to New England Patriots then. Home team for the handsome Joshua.

44. Jam causes: LOGS

45. Beautician's supply: DYE

58. '50s-'60s TV Earp portrayer: O'BRIAN (Hugh). Not familiar with this guy. Wikipedia says he married for the first time in 2006, at the age 81. Sweet!

59. Congo river: UELE (WEY-luh). I forgot. UELE is on the upper right corner, to the south west of The Sudan. I saw Ebola too.

60. Fireplace shelf: HOB

61. "Bye Bye Bye" singers: N'SYNC. Here is the clip. The song was very popular around the time I left China.

64. Do a winter airport maintenance job: DEICE

65. Knock for a loop: STUN

66. "A Jug of Wine ..." poet: OMAR. "... a Loaf of Bread, and Thou Beside me ...". So romantic.

67. Tossed in a chip: ANTED

68. Nile biters: ASPS. Nice play on "Nail biters". Thought of Gunghy and his pet snakes. I can't breathe picturing a 7-foot (50 lbs) boa coiling around him.

69. Baltic dweller: LETT. People of Latvia.

Down:

1. Doc: MEDIC

3. Actress Verdugo: ELENA

4. Crumpets' partner: TEA. Have not had crumpets for eons.

5. Flower used in herbal teas: HIBISCUS. I've never had hibiscus tea. Not fond of TEA/teas duplication. So close together.

6. It began as Standard Oil of Indiana: AMOCO

7. Bathtub feature: DRAIN

8. Deep black: JET

9. Applauding: PRAISING

10. Attacked on foot: RAN AT

11. "Strange to say ...": ODDLY

12. Swiss city on the Rhine: BASEL (BAH-zuhl). See the map. The name escaped me also. So similar to basil in spelling.

13. Eat away at: ERODE

22. Brit. military award: DSO (Distinguished Service Order)

24. Deadens: MUTES

25. Old knockout cause: ETHER

28. Showman Ziegfeld: FLO. The name just flowed to me.

29. Hold up: ROB

32. Firefighter, at times: HOSER

35. To the nth degree: FULLY

36. Mekong River dweller: LAO

37. Work measure: ERG

38. Tobacco and Abbey: Abbr.: RDS. I've never heard of Tobacco Road. It's in North Carolina, referring to the tobacco-producing area.

40. Embarrassed: RED-FACED

41. 1980 erupter: ST. HELENS. Two nice consecutive long entries.

46. Over there, poetically: YON

48. One serving well: ACER. Tennis serve.

49. Civic engineer?: HONDA. Great clue.

50. "Peer Gynt" playwright: IBSEN

51. "Have a little": TRY IT

52. "__ You Went Away": 1944 Best Picture nominee: SINCE. Here is a poster. New to me also. Saw Shirley Temple's name.

53. The great horned owl has prominent ones on its ears: TUFTS. Stumper. He seems irked. What's the matter, pal?

54. Excited: HET UP

55. Add one's two cents, with "in": CHIME

56. Dieter's catchword: LO-FAT

57. "Questions for the Movie Answer Man" author: EBERT (Roger)

62. Comparison words: AS A

63. Online yuk: LOL

Answer grid.

Several weeks ago, Dennis mentioned a long word meaning "forgetting about words". Does anyone still remember how that word is spelled? It's been bothering me.

C.C.

PS: NY Times is running Dan Naddor's last puzzle today.

Wednesday May 5, 2010 Alan Olschwang

Theme: FILL-er Up - The first word of each two-word common phrase is a synonym of "stuff".

18A. Mule or burro: PACK ANIMAL. I am sure we all have our own favorites.

26A. Where to see racquets: SQUASH COURT. I guess the spelling with the “que” told you it was not TENNIS.

48A. Daring diamond device: SQUEEZE BUNT. wonderful alliteration and one of the exciting plays in baseball, where a runner on third comes charging home, expecting the batter to bunt the ball away from the other side, so the runner can score.

63A. Impromptu jazz performance: JAM SESSION. Being not musical, I never knew there were rules? JzB, help me out here.

A near pangram, or at least I don’t see a V or X anywhere. Three Qs.

Each of the four first words refer to stuffing things into other things. Too esoteric for me, so I cheated.

Lemonade here, and I feel like I have failed my third exam, and I am not happy, but the puzzle was fun with many new variations on clues and fill. So sit back and put on your seat belts, cuz here we go.

Across:

1. Final Four org.: NCAA. A simple beginning, with a reference to the March Madness of College BasketBall.

5. Bedouin homes: TENTS. How many remember my joke about the Jewish Genie and the Arab lost in the desert?

10. Bed board: SLAT. Okay we are motoring now.

14. The enemy: THEM. The classic US against THEM.

15. Saved on supper, one would hope: ATE IN.

16. Hot spot connection: WI FI. All right, it is coming soon.

17. Bondman: SERF. Okay, a little harder word, it is Wednesday after all.

20. Relief provider: BROMO. Did you ever associate BROMO with ART ?

22. Place with trails and trams: SKI RESORT.

23. B&O et al.: RRS. Made famous as a Monopoly RAILROAD .

25. Cousin of –trix: ESS. A Latin feminine ending, for example, EXECUTOR, EXECUTRIX: AVIATOR, AVIATRIX, thus the same as, the –ESS ending, like PROPRIETOR, PROPRIETRESS. And, 59. And the following, in a bibliog.: ET SEQ, literally an abbreviation of the Latin words. And 34D. In other words, to Brutus: ID EST, the famous i.e. and the rest of Latin lesson.

32. "Aladdin" prince: ALI. Avoiding the simple, boxing great clue.

35. Ilsa __, Bergman's "Casablanca" role: LUND. We love knowing complete names; Rick’s was Blaine.

36. Game ender, at times: HORN. I see some hockey fans amongst our group, and they end with a HORN.

37. Put on, as cargo: LADED. Same stem as Bill of Lading.

39. "Ouch!": YOWIE. Okay, we have made it from OWIE to YOWIE.

41. Backstabber: RAT. Am I the only one who always hears James Cagney when the word RAT comes up?

42. A-list: ELITE .

43. Use, as a cot LIE ON .

44. Dart through the air: FLIT. Does anyone remember the FLIT GUN ?

46. Island rings: LEIS. And, 52. Arthur Godfrey played it: UKE , for our missing Hawaiian group; hope all is well.

47. Financial statement abbr.: YTD. Year to date.

51. "Turandot" slave girl: LIU. rejecting the easy LUCY clue, we have a reference to PUCCINI’s final Opera . I never saw the clue until I was done, but it is one for the memory banks.

53. Earlier today, say: A WHILE AGO. Confusing, a short while?

65. South African Peace Nobelist: TUTU Desmond.

66. "Rent-__": Reynolds/Minnelli film: A COP. Very forgettable movie, interesting Song.

67. Parishioner's pledge: TITHE. 10% of what you make.

68. Poet Pound: EZRA.

69. Katharine of "The Graduate" ROSS. Was such a pretty girl, who also was so wonderful in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid , hard to believe she is 70.

70. Flippant: SASSY. Becoming a crossword staple.

71. Bassoon, e.g.: REED.

Yay we made it to the

Downs:

1. Airline investigative org.: NTSB. National Transportation Safety Board.

2. "Moonstruck" Oscar winner: CHER.

3. Sleek, for short: AERO. Such as AERODYNAMIC.

4. Feature of a new car: AM FM RADIO. Well, he did not say what kind of car.

5. Beer source: TAP. loved the misdirection here, as we all know my beer comes from my brew meister boys.

6. Flight data, briefly: ETAS.

7. Post-Thanksgiving soup starter: NECK. Eww.

8. "Kon-__": TIKI. Thor Heyerdahl will always be in my memory bank.

9. Trapper: SNARER. Well they can’t all be gold.

10. Deli platter cheese: SWISS. I know, there are lot of holes in that answer.

11. One might pick you up at an airport: Well after I gave up on fitting in, ATTRACTIVE KRISHNA CHICK, It hit me, LIMO .

12. Way off: AFAR.

13. Lean: TILT. Of course I was thinking of Jack Sprat from the other day.

19. Get cozy: back to my Krishna, or maybe, NESTLE .

21. RN workplaces: ORS. Operating Rooms.

24. Reaction to a library volume? : SHH. Another nice trick.

26. With cunning: SLYLY

27. Ring used in a horseshoe like game: Who did not love playing with a QUOIT ?

28. Single: UNWED. Very sexist.

29. Greek vacation isle: CORFU. There is both an Island and a city named CORFU in Greece.

30. Papal vestment: ORALE. Now this was impossible, I had to work to find this link, but it was surrounded by easy fill, so.

31. Set free: UNTIE.

32. "Farewell, mon ami": ADIEU. And, 61. French 101 verb: ETRE. To be, ah well the end of today’s French lesson.

33. Grant entrance to: LET IN.

38. Completely recovered: ALL BETTER. The owie, yowie healed.

40. Store, as fodder: ENSILED. Fancy way to say put in a silo.

45. Shih __: Tibetan dog: TZU. Aww, CUTE .

49. Pursuits: QUESTS

50. Struggle to make, with "out": EKE.

51. Struggles with sibilants: LISPS. Making a come back.

53. When it's __: answer to an old riddle about a door: A JAR.

54. City SSW of Dallas: WACO. Home of BAYLOR University.

55. Managed care gps.: HMOs

56. __ Minor: ASIA

57. Skedaddles: GITS. Only someone who says GITS would skedaddle, I guess.

58. July 4th sounds: OOHS

60. Financial advisor Orman: SUZE

62. One of a four in a nursery: : QUAD. Well if you can’t have 8 at once, have at least four.

64. Marshal at Waterloo: NEY. NEY was one of 18 Marshals appointed by Napoleon, his name was Michel Ney, and he was one of the main players at the Battle of Waterloo if you have interest in military history and strategy, it is worth reading.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Victor Barocas

Theme: Y - Each theme answer contains a contiguous pair of letter Y's.

20A. Roger Clemens has won it seven times: CY YOUNG AWARD. The honor given annually in baseball to the best pitcher.

27A. Tammy Wynette classic: "STAND BY YOUR MAN". Country music classic.

46A. 1618-'48 conflict: THIRTY YEARS' WAR. The war was fought primarily (though not exclusively) in what is now Germany and at various points involved most of the countries of Europe. From Wikipedia.

53A. Sunny color: CANARY YELLOW. The bird. From an Egg.

58D. There are contiguous pairs of them in 20-, 27-, 46- and 53-Across: WYEs.

Argyle here, with the "whys' but no "wherefores". If you care to construct a railroad wye, here is a layout.

Across:

1A. Common URL ender: ORG. Argh! I had to back out .COM the first thing.

4A. Make chocolate milk, e.g.: STIR.

8A. Wisdom teeth, e.g.: MOLARS.

14A. For each: PER.

15A. Volkswagen subsidiary: AUDI. German automobiles. And 4D. Ion and Vue, in the auto industry: SATURNS. Formerly GM automobiles.

16A. Trapped by routine: IN A RUT.

17A. With 50-Across, South American shocker: ELECTRIC. 50A. See 17-Across: EEL.

19A. Pet's home away from home: KENNEL. If you have a pet 26D. Rattler, for one: SNAKE, do they stay at kennels?

22A. Opposite of post-: PRE-.

23A. Fuss: ADO.

24A. Contingencies: IFS. "And if "ifs" and "ands"
Were pots and pans,
There'd be no work for tinkers!"

32A. Corp. bigwig: CEO.

33A. Confident: SURE.

34A. Cuttlefish pigment: SEPIA. One strange looking dude.

35A. Tear to shreds: REND.

37A. First commercial carrier to use the Boeing 747: PAN AM. A big, big plane.

40A. Well-done, as toast: DARK.

41A. On the ocean: AT SEA.

43A. The Berenstain Bears live in one: TREE. The popularity of the books subsequently spawned numerous child-friendly television shows and computer games. Wikipedia article.

45A. Actor Marvin: LEE. He was such a versatile actor.

51A. __ kwon do: TAE. Korean martial art

52A. 1 or 66, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE. Routes.

59A. Steal, as cargo: HIJACK.

62A. Ghost story setting: CEMETERY.

63A. Criticize harshly: SCATHE. And if you were the recipient, then you 27D. Get really hot: SEETHE.

64A. "Up and __!": AT 'EM. "At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun!" (The Army Air Corps song)

65A. Dogfight winner, perhaps: ACE. Nice tie-in with 64A.

66A. Tightened (up): TENSED.

67A. Confessional revelations: SINS.

68A. Ballet step: PAS. Pas is a simple step in any direction.

Down:

1D. Cartel that added Angola in 2007: OPEC. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

2D. Count (on): RELY.

3D. Earl known for tea: GREY.

5D. Appeared: TURNED UP.

6D. Hippie's "Understood": "I DIG!".

7D. Costa __: RICA.

8D. Operetta with Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum, with "The": "MIKADO". Don't forget Ko-Ko.

9D. Burdensome: ONEROUS.

10D. Finish a flight: LAND.

11D. Prince Valiant's son: ARN. We haven't had this minor comic strip character in awhile.

12D. Regret: RUE.

13D. Letters on a Cardinal's cap: STL. The St. Louis Cardinals (baseball)

18D. Nightclub in a Manilow song: COPA. Long version of the song.

21D. Manner: WAY.

24D. Savanna grazer: IMPALA. Deer-like animals in Africa.

25D. Snow White, vis-à-vis the queen: FAIRER.

28D. Throat tissue: TONSIL.

29D. Lingerie support item: BRA.

30D. "Fiddler on the Roof" matchmaker: YENTE.

31D. Wine choice: RED.

32D. Slatted box: CRATE.

36D. Berlin article: DER.

38D. Altar in the sky: ARA. In the Southern hemisphere.

39D. Little John was one of them: MERRY MEN. With Robin Hood in the Sherwood forest.

42D. Embassy diplomat: ATTACHÉ.

44D. Regards highly: ESTEEMS.

47D. Pulled hard: YANKED.

48D. Vote in favor: YEA.

49D. Whip mark: WELT.

53D. Musical based on Eliot poems: "CATS".

54D. Some TVs: RCAs.

55D. Himalayan legend: YETI.

56D. Quantum event?: LEAP.

57D. Shamu, for one: ORCA.

59D. FDR's last VP: HST.

60D. Rocks for a Black Russian: ICE. A cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur (usually three parts vodka to two parts coffee liqueur, per the Kahlúa bottle's label) served over ice in a rock glass.

61D. Yr. starter: JAN..

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, May 3, 2010 Nancy Salomon

Theme: Greetings - Three phrases (one split into two entries) used to greet old friends.

17A. Warm welcome for an old friend: "LOOK WHO THE..."

27A. Warm welcome for an old friend: "HELLO, STRANGER!"

43A. Warm welcome for an old friend: "LONG TIME NO SEE!"

59A: See 17-Across: "... WIND BLEW IN!"

Argyle here.

Much as I like starting a puzzle with some BABAS (1Across Rum cakes), and easy theme entries, I feel some of the fill isn't Monday material. I will say the perps usually filled in the difficult words. I wonder if "Look what the cat dragged in!" didn't meet the nothing untoward before breakfast rule.

Across:

6A. Greek god of love: EROS.

10A. Quite a long time: AGES.

14A. Got up: AROSE.

15A. Light fog: MIST.

16A. Knight's lady: DAME.

19A. Big bore: DRAG. Someone or something tedious, perhaps in the sense time drags when around them.

20A. Calligraphers' supplies: INKS.

21A. Mr. T's TV gang: A-TEAM.

22A. Othello's false friend: IAGO. Shakespeare. As adviser to Othello, a general of Venice, Iago lies to his master and eventually drives him to murder his wife. Dictionary.com

23A. Wheels connector: AXLE.

25A. Kentucky Fried piece: WING.

32A. Levels in the ring: KAYOs. The letters KO (knock out) spelled out. Boxing ring.

33A. Make, as money: EARN.

34A. Urgent call at sea: S-O-S.

36A. "__ a man with seven wives": I MET. (Nursery Rhyme) As I was going to St. Ives I met a man with seven wives, Each wife had seven sacks, each sack had seven cats, Each cat had seven kits: kits, cats, sacks and wives, How many were going to St. Ives?

37A. Tubular pasta: PENNE.

39A. Sail support: MAST.

40A. Exerciser's unit: REP. Repetition.

41A. Saintly glow: AURA. And 18D. Angel's topper: HALO.

42A. Flower associated with Holland: TULIP.

47A. Welcome word on a bill: PAID. Indeed!

48A. Fontanne's stage partner: LUNT. Alfred Lunt (1892-1977) and Lynn Fontanne (1887-1983) became known as the first family of the American theater. The Lunts lived for many years at Ten Chimneys, in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin.

49A. Make a backup of: COPY.

51A. Loathing: ODIUM. Almost straight from Latin.

54A. Took a bus, say: RODE.

58A. Hertz competitor: AVIS.

61A. One of Columbus's ships: NIÑA.

62A. Moniker: NAME.

63A. Puppeteer Bil: BAIRD. One of his better known creations was Charlemane the lion. He and Cora Eisenberg produced and performed the famous puppetry sequence for The Lonely Goatherd in the film version of The Sound of Music. From Wikipedia.

64A. Uptight: EDGY.

65A. Iditarod racer: SLED.

66A. "Golden Boy" dramatist Clifford: ODETS.

Down:

1D. "__ Ha'i": "South Pacific" song: BALI. Charlotte Church sings Bali Ha'i.

2D. Elvis's middle name: ARON.

3D. Library volume: BOOK.

4D. Makes daunting demands (of): ASKS A LOT.

5D. Do some quilting: SEW.

6D. Hams it up: EMOTES.

7D. __ of passage: RITE.

8D. Fed. workplace regulator: OSHA. Occupational Safety & Health, signed into law on December 29, 1970.

9D. Goblets and such: STEMWARE. Tinbeni's favorite glass.

10D. Tacking on: ADDING.

11D. Event for unloading junk: GARAGE SALE. Does your town have town-wide garage sales?

12D. Online periodical, briefly: E-MAG.

13D. Lily with bell-shaped flowers: SEGO.

24D. Big tee sizes: XLs.

26D. Quaint lodging: INN.

27D. Veronica of "Hill Street Blues": HAMEL. Picture. Description below. (Oops! Right description, wrong actress. This is Sophia Bush, from One Tree Hill, TV show.) Veronica Hamel

28D. Amazing to behold: EYE-POPPING.

29D. Common coffee break hr.: TEN AM.

30D. Made tracks: RAN.

31D. "__ Radio" (O'Donnell talk show): ROSIE.

32D. White wine apéritif: KIR. And a good use of stemware.

35D. Gas additive brand: STP.

37D. Belittling remarks: PUT-DOWNS.

38D. Verdi aria "__ tu": ERI. For a baritone voice.

39D. 3-Down not to be missed: MUST READ.

41D. Form 1040 calc.: AGI. Adjusted gross income.

42D. Whole bunch: TON.

44D. Reject: NAYSAY.

45D. Sidestepped: ELUDED.

46D. Feeling no pain: NUMB.

49D. Vaudeville dancer's prop: CANE.

50D. Roman poet banished by Augustus: OVID.

52D. Retro phone feature: DIAL.

53D. "By the power vested __ ...": IN ME. And another wedding 57D. Comes to a close: ENDS.

55D. Boo-boo, in totspeak: OWIE.

56D. Dust and grime: DIRT.

60D. Debt-heavy corp. takeover: LBO. Leveraged buyout.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday May 2, 2010 Jared Banta

Theme: Schwalterations - Common phrases with a schwa sound are altered into OF connecting phrases, which are humorously interpreted and clued. The schwa sound remains.

23A. Passion for Ferris wheels and funnel cakes?: TORRID LOVE OF FAIRS. Torrid Love Affairs. The A in "Affairs" is a schwa sound, so is the O in OF. Have never had funnel cakes. Not aware of its fair connection.

40A. Bozeman native named after a "Star Wars" character?: HAN OF MONTANA. Hannah Montana. The Miley Cyrus character. Ah is a schwa sound. Han Solo.

66A. Mom's bearing?: AIR OF PARENT. Heir Apparent. Letter A.

74A. Mary Poppins outburst?: HOOT OF NANNY. Hootenanny. Thingamajig. New slang to me. Letter e is schwa.

98A. Math class curse?: HEX OF DECIMAL. Hexadecimal. A numeral system with a base of 16. New to me. Letter a again.

117A. Occasion to hang up the fangs?: RETIREMENT OF COUNT. Retirement Account. Letter A also. Count here refers to Count Dracula, right?

3D. Country's military organization?: CORPS OF NATIONS. Coronation. Letter O. Thought of corporation first.

61D. Describe a trip to work?: TELL OF COMMUTE. Telecommute. The E in my dictionary is not shown as schwa. It has a short i sound.

Schwa is the most common vowel sound in English. Besides the A, O, E in the above theme answers, u in "circus", i in "pencil", y in "syringe" all have schwa sounds.

I got all the theme answers without much struggle. But as a non-native English speaker who is constantly struggling with English pronunciation, the base phrases took me some time to nail down. I hope my understanding of the theme is correct.

Liked the three "Ignited" echo clues:

36A. Ignited: SPARKED

116A. Ignited: LIT

60D. Ignited: AFLAME

Across:

1. Start of a kids' learning song: ABCDE

6. It may be spiked: PUNCH. The spiced beverage.

11. Prof's pointer: LASER

16. Disposed: APT

19. Mid-ninth century pope: LEO IV. Who knows?

20. Italian town NW of Venice: ASOLO. No idea. I bet the constructor was pleased to find this is an actual place when he needed this fill.

21. Get used (to): INURE

22. Former CNN anchor Dobbs: LOU. He was great when he focused his attention on the Enron guys.

26. Is for all of us?: ARE. Plural of "Is".

27. iPhone add-on: APP

29. Least scarce: AMPLEST

30. Runs: COSTS

32. Strikes a chord: RESONATES

35. One may be yellow or chocolate: LAB. Labrador.

38. Affected type: SNOB

39. Spot playmate: REX

42. Mattress spec: FIRM

44. Schrödinger equation symbols: PSIS. The pitchfork-shaped letters. I did not know what Schrödinger equation is. Still don't. All Greek to me.

46. Ray, Jay or A: ALER (American Leaguer). Rhyme.

47. Super Bowl XLIV runner-up, briefly: INDY. Indianapolis Colts.

48. Grass bristle: AWN. Like this.

50. Built from: MADE OF

52. Amt.: QTY

53. AM frequency meas.: KHZ (Kilohertz)

59. Diggs of "Rent": TAYE. Great body.

64. Grub: EATS

65. One-named Nigerian singer: SADE. I am in the mood for her "Someone Already Broke My Heart".

69. Isolde's lover: TRISTAN

71. Carmen, e.g.: MEZZO. Wanted OPERA.

73. Silent film star who played Carmen in "Blood and Sand" (1922): LILA LEE. No. Nope. She looks glamorous. Nice consecutive "Carmen".

76. Start of a run: SNAG. Stockings.

78. Like molasses in January: SLOW

79. "King Kong" heroine: ANN. Easy guess.

80. "Wow!": GEEZ

81. Affirmative reply: YES I AM

83. Was brilliant: SHONE

84. Coldcocks, briefly: KOS (Knockouts). Coldcock is a new word to me. It means "to knock (someone) unconscious, as with the fist". I was picturing a frozen banana.

85. __ Maria: liqueur: TIA

87. Resulting from this: HEREBY

89. G-man: FED

90. It stops at la estación: TREN. Spanish for train. La estación is the station I suppose.

93. "__ Three Lives": '50s TV drama: I LED. Another guess.

96. "South Park" kid: ERIC. No idea.

101. Book end?: ISH. Bookish. Great clue.

103. Tip respectfully: DOFF

106. Red Sea nation: ERITREA. One less letter than Ethiopia.

107. "Whether __ nobler ...": Hamlet: 'TIS. "To be, or not to be..."

108. Cookie nut: MACADAMIA. The only nut I don't like.

110. Social order: CASTE

111. Sugar pill, say: PLACEBO

114. Land in l'océan: ILE. Island in French.

115. Half a cocktail: MAI. Mai tai.

122. Muse of poetry: ERATO

123. Be hospitable to: ASK IN

124. Haitian capital?: AITCH. Spelled out H. The capitalized letter in Haitian.

125. Place to turn in: BED

126. Full at the table: SATED

127. Wine characteristics: NOSES

128. Turns tail: FLEES

Down:

1. Wedding settings: ALTARS

2. Show willingness to listen: BE OPEN

4. Compass pt.: DIR

5. Dasani competitor: EVIAN. Ours is Aquafina.

6. Taste: PALATE

7. GI support gp.: USO

8. Celestial phenomena: NOVAS. It's often NOVAE.

9. Pitcher Labine of the '50s Dodgers: CLEM. Not familiar with this guy.

10. To-dos: HOOPLAS

11. One of 20 on the Titanic: LIFEBOAT. Ha ha, I knew the trivia.

12. Literary collections: ANAS

13. "I'm down with that": SUITS ME

14. Get knocked out of the spelling bee: ERR

15. Checkout correction, perhaps: RESCAN

16. Sarah Palin, e.g.: ALASKAN. And IDITAROD (86. Mushers' race). Great fill, the latter.

17. Forebode: PORTEND

18. Third in a sequence: TUESDAY. Didn't come to me immediately.

24. Greg's TV partner: DHARMA. I peeked at the cheat sheet.

25. Spanish dessert: FLAN

31. David __, baseball's "Big Papi": ORTIZ. Was with the Twins for several years. Hurt all the time.

33. Geisha's band: OBI

34. Consume: EXPEND. And USE (121. Consume).

37. Last speaker in many an old cartoon: PORKY PIG. "That's all, folks!".

40. LP player: HI-FI

41. Reach via jet: FLY TO

45. Grave: SOLEMN

48. Big name in soul: ARETHA

49. Become annoying to: WEAR ON

51. Senator Feinstein: DIANNE

52. Surprise in class: QUIZ. Pop Quiz.

54. Make good as new: HEAL

56. Sibilant "Ahem!": PSST

58. Rapper who feuded with Dr. Dre: EAZY-E. Another stranger to me.

62. Common soccer score: ONE-ONE. And TIE (119. 62-Down game, e.g.).

63. Worried: STEWED

65. Good place to err: SAFE SIDE. Err is an answer to 14D. Duplication.

67. More promising: ROSIER

68. Foolhardy: RASH

70. Like some orders: TO GO

72. New Age superstar: ENYA

75. San Diego State athlete: AZTEC. I forgot.

77. Aslan's land: NARNIA. We often see ASLAN clued as "Chronicles of Narnia" lion.

83. Six-Day War country: Abbr.: SYR (Syria)

84. California berry farm founder: KNOTT (Walter). Another alien name to me. Is he very famous?

88. Interest: BEHALF

90. Auto security device hawked in infomercials: THE CLUB

91. Poker ploy: RE-RAISE

92. Was once there: EXISTED

94. Grabbed, as an opportunity: LEAPT AT

95. One playing near a bag?: BASEMAN. One more baseball reference.

97. Mrs. McKinley: IDA

99. Bordeaux brothers: FRERE. French for "brothers". Alliteration.

100. They rest on pads: MICE. Oh, now I get it. Computer mouse. The plural is mice too? How strange!

102. Progeny: SCIONS

104. Groom-to-be: FIANCE

105. Belief systems: FAITHS

108. Frock wearers: MONKS

109. Regular alternative: DECAF

112. Dieter's word: LITE. Boring! Drink real drink. Eat real food.

118. Important period: ERA

120. Manet, maybe: OIL. Here is his Olympia again.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Interview with Robert H. Wolfe

Long time LA Times or NY Times solvers are probably familiar with Robert Wolfe. He has had 57 puzzles published by the NY Times alone.

Since Rich Norris took over the editorship of the LA Times Daily Crossword in late 1999, Robert Wolfe has made over 123 puzzles for LAT. Mr. Wolfe is also a regular contributor of Stan Newman's Newsday Puzzle. Additionally, he has also made puzzles for our old Tribune Media Service (TMS) Daily, NY Sun, Washington Post, Games Magazine and other publications that I've not previously heard of.

What is the seed entry for this puzzle? And what kind of troubles did you go through to make the grid work?

There were 3 seed entries for this themeless puzzle Rich will publish in May - all with 15 letters:

DON’T KID YOURSELF

IT’S A MYSTERY TO ME

I WON’T LET YOU DOWN

All 3 are common enough phrases in daily speech but rarely used in puzzles. I’ve used this grid before (with 3 - 15 letter entries) many times. This grid was an easy fill with about 15 compound words and only 1 cheater per each 1/2 diagonal.

What is your background? And how did you develop an interest in crossword constructing?

Well, there really wasn’t much else to do in the asylum -- just kidding. I’ve been a veterinarian (small animal practitioner) for 42 years, but I had such a poor vocabulary in school while growing up in Newton, Mass., I probably didn’t even know how to spell or define ‘vocabulary’. At Michigan State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, I and a girl (the smartest student in the class) routinely showed up early for our daily 8 AM class. For many months I watched her do the crossword in the college paper, and, being somewhat competitive with her, I started doing them as well. She helped me learn the crosswordese lingo of the time and I enjoyed the challenge, though I never completed one before she did. At our 40^th veterinary class reunion which I helped to organize last year, I gave her a copy of my Saturday NY Times that had been published the week before, along with a note thanking her for getting me started with this obsession.

How would you describe your puzzle style? And what kind of themes/fill appeal to you? And what kind of entries do you try to avoid?

I don’t know that I have a style, per se. I’ve always tried to be completely original, which was easy when I started in the early 1970s, since most things hadn’t been done yet. That’s getting harder to do and I construct more themeless puzzles now. I’ve always striven for humor, in themed puzzles and particularly in clues. I made up such clues as ‘Athletic supporter’ for TEE. I love making up Limericks and quips, such as this TV promo bulletin:

THE WORLD TO END AT

NINE TONIGHT

DETAILS AT ELEVEN

In themeless puzzles I like having 3 to 6 -15 letter phrases like the one Rich will publish in May, and build the puzzles around them. Rich likes those, but Will often rejects them, complaining that solvers may be confused by thinking it’s a themed puzzle when it’s not.

You've been constructing for 36 years, what's the highlight of your construction career?

Odd, since I’m only 35 years old! (I wish). My first puzzle published in the New York Times by Gene Maleska was a biggie. I had it laminated. It now sits somewhere in my closet gathering dust. I got a puzzle in S & S and GAMES prior to that. I liked that GAMES used that first puzzle I sent to them in a national contest - and Stan Newman was the winner! I was proud that during Fred’s tenure at the Washington Post I was one of his most frequently published constructors. The same applied to Wayne’s tenure at the Chicago Tribune. Too bad my most receptive editors have been replaced by syndication. I keep imploring Rich and John Samson to keep their jobs (not that they have much say in the matter).

Where do you normally find your crossword muse? And how do you deal with "Writer's Blocks"?

Inspiration comes from life all the time. Since high school I’ve been an incorrigible punster and I’m always pulling material out of the air - from something someone says or from a road sign or ad, or from TV. I’d bet most constructor’s minds work in that sort of mode. I do occasionally get a block but it doesn’t throw me. I always snap out of it and start doing 3 or 4 puzzles at once. At times I just sit at the computer and start playing with words and a puzzle just comes to me. Having mentioned the computer, I’m still amazed at this thing and often think back to the old days, making up grids, using copying machines and wearing down a lot of pencils and erasers.

What references tools do you use for cluing and fact checks?

I have a library of reference books on film, TV, pop songs, opera, Shakespeare, almanacs, foreign sayings, mythology, Italian, French, Spanish and German dicts, abridged and unabridged dicts, books of quotations, several bibles, idiom and slang books, sports encyclopedia and many more. BUT - nowadays I just Google it and find at least two web sources for fact checking or for background on people being clued. Most of the cluing just comes from the punning.

What kind of crosswords do you solve daily and who are your favorite constructors?

Living on Long Island in NY, I do the NY Times daily and Sundays and Stan’s Saturday Stumper on Sats. Lately I like Doug Peterson’s themeless puzzles. I have no favorites - they’re all outstanding. Alfio Micci used to impress me as a standout constructor.

Besides crosswords, what else do you do for fun?

I’ve run 3 miles daily since high school, swim 1 to 2 miles daily in the summer, play piano and guitar, love movies and photography, love international travel with my wife (we’ve had 28 happy years of marriage - 39 altogether, but about 28 have been happy - no, it’s just a joke - don’t publish that or I’ll never make it to my 40^th!) I write a lot - have had some poetry published and have written a screenplay and an action/adventure/romance novel that’s gone unpublished. The extra vocabulary helps when I write but apparently the only thing Hemingway and I have in common is that we were both born male!

Saturday May 1, 2010 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: None

Total blocks: 32

Total words: 72

This puzzle is anchored by three 15-letter grid spanners:

17A. "Be realistic": DON'T KID YOURSELF

39A. "Count on me": I WON'T LET YOU DOWN

59A. "Who knows?": IT'S A MYSTERY TO ME

All of them are lively common colloquial expressions and are seldom seen in any puzzles. Actually I don't remember seeing any of them in our LAT before.

In his interview, the constructor Robert H. Wolfe also mentioned that there are 15 compound words in today's offering.

A much easier puzzle for me today. Very few obscure names/words to frustrate me. I had fun.

Across:

1. Beachgoer's pursuit: SUNBATH

8. A film may be shown in it: THREE D. 3D. Did you have problem parsing THREED?

14. Like some bandits: ONE-ARMED. One armed bandits, the slot machines.

16. Item in the news, perhaps: COUPLE

19. "I'd hate to break up __": A SET. Felt silly not nailing this one, considering I collect baseball cards. "I'd hate to break up your marriage" is all I could think of.

20. Salon stuff: GEL

21. Thin piece: SHEET

22. She played Carmela in "The Sopranos": EDIE (Falco)

25. Trois counterpart: DREI. "Three" in German. Trois is French, Tres is Spanish.

27. Return recipient: SENDER

30. Dedicated verse: ODE

31. Influential Harper's Weekly cartoonist: NAST (Thomas). He created the Democratic donkey and Republican elephant.

35. Mobile home site: TRAILER CAMP. My initial reaction is: Somewhere in Alabama?

38. Actress Benaderet who first voiced Granny in Tweety cartoons: BEA. Recognized her face when I googled.

41. Lip: RIM

42. Promotional campaigns: SALES DRIVES

43. Sound of locks being changed?: SNIP. Nailed it. Knew immediately that locks refers to hair.

45. "Unlikely!": NOT

46. Queen of fiction: ELLERY. Ellery Queen, the mystery author.

47. "Flash of Genius" actor: ALDA

49. "I ran away from you once. I can't do it again" speaker: ILSA. From "Casablanca". I am used to the "Play it again, Sam" speaker clue.

50. Russian emperor after Catherine II: PAUL I. Between 1796 and 1801. I've never heard of the dude. Paul does not sound Russian, doesn't it?

53. Pops: DAD. And SODA (1D. Pop).

55. Some mil. personnel: NCOS

63. Put (together): PIECE

64. Arrive, with some difficulty: MAKE IT IN. New phrase to me.

65. Highlight: STRESS

66. "Ozymandias" et al.: SONNETS. Gimme, thanks to Clear Ayes and J.D.'s previous discussions.

Down:

2. Ones in Madrid: UNOS

3. Island goose: NENE. Hawaii's state bird. It's wild.

4. Driven home: BATTED IN. Baseball.

5. Chest with tablets: ARK

6. "More than I need to know!": TMI (Too Much Information). Needs an abbr. hint.

7. Waffle: HEDGE

8. Fort Worth sch.: TCU (Texas Christian University)

9. Dressage trainee: HORSE. Who do you think will win the Kentucky Derby? I'll go with Lookin at Lucky, then Ice Box.

10. Raid the joint, say: RUSH IN

11. Olympics weapon: EPEE.

12. Cosmo rival: ELLE

13. Handy: DEFT

15. Color: DYE. Wanted HUE.

18. Past: OLD DAYS

23. Forward raises strengthen them: DELTS. Shoulder muscles. Here is a picture of forward raise. Looks like it strengthens lots of muscles.

24. Cork's place: IRELAND. Cork is a county in Ireland.

26. Do over: REMODEL

27. Moves slightly: STIRS

28. "Desert Fox" Rommel: ERWIN

29. Woman in the Book of Ruth: NAOMI. Ruth's mother-in-law.

30. Scale notes, e.g.: OCTET. Group of eight: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So/Sol, La, Ti, Do.

32. Over: ABOVE

33. Escape site in "Les Misérables": SEWER. Did not come to me readily.

34. Aster family plant: TANSY. Yellow-flowered. Had no idea that it belongs to the aster family.

36. Puts in a new clip: RELOADS

37. Knitting stitches: PURLS

40. Anticonvulsive drug: DILANTIN. No idea. Maybe Buckeye can tell us more. Wikipedia says this drug made an appearance in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", both as an anticonvulsive drug and as a mechanism to control inmate behavior.

44. Regal residence: PALACE

48. Bartender's supply: LIMES

49. They can be bright: IDEAS. Or dumb. Great clue.

50. Card marks: PIPS

51. Busy: AT IT

52. __ ID: USER

54. Cash source, briefly: ATM

56. Dove shelter: COTE

57. Cut: OMIT

58. D.C. VIPs: SENS

60. NFL gains: YDS (Yards)

61. Old MGM rival: RKO

62. Hunger: YEN. Still no yen to visit Japan, Jazzbumpa? US dollar works there!

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday April 30, 3010 Gareth Bain

Theme: NEWBIE, or New B-ginnings - Familiar phrases are prefixed with the letter "B" to give a whole new, rather humorous meaning.

17A. Daring track official? BOLD TIMER. "Old timer." No comment.

63A. Online journalist's retreat?: BLOG CABIN. "Log Cabin." But as a blogger, I love this one.

10D. Clinton enjoying some R and R?: BILL AT EASE. "Ill at ease" - uncomfortable. I seem to recall Bill having some uncomfortable moments. Might have been that Tiger in his tank.

31D. Immortal comedian's donkey imitation?: BRAY OF HOPE. "Ray of Hope." The light at the end of the tunnel. Also, the second play on Bob Hope's name this week.

49D. Tyro, and a hint to this puzzle's theme: NEWBIE, or a new "B," if you will.

Hi gang, it's JazzBumpa, reporting from the quiet security of my BLOG CABIN. This is a top-notch puzzle with a clever theme, and lots of wit. Let's explore it together.

Across:

1. Four-time Olympic gold-medal runner Zatopek: EMIL. Czek runner of many distances. Three of his medals came in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.

5. Park way: PATH. A parkway is road, a thoroughfare; a scenic freeway; a surface road with a landscaped median. A path can be made by meandering cows. Not a great correspondence.

9. Shame: ABASH. But I would not go so far as to abash Gareth Bain.

14. Hacking knife: BOLO. Looks nasty. I'd guess, even better than a baritone saxophone in a brawl.

15. Rebel: RISE. Here it is the verb reBEL, not the noun REBel. I'll mention that the South has always had thoughts about rising again. But let's just let it go at that. History - OK. Politics - don't go there.

16. Petulant mood: PIQUE. Often discernible by the presence of a moue. Hmmmm . . . reminds me of a certain granddaughter.

19. Zaftig: PLUMP. Some writer called Maragret Cho ZAFTIG a while back, and she played it into one of her very funny routines. She who laughs at herself laughs best.

20. Trouser measurement: INSEAM. The length of the seam down the inside of a pant leg. Here is one way to go AT IT There might be others.

21. "Twilight" heroine: BELLA. Here she is. I was expecting fangs, I guess.

23. Introduction to a former self?: NEE. Nee means "born," and is used to refer to the maiden name of a married woman. Clear enough, I guess, but for all it's cleverness, clue and answer don't seem to mesh. Maybe I'm just disoriented by the time travel.

24. "The Mikado" baritone: KOKO. From Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado." I'm not a G and S fan in any context. Here is KOKO, with some friends, but be warned, it's a seven minute clip.

27. Give a hand to: DEAL IN. OK. He got me. Deal me into the card game. Usually poker. Here, Gareth is being literal. Just when you think you know a guy . . .

30. Dabchick, for one: GREBE I think we had DABHAND the last time I blogged a puzzle. I doubt that there's any connection to this bird, though. I was expecting something ZAFTIG, not the smallest member of the GREBE family.

32. Cost an arm and __: A LEG. Well, that's a lot. Origin of the expression is obscure. But, to keep my customers happy, here are an ARM and a LEG.

34. Do a garage job: TUNE. Get that engine running PRIMO. Unless you're intrigued with vintage cars, it's probably a job best left to the pros.

35. Cannes's region: RIVIERA. The vacation region along southern coast of France. You Canne go there, if you chose. No oil slicks that I know of, unlike the Redneck Riviera, which is having a bit of unpleasantness. Alternatively, you could TUNE a RIVIERA.

37. __'acte: ENTR. French for Intermezzo, meaning between the acts, introductory music to signal the end of intermission in the theater. Take your seats please. (But beware of one offering his, as we shall see.)

38. They're usually in the 80s and 90s: OCTANES. Not quite. This should be OCTANE RATINGS. The octane rating is a measure of the resistance of petrol and other fuels to autoignition in spark-ignition internal combustion engines.

41. Toon who played Scrooge: MR MAGOO. The cartoon character with the voice of Jim Backus. I didn't know he was Scrooge, as well.

43. Maker of Definity skin care products: OLAY. I only know Oil of Olay, which can slick up your skin. Take some when you visit the Riviera.

44. Works on, as a novel: REVISES. To revise is to rework and improve your prose. Writing is rewriting. It's true.

46. Sport with riders: POLO. Guys ride on horses and try to hit a ball into a goal with a stick. This is some version of equestrian soccer (futbol with hooves.) Polo also has other meanings.

47. Matriarchal nickname: GRAN. One of many possible more-or-less affections nicknames for grandmother. This is not used in our clan. The LW is called Gramma, MeeMaw, or Grand-mom.

48. Core belief: TENET. My core belief has nine tenets. I believe Johnny Appleseed and William Tell had core beiefs.

52. Put the kibosh on: STIFLE Remember when Archie always told Edith to STIFLE herself? Those were the days.

54. Suggestive look: LEER. Ladies, I suggest you look at this.

56. Two-legged meat source: EMU. My daughter went to Eastern Michigan University. This is not their mascot. Nor is the Dromaius novaehollandiae, a large, flightless bird.

57. First name in puppetry: SHARI. Of course, this is Shari Lewis, shown here with her most famous creation. I don't know if she was ever on the lam, but the lamb was often on her.

59. Battles with bombers: AIR WAR. There was a lot of this in WW II, with the Germans trying to bomb the British, and the British trying to shoot down their bombers. A bad time was had by all.

61. Stars travel in them: LIMOS. Short for Limousine, a fancy car with a bar in the back, and a driver in the front. He'll take you anywhere you want to go.

66. Get used (to): ADAPT. Often we see INURE. This is a bit simpler.

67. __ Grey tea: EARL. Earl Grey Tea, flavored with bergamot extract, is my favorite. No lemon, no sugar, no milk (shudder.) Twinings is the best.

68. Dam buildup: SILT. Silt is loose sedimentary material that gets deposited by moving water. It forms deltas, and is dam clogging.

69. X-ray targets: BONES. Flesh is transparent to X-rays, which were discovered by William Reontgen, who refrained from naming them Roentgen waves. But bones are opaque to X-rays, and they can be X-ray photographed while they are still inside the body. This is convenient for both the DR. and the patient.

70. Whitehall whitewall: TYRE. I guess Whitehall must be in England somewhere. TYRE is the British spelling of tire, four of which could be found on the typical Riviera. Nice echo clue.

71. Tijuana tender: PESO. The PESO in Los Estados Unitos de Mexico is legal tender for all debts public and private, even if they are illegal.

Down:

1. Flowing back: EBBING. Tide flows in and flows out. Ebbing, the outflow, is used generally to indicate something receding, like my hair line.

2. One offering his seat?: MOONER. Back in the day, young people would stick their bare buttocks out of a car window. This can resemble the moon under certain lighting conditions that I was never able to duplicate. Why they did this is anybody's guess.

3. "Let me check": I'LL SEE. Pretty straight forward.

4. Bonanza: LODE. The rich vein of ore that can make a prospector rich.

5. A-one: PRIMO. Superlative. The best. Top notch. First class. Like this puzzle.

6. End: AIM. Not the most common meaning of "end" (or moon) but here "end" and "aim" refer to a goal - something to strive toward.

7. Jennyanydots's creator, initially: TSE. I am assuming that this is a character from CATS, the musical based on some of the writings of T. S. Eliot. We're seeing CATS next month, then I'll know for sure.

8. Mint, say: HERB. Herbs are edible plant parts using in flavoring other edible stuff. Traditionally, herbs were somewhat delicately flavored leafy plant parts, while spices were more aromatic and pungent, and often came from bark or seeds. The old distinctions are being blurred.

9. User of the prefix "i-": APPLE. Apple computer makes i-Mac, i-Pod, i-Pad, i-yiyi!

11. Inspiring apparatus: AQUALUNG. "Inspire" here refers to the intake of air, aided by the tank you can take diving, trade named AQUALUNG. Another fine GB misdirection.

12. Result of considering the pluses?: SUM. "Plus" here is the addition of a collection of numbers, resulting in a SUM. SUM more GB cleverness.

13. With it: HEP. "Hep" is very old school terminology for "up to date." Decades ago it morphed into "hip." Jazz fans back in the bebop days were hep cats.

18. Consume: TAKE IN. Ingest. Pretty straight forward.

22. Awards named for a writer: EDGARS. The Mystery Writers of America present EDGARS for excellence in mystery stories and movies. If you don't know who it is named after, I'm giving you a homework assignment.

25. Kind of roll: KAISER. This little doughy delight was invented in Vienna in honor of the Emperor, or KAISER, Fanz Joseph.

26. Futbol game cheer: OLE. Bullfighting too. I'll cheer for the OLAY - OLE echo.

28. Intrigued with: IN TO. Slang term for being interested in something. But when I TAKE IN a KAISER roll, it gets IN TO me.

29. Ruler from LIV to LXVIII: NERO. Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and last Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He is best known for allegedly fiddling around while Rome burned. This is a misconception. He was actually harping at a Lyre.

33. Fur that's a symbol of royalty: ERMINE. Those royals were always putting on airs. They could afford ERMINE. You and I - not so much.

36. Church caretaker, in Chelsea: VERGER. Again we have alliteration to indicate a foreign language, when the foreign language is English. I am 100% certain this is of French, not Anglo-Saxon derivation. Having learned this new word, I shall now promptly forget it.

38. "__!...I Did It Again": Britney Spears album and hit song: OOPS! I guessed, "THERE." which doesn't even have the right number of letters. That's how much I know about her "music." One Britney link is all you get.

39. Blood __: CLOT. A clot is coagulated blood. Clotting is useful to help close off wounds. Internal clotting, or thrombosis, can lead to hear attacks and strokes.

40. Juju or grigri: TALISMAN. A magic charm - a device to channel occult powers and get that Mojo Risin'.

42. Like a tonne of bricks?: METRIC. Now this is clever. That foreign language English again. In England, they use the Metric System of weights and measures. Here, we use the English System, because the Metric System went over like . . . well - you know.

45. Kilmer of "Top Gun": VAL. Actor Val Kilmer. Hey - didn't he play Mr. Mojo Risin'?

50. Computer letters: EMAIL. Not the alphabet, silly. Letters you receive on your computer, instead of by snail delivery.

51. Ask for help from: TURN TO. Interesting expression. You turn to someone you trust when you're in a tough spot.

53. Keeps going: LASTS. Straight forward again. So, let's have this.

55. Golfer's coup: EAGLE. In golf, an eagle means finishing the hole two under par: 3 on a par 5, for example. Like a birdie, but better.

58. Cynical response: I BET. A snarky challenge indicating skepticism. Or words heard after a hand is given.

60. Hoarse sound: RASP. The way your voice might sound with a sore throat, cough, and/or sniffles. Why did the mare make her colt wear a scarf when he went outside? He was a little horse.

61. Testing site: LAB. Short for laboratory, where science is done, and having nothing to do with golden retrievers.

62. Phrase said before taking the stand: I DO. A witness's answer to this question: "Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth . . ." I've never been on the stand, but I used to watch Perry Mason on TV.

64. Not ordained: LAY. This word refers to ordinary folk who perform formal or informal functions around the congregation, such as the VERGER. Which I had to scroll back up to find. I really did forget it that fast. I guess LAY might have other meanings as well. Can anyone think of any?

65. Two-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner: ORR. Bobby Orr, star defenseman of the Boston Bruins, Hockey stalwart, and now cross-word puzzle stalwart.

Answer grid.

That's all Folks.

Cheers!

JzB