Thursday March 25, 2010 Jeff Chen

Theme: Four of a Kind - Theme answers are clued with four identical question marked capitalized letters which are pronounced the same as the real hidden clues.

20A. CCCC? (4 C's, pronounced like "foresees"): TELLS THE FUTURE

39A. AAAA? (4 A's, pronounced like "forays"): MILITARY ATTACKS

56A. TTTT? (4 T's, pronounced like "forties"): CHILLY FORECAST

This puzzle reminds of Ashish Vengsarkar's NY Times July 30, 2009 puzzle. Ashish clued EEEE (Ease) as "Facility", QQQQ (Cues) as "Signals" and TTTT (Tease) as "Razz".

Sharon E. Petersen's last LAT has an interesting twist too. Among her theme answers are: CC (Seize) THE DAY (clued as "Time is fleeting" philosophy?) and GG (Jeez) LOUISE (clued as "Good grief!"?)

Anyway, today's theme answers themselves are not very interesting, they seldom are when clues and answers switch positions. But the theme concept itself is so inventive & fun. Jeff Chen has a imaginative mind.

Lots of four-letter words with straightforward cluing, guess that's why I had a easier time earlier.

Across:

1. Torah holders: ARKS

5. Dishonorable types: CADS. We also have NE'ER (67. ____-do-well).

9. Gets off the road, in a way: PLOWS. Get snow off the road I suppose.

14. Spear or pepper follower: MINT. Do you like peppermint tea?

15. End of grace: AMEN

16. Sound portion: AUDIO. The visual portion is VIDEO.

18. Pro __: RATA. Pro rata = In proportion.

19. Spills carelessly: SLOPS

23. Amount consumed: INTAKE

24. Yokel: RUBE

25. Bird was one, briefly: CELT. Larry Bird. Boston Celtics.

27. Hemingway's Santiago, in the story's title: OLD MAN. The title character in "The Old Man and the Sea".

32. Pontificate: ORATE

35. Jessica of "Good Luck Chuck": ALBA. I've never seen the movie. Sounds silly.

42. "Get outta here!": SCAT

43. Coward of the stage: NOEL. Noel Coward.

44. Clarifying words: ID EST. The full form of i.e.. Latin for "that is". I fell prey to I MEAN.

45. Inchon native: KOREAN. Inchon is a seaport in W South Korea.

49. Deli option: TUNA

52. Hunk: ADONIS. A reverse of our recent "Adonis"/HUNK clue. He is my ideal Adonis.

60. Santa __: Silicon Valley city: CLARA. So many CA references in LA Times puzzle.

61. Fuzz: LINT

62. DEA agent's discovery: KILO. DEA uses kilo rather than pound as drug unit?

63. Big jerks: BOZOS

64. Ocean predator: ORCA

65. Penultimate fairy tale word: EVER. "... and they lived happily EVER after.". Also ONCE (59D. Fairy tale opener). Nice fairy tale clue echos.

66. Used up: SPENT

68. Information __: DESK

Down:

1. Valuable violin: AMATI. Another one is STRAD. Loved "The Red Violin". Very real depiction of chaos during Chinese Cultural Revolution.

2. Like baked dough: RISEN. The dough is already risen before it's baked, isn't it?

3. Prepared to speak to a tot, maybe: KNELT. Nice new clue.

4. Overhead projection?: STALACTITE. It hangs from the roof of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water. Shaped like icicle. New word to me.

5. Monopoly: CARTEL

6. Eastern nurse: AMAH. Called so in Hongkong area. We just call is Ama in Guangzhou.

7. Discourage: DETER

8. Messy situation: SNAFU

9. Many a Matisse: PASTEL. Without Gertrude Stein, Matisse might not have achieved such fame.

10. Doozy: LULU

11. It's added to natural gas: ODOR. No idea. Why?

12. Use a rag on: WIPE

13. Coast Guard pickup: SOS. Oh, the signal pickup.

21. Olympic event since 1968: SKEET. Someone just mentioned this trivia on the blog.

22. Wolf pack member: U-BOAT. The WWII German sub. So U-boats form a wolf pack like attacking pack? I've never heard of the term before.

26. Poi essential: TARO. I really miss Cantonese taro cakes.

28. At an impasse, as the Senate: DEADLOCKED. One of two long non-theme entries.

29. Medieval club: MACE

30. More than wonders: ASKS

32. Trans-Siberian Railroad city: OMSK. The red arrow area.

33. Moneyed, in Madrid: RICO. Spanish for "rich". Alliteration again. Puerto Rico = Rich Port.

34. Banned apple spray: ALAR. Banned in 1989.

37. Indonesian island: BALI

40. Invalidate: ANNUL

41. España feature: TILDE. The diacritic mark above ñ. We just had UMLAUT yesterday.

46. "Finally!": AT LAST

48. __ sauce: seafood serving: TARTAR

50. Polymer introduced by DuPont in 1938: NYLON

51. Blazing: AFIRE

53. Like a babe in the woods: NAIVE

54. British __: ISLES

55. Childbirth symbol: STORK. I wonder what's the origin of stork delivering babies.

56. Equine sound: CLOP. Was thinking of the sound from equine itself rather than the sound it makes on the road.

57. Smog, e.g.: HAZE

58. Make smooth, in a way: IRON

60. Items used by good buddies: CBS. CB radios.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our talented wordsmith Lois and her daughter Katie at VA Beach on a windy day.

Additionally, Dan Naddor has his second puzzle published by NY Times today. Here is the write-up from the Wordplay blog. Lovely notes from Will Shortz and moving tribute from Dan's wife Tracie.

Ming Tian Jian!

C.C.

Wednesday March 24, 2010 Peter Abide

Theme: Name That Tune - All of the song titles consist of a girl's name in possessive form and a word that describes the tune itself.

17A. John Denver #1 hit: ANNIE'S SONG. Here is the clip. I like his "Take Me Home, Country Roads". He looked so innocent in "Oh, God!".

39A. "Guys and Dolls" showstopper: ADELAIDE'S LAMENT. Waiting for Clear Ayes to find the right clip. Mystery tune for me.

61A. "Dr. Zhivago" melody: LARA'S THEME. What's your favorite scene in "Dr. Zhivago"?

67A. With 68-Across and 69-Across, classic game show, and this puzzle's title: NAME

68A. See 67-Across: THAT

69A. See 67-Across: TUNE

This is the first time I saw a theme unifier split in the bottom of the grid in a LAT puzzle. Rather unique and refreshing. Can you find other song titles that fit the same pattern?

I've never watched "Name That Tune", though the answer emerged very quickly. I must have heard of it somewhere before.

Quite a few two-word entries in this puzzle, I counted 14. Nice & smooth puzzle from Peter Abide. This might be his LA Times debut.

Across:

1. Hippo's attire in "Fantasia": TUTU

9. Sun ray: BEAM

13. Actress Lena: OLIN. She is in "Chocolat".

14. "Lion's share" fabulist: AESOP. The saying "Familiarity breeds contempt" comes from his "The Fox and the Lion".

16. Hockey great Phil, familiarly: ESPO. Short for Esposito. I can never remember his name.

19. Largest of the Near Islands: ATTU. The Near Islands are the westernmost Aleutian island.

20. Place for a massage: DAY SPA

21. Campaign funders: FAT CATS. I like how it crosses MOUSY (12D. Meek).

23. Locale in a 1987 Cheech Marin title: EAST LA

26. "Yay!": OH BOY

27. Charon's river: STYX. In Hades.

30. Rub elbows (with): HOBNOB

32. Western __: history class, briefly: CIV (Civilization)

33. Industry kingpin: CZAR. More common than TSAR when applied to business/political big shot, right?

35. Bullies: ABUSES

42. Mississippi River explorer: DE SOTO (Hernando). I confuse him with Juan Ponce de León, who discovered Florida.

44. Baby talk word: GOO

45. Trial sites: VENUES

48. Measuring tool: RULER. Oh, the school measuring tool.

51. Billiards blunder: MISCUE

54. Fork or spoon: UTENSIL. Hmm, not if you have a DF mind as Dennis does.

56. Longtime buddy: OLD PAL

60. __-Honey: candy: BIT-O. Have never heard of this candy.

64. "Cool" rapper?: ICE-T. Thought of LL. Cool J.

65. Polished: SUAVE

66. They're removed via shafts: ORES. Nice new clue.

Down:

1. Repulsive sort: TOAD. Frog too.

2. Bone near the funny bone: ULNA. Literally "elbow" in Latin.

4. Like many salons: UNISEX

5. Andalusia abodes: CASAS. Spanish for "house". Alliteration. Italian "house" is CASA also.

7. Prefix with metric: ISO

8. Informal discussion: CONFAB

9. Shell collector, maybe: BEACH BUM

10. Cornerstone abbr.: ESTAB (Established). Always want a D in the end.

11. Is __: likely will: APT TO

15. Org. for drivers?: PGA. The question mark should lead you to golf. I hope Tiger wins the Masters. Tired of this endless scandal, so distracting.

18. Eco-friendly fed gp.: EPA

22. "Tough luck": TOO BAD

24. Senator Cochran of Mississippi: THAD. How do you pronoun Cochran? We also have SESS (41. Meeting of Cong.)

25. Legendary siren: LORELEI. On the Rhine. In the Valley of Lorelei (also spelled as Loreley).

27. Big batch: SCAD. Only used in plural form, isn't it?

29. Part of YSL: YVES

31. "The Lion King" lioness: NALA. The "Born Free" lioness is ELSA.

34. Temple area of Jerusalem: ZION. Jerusalem's Mount Zion.

36. "Sonic the Hedgehog" developer: SEGA

37. Grandson of Eve: ENOS. Son of Seth.

40. It includes terms of endearment: LOVE NOTE. Sweet!

46. Diacritical pair of dots: UMLAUT. The diacritical mark over a vowel in German words. Like the one above o in Schröder.

47. On a winning streak: RED-HOT

48. Apply before cooking, as spice to meat: RUB IN

49. New York city: UTICA

50. "Who cares if they do?!": LET 'EM

52. Math subgroup: COSET. Got the answer via crosses.

53. Last: Abbr.: ULT (Ultimate)

55. They, in Calais: ILS. French for "they". Nice rhyme. Calais (KAL-ey) the French seaport is on the Strait of Dover.

57. Llama land: PERU. Alliteration again. Rich Norris alliterates every possible foreign word.
58. Church approval: AMEN

59. Suffix with Congo: LESE. Congolese. Very straightforward prefix/suffix clue today. Happy, Jazzbumpa?

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a gorgeous photo from our fellow LAT solver Annette. She said: "I'm the blonde on the right in the bright colors. My sister Bobbie is opposite me, and her daughter Heidi is in the middle. It was taken at a Bridal Show a few weeks ago, while planning my niece's wedding".

Ming Tian Jian!

C.C.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Merle Baker

Theme: GRAND FINALE (61A: Big finish, and what the first words of the answers to starred clues can be) - The first word of each theme entry can follow the word GRAND. Superb tie-in phrase.

17A: *Sam in "Casablanca," eg.: PIANO PLAYER. "Casablanca", my favorite movie but I'm glad we weren't looking for a last name or the actor's name. (Dooley Wilson) He wasn't playing a GRAND PIANO, I know that.

36A: *Fast paced: SLAM-BANG. SLAM-BANG is what NASCAR racing has been this year. And while GRAND SLAM could express some of the accidents this year, it really means a sweeping success or total victory.

42A: *Collapsible headgear: OPERA HAT. (a top hat). GRAND OPERA is big production with lavish costumes and sets and a serious topic.

11D: *Hank Aaron's 6,856 is the career record: TOTAL BASES. TOTAL BASES refers to the number of bases a player has gained by his hits alone. Getting on base any other way isn't counted and any advances once on base aren't counted either. A single counts as one base, a double is two, a triple is three, and a home run is four. Combine them all and you get the GRAND TOTAL.

29D: *1962 Gene Chandler hit: DUKE OF EARL. The song. The meaning of GRAND DUKE at Wikipedia. (It's more than this but less than that.You can figure it out for yourself, if you want.)

And on that note, I'll say Argyle here. I kept waiting for Cruciverb last night but it didn't happen. I know I can count on my fellow blogsters to fill in the thin parts of my commentary. It's what makes this site GRAND!

Across:

1A: "The — Kid: early TV Western: CISCO. Very early. Song by War.

6A: Suit parts: VESTS

11A: "__ the season ...": 'TIS

14A: Choir members: ALTOS

15A: Even if, for short: ALTHO

16A: Cal. neighbor: ORE.

19A: Spinner: TOP

20A: Squealed, so to speak: SANG

21A: Be under the weather: AIL

22A: Formally unsay: RECANT

24A: Cutlass or 88: OLDS. Oldsmobile models.

26A: She plays Julia in "Julie & Julia": MERYL. Watched it this week. Agree with the rest of you; wanted more Julia, less Julie.

27A: Tack on: ADD

30A: Standards of excellence: IDEALS

32A: CEO's degree: MBA. Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Master of Business Administration (MBA)

34A: Dirty: GRUBBY

39A: "Wake Up With Al" weatherman: ROKER Best known as the weather anchor for NBC's Today show. On July 20, 2009, he began co-hosting his new morning show "Wake Up with Al" on The Weather Channel.

40A: China's Mao __-tung: TSE

41A: Studio stand: EASEL

44A: "Honor Thy Father" author Gay: TALESE. Cover. Any readers?

45A: Sun, to Esteban: SOL

46A: Outcome: UPSHOT

48A: Canonized 26-Down: STE.. 26D: Swiss miss, maybe: Abbr.: MLLE.. Hands up for those that saw Swiss Miss and thought "Cocoa!".

49A: Festival showings, perhaps: FILMS

51A: Quartz variety: ONYX

53A: Began the betting: OPENED

55A: UN anti-child-labor agcy.: ILO. International Labour Organization

56A: Old oath: "EGAD!"

60A: Menu phrase: A LA

64A: Roofing material: TAR

65A: Part of a pound: OUNCE

66A: Best-seller list entry: NOVEL

67A: NBC fixture for nearly 35 yrs.: SNL. Since 1975.

68A: Dirty campaign tactic: SMEAR

69A: Show reverence, in a way: KNEEL

Down:

1D: Limits: CAPS

2D: Hip bones: ILIA

3D: Ollie's partner: STAN. Laurel and Hardy.

4D: Zaire, today: CONGO

5D: Disney toon panda, "Special Agent ": OSO

6D: Travel bag: VALISE

7D: Airline to Tel Aviv: EL AL. Literally "skyward".

8D: Farm home: STY

9D: "Spider-Man 3" actress Russell: THERESA. Pic.

10D: More ticked off: SORER

12D: Heavy metal: IRON

13D: Back-to-school mo.: SEPT.

18D: Rice source: PADDY. Sorta like saying your wheat comes from a field.

23D: One of a drum set pair: CYMBAL

25D: Scales of the zodiac: LIBRA

27D: Soil-related prefix: AGRO

28D: Fails to grasp: DROPS

31D: Helpers: Abbr.: ASSTS.

33D: " __ of robins ...": Kilmer: A NEST. Another reference to the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer.

35D: Capital east of the Elbe River: BERLIN

37D: Substantial: MEATY

38D: Elation: GLEE

40D: Base melody: TAPS. A military base.

43D: Boring: HUMDRUM

44D: Like a __ bricks: TON OF

47D: Obama attorney general Eric: HOLDER. A pic with Obama.

50D: Tyke's blocks: LEGOS

52D: Arc lamp gas: XENON

53D: Granola ingredient: OATS

54D: Word after flight or floor: PLAN

55D: Ancient Peruvian: INCA

57D: Contributed: GAVE

58D: Away from the wind: ALEE

59D: Farmer's place, in song: DELL. ''The Farmer in the Dell''.

62D: "Wheel of Fortune" buy: AN 'E'

63D: Printer need: INK

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a grand photo of our fellow LAT solver Spitzboov "The Rascal". In his own words: "Sptzboov, in blue hat, sending greetings from the stern of the SS American Victory moored at Channelside, Tampa, FL in Feb., 2010, with his son, Peter."

Argyle

Monday, March 22, 2010 Robert Fisher

Theme: Body Parts - Four theme entries containing two parts of the body in a common idioms.

20A. Hopelessly, as in love: HEAD OVER HEELS

29A. Field sobriety test: FINGER TO NOSE

46A. Fierce way to fight: TOOTH AND NAIL

56A. Facetious: TONGUE IN CHEEK

And a single NAVEL (31D. Umbilicus).

Argyle here. Another serviceable Monday puzzle from Mr. Fisher. Doesn't need much explanation but still fun to do.

Across:

1A. Prefix with brewery: MICRO

6A. Quite a ways away: AFAR

10A. Field furrow maker: PLOW

14A. Like a specially formed committee: AD HOC. Latin, for this

15A. Infrequent: RARE

16A. Learn about aurally: HEAR

17A. Track shoe part: CLEAT. SPIKE would be better; CLEATS are for field games.

18A. Canon shots, briefly: PICS. Canon, the camera, not cannon, the big shooter.

19A. Dark and murky: INKY

23A. Meal remnant: ORT

24A. Cribbage piece: PEG

25A. Writer's coll. major, often: ENG.

26A. Piper in the air: CUB. In flight. Check out the leg stuck out the door and what is that; the wash drying on the line to the tail wheel?

32A. Fossil fuel: COAL

35A. Draw a bead: AIM

36A. Keeps for later: SAVES

37A. A single time: ONCE

38A. Theater chain founded in 1904: LOEWS

41A. __ Beach, Florida: VERO. On the Atlantic side, a little over midway down to Miami.

42A. Firestone products: TIRES

44A. Bit of a chill: NIP

45A. Formerly, previously: ERST

50A. Reply: Abbr.: ANS.

51A. __, dos, tres ...: UNO

52A. '50s car embellishment: FIN. Probably should have been plural; a rare sports car may have had a single fin.

53A. "Antiques Roadshow" airer: PBS

60A. Forte of a certain "doctor": SPIN

62A. Eye blatantly: OGLE

63A. Throw with effort: HEAVE. Caber Toss.

64A. Political alliance: PACT

65A. Mass transit option: RAIL

66A. Game show host: EMCEE

67A. "The Sun __ Rises": ALSO. The first major novel by Ernest Hemingway, 1926.

68A. Somewhat: A TAD

69A. Competed in a bee: SPELT. This will draw some comments.

Down"

1D. Virile: MACHO

2D. Work shirker: IDLER

3D. Copy from your classmate's paper, say: CHEAT

4D. Willie Nelson's "On the __ Again": ROAD. Clip.

5D. Squid cousins: OCTOPI

6D. Broken chord, in music: ARPEGGIO. I'll leave to our experts to discuss.

7D. Expo: FAIR

8D. Shooter with a quiver: ARCHER

9D. Bristle at: RESENT. William Tell bristled at being called an archer. He used a crossbow and was known as a bowman.

10D. Golfer Mickelson: PHIL

11D. Camera's protective cap: LENS COVER

12D. Cask material: OAK

13D. Droll: WRY

21D. Bribable: VENAL. VENAL bad; VENERABLE good.

22D. They're big in Hollywood: EGOS

27D. Online surfers, e.g.: USERS

28D. Stupefy with booze: BESOT

29D. Hertz inventory: FLEET

30D. Edit: EMEND

32D. Terra __: pottery clay: COTTA. The TERRA COTTA ARMY.

33D. Burger topper: ONION

34D. Puzzles involving quotes, usually: ACROSTICS

39D. Hall of Fame outfielder Dave or actor Paul: WINFIELD

40D. Madrid's country: SPAIN

43D. Steer clear of: SHUN

47D. Long-haired cat: ANGORA

48D. Chewy candy: NOUGAT

49D. Yard's 36: INCHES

53D. What a V-sign may mean: PEACE

54D. Slanted edge: BEVEL

55D. Trapshooting: SKEET

59D. Natural rope fiber: HEMP

60D. Place to be pampered: SPA

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a sweet photo of our fellow LAT solver Barry G, his lovely wife from Tianjin, China and their adorable son.

Argyle

Sunday March 21, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: The Clothier's Apprentice - Common phrases involving a sartorial word are humorously re-interpreted & clued as tailor-related. "The Clothier's Apprentice" story is narrated through the combination of clues & answers.

23A. Poor prep technique earned the apprentice the nickname __: TURKEY BASTER. To baste is to sew together loosely. Turkey = Poor.

34A. He thought NASA sewed astronauts' uniforms with the __: SPACE NEEDLE. Have you visited the Space Needle in Seattle?

48A. Mixing up orders from a cop and a priest, he __: COLLARED THE WRONG MAN. Superb choice of "a cop and a priest"(clerical collar). Different collar intimation.

65A. He designed a shirt, but wound up with a vest because he __: LOST THE THREAD. I hate when I lose the thread of conversation in blog Comments section.

82A. Jogging, he forgot about the pin cushion in his pocket and __: GOT A STITCH IN HIS SIDE. Learned a few months ago that "stitch" can refer to a sudden, sharp pain.

100A. He thought inferior fabric came from __: WORSTED WOOL. I understand the fabric term "worsted". But is the wordplay inferior "worst" here used as a verb?

113A. Upon reviewing the apprentice's work, the boss said, "Truly you are a __": TAILOR'S DUMMY. Hilarious!

Today marks the one-year anniversary of our switch to LA Times. What a fun, fine pangram gift from John Lampkin!

John is a musician, so quite a few music references in the grid:

7A. A to A, to Puccini: SCALA. Italian for "scale". We all know La Scala in Milan.

22A. Numbered Beethoven work, e.g.: OPUS

32A. Early prog rock gp.: ELO. Often clued as the "Xanadu" band.

88A. "The Planets" composer: HOLST (Gustav). I strung his name together via crosses.

109A. Wagner work: OPERA. Opera is also a plural of opus, isn't it?

122A. Clarinet and oboe: REEDS

104D. Early strings: VIOLS

Also brilliant word-weaving & echos in today's clues, hallmark of John's puzzles. I've highlighted them in green color in my write-up.

Across:

1. Yak: JABBER

12. Cape Town's country: Abbr.: RSA (Republic of South Africa)

15. Country bumpkin: RUBE

19. Farm vet's specialty: EQUINE. And NAG (73. Not much of a racehorse). And AT STUD (83D. Like some retired racehorses). Dictionary defines At/In Stud as: (of a male animal) offered for the purpose of breeding. New to me. Also SHOE (84. Horse's footwear).

20. Like a purring Jaguar: TUNED

21. Gambler's haunts, briefly: OTB (Offtrack Betting). But the clue is asking for plural OTBS.

25. Langley operative: CIA AGENT. CIA is based in Langley, Virginia. (Thanks for the correction, Haltool.)

27. Rotated car parts: TIRES

28. Ultimatum ender: ELSE. We often have OR ELSE.

29. Subj. concerned with habitats: ECOL

31. Fencing move: LUNGE

33. All over: ANEW

36. Dirty deed doer: DASTARD. Triple alliteration.

39. Eggs in labs: OVA

41. "The Chosen" author Chaim: POTOK. Have never heard of the book.

42. Divinity sch.: SEM (Seminary)

43. Shout in a ring: OLE. Bull ring. And I'LL GET IT (74. Response to a ring). Doorbell ring.

44. Finish, as a cake: FROST. Oh, noun "finish".

46. Kilmer poem ending: A TREE. From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". (Added later: The ending is from Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees".)

54. Sultan's wives: HAREM. Always thought harem refer to the room they live. Have you ever wondered why those Muslim girls' eyes look bright and mysterious? Well, they use KOHL for eyeliner.

57. Feline greeting: MEOW. And HOWL (85D. Wolf's cry).

59. Repeats: ITERATES

61. Vinyls, for short: LPS

62. Robust: HEARTY

64. Sale indicator: TAG

71. Bordeaux choice: CLARET. Bordeaux wine.

76. Hägar's daughter: HONI. Must be a gimme for all your "Hägar the Horrible" fans. Not me.

77. Censor's target: SMUT

79. Approaching: NIGH. So is NEAR.

81. Choose: ELECT

87. Lucy's chum: ETHEL. "I Love Lucy".

89. 1963 Cleo player: LIZ. And NILE (79D. Cleo's river). The latter is asking for an abbreviated answer.

90. Spot order?: SIT. Spot the dog. And AD REP (11D. Spot seller). TV Ad spot.

93. Enjoys a bath: SOAKS. And the consecutive WET (95. Like a bather). And WASH (51D. Bathe), followed directly by AERATED (52. Like hot tub water). John must love Degas.

96. Flamboyance: PANACHE

105. Family mem.: REL

106. "Au revoir": ADIEU. Does anyone know how to pronounce French R properly?

107. Speedy: FAST

108. Flex at the barre: PLIE. Barre is the ballet rail. And BEND (24D. Flex)

111. Varied assortment: MIXED BAG. Olio!

116. Brief confession: I DID

117. GI morale booster: USO

118. Kick out: EXPEL

119. "Enclosed __ please find ...": HEREIN

120. Dates: SEES

121. St. Helens, e.g.: MTN

123. Carol opening: ADESTE. The opening of hymn "Adeste Fideles" (O Come All Ye Faithful").

Down:

1. Took a red-eye, e.g.: JETTED

2. Eagle constellation: AQUILA. Latin for "eagle".

3. Forty-niners' carriers: BURROS. The Gold Rush forty-niners who arrived in CA in 1849.

4. You can pop a wheelie on one: BIKE

5. Hydrocarbon endings: ENES. I don't mind the pluralized form of a chemical ending. How about you chemical expert, Al/Jazzbumpa?

6. King, in Spain: REY

8. Geezer's invectives: CUSS WORDS

9. Part of a.m.: ANTE. Man, I never know that a. m. stands for ante meridiem (before noon).

10. Poe's Annabel: LEE. Poe's "Annabel Lee".

12. Fragonard's paintings exemplify it: ROCOCO ART. The answer emerged itself. Not familiar with the French painter Fragonard. How does Rococo differ from Baroque?

13. Sharp-looking heels?: STILETTOS

15. Rapscallion: ROGUE

16. Overturns: UPENDS

17. Botch: BUNGLE

26. Source of a draft?: ALE KEG. The beer draft. I only felt air draft.

30. Seal, as an oil well: CAP

34. Accessory indicating rank, perhaps: SASH

35. Norse goddess of fate: NORN. Any of the three. The Furies also consist of three goddesses.

37. Chan portrayer: TOLER (Sidney). Total stranger to me.

38. Stag: ALL MALE

40. It's cast in a booth: VOTE

44. Big spread: FEAST. Was imagining a big spread of farmland.

45. Play the vamp: TEMPT

47. Austen novel: EMMA

48. Mail order book: CATALOG

49. Pasta sauce herb: OREGANO. Jeannie's sweet potato with dried herbs sound delectable.

50. Roger of "Cheers": REES. First encounter with this guy.

53. Nasty: NOT NICE

54. Pull (up), as pants: HITCH. And LEG (61. An April fooler might pull yours).

58. One of the Earps: WYATT

60. Tiny one: TOT

62. Cartoonist Foster: HAL. No idea. Wikipedia says he's the cartoonist for "Tarzan" and "Prince Valiant".

63. Enters stealthily: EDGES IN

66. Wood fastener: T-NUT

67. Concoct: HATCH

68. "Exactamundo!": RIGHT

69. K-12 catchall: ELHI (ELementary + HIgh school)

75. Alfred Doolittle's daughter: ELIZA. "My Fair Lady".

77. Ever dedicated: STEADFAST

78. Bygone delivery vehicle: MILK WAGON. I don't have any milkman memory as many of you do.

80. Set up, as software: INSTALLED

86. Croat or Serb: SLAV

90. Hindu masters: SWAMIS

91. Salt used in thyroid treatments: IODIDE

92. "Hi and Lois" baby: TRIXIE. Uh-uh. Nope.

94. "Help!" at sea: SOS

96. Place to tie up: PIER. Tie up the boat.

97. Thickish liqueurs: CREMES

98. No social butterfly: HERMIT. Like Salinger.

99. Comic Boosler: ELAYNE. Is she very famous?

101. Bird feeder filler: SEEDS

102. Furry river critter: OTTER

108. Old King Cole's smoke: PIPE. Simple English nursery rhymes are often stymies to me. Cultural gap.

109. Used too much: OD'ED. Overdosed.

110. Squeaky clean: PURE

112. Dover derrière: BUM. Dover is picked for alliteration again.

114. Forest feller: AXE. One more alliteration.

115. Syllable in oldies: SHA

Answer grid.

A special "Thank You" to Rich Norris for a wonderful year of daily entertainment and education.

C.C.

Interview with Will Nediger

One of my favorite LAT Sunday puzzles is Will Nediger's "Watch the Birdie", in which he placed ONE under PAR in 10 different places.

Will is a 19-year old college student from Canada. Since April 2006, his puzzles have appeared in LA Times, NY Times, NY Sun and probably other newspapers/magazines I am not aware of.

Can you tell us your thought process on this puzzle?

I remember solving a wonderful Paula Gamache puzzle in the New York times with a similar grid (stacks of 11-13-15 on the top and bottom). The great thing about Paula's puzzle was that the bottom stacked entries all rhymed: CULTUREVULTURES, GEORGIEPORGIE, and GREENSCREEN. And the top stacked entries were all crisp, fresh phrases: THEONCEOVER, FOOTBALLWIDOW, and SAYTHEMAGICWORD. That kind of grid has lots of possibilities for a themeless, because it's a lot less constrained than stacking three 15s, and 11s and 13s don't get that much currency in themelesses. My puzzle didn't end up as fresh as Paula's, but I'm still pleased with it.

What is your background? How does it influence your crossword style?

I'm currently at university studying linguistics and Spanish, and playing Quizbowl on the side. So I like to include all the usual things in my crosswords: pop culture, in-the-language phrases, and so on. But because of Quizbowl, my puzzles tend to skew more academic (and the same is true of Joon Pahk, who used to play Quizbowl back in the day). This usually happens in the cluing, though, rather than the entries, so a lot of my academic clues get changed in editing. I eagerly await the day when one of my Kierkegaard clues for EITHEROR makes it into print!

How did you first get interested in crossword construction?

I've been interested in construction for as long as I can remember. Of course, I shudder to think of how terrible my early efforts were. I used the old-fashioned pencil-and-graph-paper method, and I erased through a lot of sheets of graph paper. I was also in the habit of putting in entries that seemed like they might be words, and then hoping that they would turn out to be in the dictionary.

Is theme more important to you then the quality of the fills? What is a perfect puzzle for you?

I think I differ from most people in the business, in that I value fill quality over theme quality. Of course, for themed puzzles, the fill is really just a vehicle for the theme, which is primary. But I find that the real art in constructing crosswords is creating a fill that's relatively free from obscurities and other unwanted entries, but that still contains lots of fresh stuff and Scrabbly letters. Actually, maybe I just think this because I'm terrible at coming up with themes. My favourite puzzles are themelesses, of the sorts that Frank Longo, Karen M. Tracey and Matt Jones make. (And yeah, those three people have wildly divergent styles, I know. But they're all great.)

Besides crossword, what else do you do for fun?

All sorts of things: Scrabble (which I'm sure can be said of lots of other constructors, although the two activities are really very different), anything to do with literature, most racket sports, foreign languages...

Saturday March 20, 2010 Will Nediger

Theme: None

Total words: 66

Total blocks: 35

The empty grid is cornered like a picture frame, very pretty design. Tragically, I ruined the whole puzzle. My finished grid looks like the Hindenburg crashing into the Titanic. Total disaster.

The three odd-numbered stacks of entertainment clue/entries atop the puzzle challenged me immensely. The lower NAKED AS A JAYBIRD (46. Without anything on) is a just fantastic fill. I wonder where the saying comes from, Al?

Tricky clues abound. My favorite is EX-CON (16. Record holder?). Fell to the trap of thinking about the normal contest record rather than the intended criminal record.

Are you surprised that the constructor is a teenager from Canada?

Across:

1. "The West Wing" creator: AARON SORKIN. Stumped immediately. Can you handle the truth? Wikipedia says he also wrote "A Few Good Men".

12. 1947 Oscar winner for Best Original Song: ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH. I was clueless. Awesome entry though.

14 1988 Michelle Pfeiffer comedy: MARRIED TO THE MOB. Here is the poster. Looks fun.

17. Battery alternative: FUEL CELL. No idea. Dictionary defines it as "a device that produces a continuous electric current directly from the oxidation of a fuel, as that of hydrogen by oxygen".

18. Neural transmitter: AXON. Your impulse transmitter.

19. Cat murmurs: PURRS. Impulsively penned in MEOWS.

21. Charmer who "walks like a woman and talks like a man, " in a 1970 hit: LOLA. Hit from the The Kinks about a transvestite.

22. John of London: LOO. The toilet "john".

23. Old postal divisions: ZONES

24. Pachelbel work: CANON. Johann Pachelbel was a German composer famous for his "Pachelbel's Canon". Learning moment for me.

25. Oct 1975 NBC debut: SNL

26. Cost to get in on the deal: ANTE. Poker.

27. Cunning: SHREWD

28. First queen of Carthage: DIDO. She founded Carthage. Killed herself when abandoned by the Trojan hero Aeneas. Love is _ ?

29. For whom the bell tolls: THEE. "... for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee". Terrific clue.

30. Catkin bearers: ALDERS

33. Fast-growing pet: CHIA

34. Half of CDX: CCV. 1/410=205.

37. Ad preceder: DEUCE. Tennis score. Ad in/out follows deuce.

38. Frighten: DAUNT

39. Last word of Shelley's "Adonais": ARE. Man, who knows?! The last lines are :"... The soul of Adonais, like a star/Beacons from the abode where the Eternal are". "Adonais" Shelley's elegy for John Keats.

40. Amplify: MIKE. Did not know mike can be a verb.

41. Smart-mouthed: SASSY

42. Silly rabbit's desire, in ads: TRIX

43. Campus figure: ACADEMIC. Did Will's clues strike you as academic?

45. One in a class by herself?: TUTEE. Nice clue too. But why "herself" instead of "himself"?

49. Most buses: SINGLE DECKERS. Lots of double deckers in Guangzhou/Xi'An.

50. '80s NBC medical drama: ST. ELSEWHERE. Have never heard of this drama. What's your favorite Denzel Washington movie?

Down:

1. Use a fan on: AIR-COOL

2. Kitchen protector: APRON

3. Delay cause, maybe: RAIN

4. Dedicated work: ODE. Ah, Lemonade!

5. Neighbor of Homer: NED. Homer Simpson's neighbor.

6. Emancipated: SET FREE. Tricky "set" tense.

7. Sussex scents: ODOURS. British spelling of "odors". Sussex is picked for alliteration purpose.

8. Dull drills: ROTES

9. Cleopatra's eyeliners: KOHL. This stumped many last time it appeared in our puzzle.

10. "My stars!": I DECLARE. Both are quaint cries of surprise, aren't they?

11. "Give me a for-instance": NAME ONE

12. Fighter craft game released by Sega in 1982: ZAXXON. No idea. What does Zaxxon stand for?

13. empty: HOLLOW

14. Board: MEALS. Room and board.

15. Hardly spicy: BLAND

19. Koi habitats: PONDS

20. Golden rule word: UNTO

23. Site of the 1974 fight known as "The Rumble in the Jungle": ZAIRE. Where Ali beat Foreman.

24. Play badly: CHEAT. Wanted EMOTE.

27. Newly polished: SHINY

28. Will writer, at a will reading: DECEDENT. Hmmm, nice "Will" clue, Will, way to go!

29. Consequently: THUS

30. Pro pitcher?: AD MAN. Got me again.

31. Pioneer 35mm cameras: LEICAS

32. Loser to Bush in 1988: DUKAKIS (Michael). Two Ks. This puzzle is quite scrabbly, with two Z's, three Xs. Only one Q away from a pangram.

33. Cataract: CASCADE

34. Bridgestone product: CAR TIRE

35. Old yellers: CRIERS. Who did not think of the the movie "Old Yeller"?

36. In a snit: VEXED

38. Places for roasters and toasters?: DAISES. Nice rhyme.

41. Picayune: SMALL

42. Yam, for one: TUBER. How do you normally prepare your yam?

44. Competitive advantage: EDGE

45. Trike rider: TYKE

47. Saul or Solomon: JEW. Saul is the first king of Israel. Are Jewish people offended by the word Jew? It has a negative tone to my goyish ear.

48. "Oh!" to Ohm: ACH. The best ACH clue I've seen.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday March 19, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Uber-Ersatz - Part of each common English phrase is substituted by a similar sounding German word/name with a corresponding "German" clue.

17A. German version of GQ? HERR STYLE (Hair style). German title, equivalent to Mr. or Lord.

18A. Section reserved for a German composer?: BACH'S SEATS (Box seats). Johann Sebastian Bach.

23A. Car parked next to a German sedan?: AUDI NEIGHBOR (Howdy neighbor!) German car make.

35A. Germans living in the fast lane?: AUTOBAHN SOCIETY (Audubon Society). German motorways which have no general speed limit.

43A. Give a German philosopher the third degree?: QUESTION MARX (Question marks). Karl Marx.

52A. Former German chancellor's coffee sweetener? LUMP OF KOHL (Lump of coal). Helmut Kohl, chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998.

59A. Causes for alarm in the West German capital? BONN FIRES (Bonfires). Bonn was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990.

And some bonus fill:

16A. Cousin of danke: MERCI. German and French for 'Thank you".

19D. "Sprechen __ Deutsch?" SIE. German for 'Do you speak German?'

melissa bee here. what an honor to guest blog a Dan Naddor puzzle, and this one was really fun. i love heavy themeage, count 'em, six theme answers. six in german is "sechs," pronounced 'zeks,' rhymes with sex.

(Note from C.C.: There are actually seven theme answers, the first and last two are overlapped. A whopping total 77 theme squares. But Melissa's rhyming comment is precious!)

Across:

1. "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" subject: COMMA. Book referred to frequently on this blog, about proper punctuation.

6. Interim measures: STOPGAPS

14. James teammate: O'NEAL. LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal, Cleveland Cavaliers.

15. Provided home security, in a way: HOUSE SAT. Or haus sat?

20. Freshman, probably: TEEN

21. Lubricate: OIL

22. Back in: RETRO. Everything old is new again.

30. Place follower: SHOW. Win, place and show. Horse racing.

31. Put out: EMIT

32. Comrade: PAL

40. Acidity-level symbols: PH'S. The pH scale corresponds to the concentration of hydronium ions in a solution, and measures the acidity (or basicity) of a solution. Paging Dr. Dad ...

41. Manitoba tribe: CREE

42. Prolific auth.? ANON. Ain't it the truth.

47. Relish: EAT UP

50. Bossy remark? MOO. Great clue. But this is really milking it.

51. La __ Tar Pits: BREA. Is there an echo in here?

61. Excessive: UNDUE. As in undue speeding.

62. In a tight row: END TO END

63. Paris bisector: SEINE. According to Wikipedia, the River Seine in France is 482 miles long, and there are 37 bridges over it in Paris alone. One of the final scenes in 'Something's Gotta Give,' is filmed on just such a bridge, when when Harry (Jack Nicholson), thinking he has lost Erica (Diane Keaton), stumbles out of the Grand Colbert restaurant and past the Hôtel de Ville. Remember?

64. Relieve, as of mistaken ideas: DISABUSE

65. Searches for: SEEKS

Down:

1. Search thoroughly: COMB. Like for ticks. "You never know where one might be..."

2. Ready to serve: ONE-A

3. Cougar or Sable, briefly: MERC. Mercury the automobile make.

4. Speed ratio: MACH. It is said that an aircraft is flying at Mach 1 if its speed is equal to the speed of sound in air (which is 332 m/s or 1195 km/hr or 717 miles/hour.) Named after Ernst Mach (1838-1916), an Austrian philosopher and physicist.

5. "The Nowhere City" author Lurie: ALISON (not to be confused with the American rapper named Allison Lurie). Relied on perps for this. Interesting info from Wiki: 'The Nowhere City, evokes both Thomas More’s Utopia (Greek for “nowhere”) and Gertrude Stein’s comment about Oakland, California, “There is no there there.” Coincidentally, my last guest blog puzzle had 'Utopia' clued as "More work."

6. Subway Series stadium: SHEA. The Subway Series is a series of Major League Baseball games played between teams based in New York City. So named in the 1920's because the subway had become an important form of public transport in the city and provided a convenient form of travel between the three city ballparks: the Polo Grounds, in upper Manhattan; Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx; and Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.

7. Suit material? TORT. Torts are civil wrongs recognized by law as grounds for a lawsuit.

8. Couple's word: OURS. Aw.

9. Afterthoughts, briefly: PS'S. Post Scripts.

10. Go-__: GETTER

11. So far: AS YET

12. Not as flushed: PALER

13. Dictator's assistant? STENO. Stenographer.

17. Prefix with pad: HELI. Heli-pad. I hear Jazzbumpa groaning from here.

22. Univ. recruiter: ROTC. Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

23. Quickly, in memos: ASAP. As Soon As Possible.

24. "Don't think so": UH UH

25. Bitmap components: DOTS. Fooled me, I wanted DPI's.

26. '40s flag-raising site, briefly: IWO. Iwo Jima. Here is the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal, and even live footage.

27. "The Maids" playwright: GENET. No idea.

28. Pinafore letters: HMS. HMS Pinafore, the comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan.

29. Short life story? BIO. Short for biography.

32. 2003 A.L. Manager of the Year Tony: PENA. A.L. = American League. Pena managed the Kansas City Royals from 2002-2005. Again from Wiki: He is the father of pitcher Tony Francisco Peña (mistakenly known as "Tony, Jr."), as well as New York Mets minor league player Francisco Peña, a prospect for the New York Mets.

33. Fabric finish? ATOR. Finish of the word fabricator. That you again, Jazz? (Groaning, not fabricating.)

34. Bobcat, e.g.: LYNX

36. Support spec: B-CUP. I think Dan threw us a bone.

37. "Chances __": Mathis hit: ARE. Song. Also a movie with Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey Jr., and Ryan O'Neal.

38. Men: HE'S

39. Sam-__: I AM. He does not like green eggs and ham.

43. Amounts: QUANTA

44. Little rascals: IMPS

45. Hugs, in letters: OOO. XXX are kisses.

46. Easy to use, in adspeak: NO FUSS

47. Subsided: EBBED

48. Rice-__: A-RONI

49. Ministers: TENDS. Verb, not noun.

52. Place: LIEU

53. Coffee servers: URNS

54. Ancient Persian: MEDE. The Medes lived in Media.

55. Place for a pad: KNEE. Knee pad.

56. Comic strip dog: ODIE. Garfield's bane.

57. Adonis: HUNK. Du siehst echt zum Anbeißen gut aus!

58. 19th-century military family: LEES. I was unaware there were so many.

60. "The Gift of the Magi" gift: FOB. Also a set of COMBS (1D).

Answer grid.

melissa