Saturday September 19, 2009 Merle Baker

Theme: None

Total blocks: 33

Total words: 64

Wow, this puzzle has no 3-letter word at all. Very low word count, only 64, our lowest since the switch.

PRESENTEES (6D: Oscar winners, e.g) and STATUETTES (27D: Oscar winners' winnings) are great anchors for the grid.

Besides the above "Oscar winners" echo, the below clues also have the "word association" Bob Klahn mentioned in his interview:

14A: Theoretical, as profits: ON PAPER

17A: Based on medical observation instead of theory: CLINICAL

24A: Chief Valhalla god: ODIN. The Norse Zeus. Dad of Thor & Tyr.

28A: God, in Guadalajara: DIOS. The Italian God is DIO, without the S.

A harder puzzle than last Saturday's. I had to look at my cheat sheet several times.

I asked Rich Norris (LA Times Crossword Editor) about the recent eased-up phase. He answered: "The easier clues will continue as we monitor feedback from solvers and local papers. Recent input suggests that the end-of-the-week puzzles are too hard for too many people. We'll be trying to find a level that brings more solvers into the mix on Friday and Saturday, yet still sufficiently challenges the more experienced solvers".

I asked Rich the question last month when I first sensed the ease, he answered immediately. I should have shared with you sooner.

Across:

1A: Speaker booster: PRE-AMP. No idea. Short for preamplifier.

2A: Overcharged illegally: GOUGED

13A: Western evergreen named for its eventual bark color: RED FIR. Oh, I was unaware of this fact.

16A: Unending, in poetry: ETERNE (i-TURN)

19A: White sale items: LINENS

20A: Like expensive fight seats: RINGSIDE. Boxing/wresting. The area immediately surrounding the ring.

21A: Bearded blossom: IRIS. See the white beard?

22A: Enthusiasm: ELAN

25A: Makes automatic: MECHANIZES

29A: "Don't move, Fido": STAY. Reminds me of the Steven Wright line Dennis quoted the other day: "I bought a dog the other day...I named him Stay. It's fun to call him...'Come here, Stay! Come here, Stay!' He went insane."

30A: Adjective for a yellow bikini, in a 1960 #1 hit: TEENIE. "Itsy Bitsy TEENIE Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini".

32A: More shadowy, as evening: DUSKIER

36A: Slanders: MALIGNS

37A: Punctual: ON TIME

39A: Eddie __, New York cop involved in the actual "French Connection": EGAN. Unknown to me. I had difficulty focusing on the plot while watching "The French Connection".

40A: Winter Olympics contestants: SKI JUMPERS. Got the answer with the Down fill help.

46A: OR activity: SURG. Surgery I suppose.

47A: It might save your skin: ALOE. From sunburn.

48A: Mariner's heading: ALEE. Opposed to aweather.

49A: Shoves off: SETS SAIL. "Shove off" is a new phrase to me. I only know "Shove it". Teresa John Kerry is a very colorful character.

52A: Again and again?: THRICE. Great clue.

54A: Small and unimportant, as a town: ONE-HORSE. Learned this from John Kerry's presidential campaign also.

55A: __ powder: TALCUM. GARLIC, anyone?

56A: Garden tool: TRIMMER. Did not come to me readily.

57A: Plaza Hotel sprite: ELOISE. Learned from doing Xword. Have never read "ELOISE at the Plaza".

58A: Divers' fishing implements: SPEARS. I don't associate "divers" with fishing.

59A: Classified: SORTED. Was in ad direction.

Down:

1D: It's before the main event, briefly: PRELIM (Preliminary). My initial reaction is PRO-AM, thinking of golf tournament.

2D: Hang it up, so to speak: RETIRE

3D: Blissful: EDENIC. What's your idea of heaven?

4D: Anew: AFRESH

5D: State where the Mississippi R. originates: MINN. Gimme for me. Twins won! Twins won again last night!

7D: Have a wild time: GO CRAZY

8D: Modern way to shop: ON LINE

9D: __ arms: UP IN. Angry. A new idiom to me. I wanted OPEN.

10D: Turf controller: GANG. We've got Hmong GANG here in Minnesota.

11D: TV Series opener: EPISODE I

12D: Tough job for a beauty contest judge: DECIDING. Ellen Degeneres is a perfect pick for "American Idol".

15D: Contact the harbor master from one's ship: RADIO IN

23D: Inventive sort?: LIAR. Nailed it. By the way, look at the funny "Loose Parts" Dennis linked yesterday. Notice there are two number 1's in a grid? Impossible! "You lie!".

26D: "Sure __ standing ...": AS I'M

31D: Na or Cl, e.g.: ELEM (Element). Again, got the answer with Across help.

32D: Playground retort: DOES SO

33D: Salve: UNGUENT. Was this a gimme to you?

34D: Appetizers: STARTERS. Look at these Korean food STARTERS. Mostly fermented veggies. Hot and spicy!

35D: Royal office: KINGSHIP. Wow, have never heard of this word before.

36D: Magic charm: MOJO. Has Obama lost his MOJO?

38D: Tractor attachment: TILLER. Farming machine again. Hey, Windhover.

41D: Wilhelm's title in WWI Germany: KAISER. All German emperors are called KAISERS, correct?

42D: Sitting room: PARLOR

43D: Draw out: ELICIT

44D: Disqualify (oneself), as a judge: RECUSE. Used to love "Law & Order".

51D: Weapons, in Latin: ARMA. New to me. I suppose that's how we get arms.

53D: Head light?: HALO. My favorite clue today. Just heavenly.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of Wisconsin gang. From left to right: Kazie looks beautiful in aqua; Dot (81-year-old) is just what I've pictured in my mind, an elegant lady; Her husband Irv is 95 years old if I recall correctly. They do crossword together after dinner. And our radiant Andrea who owns Brasserie V on Monroe Street in Madison.

C.C.

Friday September 18, 2009 Jack McInturff

Theme: L-adder (Letter L is inserted at the beginning of familiar words/names)

18A: Hope of one placing a personal ad? (L)OVER MATCH. Overmatch, a contest in which one opponent is distinctly superior.

26A: Peruvian worshiper?: (L)IMA BELIEVER. "I'm a Believer". The Monkees 1966 hit. Composed by Neil Diamond. Lima is the capital of Peru.

42A: Knock a motorcycle daredevil flat?: (L)EVEL KNIVEL. Evil Knievel, the stunt performer.

54A: Kid going nuts with building blocks? (L)EGO MANIAC. Egomaniac, obsessively preoccupied with oneself, like the former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.

Thought of Scott Turow's "One L" after I was done with the puzzle.

I wonder what's the main seed entry for the theme. Probably LIMA BELIEVER. The constructor also clued NEIL (31A) as "Sweet Caroline" singer Diamond. He is probably a Neil Diamond fan. "Sweet Caroline" was inspired by Caroline Kennedy.

Across:

1A: 1988 tennis Grand Slam winner: GRAF (Steffi). She's married to Agassi.

5A: Partner of alas: ALACK. Alas and ALACK! Woe is me!

10A: "City of Seven Hills": ROME. The Eternal City. I think girls are shapely there because it's is so hilly. Also REMO (2D: San __, Italy), the Riviera resort (bottom left).

14A: Sitcom named for its country star: REBA (McEntire)

16A: French state: ETAT. Louis XIV once famously claimed "L'ETAT, c'est moi" (I am the state). Putin has the same attitude.

17A: Cupid: AMOR. Ah, "Omnia vincit AMOR ("Love conquers all"). It took courage to go to Argentina for a hike. True love!

20A: Camera bag accessory: ZOOM LENS

22A: "Carmen", e.g.: OPERA. By Bizet.

36A: Former Alaska Territory capital: SITKA. The largest city in the US by area. Alaska's first capital. Oh, you can definitely see Russia from there.

39A: Collector's goal: SET. It took over $250 to collect a Topps Chrome Heritage Baseball Card SET. Too expensive for me.

40A: Il __: Mussolini: DUCE (DOO-chey). Literally "leader". Rooted in Latin dux ("leader"), so is "duke".

41A: Talk show host Gibbons: LEEZA. Learned her name from doing Xword. Have never watched or listened to any of her shows.

45A: One you don't find in a foxhole?: ATHEIST. Not familiar with the aphorism "There are no ATHEIST in foxholes". Wikipedia explains that it's used to argue that "in times of extreme stress or fear, such as when participating in warfare, all people will believe in or hope for a higher power." Make sense. Nice crossing with DEISM (40D: Belief in a non-intervening God), belief in God through reason, a type of theism.

48A: Prepares to shoot: AIM. Not fond of the clue due to PREPARED (50A: Ready).

57A: Insolvent S&L company: WAMU (Washington Mutual). Biggest bank failure in U.S. history.

58A: Roman road: ITER (IT-air). Root for itinerary.

60A: Novelist Hunter: EVAN. Oh, it's he who wrote the screenplay for "The Birds". Unknown to me.

63A: Archaeology projects: DIGS

Down:

1D: Austria's second largest city: GRAZ (Gräts). No idea. Vienna is the largest city obviously. Arnold Schwarzenegger was born and raised in a farming village 2km from GRAZ. Don't wait. He won't be back.

4D: Agricultural worker: FARM HAND

5D: State without proof: ALLEGE

6D: Train maker in the National Toy Hall of Fame: LIONEL. Did not know there is a Toy Hall of Fame.

7D: Dirt bike relatives, briefly: ATVS (All-Terrain Vehicles)

8D Friend of Fidel: CHE (Guevara)

11D: Playful swimmer: OTTER

12D: Computer shortcut: MACRO. What is MACRO? I strung the answer together from Across fills.

13D: Revolutionary Allen: ETHAN. American Revolutionary War patriot.

25D: New Balance rival: AVIA. Latin for "fly".

28D: Barrier at a zoo: MOAT

29D: Big name in chips: INTEL. Dummy, I thought of potato chips again.

32D: Chicken __: deep fried dish: KIEV. Have never tried Chicken KIEV.

33D: Wood-shaping tool: ADZE. Or ADZ.

36D: Navigators and Explorers: SUVS. By Ford. Good clue.

37D: "Cool" rap artist?: ICE-T. Good clue too.

38D: Couldn't make up one's mind: SEESAWED. Like Hamlet. "To be, or not to be".

42D: Poe's "rare and radiant maiden": LENORE. From "The Raven".

43D: Self-defense method: KARATE. 空手. Literally "empty hand". Kara = empty. Te = hand.

44D: Family reunion attendees: NIECES

45D: Chalmers' business partner: ALLIS. ALLIS-Chalmers, the farming equipment manufacturer. Windhover mentioned this brand before. But I forgot.

47D: Philosopher who was a pioneer of German idealism: HEGEL. He certainly influenced Karl Marx's and later on Chairman Mao's philosophy. And yours as well, Windhover?

52D: Cyberzine: EMAG

53D: Pressures for payment: DUNS. Learned this word while working for Pinkerton. Fraud & due diligence investigation is hard and not fun.

55D: Battery buys: AAS

56D: Cavs' and Mavs' org.: NBA. Nice rhyme. Shaq is now with the Cavs, hopefully he will "win a ring for the King".

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday September 17, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: TABLE (61A: Postpone, as a motion (and word that can follow the last word of answers to starred clues))

18A: *Singly: ONE AT A TIME. Timetable, schedule.

20A: *Gathering of reporters: NEWS CONFERENCE. Conference table. Often oval shaped.

31A: *Workplace gambling group: OFFICE POOL. Pool table. Billiards.

40A: *Furthermore: IN ADDITION. Addition table. Not used in my childhood education. Multiplication table, yes!

52A: *Negotiating for a lesser sentence: PLEA BARGAINING. Bargaining table. How many times has the unruly child Kim Jong-il walked away and then returned to the bargaining table? The kid is beyond the reason.

57A: *Credit company with a "Priceless" ad campaign: MASTER CARD. Card table. For card game. Also called poker table, correct?

Dan stacked the top and bottom theme answers again. This has become his signature, together with the heavy themage. Total 34 black squares in this grid. We normally have 38.

Today's Dan Naddor Index (total non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 11. Lower than normal. Is it because of long theme answers & overlapping restriction, Dan?

Almost aced this puzzle. Wrongly put SISCO instead of SYSCO for (21D: Big name in food service), so I had ION instead of YON for 23A ("... the morn ... Walks o'er the dew of __ high eastward hill": "Hamlet"). Hamlet is the ultimate flip-flopper, worse than Brett Favre.

Across:

1A: Giant Mel et al.: OTTS. Mel OTT is the only OTT I know of.

10A: Ballpark figs: ESTS (Estimates)

15A: Euripides tragedy: MEDEA (mi-DEE-uh). She helped Jason obtain the Golden Fleece, then was deserted. Then she killed her two sons by Jason.

17A: Pre-euro denaro: LIRE. LIRE is the plural of LIRA.

24A: Olympian's quest: MEDAL

25A: Sources of overhead costs?: ROOFS. The question mark signals that it's not the business operating overhead costs.

27A: Highchair feature: TRAY. Fit nicely with today's TABLE.

30A: GPS suggestion: RTE. And ROAD (28D: Turnpike) & WIDEN (50D: Add lanes to).

34A: "The Swiss Family Robinson" author Johann: WYSS. Obtained the answer from Down fills. Wikipedia says the book was inspired by Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe".

35A: Game for one: SOLITAIRE. I bet Dan tried to place some TABLE preceding word/phrase here.

44A: "I love," in Latin: AMO. "Wo Ai Ni" = "I love you" in Chinese.

45A: Topple (over): KEEL. Capsize.

46A: Stereotypical parrot name: POLLY. Oh, unknown fact to me.

49A: Cote occupant: EWE. Sheep, pigs and pigeons are all occupants of cote.

51A: Mormon initials: LDS (Latter-day Saints).

62A: Morales of "NYPD Blue": ESAI. Short for Isaiah (ahy-ZEY-uh), meaning "salvation". Loved his Tony role. Very cool, except when he reconnected with his stupid ex.

63A: Lowly laborer: PEON. Spanish for "day labor".

Down:

1D: Big-eyed bird: OWL. Ah, have to bring back the alert OWL Melissa linked the other day. It's now part of Argyle's avatar.

2D: Envision: THINK OF. And TIRED OF (3D: Fed up with). Odd to have two OF sitting side by side. But both are prepositions, so I guess it's OK.

5D: Gas giant that merged with BP: AMOCO. Merged in 1998. Just won a huge contract in Iraq.

6D: One of the noble gases: XENON. Rooted in xenos, meaning "foreign", as in xenophobia.

7D: First garden site?: EDEN. Nicely parallels LEAF (8D: Tree growth).

11D: Washer setting: SPIN DRY

12D: Alley prowlers: TOMCATS. Womanizers.

13D: TVs Remington et al: STEELES. Thanks, Lemonade.

22D: Guadalajara gold: ORO. Montana's motto is ORO y plata (Gold and Silver).

26D: Catcher Carlton __, who famously homered to win Game 6 of the 1975 World Series: FISK. For the Red Sox, though they lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Calton FISK is a Hall of Famer, though his baseball cards are not worth much.

27D: Bottom line amount: TOTAL

33D: Woodsy aerosol scent: PINE

36D: Turn red, perhaps: RIPEN. Took a long time for my tomatoes to turn red this year.

37D: Janitor's tool: DAMP MOP

38D: Try to equal: EMULATE. The wonder kid Rory McIlroy seems to be unfazed by Tiger Woods.

39D: Regains consciousness: COMES TO

42D: Nasty geezer: OLD GOAT. New to me. Sounds awful.

43D: Where Hillary was sen.: NYS. Or "Where Eliot Spitzer was gov.". What a tragic fall! So much potential with Spitzer.

49D: Grammy-winning country star Steve: EARLE. Have vaguely heard of this name. What is his most famous song again?

54D: Victrolas, e.g.: RCAS. Ah, Nipper the dog. He is looking into the horn of a Victrolas.

55D: Ties up the phone, say: GABS. I like attentive & focused phone conversation.

Answer grid.

Congratulations to our fellow solver Kathleen Wolf (WM). Her "American Landscape" has been chosen as one of the top 10 art entries in Show us your America online contest. I would appreciate it if you would all vote for her. This time it's limited to 1 vote per person, so spread the words and tell your friends about her painting. Together, we can do it.

Picture of the Day: Here is a wonderful photo of our fellow LAT solver Col G and his family at his elder son's wedding in Oct 2007. Col G is a retired Army Engineer based in Bangalore, India.

He said: "L to R in the front are My wife's mother, My mother, My wife's father at the rear L to R, my daughter-in-law Renu (She is a Technical writer with Juniper networks), my elder son Vikram (He is a senior software programmer with ORACLE), my younger son Gaurav (He is a Captain in the Army, following the footsteps of both his grandfathers and father as well), yours truly and lastly my wife Gita (She is a Kindergarten teacher).

Just a snippet, my wife and my mother are wearing the traditional dress of Malayalees ie those who belong to the state of Kerala in India, the dress looks like a sari and is called a Mundu."

C.C.

Wednesday September 16, 2009 Michael Blake

Theme: Dog-tired-all theme answers are clued as "Really exhausted".

20A: ON ONE'S LAST LEG

28A: READY TO DROP

36A: ENERVATED

47A: TUCKERED OUT

56A: WORN TO A FRAZZLE

Normally I have trouble with same word(s) used as clues for theme answers style puzzle. Not today.

Maybe because all the theme entries are familiar to me. Just learned ENERVATE a few months ago. I used to confuse ENERVATE with the exact opposite INNERVATE (invigorate/energize) until I read Kazie's prefix "é" = out/away explanation.

Can you guess how old the constructor Michael Blake is? His clues are quite expressive: "Really exhausted", "Love to pieces", "Really cold", etc.

Across:

1A: Colored part of the eye: IRIS. Greek for "rainbow".

14A: John Wesley's relig.: METH. Wesley founded Methodist Movement.

15A: Love to pieces: ADORE. Nice crossing with IDOL (6D: Object of worship).

17A: Arizona city: MESA. And the "Arizona county/river" is GILA (HEE-luh).

18A: Fenway Park team, briefly: BOSOX. They won the first ever World Series (1903, against Pirates), which takes place in OCTOBER (42D: Halloween month).

24A: Honey maker: BEE. Ah, our blog BEE's , sweet!

27A: 11-point blackjack card, at times: ACE

33A: Copier paper size: LTR. 8.5" x 11".

34A: Creole vegetable: OKRA. Fried OKRA sounds delicious.

35A: Mil. school at Annapolis: USNA. Senator John McCain's alma mater.

40A: Bassoon cousin: OBOE. Derived from French hautboy/hautbois (HOH-boi). Bois = wood. Haut = high, as in "haute couture" or "haute cuisine".

54A: Concrete -reinforcing rod: REBAR. Re = Reinforcing. New to me.

61A: Ali who stole from thieves: BABA. We got "Open Sesame" from "Ali BABA and the Forty Thieves".

62A: Broom rider of the comics: HILDA. No idea. Have never heard of Broom-HILDA the green-skinned witch. According to Wikipeida, she is Attila the Hun's ex-wife and she is perpetually looking for a new husband. Good luck then.

63A: With 66-Across, roadside stop: REST. Placed directly above AREA (66A: See 63-Across).

67A: Sitcom radio station: WKRP. "WKRP in Cincinnati".

68D: Gunslinger's "Hands up!": REACH

Down:

1D: Unethical: IMMORAL. Like Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling of ENRON (21D: Bankrupt energy company).

2D: Bring to life again, as a Civil War battle: REENACT

3D: Romance-ending words: IT'S OVER. Sad, "that's all she wrote".

4D: 1953 Alan Ladd Western: SHANE

8D: Singing Bing: CROSBY. Great golfer as well. Founder of the current Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

9D: Moderate-sized chamber group: SEXTET. Group of six. Sex is Latin for "six". Don't know what is Latin for "sex".

10D: Board game with suspect: CLUE

11D: Closet assortment: HANGERS. Same pronunciation as airport HANGERS.

12D: Jennifer of "Friends": ANISTON. She plays Rachel. Maybe Jennifer ANISTON should date a baseball/football player instead of actors/singers.

13D: House cat: PET. And EEK (36D: Response to a mouse).

31D: Camp for presidents: DAVID. Named after Ike's grandson DAVID.

42D: Faulty firecracker: DUD. Alliteration.

37D: Latin 101 verb: AMO. AMOS (I love), amas (you love), amat (he/she/it loves).

38D: Sigma follower: TAU. The Greek T.

39D: Additional: EXTRA. Two X's, and two Z's in this grid.

40D: Horse player's hangout, for short: OTB (Offtrack Betting).

41D: Defensive wall: BULWARK. Rampart is seven letter too.

44D: Really cold, temperaturewise: SUB-ZERO. Lived in sub-tropical Guangzhou before I moved to Minnesota in 2001. Our coldest days are in January, average low is 50F.

45D: Shrunken Asian lake: ARAL SEA. Nice to see its full name for a change.

46D: Furtive listening device: WIRETAP. The coolest guy I've worked with is an ex-Marine. He is a debugging expert.

48D: Extensive period: EON

49D: Preferably: RATHER

50D: Star, in France: ETOILE. Our state motto is "L'ETOILE du Nord" (the Star of North). What's yours?

55D: Poet Pound and others: EZRAS. Cornell founder is EZRA Cornell.

58D: Edison's middle name: ALVA. Learned from doing Xword.

59D Banking regulatory agcy.: FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). Ben Bernanke just said that the recession is probably over. He predicted earlier this year that the recession would probably last until Oct.

60D: Diaper problem: RASH. Have never changed a diaper in my life.

Answer grid.

C.C.

PS: Please email me crosswordc@gmail.com if you have any family photos to share.

Tuesday September 15, 2009 Donna S. Levin

Theme: LOST IN SPACE (57A: TV sci-fi series, first aired 9/15/1965, on which a robot spoke the catchphrase formed by the first words of 17-, 26-, and 42-Across).

I think that is the longest clue I have ever seen in a puzzle.

17A: Toon rodent who's a British secret agent: DANGER MOUSE.

26A: Suitor's proposal: WILL YOU MARRY ME?

42A: Shipwrecked literary hero: ROBINSON CRUSOE.

Melissa Bee blogging.

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON! Even though I never watched LOST IN SPACE, I got the answer immediately. Wikipedia says the phrase was only used once on the show.

Fairly straightforward puzzle, with a few unknowns to make it interesting. Three letters short of a pangram (J, Q and X).

Donna S. Levin has a knack for tribute puzzles. We just had her "The Wizard of Oz" (70-year anniversary) last month.

Across:

1A: Actress Messing of "Will & Grace": DEBRA.

6A: Nothing, in Latin: NIHIL. “Nihil aude, nihil obtine." Risk nothing, gain nothing.

11A: 6-Across suffix: ISM. Who said, "ism's, in my opinion, are not good."?

14A: Typical: USUAL. I'll have the usual.

15A: Endangered layer: OZONE.

20A: Scenic routes, often: SIDEROADS. Like this.

21A: "Look Homeward, Angel" author Thomas: WOLFE. His autobiographical first novel. One of my unknowns. Easy to confuse him with "The Bonfire of Vanities" author Tom WOLFE.

32A: Baseball's "Big Unit" _____ Johnson: RANDY. 6' 10" Pitcher for SF Giants. "Big Unit" indeed. Left-handed. Second All-time in strikeouts (4,867), after Nolan Ryan. Don't confuse him with Baseball's "The Big Train" Johnson, Hall-of-Famer Walter Johnson (right-handed).

33A: Cattle drive buddy: PARD. If you insist. And 62A: Buddy: PAL.

36A: Bouquet: SCENT. I tried to 'smell' it first.

38A: Litter weakling: RUNT.

40A: German name for Cologne: KOLN. I must have been absent the day we learned that.

41A: Cup for cafe: TASSE. French for cup. Like this. Or this.

46A: "_____ directed": medication warning: USE AS.

47A: Ship, to a sailor: HER.

50A: Mike Nichols's comedy partner: ELAINE MAY. Improvisational comedy duo from the 1960's. No idea.

59A: Nipper's co.: RCA. The famous dog listening for his master's voice.

64A: Two foursomes: OCTET. Sometimes it's OCTAD.

Down:

1D: Bombs that don't go off: DUDS.

2D: Actor Morales: ESAI. Crossword staple.

3D: 1930s-'40s German-American political group: BUND (boond). Wikipedia says 'Its main goal was to promote a favorable view of Nazi Germany.'

5D: In a wary way: ALERTLY. Watchful.

6D: "Hold the Hellmann's": NO MAYO. I've never uttered those words in my life.

7D: Shirt that once had a reptilian logo: IZOD.

8D: Male Servant: HOUSEMAN. You're hired.

9D: Aetna's business: Abbr: INS. Aetna is named after Mt Etna, the Sicilian volcano.

10D: Moving toward the calmer side, at sea: LEEWARD. Opposite of windward. See?

11D: "Shoulda listened to me!": I TOLD YOU SO. Or, as my aunt used to say, 'I mentioned that.'

18D: Actor Calhoun: RORY.

22D: Hockey legend Bobby: ORR. Bruins #4. RANDY Johnson always wears #51, except when he was with the Yankees.

25D: Golfer's wheels: CART.

26D: Loony one: WACKO. Irritating word.

27D: How a debater's response is made: IN REBUTTAL. There you go again.

28D: Mormon's gp.: LDS. Latter-Day Saints.

29D: Philly Ivy League sch.: U PENN.

30D: Minister's home: MANSE.

31D: Art Deco designer: ERTE. A gimme, thanks to C.C.

32D: Trailer park resident, for short: RV'ER. Recreational Vehicle. Not so much. I don't normally think of a trailer park and an RV park as the same thing.

36D: Slugger Sammy: SOSA. Sometimes it's "Slamming Sammy", which could also refer to the legendary golfer Sam SNEAD.

37D: Forms an increasingly smaller circle around, with "on": CLOSES IN. Another long clue.

38D: Coll. dorm VIPs: RA'S. Resident Assistants.

40D: Prepared to say 26-Across: Kneeled. Aw. Two cross-references in today's grid.

41D: Seeks help from: TURNS TO.

43D: Cuba or Aruba: Abbr: ISL. Island. Nice rhyme.

44D: Common poolside chair: CHAISE.

45D: Bridle part: REIN. Argyle has educated us about this before.

48D: Ball field protector: TARP.

49D: Peruvian of old: INCA.

51D: Former Ford cars: LTDS.

53D: Enhanced milkshake: MALT

54D: Entr' ____: intermission: ACTE. French for 'between the acts.'

55D: Mon., on Tues.: YEST (Yesterday). Today is Tuesday. Rich is quite attentive to this detail.

58D: Four quarters: ONE. Four quarters make one whole. "12D starter?" would be a great cross-reference clue too.

Answer grid.

Melissa Bee

Monday, September 14, 2009 Lila Cherry

Theme: Vowel Progression

17A: London art museum, as it was formerly known: TATE GALLERY

25A: Its seat is Jackson, Wyoming: TETON COUNTY

35A: It shows a book's name, author. publisher, etc.: TITLE PAGE

52A: Photographic memory: TOTAL RECALL

59A: Multi-flavored ice cream: TUTTI FRUTTI

TAT - Make lace
TET - Vietnamese New Year
TIT - Small bird
TOT - Small child
TUT - Mild reproof

Lila Cherry is just Rich Norris, anagram of "Really Rich". He uses this alias name for Monday puzzles.

All theme entries are two-word phrases, and the T?T is the start of the first word. Very consistent. Nice triple stacks of 7's Down fills in each corner. (Notes from Rich: The main inspiration was to see if I could come up with TAT/TET/etc. words which use long vowels, unlike the 3-letter words which all use short ones.)

I'm going to say that this puzzle is just right for a Monday. The pros should have no trouble; the tyros will struggle some, but if they have been solving on a regular basis, they should recognize some from recent puzzles, i.e. 64A: Actor Zimbalist Jr.: EFREM.

Then there is what I think of as the Jeopardy clues: You have no idea so you give the only answer you can come up with, i.e. 25A: Its seat is Jackson, Wyoming: TETON COUNTY. On Jeopardy, they are the answers that usually start a category.

Oh yeah, Argyle here and I feel like putting in a lot of links today. And if you're wondering, no troubles with Across Lite today.

Across:

1A: Places for chickens: COOPS. A-frame style for free rangers with good nighttime protection.

6A: Teapot feature: SPOUT. Teapot

11A: Roman 901: CMI. And 49A: AT&T competitor: MCI.

14A: Comics orphan: ANNIE. Scary

15A: Skier's jacket: PARKA. and 16A: Youthful fellow: LAD. Parka lad

19A: Some MIT grads: EES. Electrical Engineers.

20A: Extreme degrees: NTHS.

21A: LPGA teen phenom Michelle: WIE. With her hair down. She is coming off a bad weekend.

22A: Tibet's capital: LHASA. Chinese call Tibet as Xizang, very scrabbly.

24A: "__ you ready for this?": ARE.

28A: Oinker: PIG.

29A: Proofs of age, briefly: IDS. Identifications

30A: Ones making money: EARNER.

31A: Pointy-eared "Star Trek" guy: SPOCK. "Live long and prosper."

33A: Cookie holder: JAR. Or

34A: Small jazz combo: TRIO.

39A: Parts of the Rockies: Abbr.: MTNS. Mountains.

42A: Boiling: HOT.

43A: Kitchen allure: AROMA. It depends on who's in the kitchen.

47A: Norse mariner Leif: ERICSON. His route. Leif is also the son of "Eric the Red".

51A: King, in France: ROI.

54A: Prickly chestnut case: BUR. Here.

55A: Blackmore's " Doone": LORNA. R. D. Blackmore, (d. 1900). Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor, is a romance novel based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, England.

56A: Paul Bunyan's tool: AXE.

57A: Piece of sausage: LINK.

58A: Stock mkt. debut: IPO. Initial Public Offering: a company's first stock offering to the public.

63A: Fire, to the French: FEU. Look, it's Monday, they even tell you it's French. Pot-au-FEU is literally "pot on fire", which Dennis hates.

65A: "__ the loneliest number": old song lyric: ONE IS. Not that old, is it?

66A: Ambulance destinations, for short: ERS. Emergency Rooms

67A: Goes bad, as milk: SOURS.

68A: Strolls in shallow water: WADES.

Down:

1D: Short snoozes: CATNAPS. Cats napping.

2D: Traveling away from home: ON A TRIP. And 3D: Very busy: ON THE GO.

4D: Pumpkin desserts: PIES. T'is the season. Yum. And 25D: __ torch: patio light: TIKI. Time to put them away for the year.

5D: Part of a line: Abbr.: SEG.

6D: Bowler's challenges: SPLITS. Remember? We had BABY SPLIT awhile back.

7D: Opposite of neo-: PALEO. A combining form meaning “old” or “ancient.” Paleosong lyric?

8D: Source of iron: ORE.

9D: Kiev is its cap.: UKR.

10D: "Fire and Rain" singer/songwriter James: TAYLOR.

11D: Vacuum __: CLEANER.

12D: Orchestra conductors, formally: MAESTRI. Italian plural of maestro.

13D: "Sounds about right to me": I'D SAY SO.

18D: Dumbfounded: AWED.

23D: Big game tracker: HUNTER. Can you see HUNTER (Torri) on his back?

26D: Twice-monthly tide: NEAP. The tide occurring at the end of the first and third quarters of the lunar month, in which high water mark is at the lowest. The tide at full and new moon is when the water mark is at its highest.

27D: Irene of "Fame": CARA. Image

32D: Radiologist's procedure, briefly: CT SCAN.

33D: Fast plane: JET. Did anyone try SST first?

36D: Norse thunder god: THOR. Image. Two Viking references today.

37D: "The __ Ranger": LONE. Ah, the memories.

38D: "Passages" author Sheehy: GAIL. Her book.

39D: Insurance company with Snoopy on its blimp: METLIFE. Blimp.

40D: State cop: TROOPER. Are all state policemen called troopers?

41D: __ oxide: laughing gas: NITROUS.

44D: Circled the earth: ORBITED.

45D: Canadian cop: MOUNTIE. Not troopers. Great left to right "cop" mirror to TROOPER.

46D: Smooch that even misses the cheek: AIR KISS. A maestro of air kisses.

48D: Political candidate lineups: SLATES.

49D: Adages: MAXIMS. Axioms too.

50D: First symbol on a musical staff: CLEF. For C.C.

53D: Supply party food for: CATER.

57D: Pale-green moth: LUNA. Pretty.

60D: ET's vehicle: UFO.

61D: One-man show about Capote: TRU. He was an American writer who wrote both Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood.

62D: Use oars: ROW. Banacek on the Charles River, Boston. (TV show, mystery).

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a photo of today's constructor Lila Cherry (Rich Norris, editor of LA Times Daily Crossword, the taller guy). On his left is the master of tribute puzzles David Kahn, the author of NY Times' Barack Obama "Making History" & Michael Jackson puzzles.

Argyle

Sunday September 13, 2009 Pamela Amick Klawitter

Theme: Rainbow Connection - Familiar phrases/names starting with (the orderly placed) colors of the rainbow.

22A: Fake footprint at the murder scene, e.g.: RED HERRING. Something intended to divert the attention from the real issue. Joe Biden used the phrase RED HERRING very often during his campaign TV appearance.

26A: Tea type: ORANGE PEKOE. Just black tea. No orange flavor.

33A: Coward, slangily: YELLOW-BELLY. Learned this phrase, lily-livered and mealy-mouthed together in one Op-Ed piece.

66A: Anne's home, in a 1908 Montgomery classic: GREEN GABLES. "Anne of GREEN GABLES", new novel to me. GREEN GABLES is a fictional farm in Prince Edward Island. Montgomery is a Canadian author.

98A: Aristocratic: BLUE-BLOODED. Wikipedia says blue blood is from Spanish phrase "sangre azul," indicating noble birth or descent. And the term derived from the fact that the native Spanish have thinner-walled (bluer) blood vessels than people of Arab origin (the Moors).

107A: "Closer to Fine" folk-rock duo: INDIGO GIRLS. They are featured prominently in "Wordplay". Crossword nuts.

115A: Ponytailed pal of Lucy Van Pelt, in "Peanuts": VIOLET GRAY. No idea. Can't really see her poneytail.

And 49D: Mnemonic for this puzzle's theme: ROY. G. BIV, placed perfectly in the heart of the grid. I like how those color phrases are structured. Very orderly and elegant. I just can never remember ROY G. BIV. So complicated. It's easier to remember the color sequence.

There are also three Biblical figures in this puzzle:

19A: Brother of Moses: AARON. He helped lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. I've never heard of him. More used to the Hank AARON clue.

80D: Twin of Jacob: ESAU. He sold his birthright to Jacob. Probably crossword constructors' favorite Biblical figure, with all those vowels.

95D: Third son of King David: ABSALOM. Hebrew for "father of peace". Ab(h)=father. Salom = peace. Completely unknown to me. I had AB????M, then I decided ABRAHAM sounds good.

Very pleasant solving. Lots of clever clues.

Across:

5A: 12th century year: MCII. Roman 1102.

9A: Tante's spouse: ONCLE. French for uncle. Tante=aunt.

20A: Santa's favorite snack cakes?: HO HOS. Ho, ho, ho, lovely clue for our Santa Argyle.

21A: Limp-watch artist: DALI. In his "The Persistence of Memory", the watches are limp.

28A: Story starter? ESS. Letter S starts the word Story, hence starter.

27A: Kiss drummer Peter: CRISS. No idea. He is the Catman. Those guys have very strange makeup.

30A: Bite hard: CHOMP

31A: Conjurer's word: PRESTO

39A: Net business: ETAIL. Like Amazon/Ebay.

40A: It may have a code: AREA. Stumped me. Nice clue.

43A: A-Team muscle man: MR. T. Would prefer another clue due to TEAM (123A: Locker room group).

46A: Fitness franchise primarily for women: CURVES. There is one closer to our home.

48A: Related to the lower back: SACRAL. The noun is sacrum. Latin for "holy bone". No wonder it sounds sacred.

52A: Adjusts, as sagging socks: HIKES UP

54A: Helmsley and others: LEONAS. "The Queen of Mean" hotelier.

56A: 1930s-40s singer/actress Durbin: DEANNA. Unknown to me. She looks pretty. Canadian. Still alive.

57A: Stuffed shirt: SNOB

59A: "As a matter of fact," informally: Y'KNOW

62A: Stare: GAPE. Thought of OGLE.

71A: Paperless tests: ORALS. And DEES (74A: Bad marks) & BEAR (58D: Nasty exam).

73A: Meal on a stick: KABOB. Shish KABOB. Lots of weird food-on-a-stick at our State Fair.

76A: Nursery rhyme loser?: BO PEEP. "Little BO BEEP has lost her sheep". Stumper for me. All nursery rhymes are.

78A: Make a home (in): RESIDE. And ADOBE (102D: Southwestern home).

81A: "Like that'll ever happen!": DREAM ON

86A: Shows up: APPEARS

88A: Correct, as text: REVISE

90A: Site of a bread line?: BAKERY. Nailed it.

91A: "L.A. Law" costar: DEY (Susan)

92A: Go round and round: ROTATE. I liked the clue.

97A: Island east of Java: TIMOR. Sigh. I can only think of BALI. West TIMOR belongs to Indonesia. East TIMOR is an independent country.

100A: Pay attention in class: LEARN. Wanted LISTEN.

106A: One of a world majority: ASIAN

117A: Wittenberg's river: ELBE. Wittenberg is a town on the ELBE River. Famous for its connection with Martin Luther and the dawn of the Protestant Reformation. Unknown to me.

118A: Knock off: CEASE

119A: Wrong move: ERROR

120A: Mythical matchmaker: AMOR. Cupid. Roman love god. YENTE is the "Musical matchmaker" in "Fiddler on the Roof".

121A: Highland rejections: NAES

122A: Specter on the Hill: ARLEN. Pennsylvania senator. Started as a Democrat, then changed to Republican, and now back to a Democrat.

124A: Slider's goal: BASE. Baseball.

Down:

2D: Aggressive Greek god: ARES. Greek god of war. TYR is the Norse equivalent.

5D: Cousin of the xylophone: MARIMBA. New instrument to me also. What kind of wood is it made of?

6D: Veggie drawers: CRISPER. I put my grapes/peaches in the CRISPER.

8D: Having one sharp, musically: IN G. Nope. Music term is definitely my blind spot.

9D: Chicago site of many connections: O'HARE. Airport. Second busiest airport in the world, after Atlanta.

11D: Seaman's song: CHANTEY (SHAN-tee). New word to me. I will just connect it with chanter, French for "sing".

12D: A million to one, say: LONG ODDS

13D: Italian noble family: ESTE

14D: Gigi's goodbye: ADIEUS. Does Gigi here refer to Leslie Caron's "Gigi" or just a common French name?

15D: Warmongers: HAWKS. Like Paul Wolfowitz. Man, this guy is incredible. Expensive suit, no?

16D: Economist Janeway: ELIOT. Got the answer from Across fills. He was the economic advisor to FDR and LBJ.

17D: Gets the lead out?: MINES. Metal lead.

19D: Hood's weapon?: ARROW. Robin Hood.

23D: Lacking auditory feedback: ECHOLESS. Did not know it's a word.

28D: Jazz trombonist Kid: ORY. Nope. Complete stranger to me. I do know the answer for "Jazz trombonist grandpa": RON. Our jazzbumpa.

29D: Chinese leader: PREMIER. Zhou Enlai is our first and most beloved PREMIER.

30D: Horror writer Barker: CLIVE. Nope. He does not look like a writer. I like this CLIVE (Owen). Daniel Craig too. I find them to be very attractive.

31D: Put: PLACE

33D: "Ugh!": YECH. JD uses this word sometimes.

34D: Case for tweezers and such: ETUI (ey-TWEE). PTUI is pronounced like TOO-ee.

35D: Symbol of happiness: LARK. Happy as a LARK.

36D: "Boston Public" actress Sharon: LEAL. No idea. Do you like her lipstick color?

38D: Like no news?: GOOD. No news is GOOD news.

41D: Decaf pioneer: SANKA. Have never had it.

42D: "If at first you don't succeed" course of action: PLAN B. This answer gives me trouble all the time, regardless of how it's clued.

44D: Keep getting Mad, say: RENEW. Mad magazine. M is capitalized.

45D: Old dynasts: TSARS

47D: Like most pop hits: SUNG. Did not come to me immediately.

51D: He succeeded Fidel: RAUL. Brothers.

53D: Politically motivated spending: PORK. Pork barrel.

62D: Turn: GO BAD

63D: Soap-on-__: A ROPE. What is this? The Urban Dictionary definitions sound awful.

64D: Popeye's dad Poodeck __: PAPPY. No idea. PAPPY is just a Southern slang for dad, correct?

65D: Civil War's Robt. __: E LEE

67D: Big name in criticism: EBERT. Film critic Roger EBERT.

69D: Long time follower?: NO SEE . Long time NO SEE.

69D: Certain Slav: SERB

72D: Chef's high-temperature technique: SEARING. Hmm, I want some seared tuna.

75D: Vacation area: SEA COAST. "Vacation spot" is better as AREA is an answer to 40A.

77D: Annual dance: PROM

79D: Lollapalooza: DILLY. Lollapalooza is a fun word.

82D: Goodyear's home: AKRON. Once “the rubber capital of the world”.

83D: Hoover Dam's lake: MEAD

85D: "Blue" TV squad: NYPD. "NYPD Blue".

87D: More boring: STODGIER

89D: __ Fagan, Billie Holiday's birth name: ELEANORA. No idea. Thought Billie Holiday is her real name.

93D: New kid on the block, e.g.: ARRIVAL. Interesting intersection with RIVAL (114A: Honda, to Toyota).

97D: Toys "R" Us purchases: TRIKES

98D: Real est. ad. count: BRS

99D: Hybrid big cat: LIGER. Lion & tiger. Offspring of a male lion and a female tiger. Tiglon = Tiger & lion, the offspring of a male tiger and a female lion.

101D: First name in B-29 lore: ENOLA. ENOLA Gay.

104D: Rub off: ERASE

108D: Willy of "Free Willy": ORCA

111D: "Get Smart" evil agency: KAOS. Obtained the answer from Across fills.

112D: Thomfield Hall governess: EYRE. Jane EYRE.

115D: Check for accuracy: VET. Such rigorous vetting process for those White House nominees.

116D: Gift of the garrulous: GAB. Kiss the Blarney Stone, you'll get the gift of GAB.

Answer grid.

C.C.