Saturday March 21, 2009 Tom Pruce

Theme: None

Total blocks: 32

Total words: 68

Had some trouble with lower right corner. But at least I filled in lots of blanks. I only got a few words in last week's LA Times puzzle, and some were just wrong guesses.

I expect lots of fun ahead, but also plenty of struggles. I will definitely need your help to understand the cluing and get the theme right.

The clue for TONERS (46D: Soothing skin creams) is simply wrong. Toner is liquid. Mr. Pruce needs to pay close attention to what his wife is using to s-Pruce up her skin.

Across:

1A: Last letter of words?: ESS. Can't fool me.

14A: Gods of Ancient Rome: DEI. So what is the singular form of DEI then? I often confuse DEI with DEO, as in DEO gratias (thanks be to God).

16A: Actress Piper: LAURIE. No idea. Strange name, Piper, sounds like a man. Wikipedia says this lady dated Reagan a couple of times before his marriage to Nancy. And she was in some TV series called "Twin Peaks".

17A: Brown-and-white cow: GUERNSEY. "Brown-and-white" indeed. They look happy. Happy cows were bred on the British Channel Island of GUERNSEY, hence the name. I've never heard of it before.

20A: Guevara and others: ERNESTOS. I don't know any "other" ERNESTO.

25A: Fearless daring: AUDACITY. Ah, "The AUDACITY of Hope". Our governor Tim Pawlenty said "Hope is not a plan".

28A: Academy frosh: PLEBE. Navy Academy I presume?

30A: Hawkins of Dogpatch: SADIE. "Li'l Abner" stuff again. Sadly, I forgot all about her and the SADIE Hawkins Day. Did she find a husband in the end?

35A: Edberg or Sorenstam: SWEDE. Lots of great golfers are from Sweden. So is Tiger Wood's wife. Some call rutabaga as SWEDE.

38A: Salad-service piece: CRUET. Not a common item in Asian kitchens.

42A: Rump: DERRIERE. I envy those who have DERRIERE. Most Asians don't have butts.

44A: Click beetle: ELATER. No idea. Huge eyes. Do they make clicking noises? If so, they certainly won't elate me. Dennis says only male turkeys gobble, and females "make a clicking noise". I thought they make "clucking" noise. What do you think?

50A: Amati's hometown: CREMONA. Unknown to me. See this map. Also the Strad namesake "Stradivari's hometown".

54A: Quick impression: APERCU. Or Synopsis.

56A: Fast-food customers: ORDERERS. I thought of TEENAGERS first.

60A: A. J. of auto racing: FOYT. Nope. I only know A. J. of baseball. Wikipedia mentions that A. J. FOYT is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 (which he won four times), the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans".

Down:

2D: Premier pointillist: SEURAT (Georges). Here is his most famous work: "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte".

3D: Burnt shade: SIENNA. Like this. Don't understand why our editor has never clued SIENNA as the scorching hot/ready to burn "Actress Miller". Her name is fun to play with.

4D: Become rigid, in a way: TENSE UP. Ah, "TENSE UP".

5D: Profligates: WASTRELS. New word to me. I wanted WASTERS, but it's one letter short.

10D: Countrified: RUSTICAL. Only know Rustic.

11D: Raymond Burr TV series: IRONSIDE. Have zero familiarity with this TV series or the actor Raymond Burr.

12D: Arizona river: GILA. Or the name of this desert monster. Wikipedia says GILA monster is so sluggish in movement that it poses no threat to human.

18D: Mil. division: REGT (Regiment). I learned this morning that a regiment consists of at least two battalions and is commanded by a colonel.

25D: Poplar tree: ABELE. I need to chew an acorn. Forgot this white poplar ABELE again. Rooted in Latin albellus, meaning white.

34D: Wrongly self-willed: PERVERSE. Again, not a familiar definition to me. Sick, yes.

36D: Common: EVERYDAY

39D: Male hawk used in falconry: TIERCEL. Also spelled as TERCEL. New name to me.

48D: Fight, country-style: RASSLE. Slang for "wrestle". This kind of Dogpatch style word often stumps me.

50D: Gian __ Menotti: CARLO. Uh-uh, no. Williams often clue CARLO as "Sophia's husband" or "Director Ponti". MENOTTI was clued as "The Consul" composer in our puzzle before. He won Pulitzer for "The Consul". He also wrote the classic Christmas opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors".

52D: Opinion pg.: OP-ED. It's always placed opposite the editorials, hence the name.

53D: Rounded ottoman: POUF. Not the POUF I am familiar with. Here are some POUT ottomans.

Full answer grid.

C.C.