Friday August 22, 2008 Barry Silk

Theme: MONEY (69A: This puzzle's theme)

21A: Flour, water and shortening: PASTRY DOUGH

27A: Steamers: LONG NECK CLAMS

46A: Bibb alternative: BOSTON LETTUCE

54A: Italian restaurant staple: GARLIC BREAD

Wow, edible "Steamers", new to me. I knew DOUGH, LETTUCE, BREAD are slang words for money, had no idea that "CLAMS" can mean money too. But why CLAMS instead of CLAM?

I thought CABBAGE SOUP & BACON AND EGGS are great theme entries too. But I guess they don't fit the "Cash back" theme pattern.

Great puzzle. I like how MONEY is revealed in the very end. I often wonder why constructors/editors like to define the theme title for this kind of synonym type of grid. Why can't they just clue MONEY as "It talks" and then let the solvers figure out what those theme entries in common and enjoy the "Aha" moment when they find the MONEY.

Across:

1A: Kuwaiti 69A: DINAR. The first word that popped to my mind is EMEER. I was thinking 69D might be RULER. But quickly discarded my idea after seeing 1D.

10A: Comic Foxx: REDD. Very interesting stage name. Obviously he liked Jimmie Foxx. I would have liked C. C. Sabathia had he not played for the Indians and worn his cap off-kilter all the time.

24A: She's possessive: HER. I dislike this clue. Given ARGO (11D: Jason's vessel) other "Sailor" & "Pirate" clues, I would prefer HER to be clued as ship related.

39A: Writer Talese: GAY. I've never read any of his books. Knew him because of his wife Nan Talese ("A Million Little Pieces" scandal).

41A: __ B. Davis: ANN. Pure guess. I've never heard of her or watched The Brady Bunch.

51A: Sailor's drink: RUM. Why??

62A: Flinch or start, e.g.: REACT. "Flinch, e.g." is enough. And another "Flinch" reaction is RECOIL (10D: Draw back in horror).

64A: Promised land: ZION. I would not have got this one without the down fills. So, this is how we got the word "Zionist" I suppose.

68A: "Peter Pan" pirate: SMEE. And 53D: Pirate's pal: MATEY.

Down:

1D: Vader or Maul: DARTH. Know the name, but I have never seen "Star Wars".

3D: Vieux Carre location: NEW ORLEANS. An educated guess. Knew "The French Quarters", but was not aware of its French name.

5D: Minnesota's state tree: RED PINE. Too close to each other.

9D: Mount of the Several Sisters: HOLYOKE. No idea.

13D: Real looker: DISH. Foodies would probably like the clue to be "Chef's serving".

23D: Down source: DUCK. Brought a smile to my face.

30D: All-Star third baseman Ron: CEY. Dodgers's.

31D: Not limited to roads: ALL TERRAIN

35D: Ex-Yankee Martinez: TINO. Vaguely heard of him before.

42D: City near Sacramento: LODI

44D: Greek portico: STOA

48D: Go from 2 to 6, say: TREBLE. Not familiar with the triple meaning of "TREBLE".

55D: Calcutta's continent: ASIA

57D: Porkpie feature: BRIM. Had no idea that "Porkpie" is a kind of hat.

C.C.

Thursday August 21, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Lose Out

20A: Start of a quip: A GOOD LOSER IS

28A: Part 2 of quip: ALL RIGHT BUT

39A: Part 3 of quip: IT'S

44A: Part 4 of quip: NOT VERY MUCH

52A: End of quip: FUN TO BEAT HIM

Why "AT HIM"? What does it mean? Why not simply "BE HIM"? So hard for me to grok what he is trying to convey. (Addendum: My bad. It's "TO BEAT HIM", not "TO BE AT HIM". The original Evan Esar quip is: "A good loser is all right, but it isn't so much fun to beat him.")

A slight Russian/East European sub-theme:

21A: Gymnast Korbut: OLGA. OLGA means"Holy" in Russian.

30D: Second cosmonaut: TITOV (Gherman). I've never heard of this name before. Only know Yuri Gagarin. Look, it's autographed.

37D: Buckwheat groats: KASHA. Not familiar with KASHA. The only buckwheat product I like is soba noodle (served cold).

Nothing scintillating about this puzzle. The theme is too STALE (49D: Like old bread) for me. If I were the editor, I would listen to and respect puzzle solvers' opinions and offer quip/quote puzzle once a month at most.

Across:

1A: Time for a shower?: APRIL. How far would you go for true love?

10A: Small town: BURG. What is the average population size for a BURG?

14A: Spyri heroine: HEIDI. Identical clue/answer in his June 26 "Gossip" quip.

18A: Spicy stew: OLIO. So is OLLA (56A: Earthenware pot), which also means "Spicy stew".

23A: Money-managing exec.: CFO. Andrew Fastow's mug always pops into my mind every time I see a CFO clue.

32A: Bologna neighbor: MODENA. Have vaguely heard of this motor racing city (Ferrari 360 MODENA) before, but I don't think I would have got it without the crossing fills. Pavarotti was born here. Wikipedia says MODENA is also "well known in culinary circles for its production of balsamic vinegar".

40A: Shepherdess in Virgil's "Eclogues": DELIA. No idea. I've never heard of "Eclogues" and I don't know who DELIA is. Are you familiar with Bob Dylan's DELIA?

50A: Dissemblance: ACT. I got it from down clue. I did not know the meaning of "Dissemblance".

63A: Small monkey: TITI. I forgot again. It appeared in our puzzle before. He has such a long tail.

67A: Pumps, e.g.: SHOES. Silly "In Her Shoes".

Down:

5D: Pasta choice: LINGUINE. What are those green pieces?

6D: Make even: SMOOTH. Beautiful "SMOOTH operator" (Sade), so sensual.

9D: Rose: STOOD UP. I was thinking of this "Rose", Xchefwalt's FLOUR FLOWER.

10D: Elaine of "Seinfeld": BENES. You know something, no soup for you!

12D: Marconi's medium: RADIO. Gimme, after all those Tesla/Edison discussions 2 weeks ago.

31D: Oceanography deg: BMS (Bachelor of Marine Science). Once again, I obtained this answer from the across fills.

35D: Spoken: ALOUD. Are they really synonymous?

53D: Bruhn of ballet: ERIK. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says he had a long relationship with Rudolf Nureyev.

55D: Fluttery flyer: MOTH. "I was always the butterfly, and you were always the MOTH. And now it's time to embrace the flame."

59D: Personal question?: WHO. I penned in AGE first.

C.C.