Thursday August 28, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: The Power of Words

20A: Start of Molière statement: I WILL DEFEND

35A: Part 2 of statement: MY OPINION

40A: Part 3 of statement: TO THE LAST

56A: End of statement: DROP OF MY INK

Here is what Byron wrote about writing:

"But words are things, and a small drop of ink

Falling, like DEW, upon a thought, produces

That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think."

I don't quite understand those lines. The grammar is so confusing. Can you paraphrase them for me?

The Chinese translation of Molière' name is tragically beautiful: 莫里哀. I've never read any of his works though, but I do like his view that it's not reason that decides/governs love. Love is irrational and "there is something inexpressibly charming in falling in love...".

Nothing exicting about this puzzle. I've had enough APO Quips/Quotes.

Across:

1A: Indian tourist site: AGRA (Taj Mahal). And one more reference to this enimgatic land that offered us the mysterious Kama Sutra: HINDU (9A: Caste member).

24A: Retail customers: END USERS. This is more of a computer term, isn't it? END USER vs Programmer.

27A: "Spy vs. Spy" magazine: MAD. This clue should please Xchefwalt.

28A: Shake choice: VANILLA. I like dipping French fries into chocolate milkshake. Yummy.

45A: Like clear nights: STAR LIT. "Starry, starry night, flaming flowers that brightly blaze, swirling clouds in violet haze, reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue...". I hope you like this wonderful clip as much I do.

47A: Hop to it!: HIE. Hurry up duck, shake a leg.

48A: Land figures: ACREAGES

58A: Fragrant resin: ELEMI. I forgot. ELEMI was clued as "Varnish ingredient" in Olschwang's July 24 puzzle.

62A: Altercation: RUN-IN

65A: Feudal person: SERF. ESNE also means "Feudal SERF". FIEF is "Feudal estate". LIEGE is "Feudal lord", VASSAL is "Feudal tenant".

Down:

3D: Fleet: RAPID. I was thinking of ARMADA, but it did not fit. I did not know that "Fleet" can be an adjective meaning "swift".

4D: Sanctuaries: ASYLUMS

5D: Like some cobras: HOODED. I don't grok this. Why HOODED?

9D: Escape artist: HOUDINI (Harry). I forgot who mentioned this name in a comment sometime ago.

12D: God in Grenoble: DIEU. "Mon DIEU", though I often curse with "Oh, Merde".

13D: Argue for: URGE. I would love if it's clued as "Impulsive desire/longing", but I understand the rationale behind this verb cluing. Too many nouns in this grid.

26D: "The Delta of Venus" writer: NIN (Anaïs). I only read a few pages, way too provocative & graphic for me, a bit disturbing actually.

31D: A chip, maybe: ANTE

43D: Staunch: STEM. Hmm, no "Flower stalk"?

44D: Short theatrical offering: PLAYLET

50D: The easiest of putts: GIMME. Ah, the 6 inchers! No problem. I've never yipped or choked on those putts.

51D: City near Limerick: ENNIS. Not familiar with this town. WP says it's "located only six miles from Shannon and Shannon Airport". Here is the map, see ENNIS & Limerick?

52D: Woman's combo garment: SKORT. I love SKORT. She looks so pretty in her pink SKORT.

54D: Hebrew month: ELUL. The last month of Jewish calendar.

C.C.

Wednesday August 27, 2008 Willy A. Wiseman

Theme: He Must Be Off

17A: Screwball pitcher: DIZZY DEAN

36A: Peculiar parodist: WEIRD AL

58A: Millinery fruitcake: MAD HATTER

11D: Touched toon: DAFFY DUCK

32D: Kook of Koontz: ODD THOMAS

Of the above 5 theme answers, DIZZY Dean was a gimme, and I knew DAFFY Duck. The three 3 were new to me. But I caught the theme very earlier on, so I did not struggle that much.

I solved this puzzle without peeking at the constructor's name. After I was done, I thought it was from John Underwood. We have not seen his work for a long time. Now I am so curious to see who will be the QUIP/QUOTE author tomorrow. Can't be Alan P. Olschwang as we just did his VICTORY puzzle yesterday. Maybe Robert H Wolfe?

The clue for EIDER (37D: Downy duck) definitely needs to be changed as we had DAFFY DUCK as an answer. "Spread Down?" sounds good to me.

Across:

4A: With 64A: Wild Sioux: CRAZY. And HORSE (64A: See 4A). The monument looks quite imposing right now. But I can't wait to see the finished sculpture.

9A: Golden-touch king: MIDAS. Interesting to see ANE (59D: Dijon donkey) in the grid. MIDAS has donkey ears.

15A: Actress Anouk: AIMEE. I've never seen any of her movies. Her parents must love her a lot to name her AIMEE.

19A: Crime group: MAFIA. I like "GoodFellas".

22A: Gabfest: CONFAB. I forgot. Saw this clue before. Is CONFAB a common word?

23A: Ground-nesting Old World bird: BUSTARD. Foreign to me. Dictionary says BUSTARD came from a blend of French word "bistarde" and "outarde'. Both from Latin "avis tarda", meaning "slow bird". Great BUSTARD.

27A: Of armorial bearings: HERALDIC

30A: Came up: AROSE. Here is A ROSE for you. I also like the clues for ITCHES (47D: Restless desires) and YEN (8D: Desire), don't you?

42A: Balin and Clair: INAS. Yawner! Can you think of something else to clue INAS?

45A: Conventional: ORTHODOX

48A: Rabbits' kin: HARES. And HUTCH (50D: Rabbit residence). I wanted WARREN.

53A: Cigar fan: SMOKER. Yep, Freud is right, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

55A: Gumshoe: TEC. Always thought of Pinkerton seeing this clue. Pinkerton has a very successful Intellectual Property Investigation service in China.

57A: Actress Veronica: HAMEL. Unknown to me. WP says she is in "Hill Street Blues". Oh, I saw Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) in the picture. Which one is HAMEL? The girl on the last row?

61A: Clean with a bill: PREEN. I am so vain.

62A: Fifth of MV: CCI. Hmm, me, I, myself.

63A: No longer in: PASSE

Down:

1D: Back of a tape: SIDE B

5D: Passengers: RIDERS. Great EASY RIDER clip.

7D: Fervor: ZEAL. I like the Z's in today's puzzle. See also ZETAS (18D: Greek letters).

9D: Champagne cocktail: MIMOSA. Did not know that MIMOSA was invented at Ritz Hotel in 1925.

10D: Without sense: INANELY

22D: Chick of jazz: COREA. This should make Katherine happy.

24D: Over again: ANEW

25D: Card displays: MELDS. No idea. I don't play canasta or any card game.

27D: Little well-furred rotund mammal: HYRAX. Another unknown animal. WP says "From a distance, a HYRAX could be mistaken for a very well-fed rabbit or guinea pig." He looks so cute.

29D: Charlotte or Gary, e.g.: CITY. Clever clue.

33D: Sots: WINOS. So many words to decribe a drunkard.

38D: Org. of Gulbis and Creamer: LPGA. Ah, the prettiest girls in LPGA Tour. Both have dangerous looking dip drives. See this clip.

41D: Movers' partners: SHAKERS

46D: End of a threat: OR ELSE. "?!!"

49D: Passover meal: SEDER. Did not know that SEDER means "order" in Hebrew.

51D: Standing tall: ERECT. Long, ERECT flower stalk.

55D: Cocoyam: TARO. I had no idea that TARO is also called cocoyam. I miss so much the TARO cakes in Guangzhou.

C.C.