Monday September 1, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: FINAL OFFER

18A: Elvis's Musical ultimatum: NOW OR NEVER

27A: Frustrated athlete's ultimatum: PLAY ME OR TRADE ME

49A: Seller's ultimatum: TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

64A: Hide-and-seek player's ultimatum: READY OR NOT

Shouldn't the clue for 18A be Elvis' instead of Elvis's?

Both "More or less" and "Sooner or later" are antonym phrases too, but I don't think they carry an "OR ELSE" tone. How about "To be or not to be"? Would you consider it a possible ultimatum?

Because of various OR's in the grid, I would prefer LOWE (7D: Rob or Chad) to be clued simply as "Actor Rob", and DALE (41D: Carnegie or Murphy) simply as "Catcher Murphy". No need to provide 2 names for the answer, one is sufficient.

Lots of proper names in this puzzle, most easily obtainable though. I did have trouble in the lower middle corner. I guessed ESTELLAS instead of ESTELLES for 55A: Getty and Winwood, so my 51D became OBARON, which sounded pretty good to me.

Across:

5A: Muslim faith: ISLAM. Literally "submission" in Arabic. "Muslim" (one who surrenders) has the same root word 'aslama (to surrender), according to the dictionary.

14A: Vault: LEAP. My first thought was SAFE.

15A: Wynonna's mom: NAOMI. They really look like sisters, don't they? I like Ashley Judd in "Double Jeopardy".

16A: Skater Lipinksi: TARA. Awesome! I like the music she picked.

20A: Marina skyline: MASTS. If MASTS refer to those vertical spars, then what do you call those horizontal poles?

22A: Old World: EUROPEAN. Really? Not EUROPE?

26A: 11: NOV.: I don't like this clue. I would prefer "Election mo."

36A: Poet Teasdale: SARA. I got it from the down clues. What poem is she famous for?

71A: Kyle's friend on "South Park": STAN. "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!"

Down:

1D: Bronco's kicker Jason: ELAM. This is what Dennis said last time: "Jason ELAM is tied for the longest field goal (63 yds.), and has Super Bowls and Pro Bowls under his belt. One of the better kickers." But I forgot, would not have got it without the across fills. I seem to only remember things I should not have been taught.

2D: Composer Bartok: BELA. I hope you enjoy this "Sonata for Solo Violin" clip. So good.

3D: Quartet member: BASS. Does this refer to vocal quartet?

927D: Whitneys partner: PRATT. Great logo.

28D: Gospels' source material: LOGIA. Plural of Logion. New to me. Was it a gimme to you?

29D: Wild way to run?: AMUCK. I still think there should be a "var." mark with the clue. What's your opinion?

33D: ___ Gras: MARDI. Let's keep our fingers crossed for Chris, Sandra and all those whose are affected by Gustav.

34D: German artist Max: ERNST. I am so tired of Dadaism. Remember René Magritte (surrealist)'s "This Is Not a Pipe"?

42D: Pipe part: STEM. Or "Flower holder". Do you love red, red rose?

51D: Titania's mate: OBERON. Vaguely remember "A Midsummer Night's Dream" story, but could not remember his name. WP says OBERON is also a "moon of Uranus".

61D: Puccini piece: ARIA. Very fascinating Maria Callas clip. Ari Onassis probably should have married her instead of Jackie. Is anyone here an opera fan?

65D: Last of pay?: OLA. Payola. I just learned earlier that OLA is also Spanish for "wave". How do you say "make waves" in Spanish? And what will be the Spanish title for this songtrack?

C.C.

Sunday August 31, 2008 Willy A. Wiseman

Theme: FAMILY NAME: WILLIAMS (87D: Another last name for 23A, 39A, 56A, 77A, 94A, 111A, 8D and 69D)

23A: Cartoon character, not the playwright: TENNESSEE TUXEDO

39A: Former Brewers shortstop, not the comic: ROBIN YOUNT

56A: Media tycoon, not the Splendid Splinter: TED TURNER

77A: Legendary Brave, not the C & W singer: HANK AARON

94A: Pop artist, not the singer: ANDY WARHOL

111A: March composer, not the conductor: JOHN PHILIPS SOUSA

8D: Comic/writer, not Tiger's caddy: STEVE MARTIN

69D: Sculpture, not the tennis player: VENUS DE MILO

And don't forget Wayne R. WILLIAMS, our editor and the real author of this puzzle. In case you have not heard of it, today's constructor, Willy A. Wiseman is our editor's alias name. Willy A. Wiseman is an anagram of "i.e. Wayne Williams". I suspect that he created this puzzle to celebrate a family reunion.

Anyway, out of the above 8 theme answers, 23A was the only one I had never heard before. And I enjoyed this puzzle tremendously. The theme was right in my wheelhouse. I really liked the sports references (esp baseball). Antonio Banderas is hot to Clear Ayes & Lois, but STEVE WILLIAMS is a real HUNK (67D: Beefcake poser) to me, so it pleased me to see his name as an theme entry.

Several lively fills. And of course, there were a few very obscure words as well. But Google extended a helping hand immediately and I was able to finish the puzzle with a happy face. It's such a comforting feeling that he is there whenever I need him. Sometimes I can be very needy & clingy.

Oh, before I forgot, Barry Silk told me that in his original submission, he clued MIZE (58A) as "Slugger known as the Big Cat", PUZO (63A) as "Corleone's creator", and INTERMEZZO (29D) as "Between acts musical fare". Too bad our editor changed so much of his original lower left corner. I really would have liked those Z's. Johnny MIZE might be a bit obscure though, his nickname reminded me of the "Catfish" Jim Hunter.

I was not fond of seeing both WATERY (95D: Too diluted) and WATER-SKI (1D: Surfboard's little brother) in one puzzle. I was, however, very happy to see ACTA (47A: "__ Sanctorum"), STES (122A: Fr. holy women), and THERESE (43D: Saint __ of Lisieux) in one grid.

Across:

14A: Ski-slope rides: T- BARS. I don't think I've seen X-Files being clued in TMS puzzle. D-Day, X-Rays, T-Shirt, T-Men, T-Bone, yes. What other similar words can you think of?

20A: Artist Mondrian: PIET. Gimme for Gordon Brown I am sure. This is beautiful pair of Nike shoes inspired by Mondrian's 1921 masterpiece “Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue".

22A: God of the east wind: EURUS. God of west wind in Greek mythology is ZEPHYRUS.

26A: City on the Adige: TRENT. Unknown to me. Here is the map. See the green arrow?

28A: Loser to DDE: AES. It's just so unfair to see AES repeatedly being clued as DDE loser. He had a highly admirable political career. How about DDE opponent/challenger?

33D: End of a threat: OR ELSE. Groan Argyle?

44A: Welles character: KANE. "Citizen KANE".

45A: "A Lesson from Aloes" playwright: FUGARD (Athol). Wow, our editor sure loves this guy.

50A: Cubic decimeter: LITER. So abstract a clue. Why not simply "Soda bottle unit"?

53A: Paint solvent: ACETONE. It's the ingredient in nail polish remover.

63A: Grant's first name: HIRAM. I wonder why he disliked this name, esp since HIRAM means "noble" in Hebrew.

64A: Park in California: YOSEMITE. I'd love to be there.

66A: Pico de ___ (Pyrenees peak): ANETO. I simply forgot again. It's in northeast Spain near the French border. Ha, I remember these guys.

67A: Pueblo people: ZUNI. I want this pair of ZUNI earrings. I love the turquoise moon or star. Very pretty.

80A: Immemorial: AGELONG. I've never used AGELONG in writing.

88A: ___ cava: VENA. No idea. I obtained it from the down clues.

91A: Hebrew mystic: ESSENE. I can never remember this word. It refers to the ancient Jewish ascetic sect member during the time of Christ. They were "remarkable for their strictness and abstinence."

93A: "Lift Every Voice" author Guinier: LANI. Unknown to me. WP says she is "the first black woman tenured professor at Harvard Law School". This is the book cover.

120A: Chicago pros: BEARS. Have BEARS ever won a Super Bowl? The answer is NO for our Vikings.

121A: Seine tributary: OISE. And another French river ORNE (74D: Caen's river).

Down:

2D: Formal topper: OPERA HAT. New name to me. Nothing unusual about this silk hat. I wonder why it's called OPERA HAT.

6D: Morally corrupt: DISSOLUTE. Gimme. I am a morel moral expert.

9D: Structural support: TRUSS. Look at this TRUSS bridge in Denmark.

12D: EL __ Campeador: CID. Learned from doing Xword. What a great statue. His eyes are so deep and penetrating.

14D: Parathyroid malady: TETANY. New word to me. Dictionary defines TETANY as "a state marked by severe, intermittent tonic contractions and muscular pain, due to abnormal calcium metabolism." What's the difference between TETANY & Tetanus then?

15D: Overworked to exhaustion: BURNT OUT

16D: Bellicose deity: ARES. The Greek god of war (Mars for the Romans).

17D: Futhark letter: RUNE. I had to check the dictionary for the meaning of "Futhark".

24D: Bridge position: EAST. "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the EAST and Juliet is the sun! Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon...". I like the way Romeo romanticised Juliet. Sometimes love is very elusive, and so full of tears and fears.

25D: Masonic doorkeeper: TILER. No idea. Dictionary says it can also be spelled as TYLER, referring to the "doorkeeper of a Masonic lodge".

36D: Romani people in Spain: GITANOS. Spanish for GYPSY. New to me. It's "Bohémian" in French.

41D: Paradise resident?: UTOPIAN. Perfect clue.

42D: Actress Fabray: NANETTE. I've never heard of her name before. Have you seen this before?

46D: Avant-garde art movement: DADA. Ennui. I am so tired of DADA. When are you going to clue SURREALISM?

50D: Basutoland, today: LESOTHO. New to me also, both the clue and the answer. It's encircled by South Africa.

52D: Gulf off Brittany: ST. MALO. Another unknown. Alright, Map of Brittany, See ST. MALO?

54D: Religious recluse: EREMITE

55D: Czech physicist Beckmann: PETR. No, completely unknown. What a strange name! He wrote "A History of PI".

57D: Jong and others: ERICAS. OK, let's review once again ERICA's Spitzer Morel Moral Lessons.

58D: Swedish rugs: RYAS. I like the lovely sun pattern in this RYA rug.

60D: Tapioca source: CASSAVA. How long do you think this CASSAVA is?

61D: Injected toxin: ANTIGEN. "-GEN" is a suffix meaning producer, "hydrogen" is another example.

62D: Back part: REAR END

67D: Pointed barbs?: ZINGERS. I like this Dorothy Parker Blue. Which of her quotes do you like the most?

72D: Forum footwear: SANDAL. I don't understand the clue. Why "Forum"?

79D: Old-time flasks: WINESKINS. See this picture.

90D:Govt. agcy. (1934-65): FHA (Federal Housing Administration). I got it from the across fills.

92D: Psalm ending: SELAH. Again, learned it from doing Xword.

93D: Roman law: LEX

96D: "Brigadoon" lyricist: LERNER (Alan Jay). Also the lyricist for "Gigi" & "Camelot".

101D: Constellation near Eridanus: LEPUS. It's more close to Orion I think. LEPUS is also known as "The Hare" constellation. New to me. Now I understand why rabbits and hares are called leporid mammals.

105D: Anticrime acronym: RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act). Enacted in 1970.

114D: G. I. wear: ODS. "Olive Drabs" I suppose.

C.C.