Wednesday September 3, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: What's my LINE? (59D: Word after 21A, 39A, 54A, 3D and 35D)

21A: "(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" singer: DARLENE LOVE

39A: Conference ID: NAME TAG

54A: Upstairs: SECOND STORY

3D: End-of-filming get-together: WRAP PARTY

35D: Submariners' harbor: NAVAL BASE

I've never heard of DARLENE LOVE or her song. I've never heard of "LOVELINE" either. It sounds like a dating service to me.

I really like this puzzle, good theme concept and great theme execution. I enjoy most of Allan E. Parrish's puzzles, so creative and entertaining. Scrabbly too. Quality stuff.

But I often wonder why most of the constructors choose to place their theme words at the very end of the grid. In today's case, it's LINE. You know, they could have put it at the upper left corner, or at the very heart of the grid. Do they position it at the end on purpose to elicit reader's "Aha"? If so, they are woefully wrong, unless LINE is simply clued as a "Queue". Solvers need to be challenged and work hard to figure out the theme title rather than being given so readily.

Across:

1A: Young deer: FAWNS. I don't know what makes a crossword constructor tick. What prompts him to clue FAWNS as a noun rather than a verb?

10A: Counterfeit: SHAM. I would prefer the clue to be a simple "Fraud". See FAKE (1D: Counterfeit).

14A: Skylit courtyards: ATRIA. Also "Heart chambers".

15A: Be aware of: KNOW. I have a question: What's the difference between BEWARE and BEWARE OF? Also, can you give me examples to show the distinctions?

16A: Wakiki wiggle?: HULA. Good clue. I love the skirts they are wearing.

24A: House coat?: PAINT. "PAINT my love, you should PAINT my love, it's the picture of a thousand sunsets...", one of my favorite songs from "Michael Learns To Rock".

34A: Jim of CBS sports: NANTZ. Do you like him?

42A: "Heidi" novelist: SPYRI (Johanna). I really have difficulty remembering this author's name. Shirley Temple is adorable in "Heidi".

44A: Rider Revere: PAUL. I've never heard of his name before. PAUL Klee, PAUL Cézanne & PAUL Gauguin yes.

45A: Cinematopgraher Nykvist: SVEN. Got his name from the down fills. Of those films, I've only seen "The Unbearable Lightnes of Being" & "Sleepless in Seattle". Which ones have you watched before?

53A: 1986 Indy winner Bobby: RAHAL. I don't think I could have got his name without the surrounds.

57A: Cartoonist Keane: BIL. I like his "The Family Circus". What comic strip do you read every day?

66A: Red dye: EOSIN. Nope. Interesting root word "EOS" (Greek Goddess of dawn). "In" is just a chemcial suffix. Dictionary says EOSIN is "used chiefly as an acid dye for dyeing silk a rose red color". I am sure Dr. Dad will provide us with his expert information on EOSIN.

67A: Printed matter: TEXT

Down:

2D: Actor Roscoe: ATES. Got it from the across fills. Not familiar with him at all. Would you be able to get him without the crossing references?

6D: Bypass: SKIRT. Nice SKIRT. I like the color, don't you?

7D: Organic compound: ENOL. So many crossword-friendly organic compounds: AMINE, AMIDE, ENOL, ESTER & NITRILE.

8D: "Lady Jane Grey" dramatist: ROWE (Nicholas). I forgot. He appeared in our puzzle before. I did not know that "Lady Jane Grey" refers to Queen Jane, whose "claimed rule of nine days in July 1553 is the shortest rule of England in its history." Interesting, WP says that the seductive lady-killer Lothario is from his play "The Fair Penitent".

9D: African titles: BWANAS. "Masters" in Swahili.

10D: Clinton cabinet member Donna: SHALALA. Gimme to me. She served as Clinton's Secretary of Health and Human services for all eight years.

11D: Impresario Sol: HUROK. Completely unknown to me. Is that an OPERA HAT he is holding?

23D: "Dallas" family: EWING. Also Adlai E Stevenson's middle name.

28D: Hanks role: GUMP. Indeed, "Forrest GUMP" should have ended this way!

29D: Sheep's cry: BLEAT. Exactly, Ewe said it!

30D: Aleutian island: ATTU. Where is ATTU? I cannot locate it in this map.

40D: Site of rites: ALTAR. Interesting book title.

43D: Changed the land-use rules: REZONED

49D: Limerick necessities: RHYMES. I am not fond of Rap music, but I do admire those rappers' strong sense of rhyme, amazing!

51D: Paris subway: METRO. Ah, the best method to travel in Paris, highly efficient.

52D: Amtrak's bullet train: ACELA. Got it this time. Identical clue in his June 24 puzzle. I also found out that ACELA means "one" in Romanian language.

55D: Wild plum: SLOE. They look like blueberries to me.

56D: Kodak brand: T-MAX. Another identical clue in his August 8 puzzle.

63D: Winter Games grp.: IOC. Ha, I was thinking of NFL. Nice clue though, much more interesting than "Summer Games org."

C.C.

Tuesday September 2, 2008 Stanley B. Whitten

Theme: Before You Cross the Street

20A: Never say die: STOP AT NOTHING

38A: Burton/Bloom film of 1958: LOOK BACK IN ANGER

56A: Eavesdropper's perch: LISTENING POST

Why LISTENING? Why not LISTEN*? I really hate this kind of lack of consitency in theme answers. But I could not think of a 13-letter phrase with the word "LISTEN" in it, can you?

I was not excited by this puzzle at all. Nothing sparkling. It looks very ordinary to me. However, I was not familiar with either the song "Stop, Look and Listen" or the movie "Stop, Look and Listen", so I could have been missing on something important here. Maybe you can enlighten me with your take.

Had to ask Google for help on PEYOTE & HYSON. You could not believe it, but I've never heard of HYSON green tea before.

Across:

1A: Momma's partner: POPPA. I always thought it's Mama and PAPA.

14A: Of hearing: AURAL. What's the difference between AURAL, OTIC, auricular & auditory?

15A: Chummy: CLOSE. Come CLOSER with Glen CLOSE? What is the product?

16A: William Tell's canton: URI. Have not seen the "Mentalist Geller" clue for a long time.

18A: Holliman and Scruggs: EARLS. Have heard of EARL Scruggs, not Holliman. That's a great clip. Steve Martin is so talented.

19A: Road to Rouen: RUE. Good alliteration. This is probably the most famous RUE in Paris.

23A: Ornamental container: VASE. Hmmm, I still want "Flower Holder" clue.

26A: Mescal: PEYOTE. New word to me. I did not know what's the meaning of "mescal". WP says PEYOTE is also called Mescal Button or the Divine Cactus. Look at this flowering PEYOTE. WP also says that "Native Americans used the plant for its curative properties as well. They employed PEYOTE for treating such varied ailments as toothache, pain in childbirth, fever, breast pain, skin diseases, rheumatism, diabetes, colds, and blindness." Melissa is probably aware of this medicinal use.

27A: Peacock's "eyes": OCELLI. Singular is OCELLUS, dimunutive of Oculus (plural: Oculi) . New to me also. I did not know those eyespots are called OCELLI. Rememer this Pantheon OCULUS (clued as "Eyelike window") I linked last time?

31A: Muslim prince, var.: AMEER. Or EMEER sometimes.

43A: Of blood: HEMAL. Ha, I got this one. Had to thank Barry for his AKIN ("Blood-related) mistake last week.

45A: "Painting" painter: MIRO (Joan). Sigh... what can I say? Our editor is obsessed with "Painting". This is MIRO's "The Farm".

50A: Partly frozen drink: FRAPPE. I've never had FRAPPE before. What does it taste like?

55A: Simpson kid: BART. What, am I not good enough to be clued as BART?

65A: Inorganic compound: AMIDE. "Inorganic"? Are you sure?

66A: Old-time journalist Pyle: ERNIE. I forgot. Obtained from the across clue. Would have been a gimme if it's clued as ERNIE Els or ERNIE Banks.

Down:

2D: "___ Town": OUR. Is it good? I am not familiar with any of Thornton Wilder's work.

3D: Keeps going: PRESSES ON

4D: Chalklike crayon: PASTEL. Ha, that's Degas, he loved PASTEL. Wonderful "After Bathing"!

9D: At a slant: ASLOPE. I would prefer the clue to be a simple "Tilted".

22D: Green tea: HYSON. Sometimes Cantonese spelling can really throws me off. I grew up speaking Mandarin Chinese, Xi'An dilact to be exact.

23D: See-through fabric: VOILE. Pretty pink VOILE skirt. I like the small dots.

32D: Call back?: ECHO. I rather like the Greek mythology on ECHO/Narcissus. Have you ever had unrequited love before? The saddest thing in this world is to love someone who does not love you.

35D: Shaking up: AGITATING

39D: Neatly maintained: KEMPT. I only knew UNKEMPT.

40D: Image Award grp.: NAACP

46D: Emetic medication: IPECAC. New to me also. I did not the meaning of "emetic" either. Hard to imagine the root of this plant can be so powerful. Do you like ginger root?

52D: Very, in music: ASSAI. Allegro ASSAI & Lento ASSAI.

57D: Footnote abbr.: IBID. Sometimes it's OP. CIT. I forgot what's the difference between them.

63D: Back of a chariot?: EER. Charioteer. New word to me. I'm used to the "End of auction" clue. Here is the The Charioteer of Delphi Statue. Incredible detail. Look at his eye lashes, amazing!

C.C.