Sunday September 7, 2008 Josiah Breward

Theme: Endearments

23A: Make palatable: SUGARCOAT

47A: Weight we hate?: LOVE HANDLES

72A: King novel: PET SEMATARY

97A: Ratel: HONEY BADGER

125A: Tiny dwelling: DOLL HOUSE

14D: Sultan of the Swat: BABE RUTH

16D: 1959 Peck/Kerr movie: BELOVED INFIDEL

52D: Golden parachute: SWEETHEART DEAL

90D: Last letter?: DEAR JOHN

I've never heard of "PET SEMATARY" or "HONEY BADGER". Had no idea that the latter is the most fearless animal on earth. The clue "Ratel" looked like a kind of palm tree to me. I must have mixed it up with "Rattan" or something else.

I loved this puzzle. Very sweet theme and engaging theme answers. I was surprised that there was no DARLING in the grid. Don't you ever call your loved one DARLING at home?

I think I've seen enough RYA (70D: Scandinavian rug) and ERECT (98D: Put up) this week. So annoying! The clue for IRAN (27A: Iraq neighbor) was very jarring too. Why not simply "Turkey neighbor"? I was also stumped by SPEEDUPS (65A: Increases in pace). I thought the clue was asking for a verb phrases, so I kept wanting SPEEDS UP.

Across:

9A: Tree with huge trunk: BAOBAB. It's indeed huge. I've heard of "monkey bread tree". But I did not know that it's called BAOBAB in English.

19A: NASA's ISS partner: ESA (European Space Agency)

20A: City in Provence: ARLES. Van Gogh painted here! This is his "View of ARLES with Irises". Do you like it?

21A: Floating fleet: ARMADA

25A: 2nd best: GRADE B

26A: Pitcher's rubber: SLAB. Ha, new baseball slang to me.

28A: Baudelaire's "Paris __": SPLEEN. The title SPLEEN here refers to "bad temper", not the organ. I've never heard of Charles Baudelaire before. Wikipedia says he also wrote "The Flowers of Evil", and it's "important in the symbolist and modernist. The subject matter of these poems deals with themes relating to decadence and eroticism."

30A: Zeno's birthplace: ELEA. Last time's "Whence Zeno" clue brought hundreds of new visitors to this blog.

33A: Cassia plant: SENNA. Very pretty, in full bloom. Wikipedia says the leaves and flowers of SENNA are used in Thai cooking. I did not know that some of SENNA stems can grow as high as six feet.

35A: Fine porcelain: SPODE. I forgot. Identical clue on another TMS puzzle. SPODE china is named after British potter Josiah SPODE. Good example of EPONYM (29D: Word derived from someone's name).

44A: 1964 A.L. Rookie of the year: OLIVA (Tony). This clue makes me happy. I love Tony OLIVA.

50A: Starter's starter?: ESS. Clever clue.

54A: Segal and Leinsdorf: ERICHS. I got it from down clues. I know neither of them.

69A: Wrongly convicted French soldier of the 1890ss: DREYFUS (Alfred). I googled his name, then I realized that he was the guy in Zola's "J'accuse" letter.

71A: Way of old Rome: ITER

77A: John Tyler's First Lady: LETITIA. I googled again. I did not know her name. I had no idea that John Tyler had a second "First Lady" too (Julia Gardiner Tyler).

79A: Alfonso's queen: ENA. She looks a bit rebellious. Her grandson Juan Carlos is the current king of Spain.

80A: Coastal resident: SEASIDER. Hmmm, this reminds me of the limericks "There once was a man from Nantucket...."

83A: Lge. landmass: CONT. And ISL (121D: Sm. landmass). Oh by the way, I was really in awe of the ISLS clue last Saturday. But later I found out that it was not original. Someone else tried "Christmas or Easter, briefly" for ISL several years ago.

87A: City on the Adige: TRENT. I forgot, yet again. It was just here last Sunday, identical clue. Here is the map. I bet this clue would be different if Senator TRENT Lott were still in the office.

91A: Maltreat: ILL-USE. I've never heard of "ILL-USE" before. Good to learn.

100A: Callaway's "Big" driver: BERTHA. Nice Big BERTHA driver. Callaway also has Big BERTHA iron sets. But why quotation mark for Big?

102A: Broadcast talent org.: AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). Not familiar with this acronym. Were they involved in the writer's strike earlier this year?

103A: Denver concert site: RED ROCKS. New to me. Oh my goodness, gorgeous photo. WP says U2 performed here in June 1983, and their performance was later included in Rolling Stone's list of the "50 Moments that Changed Rock and Roll".

107A: Pollen-bearing organs: ANTHERS. I like the drops of dew on this flower petal. ANTHER is from ANTHOS, Greek for flower.

112A: Old Ford model: LTD. Learned this LTD model from doing Xword. LTD is always "Inc." to me.

113A: Open some: AJAR. I suppose "Open" here is an adjective. But "Open some" does not make any sense to me. What does "some" mean here?

115A: Nervous system disorder: CHOREA. New to me. It's defined as "any of various disorders of the nervous system marked by involuntary, jerky movements, especially of the arms, legs, and face, and by incoordination." From Greek chorós, dance, the same root as "chorus". No wonder dictionary says this disorder is also called "Saint Vitus' dance".

120S: Helmut's three: DREI. Eins, zwei, DREI.

128: M. de Balzac: HONORE. Had no idea that Balzac's given name is HONORE. One of my favorite Chinese authors, Fu Lei, was very influenced by Balzac.

131A: Caterwaul: YELL. I did not know the meaning of "caterwaul".

132A: Caught red-handed: NAILED. Lois probably wanted the clue to be "Used a hammer".

133A: Virgule: SLASH. I forgot the meaning of "Virgule".

134A: TV's "Science Guy" Bill: NYE. He has become a stalwart in our puzzle.

Down:

1D: Put up a fight: RESIST. I would add some romantism and clue RESIST as "Withstand the lure of".

2D: Loan shark: USURER

3D: 1998 Olympics city: NAGANO. Can never remember the English name for this city. Only knew its Chinese name 長野市.

9D: Author of "National Velvet": BAGNOLD (Enid). Good to see her surname being the answer.

11D: Tumor: suff.: OMA. Ha, I actually remember this OMA.

13D: Ms. Rogers St. Johns: ADELA. Her autobiography is named " The Honeycomb". Could be a good theme entry too.

17D: Almost a ringer: LEANER. Horseshoes terms. It's "a thrown horseshoe that leans against the stake." New to me.

18D: Carve relief: EMBOSS

31D: Pretentious performer: ARTISTE. I don't understand the clue. Why "Pretentious"? ARTISTE is just a French word for artist, isn't it?

36D: No-win situation: DILEMMA. Do you like "Catch-22"?

41D: CXII halved: LVI. Roman 56.

51D: Group of seven: SEPTETS. Trio & quartet.

60D: Like horror movie: EERIE. That's how I felt about "The X-Files".

64D: Iceland currency: EYRIR. Did not know this Iceland coin.

74D: International accord: ENTENTE. And PEACE (67D: Dove's desire).

75D: Stone-worker's block: ASHLAR. Had no idea that such kind of block is called ASHLAR.

78D: Windpipe: TRACHEA. The respiratory tube. New to me also.

84D: Workplace safety grp.: OSHA

93D: J. Hancocked?: SGD (Signed).

99D: Popeil company: RONCO. "But wait, there's more!"

100D: In a blunt manner: BALDLY. Did not know that bald also means "blunt".

104D: Supporting pillar: COLUMN

105D: Klown on "The Simpsons": KRUSTY. Another google. Here he is.

106D: Derrick for loading cargo: STEEVE. It's not in my dictionary. I still could not believe this is a real word.

114D: "Aurora" fresco painter Guido: RENI. See this captivating "Aurora", so soft and harmonious in touches. I like the mythological themes in his and Raphael's paintings. Very beautiful & poetic!

116D: Muslim unit of weight: ROTL. I simply forgot. Stared at _ OTL for eons.

C.C.

Saturday September 6, 2008 Matthew Higgins

Theme: None

Total blocks: 27

I had an epiphany earlier. I suddenly realized what was really missing in Higgins' puzzle: vitality. I just could not find much spontaneity or creativity in them. It felt like he made up this grid just by looking at the dictionary and reference books.

If you look at his clues carefully, nearly every one of them is theoretically & factually correct, but most of them just feel so stiff and wooden. I guess I am too instinctive and intuitive a person for his rigidness.

For example:

57A: Stringed instruments: CELLOS. No flaw in the clue. But "Yo-Yo Ma's instruments" will evoke some vivid memories/images for the solvers, at least, for me.

34D: Hone: SHARPEN. Again, the clue is fine, but boring. "Make a point, perhaps" will force the solvers to think a bit, and add some flavor to the grid.

50D: Figure of worship: IDOL. Once again, the clue is correct. But why not "David Cook, e.g." to perk up the puzzle?

Also, I would prefer the clue for PAGAN (23A: Idolator) to be "Heathen", it's just visually jarring to see IDOL as the answer and part of the clue.

REPEAL (15A: Withdraw formally) & RECLAIMS (37A: Gains restoration) are perfectly fine words. And I suppose RETOOLS (2D: Changes the machinery) is OK too. But REDARES (37D: Challenges anew)? And is PERVADER (51A: Something that permeates) really a word?

Across:

1A: Visual aids: GRAPHS

7A: Bucolic: PASTORAL. Here is Beethoven No. 6 (PASTORAL).

16A: Not counting: LET ALONE. What kind of clue is this? I don't understand it.

18A: Tiresome long: UNENDING

19A: Yankees in Dixie: NORTHERNERS. I learned a new phrase this morning: "Whistle Dixie". Dictionary explains it as "to indulge in unrealistically optimistic fantasies". Kind of like "have a pollyanna notion about certain things", isn't it? Have you used "whistle Dixie" before?

21A: ___ generis (of its own kind): SUI. New to me.

22A: Neil Simon's nickname: DOC. Did not know this. This is a list of baseball players' nicknames. Maybe Mr. Higgins should try to create such a sportspeople nicknames themed puzzle rather than indulging himself in his affixes infatuation.

25A: Spunk: PLUCKINESS. And 56A: Proximity: NEARNESS. Yawner, yawner!

29A: Beset: ASSAILED

30A: Intrinsically: PER SE

41A: Target on the green: HOLE. Just how deep is a HOLE? Do you know? Do you want to know? I know the diameter is about 4 1/4 inches. I would clue KITE (27D: Fork-tailed bird) as "Tom of the Champions?" (Champions Tour) to pair up with HOLE. Tom KITE won U.S. Open in 1992 and certainly has the name recognition.

42A: Prodigious: PHENOMENAL. JVJ24601 mentioned on Wednesday that "Michael Phelps is to be the host for the new season premier of SNL on 9/13."

45A: Waterproof wool cloth: LODEN. I forgot. LODEN appeared as "Waterproof cloth" on a Sunday puzzle before. It's made of sheep wool. Here is happy family all in LODEN coat.

46A: Reggae relative: SKA. Are you very familiar with the "calypso music"?

48A: Products of the body's fuel-burning system: METABOLITES. Another new word to me. I only knew METABOLISM.

54A: Twist together: ENTANGLE

55A: Tristan's beloved: ISOLDE. No idea. It's a Wagner opera. Have you seen this movie before?

Down:

3D: Revealing glimpses: APERÇUS. It's always "short summary" to me.

5D: Muddle: HASH. Are you really synonymous? In what sense?

6D: In a languid manner: SLEEPILY

7D: Dashed with headlong haste: PLUNGED

8D: Virgil's Trojan hero: AENEAS. Vaguely remember this name due to an earlier DIDO (Queen of Carthage) puzzle. DIDO killed herself when abandoned by AENEAS. How sad! Men can be so cruel! It's from Vigil's epic poem, "The Aeneid".

12D: Revel boisterously: ROISTER. This is another new word for me. I like the adjective "roisterously", very noisy-looking.

14D: Easily deciphered: LEGIBLE

24D: Cornerstone tablets: STELAE. Singular form is STELE, or STELA.

30D: Cardsharp's maneuver: PALM. "Carsharp" is new word to me.

32D: Supergiant star in Cygnus: DENEB. I forgot again. Here is the map. Wikipedia says that DENEB, together with Altair and Vega, forms the Summer Triangle.

33D: Financially rewarding: ECONOMIC

35D: Part of TNT: TOLUENE. The second T in TNT. I had no idea. I was thinking of the "We Know Drama" TNT network.

36D: Calgary's province: ALBERTA. Ha, Stephen Harper comes from ALBERTA.

38D: Implant: INSTILL

39D: Gets by with less: MAKES DO

40D: Cuts slits: SLASHES

48D: Horace or Aimee: MANN. Have heard of Horace MANN, not Aimee. I always associated Aimee with actress Anouk.

49D: Mislay: LOSE. I've never used this word "mislay" before. Can you say "The key was mislaid"?

C.C.