Thursday October 2, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Miller's Law (Olin Miller Quip)

20A: Start of quip: EXCEPTIONS PROVE

36A: Part 2 of quip: THE RULE AND BREAK

49A: End of quip: THE FAMILY BUDGET

Well, the original quote is "Exceptions prove the rule - and wreck the budget."

I think I understand "Exceptions prove the rule", but why "break the family budget"? Who is Olin Miller anyway? All I could find is that he also said "A man who will not lie to a woman has very little consideration for her feelings.”

Lots of 4-letter words in this puzzle, maybe due to three 15-letter theme entries? I just learned yesterday that if there is an odd number of theme answers, then the middle one has to be structured in the very center of the grid - Row #8 for a 15*15. And it has to have an odd number of blanks. I've never paid attention to this before.

Also, not every quote/quip can be worked into a puzzle. It has to have the right number of words for constructors to break them down sensibly and symmetrically.

I disliked the clue for SOBERS (45D: Gets serious). It needs an "up". And "One" is not needed for STAIR (61A: One step). "Step" alone is sufficient. And cluing ISLE (33A: Tiny landmass) is really a third degree felony. Can't you see the huge LANDMASS (38D: Pangaea, for example)?

The clue for LANCE (41A: Calvary weapon) is fine, but wouldn't it be nice if it's LANCE Armstrong related? Esp since we have 54D: __ d'Italia (bicycle race): GIRO. I think LANCE Armstrong is going to ride in the next GIRO d'Italia (the 100th anniversary).

I also thought "Comet, for one" would be a better clue for REINDEER (39D: Santa's team), since we have AJAX (2D: Comet competition).

Across:

17A: Brace: PAIR. Span means PAIR too. As in a brace/span of oxen.

24A: Abu Dhabi loc.: UAE. Dubai is more populated than Abu Dhabi.

25A: In conclusion: LASTLY

28A: Singer Vikki: CARR. She is not the original singer for "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You", is she?

30A: Sweat shop?: GYM. I like this clue. "Body shop?" is great too.

34A: Impressionist painter: MONET. I have a "Water Lily Pond" bookmark too.

43A: Tennis twosome?: ENS. Two letter N's in "Tennis".

44A: Bolt holder: T NUT. I rather like these T * fills: T-BAR, T-BONE, T-MEN & T-SHIRT.

45A: Is frugal: STINTS

47A: Former California Fort: ORD. I had no idea that Fort ORD was closed (1994).

62A: Sal's canal: ERIE. Here is Bruce Springsteen's "ERIE Canal".

65A: Mythical bird of prey: ROCS

Down:

1D: Stair stupidly: GAPE. I penned in GAWK first.

4D: Police officer, at times: ARRESTER

5D: Turnover, e.g.: PASTRY. I want this apple turnover for breakfast.

9D: Rebuked officially: CENSURED. So close to CENSORED.

22D: 2nd section: PART B

28D: Do together: COACT. New word to me.

31D: What Matzo's missing: YEAST. Hilarious "20 Things to do with Matzoh".

37D: Radical: ULTRA. That's TRES & TRES (49D: Very at Versailles).

46D: Greek cross: TAU

48D: Tattoed lady of song: LYDIA. Here is Groucho's "Tattooed Lady". New to me.

55D: Sevareid or Roberts: ERIC. Do you like ERIC Bana? He is so good in "Munich".

C.C.

Wednesday October 1, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: CUFF links

18A: "Felony Squad" star: HOWARD DUFF

61A: Refuse baloney: TAKE NO GUFF

3D: Weakling: CREAM PUFF

26D: Half a pair of warmers: EAR MUFF

37D: Unclothed: IN THE BUFF

HUFF and LUFF are two other ?UFF rhymes. I've never heard of the wader RUFF before. Dennis probably loves this RUFF.

There is also a car related sub-theme:

9A: 1986 Indy winner Bobby: RAHAL

40A: ___ Romeo (Italian car): ALFA

39D: Miniature racer: KART

57D: Classic Brit. sports cars: MGBS

59D: Sporty Camaro: IROC

Great to see both ZSA ZSA (20A: One Gabor) and EVA (62D: Sister of 20A) in one puzzle. Magda's name has 2 vowels too. I wonder why her name does not appear on Xword often.

I had another hard time this morning. Too many proper names for me. Besides, I was so sad. Twins lost their one-night stand. All of the sudden, this season is over. But I don't really hate the White Sox or A. J. Pierzynski. A.J. might drive many players and fans crazy, but he was my favorite Twins before he was traded to the Giants (then White Sox). Then Johan Santana became my favorite, but he was traded away too.

Never mind, it's still a great season for Justin Morneau and the Twins.

Across:

1A: Opening letters: ABCD. I like how ABCD intersects A TO Z (1D: All-inclusive breadth).

5A: Richie's mom, to the Fonz: MRS. C. Big stumper for me. She is played by Marion Ross. Everybody is so happy in that picture.

14A: One-thrid of a WWII movie?: TORA. It's pretty good movie. But "Pearl Harbor" is better.

16A: Garlic sauce: AIOLI. Ai (garlic) + Oli (oil). This AIOLI looks so green, too much herb I think.

24A: Oceanic: MARINE. I would prefer the clue to be "Devil dog" related to tie in with PFCS (71A: Military E-3s). What is E-3s?

31A: Public funds: TREASURY. Are you OK with this clue?

33A: Legendary drummer Gene: KRUPA. An unknown legend to me. I don't understand this "Drum Boogie" clip, which one is KRUPA?

36A: Moo juice: MILK. Is this a play for word or is "Moo juice" a well-accepted slang for MILK?

41A: Irish patriot Robert: EMMET. I really like "Bold Robert EMMET" folksong: "... A hero I lived, a hero I'll die..."

42A: One-named Irish singer: ENYA. "Believe, and you will find your way..."

46A: Sitcom about nothing: SEINFELD. This is my favorite SEINFELD moment.

50A: Breakfast fare: CEREAL. I am curious, what do you normally have for breakfast? Do you solve crossword puzzle before or after breakfast?

53A: Hold it right there: FREEZE

66A: Parisian pupil: ELEVE. Have not seen École for a long time.

67A: Runny cheese: BRIE. Nuts with runny cheese?

69A: Valuable fiddle: STRAD. Joshua Bell bought one for $3.5 million.

Down:

2D: Ribbon knots: BOWS. Or "Joshua Bell's needs".

4D: "Taxi" co-star: DANZA. I would not have got his name without the across clues.

5D: Goat coat: MOHAIR. Angora goat to be exact.

9D: Josh of "How I met Your Mother": RADNOR. Unknown to me. Did he have a fling with Britney Spears?

11D: Julianne of "Dancing with the Stars": HOUGH. Another unknown. She looks very pretty.

12D: Actress Woodard: ALFRE. I forgot. Her face looks very familiar, so I must have seen her somewhere before.

13D: Full-term con: LIFER

25D: __-Marcus: NEIMAN. Have you read "Bergdorf Blondes"? Plum Sykes used to work for Anna Wintour (Vogue).

28D: "So Much in Love" group: TYMES. Here is the song. I've never heard of "The TYMES" before. I like the title. It reminds me of Buttercup and her farm boy. They are "So Much in Love".

41D: Actor Estevez: EMILIO. Can never remember his name. Wish he would change his name into Sheen.

45D: Biographer of Henry James: EDEL (Leon). Learned his name from doing Xword. He wrote a five-volumn biography of Henry James.

54D: Fasten a fly: ZIP UP

64D: By gone expletive: FIE. I vaguely remember someone uttered FIE on a comment not long ago.

C.C.