Thursday December 4, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Awakening

17A: Part 1 of a quip: IT'S NEVER TOO

27A: Part 2 of quip: LATE TO GET UP IN

40A: Part 3 of quip: THE

48A: Part 4 of quip: MORNING - UNLESS

64A: End of quip: IT'S PAST NOON

I like getting up earlier and watching the sun rise, with a cup of hot tea in my hands. It's the most beautiful moment of the day.

Some minor flaws with this puzzle:

59A: Haste result: WASTE. There should be a "?" mark for the clue.

37A: Covergirl Cheryl: TIEGS. Should be "Cover girl". CoverGirl is a cosmetic brand. I love their Lash Blast.

49D: Latin being: IN ESSE. The clue is asking for ESSE. IN ESSE is "Actually existing" in Latin.

Otherwise, just a typical Olschwang Thursday puzzle. Nothing exciting. I am really tired of this endless Evan Esar quip.

Across:

1A: Kind of crazy?: STIR. Yawner clue.

19A: Kingston trio: MTA. Another yawner.

22A: Email attack?: SPAM. Do you think Cyberspace will explode some day? So many traffics and junks.

25A: Fridge raiders: NOSHERS

43A: Singer Emmylou: HARRIS. Such a sad "For No One".

45A: Old Turkish title: AGA. Does "Old" here refer to "Not any more" or "Has been existing for a long time"? I am always confused about the exact definition of "Old".

52A: Strands, in a way: SNOWS IN

56A: Power input point: FEED. I don't understand this clue.

70A: Betel nut sources: ARECAS. See this picture. I always thought betel nuts grow on betel plants. Chewing tobacco is very addictive and so bad for your teeth.

Down:

1DL Finished a steal: SLID. I like this clue.

3D: Part of VMI: INST. George Marshall graduated from Virginia Military Institute. If our editor is not strict with partial fills, I bet many constuctors will go for a "Meet Me IN ST. Louis" clue.

4D: Play an improper card: RENEGE

5D: Off-roader, for short: ATV

8D: Packing a punch: POTENT

11D: Pay: COMPENSATE. It's symmetrical partner is THERMOSTAT (29D: A/C controller).

31D: Hawke or Coen: ETHAN. Have not seen "__ Frome" for a long time

36D: Brit. decorations: DSOS (Distinguished Service Orders). What is the equivalent for US military decoration?

38D: Matures: GROWS. I wrote down RIPES first.

44D: Brandy balloon: SNIFTER. New word to me. I also did not know that balloon can be "a large, globular wineglass".

50D: Politico Gingrich: NEWT. Or "Small salamander".

58D: Point of California: DANA. Not familiar with this city. What is it famous for?

61D: Enameled metalware: TOLE

C.C.

Wednesday December 3, 2008 Verna Suit

Theme: Three Lines

17A: Three lines: HEM RECEIVING TAN

39A: Three lines: TICKET FRONT STAG

64A: Three lines: AIR STARTING NECK

3D: Three lines: TIME PUNCH CHORUS

7D: Three lines: HAIR SHORE BOTTOM

11D: Three lines: DATE CLOTHES HEAD

What is a STAG line?

Normally I enjoy this kind of "Three Something" themed puzzles. They tend to have less blocks (30 today, compared with our average 38) and the the grid feels more open. But this morning I simply could not find much common ground with this constructor. I was larruped good.

Struggled from beginning to the end. SHIRR (14A) for "Make cloth gathers"? I only knew SHIRRED eggs. Is GNAR (19D: Snarl and growl) even a word? I've never heard of TETLEY tea (56A: Twinings rival), nor have I heard of the clue Twinings. All I drink is the real Chinese loose leaf tea.

I love the clue for EGOS (38D: Vanity cases). I was thinking of ETUI though.

Across:

1A: Lens: OPTIC. Really? I've never of OPTIC being referred as "Lens".

15A: Bourgeois sculpture: MAMAN. No idea. Why is it called MAMAN? Looks like a spider. Reminds me of ARACHNE (Spider woman of myth).

20A: Avian haven: NEST. I penned in COOP first.

23A: __-a-porter (ready to wear): PRET. Do you like Robert Altman's "PRET -a - Porter"? Pretty funny.

25A: Shows intestinal fortitude: STOMACHS. I sure don't have this "fortitude".

27A: For two, in music: A DUE. Dictionary explains A DUE as "together; in unison".

29A: N.T. book: EPH. Would not have got this one without the down fills. Bible is definitely my Achilles’ heel.

31A: Sound of rippling water: PURL. I only knew the Chinese sound for rippling water: gudu.

44A: Loudmouth lummox: YAHOO. I wonder why Jerry Yang picked up YAHOO for his company.

45A: Minnow cousin: CHUB. New fish to me. It's quite big. Are you sure it's "Minnow cousin"?

47A: Pen name: BIC. My instinctive thought is "AKA".

50A: Follow: ADHERE TO

53A: Martin or Kingsley: AMIS. Knew Martin AMIS only because of his affair with Tina Brown.

64A E. Lansing campus: MSU. The Spartans. I wonder if they will ever change Big Ten into Big Eleven or Big Twelve someday.

66A: At full speed, at sea: AMAIN

Down:

4D: Not std.: IRR. Are you OK with this clue?

5D: Minotaur's isle: CRETE. Some of the Greek mythology are ridiculous. How could a woman fall in love with a bull?

6D: Hook's underling: SMEE

8D: Ex-G.I.: AM VET (American Veterans). Did this answer come to you readily? I don't recall ever seeing this abbreviation before.

9D: Bared: LAID OPEN

10D: Spike TV, once: TNN

13D: Penchants: BENTS

26D: Like damp basements: MUSTY. I found some nice old Life Magazine at the flea market, but most of them are very MUSTY. The smell simply refused to go away, even after I put them under the sunshine for 3 days.

30D: Some e-mail attachments: PDFS

33D: Madagascar primate: LEMUR. INDRI is often clued as "Madagascar LEMUR".

37D: Ancient temple: NAOS. Greek for temple. I forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before.

40D: Lhasa natives: TIBETANS

41D: Lapland native: SAMI. No idea. Did not know where "Lapland" is.

46D: Shell rival: HESS. Last time our editor clued MYRA as "British pianist Hess".

48D: Normandy town: CAEN. ST LO also has 4 letters.

51D: James novel, "__ Miller": DAISY. Has anyone ever read this book?

54D: Sal of song: MY GAL. Here is the poster. Alien to me. I disliked the clue.

57D: Leslie Caron musical: LILI (1953). GIGI is another Caron musical. It's released in 1958.

60D: Designer letters: DKNY. It now belongs to Louis Vuitton. DKNY, Chanel, Dior all spend lots of money for their brand protection in China. Too many fake products.

63D: ID card letters, at times: NMI (No Middle Initial). The answer revealed itself after I filled in the across blanks.

C.C.