Thursday January 8, 2009 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Battle Tactics

20A: Start of a quip: HE THAT FIGHTS AND

37A: Part 2 of quip: RUNS AWAY, MAY LIVE

51A: End of quip: TO RUN ANOTHER DAY

Not sure where this quip comes from. Wikiquote seems to imply that it's from Oliver Goldsmith's poem: For he who fights and runs away/May live to fight another day/But he who is in battle slain/Can never rise and fight again.

Last time when we had "He who courts then runs away, lives to court another day" quip, Martin mentioned that Olschwang might get his source from Tacitus who said "He that fights and runs away, may turn and fight another day; but he that is in battle slain, will never rise to fight again." Whatever. Sounds like Mao Ze-Dong's Guerrilla Warfare Strategy during Sino-Japanese War.

I had another smooth sailing this morning. I noticed that all the puzzles we've had this week have very similar grid structures, lots lots of 4-letter words. I wonder if that makes solving easier.

I suppose "Shea player" is still a valid clue for MET (40A). I just want to mention that Shea Stadium is being demolished now. MET will be "Citi Field player" when the season starts. I dislike the clue for SEVENS (41A: Another name for fantan), as ANOTHER is part of the theme answer. Besides, I've never heard of fantan, not familiar with the original Chinese words 番摊 either.

Across:

5A: Deadly African snake: MAMBA. No idea. It doesn't look threatening though. I could only think of cobra.

16A: Pieces of pelvises: ILIA. I don't like "Pieces". Always reminds me of broken bones.

18A: Bucket wheel: NORIA. New word to me. Where is the bucket?

30A: Hebrew month: ELUL. ADAR does not fit.

48A: Sew loosely: BASTE. I tend to associate BASTE with moistening turkey.

57A: Eye part: UVEA. Latin for "grape". I always want IRIS for "Eye part" clue.

58A: In a slow tempo: LENTO. This is indeed slow. In "Shine", Geoffrey Rush's character is obsessed with Rachmaninoff.

59A: Japanese ethnic group: AINU. Literally "man". I wonder how AINU food differs from the traditional Japanese diet.

60A: Letter opener? DEAR. I like this clue.

63A: Before, before: ERST

64A: Nimoy's half-Vulcan: SPOCK. He is the guy who says "Live Long and Prosper", right?

Down:

3D: Debatable: MOOT. Once again, here is a list of all the self-contradicting words in English. I rather like the term Kazie used last time: Janus words, so evocative.

4D: Insect colonies: ANT HILLS

8D: Jail on the high seas: BRIG. Wikipedia says BRIG is jail for the Navy and Marines. And the prison is called guardhouse or stockade by the Army and Air Force.

12D: Jungle vine: LIANA. Can never remember this vine. Hmm, it's A NAIL when you spell it backward.

26D: Twist sideways: SLUE. The same pronunciation as slew, right?

27D: "Charley's ___": AUNT. Easy guess. I knew nothing about "Charley's AUNT".

28D: Describe with vividness: LIMN

29D: Literary collections: ANAS. How is it different from anthologies?

32D: Fighting force: NAVY. I thought of ARMY first.

34D: Queen of Carthage: DIDO. She killed herself when deserted by her lover Aeneas. I used to confuse her with LEDA, the swan lady.

38D: Vail rival: ASPEN. Both are Colorado ski resorts.

48D: Small, hand drum: BONGO. Interesting, Wikipedia says BONGO is also a kind of African antelope.

54D: Christian of fashion: DIOR. Like J'adore?

Enjoy Bob Marley "The Heathen". He sings "... 'Cause he who fight and run away, live to fight another day...". I love Bob Marley, don't you?

C.C.

Wednesday January 7, 2009 Norma Steinberg

Theme: On the Ground

21A: Negative campaigning: MUDSLINGING

56A: Fertility goddess: EARTH MOTHER

3D: Very inexpensive: DIRT CHEAP

36D: Diminutive whirlwind: DUST DEVIL

DUST DEVIL is new to me. What causes it?

SOIL*, MUCK* and CLAY* are three other potential theme candidates I could think of. What else?

This is my first cheat-free, Wite-out free puzzle. Ms. Norma Steinberg, if you are reading this blog, please can you send me an email? I want to have my finished puzzle autographed.

Although TMS puzzles are random and do not follow NY Time's more-difficult-as-the-week-goes pattern. I do feel that Wednesday is always the easiest, with the exception of Verna Suit's Three Lines puzzle on Dec 3, 2008.

Across:

14A: Carroll heroine: ALICE. Did you all read this book when you were a child? You know, I really don't hate Chairman Mao, but I often look back on my childhood with a sense of what might have been. Cultural Revolution ruined so many people's lives.

18A: Jodie Foster film: NELL. Not a Jodie Foster fan. Don't think I want to watch NELL.

45A: Cinco y tres: OCHO. In Chinese, it's 八, the lucky number, as its pronunciation is similar to "prosper". Thus, the Olympic started at exactly 8 seconds and 8 minutes past 8 pm on 8/8/08. "I love you" is 520.

47A: Actress Heche: ANNE. So many ways to clue ANNE, ANNE Heche, ANNE Frank, ANNE Bancroft, ANNE Boleyn, who else can you think of?

56A: Belushi biography: WIRED. Not familiar with this Bob Woodward book. Easily obtainable though.

68A: Happy expression: SMILE. Wonderful intersection with AMO (65D: Caesar's loving expression). I don't believe in "Amor vincit omnia" any more. It's simply not true.

Down:

1D: Wilson's predecessor: TAFT. The only U.S. President to become Chief Justice. I have an autographed photo of Bob TAFT. I was unaware of his criminal activity when I got it.

5D: Flunky: YES-MAN. Can you call those eunuchs YES-MEN?

6D: Slugger Barry: BONDS. Have never liked him before. I do have all his rookie cards though.

9D: Nabokov title: LOLITA

10D: Pennants: FLAGS. Great pennant. I only have 1987 and 1991 Twins Championship pennants. Mine are in perfect condition.

12D: Peace in Greece: IRENE. I thought she was the goddess of peace in Greek mythology.

25D: "Siddhartha" author: HESSE. I got the answer from across fills. Have never heard of "Siddhartha". HESSE won Nobel Literature in 1946.

41D: Quiz show host Mandel: HOWIE. Another guess. He is the host of "Deal or No Deal".

48D: Maidenly minor deities: NYMPHS. Mountain nymph is OREAD. River nymph is NAIAD, Wood nymph is DRYAD. Do you know why all of them have *AD ending?

55D: Job's question?: WHY ME. From the Bible I presume?

C.C.