Saturday February 14, 2009 Tom Pruce

Theme: None

Total blocks: 34

Total words: 70

A much better puzzle today. Boy, I saw nothing positive in yesterday's grid, not even a single hit, only error after error.

I sure liked the five run-through 15-letter words in the Across. But I've also learned that 14-letter word is actually the the hardest to construct. After filling in TAILORS (62A: Suit makers", I wondered if Tom Pruce had considered a themed puzzle with FULL METAL JACKET as one entry. You know, he can add Jerry Seinfeld's PUFF SHIRT, Monica Lewinsky's Blue DRESS and Hillary Clinton's PANTSUITS. Voila, a great puzzle for President Clinton.

Very annoyed to see ELA (19A: Old-time high note) again. Why not "She, in 2D" (Sao PAULO, Brazil) as a tie-in? Also, "Cloth finish (41A)?" for IER again? Where is the imagination? How about "The back of hotel"? Hotelier, cashier, frontier, etc.

I guess there is no other better way to clue EPH (35D: New Testament bk.). But today will be a great day to clue ISA (25A: O.T. b ) as fill in the blank IN A, as in Gertrude Stein's "Rose IS A Rose ..." That's a very lonely rose struggling to blossom.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Across:

1A: Dulled by a narcotic: OPIATED. Did not know OPIATE can be a verb.

15A: Flourish of trumpets: FANFARE. Oh, is this how we got the extended "publicity" meaning?

16A: Otitis: EARACHE. Ot(a) is prefix for ear. Otalgia is EARACHE too. Gimme for Michael Phelps I am sure. He swims so often. Plus the current outcry over his marijuana use. Total overkill from Kellogg in my opinion. Backlash is coming.

17A: Kubrick's Vietnam War movie: FULL METAL JACKET. Here is the movie trailer. I was unaware of this movie. Oh, Ann Margret is sexy, no wonder that solider asked the question.

21A: Market dips: DOWNTURNS. The clue for RISE (51D: Shine's partner?) is fine. But I want "Ascend" to balance DOWNTURNS. I don't know what kind of detailed planning Wall Street was expecting from Timothy Geithner last Tuesday. But 400 point plunge is absurd.

29A: Slights: SCANTS. Scant is always a "Barely sufficient" adjective to me. Did not know it can be a verb meaning "To treat neglectfully".

32A: Acts against heirs: DISINHERITANCES

38A: Aleutian islands connection: ALASKA PENINSULA. Here is a map. It separates the Bering Sea from the Pacific. What is Becharof?

39A: Peter Sellers movie, with "The": MOUSE THAT ROARED. Looks funny. New to me. Wikipedia says the phrase "mouse that roared" proved a durable MEME over half a century, and is still current. What exactly is a MEME? Can you also give me some examples?

42A: Manuscript encl.: SAE (Stamped Addressed Envelope). Sometimes it's SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope). Can you believe Tom Vilsack (ex-Iowa governor, our current Secretary of Agriculture) folded his photo into my SASE when I asked for his autograph? But he was very nice and later mailed me a new one.

49A: One Hemingway: MARIEL. I liked her in "Manhattan". Ernest Hemingway was dead before she was born.

52A: Change in a car?: OIL. Good clue.

53A: Management by overseeing: SUPERINTENDENCE. Funny, but I really only knew "superintendent". The verb is "superintend".

59A: Acupressure massage: SHIATSU. No idea. Did recognize the Japanese kanji (指圧) when I googled. The first word 指 means "finger", the second 圧 "pressure", so literally, "finger pressure".

61A: Nagana carriers: TSETSES. Bugger, I thought "Nagana" is a city in Japan, and the clue is asking for a Japanese airline. More used to "African flies" clue.

Down:

5D: Scottish cap: TAM. Hmm, a TAM is not complete without a kilt.

9D: One who has been to Mecca: HAJI. Oh, nice to know. Meet MN Congressman Keith Ellison, the first HAJI of US Congress. He made his HAJ pilgrimage last year.

10D: Q.E.D. word: ERAT. Quod ERAT Demonstrandum. ERAT alone is "he/she/it was" in Latin.

14D: __ up (excited): HET. This phrase has negative connotationn, right? You can't get HET up over Valentine's Day, can you?

18D: Beattie or Blyth: ANN. Easy guess. I have never heard of writer ANNE Beatties or actress ANN Blyth. Is ANN a nicknam of Anne?

22D: Oder- ___ Line: NEISSE. Poland is Polen in German?

23D: Mr. Fixit: TINKER

24D: Knocks off a boater, e.g.: UNHATS. I did not know this kind of straw hat has a special name "boater". UNHAT sounds like a made-up word.

25D: Sustain: INCUR. As in "Sustain a financial loss"?

26D: Inscribed stone: STELE. Or STELA.

27D: Syrian strongman: ASSAD. The current Syrian president. This guy is unbelievably articulate.

30D: Went by dugout: CANOED. Of course I was thinking of baseball dugout, not the dugout boat.

31D: "Broken Arrow" co-star Michael: ANSARA. No idea. He was born in Syria. Was "Broken Arrow" a popular TV series?

33D: Entertainer Massey: ILONA. Another unknown. Wikipedia says she was born in Budapest and billed as "the new Dietrich". Her legs are so long.

43D: Skull cavity: SINUS

45D: Observant: ALERT

46D: Last movement of a sonata: RONDO. Learned this from doing Xword. Wikipedia says it could be also the last movement of a symphony or concerto.

47D: Crapshooter, for example: DICER. I only knew kitchen DICER.

48D: Huskies' burdens: SLEDS. Is Balto the most famous Husky sled dog?

55D: Bakery buy: PIE. Wrote down RYE first.

56D: Performance grants org.: NEA (National Endowment for the Arts). Interesting. I don't know its chairperson has to be appointed by the president.

57D: 601: DCI

C.C.

Friday February 13, 2009 Annabel Michaels

Theme: Chow Time

17A: Well-rounded repasts: SQUARE MEALS

60A: Purim: FEAST OF LOTS

11D: Summoner to supper: DINNER BELL

29D: Dinner for thirteen: LAST SUPPER

"With "The"" should be added to the last clue.

What a terrible editing job! I don't mind seeing SYRIA (68A: Aleppo's land) and BREAM (51D: Silvery European fish) for second day in a row, with the identical clues. But supper SUPPER, dinner DINNER duplications are outrageous. More felonies:

49A: Prov. follower: ECCLES. Have never seen Proverbs abbreviated as Prov before.

44D: Ecclesiastical residence: DEANERY. I was not aware of this ecclesiastical dean residence. But the clue definitely should be reworded to accommodate ECCLES.

47A: Unbroken stretch: STREAK. Why not "Unbroken run"?

Too many Roman numerals:

21A: 7 on a sundial: VII

46A: CCLXIII x IV: MLII

63D: CXII halved: LVI

I did not enjoy this puzzle at all. I've seen much better puzzles from Annabel Michaels.

Across:

1A: Fonda film: JULIA. Obtained the film title with the down fill help. Has anyone seen Annette Bening's "Being JULIA"?

15A: Gods' images: IDOLS. I wrote down ICONS first.

16A: Adjective-forming suffix: IAL. Presidential?

19A: Govt. advisory grp.: NSA (National Security Agency). Will Smith's "Enemy of the State" is about those NSA agents and their wire-tapping activities.

20A: Old California fort: ORD. What's so special about this fort? I faintly remember we had this answer before.

22A: Part of LBJ: BAINES. All his family members, including his dog, share the LBJ initials. I don't think any US president knows more about the congressional maneuvers than LBJ did. Stunning record of legislative achievements.

25A: Protesting workers: STRIKERS

27A: Native American language: SALISH. New word to me. Wikipedia says "All SALISH (or Salishan) languages are endangered - some extremely so with only three or four speakers left".

30A: Obedient dog?: HEELER

31A: Active volcano near Manila: TAAL. No idea. See this map. I wonder what TAAL means in local language.

37A: African fever: LASSA. I forgot. The disease was first discovered in a town called LASSA in Nigeria. Can't find a map.

39A: Score of zero: NIL. Soccer, I think.

51A: Sunday prohibitions: BLUE LAWS

53A: Bygone bird: MOA. The extinct New Zealand flightless bird. See Australia's coat of arms. It has a kangaroo and emu. Incapable of stepping backward, they can only move forward, signifying Australia's forward progression. "Forward with Pride", the Aussi spirit.

54A: Lasso: ROPE IN

55A: Cure or gram preceder: EPI

56A: Marsh or West: MAE. Have never heard of MAE Marsh before. She looks like a dangerous lorelei who delights in breaking others' heart. Men might need some of this magic nepenthe to relieve their sorrows.

59A: Key-punch bus.: EDP (Electronic Data Processing). Got it with the surrounds.

67A: Sea to Debussy: MER. Here is Debussy's "La MER."

Down:

2D: Roman acronym: SPQR. Holy mackerel Roman Empire! I really don't know this acronym. It stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus (the Senate and the people of Rome). OK, Maria said SPQR is most commonly known among Italians as "Sono Porci Questi Romani", loosely translated as " These Romans are Pigs".

3D: King Ibn -- of Saudi Arabia: SAUD. I am confused here. Wikipedia says this guy is the first monarch of Saudi Arabia. I thought Saudi has a long kingdom history.

7D: Ulan-_, Russ.: UDE. See this map. Located on the Siberian Uda River. Quite close to Mongolian capital Ulan Bator. Ulan is "red" in Mongolian. Ulan Bator means "Red Hero". Ulan Ude is simply "Red Ude". A bit of communism vestiage.

10D: Beset: ASSAIL

12D: Loom bar: EASER. Uh-uh, no, no. No idea. What is it?

23D: Eisenhower: IKE. Strictly speaking, this is not allowed in crossword construction. An abbreviated answer (even if it's a nickname) needs an abbreviation hint.

25D: Frantic cries: SHRIEKS

38D: Flying rescue missions: AIRLIFTS

58D: Book after Neh.: ESTH. Before Job. Often see NEH clued as "Bk before Esth".

C.C.