Saturday, February 21, 2009 Barry Silk LA Times

(Note from C.C.: Today's post is blogged by Dr. Dad who is currently on a business trip. Barry Silk's themeless puzzle was published in LA Times on Saturday Feb 21, 2009.)

Hello! My name is Dr. Dad. I found C.C.'s Star Tribune Crossword Corner by accident a while ago when solving the Trib puzzle published in the Providence Journal (RI). I have had a great time on her site and she graciously asked me to guest blog and, therefore - today I am guest blogging for the Star Tribune Crossword Corner. She does an excellent job with analyzing crosswords and has numerous visitors. I hope I do her justice with Barry Silk's themeless puzzle of February 21st.

There seems to be a hint of a "theme" in this puzzle - 12D: Action Hero. Many times the heroes of action films can be seen wearing Jump Suits (35D) and Life Jackets (1A) with numerous Sweat Stains (57A). They need a lot of Horse Sense (14D), especially when Standing Guard (13D). Not my best effort at figuring out themes, but ---

Enough of that. Off to the puzzle (70 words).

Across:

11A: Bills: CASH. My cash is dwindling in this troubled economy.

15A: It's 42 miles NNW of Bar Harbor: ORONO, MAINE. I was surprised that the answer contained the state as well. The University of Maine is located here and Orono is a frequent answer in Xwords.

16A: Pi opening?: OCTO. Nice trick. I looked for other Greek letters. Ugly looking but they taste delicious. I first ate them when I visited China.

17A: Warning sign: DO NOT ENTER.

18A: Sky light: STAR.

19A: _____' acte: ENTR. French for "between the acts." It can refer to an intermission but more often refers to a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production. It is also a 1924 film.

20A: Short change?: CTS. Goes hand in hand with my "11A cash" that is also getting short.

21A: Morning prayers: MATINS. The early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies.

23A: Liberally "strong" in Hawaiian: MAHI. Mahi Mahi is "strong strong" for dolphin fish. This Mahi Mahi with Ginger Soy Sauce looks delicious.

25A: 1963 system based on a 1944 Robert Moon proposal: ZIP CODE. I wonder if Mr. Moon prepared for the nine-digit system or only the five-digit one.

26A: Like jambalaya: CREOLE. Creole is not the same as Cajun.

29A: Billboard listings: HIT SONGS.

30A: Energize: REV UP. Plenty of revving up a couple of Sundays ago at this place.

31A: Soprano Fleming: RENEE. Not familiar with this person. My favorite is Ian.

32A: Old TV knob: HUE. Does anyone still own a TV with knobs?

33A: Latin 101 verb: AMAS

34A: Dermatology issues: SORES. What about acne?

35A: Psychologist Piaget: JEAN. Well known (but not to me) for his work studying children and their cognitive development.

36A: Adverb ending: IAL

37A: Runs through: STABS

38A: Doesn't knock?: PURRS. Most of the engines at Daytona were "purring."

39A: Some tennis players: GRUNTERS. At 101 decibels, Wimbledon's defending champion Maria Sharapova is judged the loudest grunter so far.

41A: No longer très chic: DEMODE. Très chic is from French "very smart". Démodé is French, past participle of démoder, to outmode.

42A: Christmas village display figures: SKATERS. I still think she was one of the best.

43A: One for the books?: PERP. Help! I don't understand this one. All I know is perpendicular for Xwords. And the perp helped me to get this answer.

44A: Not on time for: LATE TO

45A: Military rank: MAJ. Major.

46A: Where T. Rex Sue was found: SDAK. South Dakota. You can see her at the Field Museum.

50A: Sacred bird of old Egypt: IBIS

51A: Not enough: INADEQUATE. Like my cash and short change and if you have enough you can give it to:

54A: Bandit one hopefully gives money to?: SLOT. And then your CPA can be concerned with:

55A: DEDUCTIBLE(s)

56A: Knockouts, so to speak: TENS. Kind of in keeping with the short change and bills. Not enough to go around.

Down:

1D: Valuable deposit: LODE. Wish I'd find one to help my short change, cash, and tens.

2D: Word with hand or horse: IRON. Fits well with "Horse Sense" in this puzzle.

3D: Newspaper option: FONT.

4D: Titanic: ENORMOUS. And SHE was. Loved the movie.

5D: Scribble: JOT

6D: "Cocoon" Oscar Winner: AMECHE. I am glad that Heath Ledger got the posthumous award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

7D: "C'mon . . . please?": CAN'T I?

8D: Hobbyists' buys: KITS

9D: Storm hdg: ENE. Much better than "opposite of "WSW."

10D: Home wreckers: TERMITES. I thought of "Exes" but then again, I have had termites and they truly are home wreckers.

11D: BJ's competitor: COSTCO. Another competitor is Sam's Club (used to be PACE).

22D: Sanctuary section: APSE. A crossword staple, along with NAVE.

24D: Matterhorn, e.g.: ALP. Here is another famous Alp - the Eiger (Clint Eastwood fans might remember "The Eiger Sanction.").

25D: Popular issues: ZINES. (pronounced 'zene') - An abbreviation of the word fanzine, or magazine. It is most commonly a small circulation, non-commercial publication of original or appropriated texts and images.

26D: Alternative to newspaper classifieds: CRAIG'S LIST. This is indeed becoming popular as the alternative.

27D: Noteworthy: REMARKABLE. Describes nicely the tribute Barry Silk gave C.C. and her site with his "Star Tribune Crossword Puzzle" from last week. Thanks, Barry.

28D: Critique: EVALUATION

29D: Tea flavorings: HERBS

31D: Comedy club sounds: ROARS

34D" Subject of the 2007 Mitchell Report: STEROIDS. 'Nuff' said on this subject.

37D: Proof instruction: STET. Another Xword staple.

38D: By way of: PER. This helped me get "perp" for 43A which I still don't understand.

40D: Powerful experiments: NTESTS. The chemist in me kept thinking laboratory. Here is one of the most powerful N Tests. I am glad we stopped these and hope no one else wants to start.

41D: Bring down: DEJECT

43D: "The Taming of the Shrew" setting: PADUA. Here is the the map.

45D: Good way to have it: MADE. Don't we all wish that?

47D: "The Aba ___ Honeymoon": DABA. I was glad it was 'daba' because all I could think of was Fred Flintstone and 'Yabba Dabba Doo!"

48D: Mythical Hun King: ATLI. This has become a staple in recent Xwords.

49D: Insightful: KEEN

52D: Just out: NEW. As am I on this crossword blogging. I hope I've done okay.

53D: Dairy units: Abbr.: QTS.

Thank you, C.C. for asking me to do this. It was fun and I hope you and all visitors like my "Critique = Evaluation (28D)".

Dr. Dad

Wednesday February 25, 2009 Annabel Michaels

Theme: "Pulp" Art

17A: Accordion: SQUEEZE BOX

26A: Broadway moneymaker: SMASH HIT

32A: 1977-79 Broncos' nickname: ORANGE CRUSH

41A: Crash protection space: CRUMPLE ZONE

50A: Whiskey ingredient: SOUR MASH

61A: When push comes to shove: CRUNCH TIME

I think we've done two similar themed puzzles before, though neither contained so many theme answers.

What exactly is SOUR MASH? I got the answer from down fills. ORANGE CRUSH was an easy guess. I don't even know why Vikings were called "Purple People Eaters" in 1970's. Who cares! They want to move to Los Angeles anyway.

There should be a "briefly" with the clue for TKOS (60A: Fight stoppers). Otherwise, no twisty clues. Solvable if you are not PRESSed for time.

Across:

1A: Tessie or Milo: O'SHEA. Not familiar with Welsh actress/singer Tessie O'SHEA. She sounds like genuinely funny. Wikipedia says she was on "The Ed Sullivan Show" the same day when the Beatles made their first appearance.

10A: Sphere starter?: ATMO. Atmosphere.

15A: Corduroy rib: WALE. Faintly remembered the term corduroy WALE.

22A: French floor: ETAGE. The bric-a-brac shelf ETAGERE is rooted in ETAGE.

28AL Czech Republic region: MORAVIA. No idea. I could only think of Bohemia. Here is the map. Madeleine Albright is probably the most famous Czech American. She could, if she would, have become Czech's President in 2002.

31A: Balanced conditions: STASES. Singular is STASIS. Can you make a sentence for me? I've never used this word before. Equilibriums, yes.

35A: Wall upright: STUD. Very unfamiliar definition to me. Dictionary explains STUD as "an upright post in the framework of a wall for supporting sheets of lath, wallboard, or similar material."

36A: Moon car, briefly: LEM. To an untrained eye, this Apollo 11 Eagle looks ugly and junky. Who is that astronaut?

45A: Greek letters: THETAS. The 8th of Greek alphabet (total 24). Consonant. Interesting how Egyptian hieroglyph has 24 glyphes, but no vowel. I like that "tongue" (mdw).

49A: Wise king: SOLOMON. OK, the first paragraph here: "I've been staring at this Academy Award ballot for the past 20 minutes. The decisions! Now I know how SOLOMON felt." What does "The decisions! Now I know how SOLOMON felt" mean?

66A: "Bellefleur" writer: OATES. Probably our editor's favorite OATES book. He keeps using the same clue. Have you read Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar"? Joyce Carol OATES said it's a "near perfect work of art".

67A: Unfledged bird: EYAS. Uh-uh, nope, this is an imagined word.

69A: City on the Adige: TRENT. Called TRENTO in Italy. Adige River seems to be a branch of that unnamed river that runs through Trento, doesn't it?

Down:

2D: Roman acronym: SPQR. Senatus Populusque Romanus (the Senate and the people of Rome). I can only remember "pigs". Maria mentioned last time that Italians call SPQR "Sono Porci Questi Romani", loosely translated as "These Romans are Pigs".

3D: Soccer mom in Munich?: HAUSFRAU. It's just German for "housewife", right, Kazie? I don't know what's so fun about this clue.

5D: Peer Gynt's mother: ASE. I can never remember this lady's name. Nor can I commit the African bushy-tailed fox ASSE into my memory. Can anyone who has read this Ibsen play give us a short summary of what "Peer Gynt" is about?

6D: Bedside pitcher: EWER. No EWER on my bedside table. Never. What's on your bedside? EWER?

9D: Put forth flowers: BLOOM. "Put forth" sounds so laborious. Most flowers "Burst through". The clue reminded me of this Anais Nin quote: And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

11D: Synagogue scrolls: TORAHS. Does synagogue allow non-Jewish people in?

12D: Actress Smith: MAGGIE. She is so old. Time to clue MAGGIE Q, the hottest MAGGIE on earth.

18D: Yikes!: ZOWIE. I need to use this word often.

34D: Pitch callers: UMPS. Cute, so cute. Can't find an UMP bobblehead. Has to be 1960's & Made in Japan to be valuable.

37D: Black Sea arm: AZOV. I was unaware of Sea of AZOV.

45D: Pestilent fly: TSETSE. Have you heard of blow-fly? Wikipedia says it belongs to the same family as TSETSE fly does.

47D: Satellite of Jupiter: EUROPA. Galileo must be very versed in Greek mythology. Otherwise, he would not have named this moon as EUROPA.

52D: Noon and midnight, e.g.: HOURS. Boy, I felt dense. This did not come to me readily at all.

61D: 905: CMV

C.C.