Friday April 10, 2009 Nora Pearlstone

Theme: The 5K

18A: Sightseeing at The Steppes?: STARK GAZING (Star Gazing)

24A: Dogs' communication systems?: BARK CODE (Bar Code)

39A: Creative executive compensation techniques?: PERK FORMING ARTS (Performing Arts)

51A: Price for the village green?: PARK VALUE (Par Value)

62A: Ones who never know what to use for their salad?: FORK DUMMIES (For Dummies)

Ah, finally an offering from our editor Rich Norris himself. Nora Pearlstone is his alias name, anagram of "Not a real person". Of this list, I like Gia Christian the most (anagram of "Again, it's Rich"). How about you?

It seems that every Friday we have a wordplay puzzle. On March 27, it's PRE prefix. Then last Friday we had an IR-RI-tating IR to RI transformation grid.

Hard struggle this morning. I think I can only handle Monday to Wednesday LA Times. Lots of wite-out. I wrote down RABIN for 3D: Co-Nobelist Arafat (YASIR) immediately. And I thought I was smart. Then I did not know "What's up?" (1A: SKY). What a simple yet tricky clue! Can you picture the V-8 prints on my forehead?

Besides SKY, I also love the clue for NON (30D: Nice way to beg off?). Nice refers to the French city. Can you think of a better way to clue QUA (14A: Sine __ non)? I know one is Latin, one is French, but I still don't like the repetition.

Across:

4A: It may be split at lunch: THE TAB. Nice to see THE as part of an answer.

10A: Big name in shoes: MCAN. Learned several months ago that the brand was named after some Scottish golfer named Thomas McCann. Rory McIlroy, the next Tiger Woods (or possibly just a Sergio Garcia as Lemonade said), shot 72 yesterday. I think he is a more exciting RORY clue than "Golfer Sabbatini".

15A: "L.A. Law" co-creator: BOCHCO (Steven). Unknown to me. Wikipedia says he is also the co-creator of "Hill Streets Blue" & "N.Y.P.D. Blue". His teeth look fake.

17A: Young __: UNS. Is this L'il Abner talk?

20A: Medical suffix: ITIS

23A: Stand at attention: SNAP TO

27A: Wall St. trader: ARB (Arbitrager). What exactly is a arbitrager? Is he part of the hedge fund mess?

28A: Final: Abbr.: ULT

29A: Close-at-hand: IN STORE

33A: Point of view: ANGLE. Slant has 5 letters too.

36A: Cádiz cat: GATO. No idea. It's CHAT in French. I don't speak Spanish. Cat in Chinese is MAO, same spelling but different tone than the Mao in Mao Ze-dong. Mandarin Chinese has 4 tones: flat, rising, falling then rising, and falling.

38A: '50 campaign monogram: AES. Ah, just mentioned yesterday that the E stands for Ewing. He did have an affair with Lauren Bacall, didn't he?

43A: Stowe girl: EVA. I forgot. Saw this clue before. The girl in "Uncle Tom's Cabin".

44A: Hurt: PAIN. And THROE (7D: Severe pang).

45A: Healthy-looking: RUDDY. Ruddy? I really think Rory McIlroy looks like Tony Blair.

46A: Cow country sights: RANCHES

49A: Crooner's asset: EAR

50A: Soft & __: deodorant: DRI. I wonder who will be the first constructor to clue DRI as "Female yak".

57A: Increasing: UPPING

60A: Certain presentee: DEB. Tough one for me. The surrounds provided me with no help.

61A: Old Mercury model: LYNX. No idea. How old? Our local WNBA team is called Minnesota LYNX.

65A: Cool air feature: NIP

66A: Swing era bandleader Cates: OPIE. Which one is he? The only OPIE I know is the "Mayberry boy".

67A: Egyptian god: AMEN RA. Or AMUN RA. See the upper left corner hieroglyph. I am used to seeing only the single AMEN/AMUN. Did anyone think of Osiris?

68A: Windy City "L" runner: CTA (Chicago Transit Authority). This *TA ofen stumps me.

69A: Steamy: SEXY. And GRASP (36D: Get). Is this S & S, G & G repetition on purpose? Does it make the fill peppy in your view?

70A: __ à trois: MENAGE. Reminded me of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". What popped into your mind?

71A: Angry, with "up": HET. Crossword word. I've never used this phrase in my daily conversation.

Down:

1D: Witticism: SQUIB. New definition of SQUIB to me. I wanted BON MOT, but it did not fit.

2D: "Roots" hero: KUNTA. I saw one episode when KUNTA Kinte said the grits/dummy. Can't remember the exact lines.

4D: "Very funny" station: TBS. "We know drama" is TNT.

5D: Family-style Asian dish: HOT POT. Very popular winter food in China. The funny thing is that people seldom make HOT POT at home. Too much work.

6D: American Greetings "mailing": E-CARD

8D: Disgusted cry: ACK. I often use Ugh.

9D: Soft spots: BOGS. Another tricky clue. The swampy BOGS are indeed soft.

10D: Haydn contemporary: MOZART. Pure guess. I don't know those two are contemporaries.

11D: Medical office accessory: CLIP BOARD. Did not come to me immediately.

12D: Isn't wrong?: AIN'T. I like this clue.

13D: Canceled: NO-GO

19D: Literary miscellanea: ANAS

21D: Move stealthily: SKULK

25D: Pitch indicator: CLEF. The musical staff. Not baseball.

26D: Nonviolent protest: SIT-IN. Tiananmen Square Incident started with peaceful mass SIT-IN.

31D: Like Gen. Schwarzkopf: RETD. Oh, I have a question: Can you un-retire a general? For example, can General Shinseki be reinstalled into his previous Chief of Staff of Army post, since he was forced to retire?

32D: Swedish actress Persson: ESSY. No idea. I tried, Google asked me "Did you mean Person Essay"? Only one line entry in Wikipedia. So I guess she is not that famous.

33D: Imitator: APER. Another crossword word.

34D: St. Petersburg's river: NEVA. It's clued as "River to the Gulf of Finland" last time. Wikipedia says it's the third largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge, after the Volga and Danube.

35D: Formula One race: GRAND PRIX

37D: Chartres chum: AMI. Another alliteration. See this tiny map. Chartres is to the southwest of Paris. Unknown to me.

40D: "I __ you liked your drink", sez Gunga Din": 'OPE. Was this a gimme to you? I've never heard of this Rudyard Kipling poem.

41D: Attractive force: Abbr.: GRAV. Gravity.

42D: Kind of comprehension: AURAL. No idea. The only "Kind of comprehension" I am familiar with is reading.

47D: "Holy cow": CRIKEY

48D: Rear: HIND

49D: "La Dolce Vita" actress: EKBERG (Anita). Sigh, I could only picture how she looks in the movie. Could not remember her name.

52D: Pitch specialists?: AD MEN. Great clue.

53D: Madrid monarch: REINA. Spanish for queen. REY is king.

54D: "Mulholland Drive" director: LYNCH (David). He often talks about Transcental Meditation and the incredible "bliss" the practice brings to him. I tried once, and I simply could not concentrate.

55D: Get together: UNITE

56D: Politcal outcast: EXPAT. Really? I am a Chinese EXPAT living in the US, but I am not a "Political outcast".

57D: Sci-fi hoverers: UFOS

58D: Castel Gandolfo resident: POPE. Had no idea that Castel Gandolfo is the summer residence of the POPE. Wikipedia says it's 30km south-east of Rome.

59D: Largest of the Marianas: GUAM. "Where America's Day Begins".

63D: Fr. title: MME. "Sp. title" equivalent is SRA. I penned in STE first.

64D: MS. enclosure: SAE (Self-addressed Envelope). Baseball players will not sign your cards if you don't enclose a SAE. Politicians don't care. I guess their postage is paid by the taxpayers.

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Thursday April 9, 2009 Donna S. Levin

Theme: Tack Together

17A: Tack: TEMPORARY STITCH

26A: Tack: CARPET FASTENER

42A: Tack: SAILOR'S HEADING

56A: Tack: STABLE EQUIPMENT

I learned this morning that the equestrian "Tack" is actually a shortening of "Tackle" in the sense of "equipment". It includes BRIDLE (10D: Horse's headgear") and saddle. So, it's basically the same as harness, isn't it? I forgot to which the straps and bands belong. Also can someone tell me the difference between BRIDLE and halter again? (Note: From Argyle: Bridle has a bit that is placed in the horses' mouths to get them to turn. Reins are attached to it. Halter is with out a bit and you attach a lead to it.)


I am not familiar with the sailing term "Tack". Dictionary explains it as "the heading of a sailing vessel, when sailing close-hauled, with reference to the wind direction". It does not make much sense to me. What is "close-hauled"?

My quibbles today:

2D: Once again: ANEW. Could have changed into "Over again" because ONCE is the answer for 12D: Formerly.

11D: Mountain sighting: YETI. The clue feels like you can spot a YETI in any mountain. But YETI only exists in Himalaya. Actually it only exists as a myth.

40D: Runway VIP: MODEL. Why abbreviated VIP when the answer is a full spelled-out word?

I got PBA (58D: Cops' org) from Across fills. I've never heard of Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. But isn't PBA more well-known as Professional Bowlers Association? Maybe because I live with a bowler. Our house is full of PBA patches, pins, rings and other stuff. My husband's name is inscribed in Bowling Hall-of-Fame, Hometown Boy section.

Across:

1A: Medicine cabinet item: GAUZE. No GAUZE in our medicine cabinet. This puzzle is 2 letters (V, X) away from a pangram.

6A: Holy pilgrimage: HADJ. Sometimes it's HAJJ. And one who has been to Mecca is called HAJI or HADJI. Looks like letter I refers to a person, doesn't it? Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison is the first HAJI of the US Congress. He made his HADJ last year.

10A: Party invite letters: BYOB

14A: Naughty way to live: IN SIN. "Live IN SIN" is a new phrase to me. I am not naughty.

16A: Ashcroft's predecessor: RENO. Learned this morning that she is a Danish American.

22A: In better order: TIDIER

23A: Physics units: ERGS. From Greek Ergon, meaning "work". I used to think ERG is an abbreviation of something. Only realized a few weeks ago that it's a full spelled-out unit.

25A: D.C. attraction, with "the": MALL. The National MALL. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech here.

32A: Artificial being of Jewish folklore: GOLEM. Ugh. I forgot this word completely. Williams clued it as "Automation of Jewish legend" last time. It's literally "cocoon" in modern Hebrew. Wikipedia says "Frankstein" was inspired by the GOLEM legend, whatever it is.

33A: Sites in la Méditerranée: ILES. I penned in MERS first.

36A: Elixir: TONIC. Is it true that soda pop is called TONIC in New England?

39A: Short cut: BOB. This is perhaps the most well-known BOB haircut in fashion industry. I think Anna Wintour looks very cool, don't you? "Devil Wears Prada" is written by her former personal assitant.

40A: Catchall abbr.: MISC

41A: Ostracizes: SHUNS

47A: Grim film genre: NOIR. Lemonade mentioned last time that Fritz Lang is the pioneer for Film NOIR.

48A: Drapery ornament: TASSEL

59A: "We have met the enemy and he is us" speaker: POGO. The comic strip. John Underwood once tried to clue POGO this way, but Williams changed it to "Stick for hopping".

60A: Pivot: SLUE

61A: Language of southern Africa: BANTU. Include Swahili and Zulu.

63A: In order (to): SO AS

64A: Cotopaxi's range: ANDES. I guessed. I did not know that Cotopaxi is a volcano in the ANDES Mountain. It's the highest active volcano in the world.

Down:

1D: Lights out: GITS. Why? Dictionary says GIT is a British slang for "a foolish or contemptible person". It has nothing to do with "Lights" or "Lights out".

3D: Pres. Grant's alma mater: USMA. Oh, I was unaware of this fact. Only know Ike graduated from West Point.

4D: Like some change purses: ZIPPERED

5D: Ambient music pioneer: ENO. And ELO (57D: "Xanadu" band, for short). Both are crossword stalwarts.

6D: San Simeon castle builder: HEARST. Ah, got it immediately, thanks to Clear Ayes/Crockett's repeated mention of this place.

7D: 160 square rods: ACRE. Easy guess. I did not know the exact measure of ACRE. "160 square rods" sounds like a lot.

8D: Like Syrah wine: DRY. Another guess. I know nothing about "Syrah" or wine. These Syrah/Shiraz grapes look very sweet. Black grapes always taste sweeter than the green ones or the red ones.

9D: "Be right there!": JUST A SEC. Now I am slowly getting used to this kind of 3-word answer and I like it a lot.

13D: Physicist represented in the play "Copenhagen": BOHR. Another guess. I forgot Niels BOHR is Danish. He won Nobel Physics in 1922, and his son also won the prize 1975.

19D: Jousts: TILTS. New definition of TILT to me.

24D: LP's 33 1/3: RPM. I don't know anything about this 33 1/3 or 45. Saw lots of LP's in the flea market. I often wonder if they still work.

25D: Landlocked African nation: MALI. OK, it's indeed landlocked. Can't let MALI go without mentioning Ali Farka Toure. This is for you, Melissa, Embien and all of you who were/are "Unfaithful". It's not the original, but his son did a wonderful job.

26D: Drink with marshmallow: COCOA. Well, I never drink COCOA with marshmallow. I don't like marshmallow.

27D: Cover story?: ALIBI. I like this clue.

28D: Bunting, for one: FINCH. Did not know that bunting is a bird, not to mention FINCH.

29D: Like a shutout: NO RUN. NO HIT anyone?

30D: Southfork surname: EWING. I blanked. Have never seen "Dallas". Williams used to clue EWING as "Adlai Stevenson's middle name".

31D: Weightlifter's stat: REPS

32D: Yaks: GABS. Ah, not the Yaks in my mind. Anyway, my question is: If female yak is dri, why yak milk instead of dri milk?

38D: Graham Greene novella, with "The": THIRD MAN. Have heard of the movie. Did not know it's written by Graham Greene.

41D: Reagan era prog.: SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative). The Star Wars program.

43D: City from which Vasco da Gama sailed: LISBON. Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer.

48D: An oz. has six: TSPS (Teaspoons). Chinese people seldom measure. We cook by feel. TBSP is tablespoon.

50D: Big account: SAGA. My favorite clue. Thought of major client "Big account".

51D: Color similar to turquoise: AQUA. Let's see, turquoise. And an AQUA clock. Similar? I think so.

53D: Tear: REND. "Tore" would be RENT, tricky past tense.

55D: A/C spec sheet units: BTUS

Answer Grid.

C.C.