Thursday April 30, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: ATE (73A: Word that homophonically forms a familiar word when attached to the end of the answer to each starred clue)

18A: *"Unforgettable" singer: NAT KING COLE (Collate)

24A: *Cold War European: WEST GERMANY (Germinate)

31A: *1940s-'60s Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback: Y.A. TITTLE (Titillate)

40A: *Branch source: TREE TRUNK (Truncate)

42A: * Florida city near Fort Myers: CAPE CORAL (Correlate)

48A: *House speaker before Newt Gingrich: TOM FOLEY (Foliate)

58A: * Covered with black dots: FLYSPECKED (Spectate)

67A: * 1976 Olympic decathlon champ: BRUCE JENNER (Generate)

Holy hot wick! 8 theme answers. All gridded in Across. I've never seen such a grid before (Don Gagliardo's soft G is an exception). No wonder this is a special 15X16 grid. Dan Naddor's last Bean Salad puzzle is a 16X15. The extra column is to accommodate the 8-letter theme entry IT'S SO YOU (Dan could not come up with a symmetrical match). Our editor Rich Norris explained that anytime a grid is 16X15 or 15X16 is because of the theme.

I did not really need the unifying theme answer ATE today to get all the theme entries. Very clever idea. My impression of Dan Naddor so far is that he is very thorough and creative in his research.

Have never heard of Y.A. TITTLE or BRUCE JENNER. Flyspecked is a new word to me, so is Spectate, backformation from "spectator", according to dictionary. TOM FOLEY was an easy guess. Is he related to Mark Foley?

I am excited that Dan discovered a new way to clue EELS (14A: Rock band with a fishy name). The rock band was foreign to me. Wikipedia says the band was formed by by singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E.

The clue for MLLE (53D: M.'s counterpart) is very wicked. I did not pay attention to the abbreviation dot so I was thinking of James Bond's M. The M. here refers to Monsieur. I've never heard of ROK (69D: Seoul soldier) being referred as a soldier. To me, it just stands for Republic of Korea (South Korea). After I looked up the dictionary, I think "Seoul G.I." is a better clue.

I enjoyed this heavy themage puzzle. Some of the clues are very clever:

66A: Formal intro?: SEMI. Semi-formal.

6D: Union station?: ALTAR. " Train stop?" would work on this answer too. I got married in a judge's room though. You?

Across:

1A: Supplies case: KIT. Was worried that "supplies" might be a verb.

4A: Grille cover: BRA. Had no idea that BRA is an automotive slang for "a removable cover for the front end of an automobile to protect it from road debris". I suppose you then open a BRA rather than unhook a BRA?

7A: African hot spot: SAHARA. I like the clue. Spicy hot!

17A: LPGA star Se Ri __: PAK. Golf HOFer. Lots of Korean golfers have come to the US since Se Ri PAK, but she is my favorite. Her surname name is actually PARK (like Grace PARK or Chan Ho PARK), literally "simple/plain". Someone in LPGA or Immigration made a mistake on her name, but she decided to stick with the error.

23A: Goodyear's home: AKRON. The "Rubber City". Learned this morning that AKRON is also the birthplace of Alcoholics Anonymous, founded in 1935.

27A: Nintendo rival: SEGA. The name came from Service Games of Japan.

29A: Spoils: LOOT. Thought "Spoils" might be a verb as well.

47A: Heineken brand: AMSTEL. New brand to me. It's named after their AMSTEL river. I like the line: One Dam Good Bier.

54A: Gaseous: Pref: AERI. Williams clued AREI as "Interferometer instrument" last time. And the constructor's original clue was "Atmospheric prefix".

55A: Vegan's purchase: TOFU. Do you like TOFU? My husband does not touch it.

63A: Bridge call: I PASS

71A: Fruit in a split: BANANA. BANANA split is a dessert that should not have been invented.

72A: Houston pro, to fans: 'STRO. Short for ASTRO I suppose. I did not know this.

74A: Crude cabin: SHANTY

75A: "Shoot": ASK. Oh, I thought of the irritating exclamation "Shoot".

76A: "L. A. Law" actress: DEY (Susan). Learned her name from doing crossword. Have never seen "L. A. Law" before. She looks pretty.

Down:

1D: "Batman" blow: KAPOW. The sound of his blow?

2D: Cockamamie: INANE. Who made up this slang "Cockamamie"? So strange. Cock-a-mamie.

3D: Initiates action: TAKES STEPS

4D: Deadpan Stein: BEN. Anyone? Anyone?

5D: Assayer's substance: REAGENT. Rea(ct) + Agent. New word to me.

7D: McCain, e.g.: Abbr.: SEN. Thought of REP(ublican) first.

8D: Pond organism: ALGA

9D: Snake oil salesman: HUCKSTER. Learned this word a few months ago.

11D: Enter again: RELOG

12D: Where the action is: ARENA. "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the ARENA...."

19D: Like some highlighted text: Abbr.: ITAL

21D: Paris possessive: A TOI. Filled in A MOI first.

26D: Wine bouquet: NOSE. Is NOSE a special term for the aroma of wine?

31D: Song spelled with arm motions: Y.M.C.A. Is this really the original video? Why gay talk?

33D: USPS delivery: LTR. Ridiculous for USPS to propose skipping Tuesday mail deliveries.

36D: Dash: RUN LIKE MAD. I suppose so.

37D: Feminine suffix: ENNE. Or trix.

43D: Ancient Italian: ETRUSCAN. I forgot. It's clued as "Of Rome's predecessors" in our old puzzle before. Wikipedia says ETRUSCAN civilization extended between 1200 BC to 100 BC. The ancient country Etruria was located between Arno and Tiber rivers, roughly corresponding to modern Tuscany, according to Dictionary.

49D: Rand McNally staff: MAPPERS. Oh well, I definitely have been living under a rock. I did not know who Rand McNally is.

50D: Co-pay, for instance: FEE

51D: Tolkien henchmen: ORC. And the "Tolkien talking tree" is ENT. I learned both from doing Xword.

55D: 1970 Poitier title role: TIBBS. I like ''In the Heat of the Night''.

56D: Talk show giant: OPRAH. Not her fan. I like Ellen DeGeneres.

57D: Flora's partner: FAUNA

60D: Red suit wearer: SANTA. Ah, I put SANTA last time for the clue "Nick name?". The answer is CLAUS.

68D: Crow family bird: JAY. Noisy, noisy bird. Yes?

Answer Grid.

C.C.

PS: Here is an interesting write-up on Crosswords L.A. Tournament by Crossword constructor Andrea Carla Michaels.

Interview with Doug Peterson

Today is our first Doug Peterson LAT puzzle since the switch. But several of you have solved his Newsday Saturday Stumper in the past several weeks. Those puzzles are hard, and Orange (Amy Reynaldo) the Crossword Fiend loves them.

Doug is very productive constructor. He is a regular contributor to Stan Newman's Newsday. And since he started constructing in 2003, Doug's puzzles have been published by Newsday, NY Times, New York Sun, LA Times, CrosSynery, etc.

Doug is also an excellent speed solver. He finished #38 in this year's ACPT (#18 in 2008). Enjoy the interview. I was surprised by his last answer.

We've solved 7 of your TMS puzzles. You seem to be fond of synonym themed puzzle, like the "Oops" (FALL, TRIP, TUMBLE and SLIP) we had on Oct 8, 2008. Is that your signature? If so, why? If not, how would you describe your style?

I don’t think I have a signature style in my themes. The themes in the puzzles edited by Wayne Williams tended to be straightforward, so I tailored my TMS puzzles to his style. In the L.A. Times, I’ve had puzzles published every day of the week. My themes have ranged from simple synonym or rhyming themes to more complex wordplay themes. Coming up with a theme is usually the hardest part of the process for me. It’s difficult to create an interesting theme that hasn’t been done before. Today’s puzzle features a basic “four of a kind” theme, which is typical for a Tuesday/Wednesday level of difficulty.

You and Barry Silk created a "Cruciverbalist" puzzle for New York Times in Feb. For those who did not have the opportunity to solve the puzzle, can you explain your creating process again? Is cluing more difficult than designing a grid?

Barry Silk and I met at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in 2008. We talked about this puzzle there and laid some of the groundwork for its creation. Barry came up with the idea for a puzzle that would detail the steps it takes to create a crossword, from the initial seed of an idea to the finished product. I helped to craft the actual theme answers that were used in puzzle, and then I constructed the grid. Barry filled the grid, and I suggested changes to a handful of entries. Then Barry wrote the clues, and I went through them all and made a few changes.

Designing and filling the grid is my favorite part of the construction process. It’s sometimes difficult, but I love the challenge. Writing clues is my least favorite part. It’s fun to come up with clues for theme entries and the longer, more interesting entries, but writing clues for common words like AREA, ERIE, ORE, etc., is a real drag. It’s not unusual for me to finish a grid in two or three hours and then not get around to writing all the clues for a week or more.

When and where does your crossword Muse often visit you? I am constantly amazed by your productivity and unbridled passion for crossword construction. Do you experience Writer's Block also? If so, how do you overcome those periods of lack of inspiration?

I work on crosswords each night before I go to sleep. It helps me relax. I often experience writer’s block when it comes to themes. I need the Theme Muse to visit more frequently! When I can’t think of a theme, I’ll fool around with a themeless grid or take a walk. A few good themes have come to me during walks. The nice thing about being a freelance crossword constructor is that I don’t have to worry about deadlines.

I understand you were born and grew up in Montana. Can you tell us more about your background? How did you get into crossword solving and construction. Still remember the first time when your first puzzle was published?

I’ve always loved word puzzles, and both my father and grandmother were avid crossword solvers. I started out solving word searches when I was very young and eventually graduated to crosswords. I first became interested in construction after I bought a copy of Random House Puzzlemaker’s Handbook by Mel Rosen and Stan Kurzban. That book taught me all the steps involved in creating a professional crossword puzzle.

Yes, of course I remember the publication of my first puzzle. What a thrill! It was a Newsday puzzle in 2003. I still remember going to the Newsday website and seeing my name above the grid. It was surreal.

And what would people find one thing that's most surprising about you?

I listen to loud heavy metal music when I’m constructing my puzzles. (Not loud enough to wake the neighbors.) Believe it or not, it helps me concentrate.

Thanks for the questions, C.C.