Saturday May 2, 2009 Alan Olschwang

Theme: None

Total blocks: 30

Total words: 72

Read Alan Olschwang interview if he is new to you.

From time to time, I do miss Mr. Olschwang's weekly quip/quote puzzle. Don't you? There is a certain wit and warmth in his work. I will never forget his "Play Ball" TMS puzzle. He placed each ball player in their proper diamond position in the grid. Very impressive.

I was so happy to see his byline this morning. And I had a fantastic start. Filled in the long 17A and the intersecting ACHOO (3D: Cold burst?) immediately and with authority. Didn't we just have a similar ACHOO clue in LAT? Or I might have seen it in Paul's "Clever Clue of the Month" prelims shortlist.

There are eight 9-letter words in the grid, two in each quadrant, none has the annoying RE, ER, EST, ED, ING affix as our old puzzles did. And I like the four 15-letter fills. 58A was an unknown to me:

17A: Where many strings are pulled: BEHIND THE SCENES

27A: Fall opportunities for high school seniors: EARLY ADMISSIONS

58A: Former Boer republic: ORANGE FREE STATE

8D: Classic ghost story: A CHRISTMAS CAROL

I did encounter pockets of trouble later on. But I had fun penning in and then wite-outing my reckless guesses. I am definitely getting better dealing with Rich Norris. His mind can't be as deep as ... hmm... existentialism.

Across:

1A: The Pleiades' Alcyone, for one: GIANT STAR. Easy guess. I've never heard of the Alcyone Star. Wikipedia says it's in the constellation Taurus. About 440 light years from earth. And it's the brightest in the Pleisades open cluster. It's named after the mythological figure Alcyone, one of the mythological Pleiades. I don't know the heck what I just wrote.

10A: Bag opening?: DOGGY. Good clue.

15A: Touching base: IN CONTACT

16A: Dull thing, in slang: SNORE. Oh really? I did not know this. I do lots of SNORES every day then, including soaking our morning glory seeds earlier.

19A: Street address: BRO. Clever clue. Definitely trickier than the direct "Address in the 'hood". And MADAM (32A: Polite title).

22A: Shellac: STOMP. And TROMP (53A: Shellac). I like the pair.

25A: Turbulent waters: RIPS. New definition to me. Last time RIP was clued as "Fiber flaw".

27A: German aviation pioneer Lilienthal: OTTO. The German Glider King. New name to me also. Wow, OTTO is not Auto, but "wealth" in German.

29A: Like some felonies: CLASS A. The most severe felony, right? Imprison for life penalty.

31A: China biggie: SPODE. Named after the English potter Josiah SPODE. I knew immediately the clue is asking for porcelain, but I forgot the brand name. It appeared in our puzzle before.

34A: Branch headquarters?: TREES. Nailed the answer in a NY second.

36A: Inflate: PAD. Did not come to me readily.

40A: Cotillion honoree: DEB. Forgot the meaning of "Cotillion".

41A: Making a crossing: ASEA. Obtained the answer with Down fill help. My first thought was XING.

42A: Sense of style: TASTE. She had style.

43A: Flash: GLINT

45A: Often-allergic attack: ASTHMA. The th in Isthmus is silent too. Both are of Greek origins.

47A: This, in Toledo: ESTO

48A: Not pizzicato: ARCO. No idea. It means "With a bow. Used chiefly as a direction to indicate the resumption of bowing after a pizzicato passage." And dictionary defines pizzicato as "played by plucking the strings with the finger instead of using the bow, as on a violin". So one is with bow (ARCO), the other not.

49A: Battle of Endor fighters of film: EWOKS. Finally I remembered this Star Wars character. Endor is the forested moon EWOKS live.

55A: Ernst contemparary: ARP (Jean). Max Ernst & Jean ARP. Dadaism pioneers.

57A: Chem. unit: MOL. No idea. Molecular?

62A: Out of, as work: NOT AT. Hmm, NOT AT work does not equal "Out of work" to me.

63A: It's pitched at a stake: HORSESHOE. Struggled again. HORSESHOE related clue and answer always give me troubles.

64A: Dreams, to some: OMENS. Yes, indeed, "to some". What's the strangest dream you've ever had? I had an encounter with Phil Mickelson in my dream one night, after his 2004 Masters.

65A: Like an imposition: A LOT TO ASK. I got the answer with down fill help.

Down:

1D: Pop singing brothers from the Isle of Man: GIBBS. What's the origin of their band name The Bee Gees? I did not know they are from the Isle of Man.

2D: Like some gases: INERT

4D: "There's __ in team": NO I. Michael Jordan originated this quote.

6D: Ave. levels: STDS

7D: Chitlins might be cooked with 'em: TATERS. Another guess. I don't know what "chitlins" is. Looks awful.

10D: U.S. Army medal: DSCS. DSC is Distinguished Service Cross. I forgot what's the difference between DSC and DSM (Distinguished Service Medal). Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration.

11D: Like some grounders: ONE HOP. Joe Mauer homered at his first bat (season debut) last night. Awesome!

12D: Ruined: GONE TO POT. New idiom to me.

13D: Scooby-Doo, for one: GREAT DANE. I did not know his species.

18D: It might be sent from a bridge: SOS

23D: 15th century year: MCDL. Roman 1450.

23D: Dabble in: PLAY AT

26D: __ passu: impartially: PARI. New phrase to me. PARI is a prefix for "equal". Like parity I suppose. PERI is the Persian fairy.

28D: Sizable refs.: OEDS. The Oxford English Dictionary.

30D: Latin I word: AMAS

31D: Oil source: SESAME. Use SESAME oil for my salad.

32D: Tumult: MAELSTROM. I can never remember how to spell this word. Looks so similar to maestro.

33D: Resolve, in a way: ARBITRATE. Strung the answer together with the Across help.

35D: O. T. book: ESTH

37D: Go cautiously: EDGE. Feels like this word needs a preposition.

38D: Letter opener: DEAR. It needs a question mark, doesn't it?

39D: "The Last Time __ Paris": 1954 film: I SAW. Is it a good film?

44D: Reagan speechwriter: NOONAN (Peggy). Gimme. She appears on MSNBC often. I love her Challenger speech the most. The last line "They slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God" poem quote is very moving.

46D: Corrida hero: TORERO. "Hero" refers to main character, not the brave hero hero, right?

48D: Mock: APE. Xword word.

50D: Missouri River city: OMAHA. I wonder if the "Oracle of OMAHA" (Warren Buffett) solves Xword every morning.

51D: Japanese stringed instruments: KOTOS. KOTO is the National instrument of Japan. It actually derived from Chinese zither Zheng. Its kanji 箏 is the same as Chinese character.

52D: Glossy: SLEEK. Wrote down SHINY first.

54D: Exec grps.: MGTS

56D: Gnat, for one: PEST. "Dennis, for one" also.

58D: "Double Fantasy" artist: ONO. Here is the album cover. Do you think May Pang is pretty? She is a John Lennon's "Lost Weekend" girlfriend. She is a Chinese I think.

59D: Loan-insuring org.: FHA (Federal Housing Adminstration). Part of HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development). Not a familiar abbreviation to me.

61D: Chicken general: TSO. I had never heard of General TSO's chicken until I came to the US, nor had I heard of Chop Suey or Moo Shu Pork. Those are all Chinese American food. Fortune Cookie was also new to me. Clever idea.

Answer grid.

Happy Birthday, TJ in Osseo.

C.C.

Friday May 1, 2009 Gareth Bain

Theme: NIXON (Follower of Johnson, and a two-word hint to this crossword's theme) NIX ON → ON is nixed.

18A: Communist watering hole?: THE RED BAR(ON)

59A: Place for a paw?: LEG OF MUTT(ON)

3D: Plead with one's frontier buddy?: BEG YOUR PARD(ON)

26D: Adorable, bottomwise?: CUTE AS A BUTT(ON)

CUTE AS A BUTT tipped me off the theme. And it's also my favorite theme answer. I wonder if it's the constructor Gareth Bain's seed theme entry. ((Note: Gareth told me his seed entry is NIXON). He is a very young South African. I was thinking of FOOT OF MUTT rather than LEG OF MUTT for "Place of a paw?".

NIXON is the best unifying answer I've seen in a TMS or LAT puzzle. Very creative. Once again, I did not really need it to get the theme answers. Just a wonderful Aha revealing moment. Lots of clever wordplay in this puzzle. I got most. Still don't understand the clue for CASINO (29D: Strip tease?"). How so?

Last time when AYE SIR (47A: Ensign's affirmative) was clued as "Mate's response", both Barry G and Frank (he served in the Navy) mentioned that the sailors normally respond with two AYE's , always "AYE AYE SIR".

This might be our last eased-up Friday puzzle. Rich Norris said the puzzle will return to normal at the end of April/early May.

Across:

1A: Not loaded: SOBER. Just learned that "sauce" is a slang for alcohol too. Off the sauce = SOBER.

6A: Guy: CHAP. Used to think that CHAP only applies to young LAD, but it can refer to grown-up man too.

10A: Nuts' opposite: SOUP. "SOUP to nuts" is a new idiom to me. What is a typical "dessert of nuts"?

14A: Slide subject: AMEBA. Ah, lab slide.

15A: Tuna order: RARE. This ahi tuna looks delicious. Sesame seeds are very easy to get burned.

16A: Ballpark phrase: OR SO

20A: Prius automaker: TOYOTA. Do you know why they named their car Prius? Is it some god's name? Paris' father is Priam.

22A: Fishing for marlin, e.g.: AT SEA. I like this clue. Technically ASEA is also correct, isn't it?

23A: Long-tongued Congo critter: OKAPI. Oh, I did not know this trivia. The long prehensible tongue helps them to grip and pull leaves. I can only remember its unique striped legs.

26A: MV ÷ V: CCI. Roman 201.

29A: French vineyard: CRU. Reminded of Meg Ryan/Kevin Kline's "French Kiss". Luc has a beautiful vineyard in French countryside.

31A: "Turn Me Loose" singer, 1959: FABIAN. No idea. His lip movement does not match the lyrics.

33A: Use up: BURN. Did not come to me readily.

34A: Costs of getting high?: AIRFARES. Great clue.

36A: Some National Music Museum treasures: AMATIS. Another good clue. I've never heard of the National Music Museum though. Strange, it's located in South Dakota.

38A: Deep sleep: SOPOR. Ugh, stumped. Saw identical clue before.

39A: Gen - ___: XER. This time range is a bit confusing. But I am a Gen- XER, born in 1971.

42A: Stressed type: ITALIC. Nice clue.

44A: Blowup in a jam: ROAD RAGE. I remember seeing one scary movie about ROAD RAGE, but I can't think of the title now.

46A: Teen movie stereotype: NERD. Have you seen "Napoleon Dynamite"?

49A: Virgo's mo., maybe: SEP. Virgo (August 23 and September 22).

50A: Roulette bet: ODD. Wrote down RED immediately.

52A: Twin Cities suburb: EDINA. This clue reminds me of our fellow solver T.J. He lives in Osseo, another 5-letter "Twin Cities suburb". Tomorrow is his birthday.

54A: D-Day beach: OMAHA

56A: Defendants' spouses, sometimes: ALIBIS. I like this clue too.

63A: Show jubilation: EXULT. And OOZE (54A: Exhibit aplenty, as confidence). This puzzle has a very cheerful tone.

64A: All-inclusive: A TO Z

67A: Ford, for example: WADE. I actually knew the shallow water meaning of ford. But I still couldn't get President Ford out of my brain.

68A: Lo-cal: LITE

69A: Readily accessible: ON TAP

Down:

1D: It can be helpful in a pinch: SALT. Love this clue too.

2D: Melville South Seas novel: OMOO. "Typee" sequel, learned from doing Xword as well.

4D: Project Gutenberg offering: EBOOK. Oh well, I am definitely living under a rock. Have never heard of Project Gutenberg. It's founded in 1971, and it's the oldest digital libary, according to Wikipedia. I've never seen a Kindle in person either.

5D: Haile Selassie worshipers's movement: RASTAFARI. Ah, Bob Marley. Here is "Stir it Up" again.

6D: Monitor, for short: CRT

7D: "I get it, but ...": HA HA. I don't get it. How so?

8D: First name in soul: ARETHA. Queen of soul. I don't like her hat and I don't understand all the rage about that hat.

9D: Image: PERSONA. Contrasted with anima the inner personality.

10D: Shake alternative: SODA. COLA works too, right?

12D: Permanent U.N. Security Council member: USA. The other four members are: China, France, Russia and the UK.

13D: Neighbor of ESP, in the Olympics: POR. No idea. Why? Spain & Portugal in Spanish?

19D: Dark'ning time: EEN. Opposite morn.

24D: Goat with recurved horns: IBEX. "Recurved" is "curved upward". It's clued as "Alpine goat" last time. I used to confuse IBEX with ILEX, the "Holm oak" Allan Parrish used in his last puzzle.

27D: Cower: CRINGE

28D: Marching well: IN STEP

30D: Took to the streets: RIOTED. Thought of the youth RIOTS in France a few years ago.

32D: Department bordering Savoie: ISERE. No idea. OK, they are bordering each other. ISERE is 38, Savoie is 73. I am used to the Rhone river clue. Actually it's clued as "Grenoble's river" in our last puzzle.

35D: Choose not to call: FOLD. Oh, poker again. I thought it's phone call.

37D: Native of central Spain: MADRILENO. New word to me. It's "a native or inhabitant of Madrid, Spain". Madrid is in central Spain.

43D: Confection created by heating sugar: CARAMEL. Hmmm, crème brûlée, want some?

45D: Operative princess: AIDA. And the "Operative prince" is IGOR. And "Sarah McLachlan hit" is ADIA.

48D: Violinist Menuhin: YEHUDI. Literally, "Jew" in Hebrew. I got his name from across fills. According to Wikipedia, he is commonly considered one of the twentieth century's greatest violin virtuosi.

51D: Global currency org.: IMF (International Monetary Fund). How does its function differ from that of World Bank?

55D: Working hard: AT IT

57D: The "she" in "Of all the gin joints... she walks onto mine": ILSA. From "Casablanca". My favorite line is "We'll always have Paris".

59D: Mason's field: LAW. Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason.

60D: Letter from Athens: ETA. Greek H. Vowel though.

61D: Mars, for one: GOD. Mars is Roman God of War (Greek Ares). I was thinking of the planet Mars. Good morning, Spirit!

Answer grid.

C.C.