Monday May 4, 2009 Gia Christian

Theme: B All You Can B

17A: Excellent performance: BANG-UP JOB

29A: Sci. class where many an "Eeuw!" is heard: BIO LAB

46A: Bill for what you drink: BAR TAB

62A: Satan: BEELZEBUB

11D: Betray by bad-mouthing: BACK STAB

39D: Angels or Dodgers: BALL CLUB

Another puzzle from our editor Rich Norris. Gia Christian is his alias name, anagram of "Again It's Rich".

There are total 16 letter B's (NY Times' record is 20) in this puzzle. And 1 Z, 1 J, 1 X and 5 K's. Quite impressive for a Monday puzzle.

I've never heard of BANG-UP referred to as "excellent". Argyle said the related words are: bully (?), corking (?), cracking, dandy and great.

My favorite fill today: KIBITZ (41D: Be a nuisance at the card game). I just learned this word a few weeks ago and I was able to nail it in one try. Quality word, very scrabbly.

Argyle co-blogged today's post with me. He will blog here alone next Monday.

Across:

5A: Beatnik's "I understood": I DIG. Whom exactly does a beatnik refer to?

9A: "I goofed": MY BAD. Can you imagine Shakespeare saying "MY BAD" to Anne Hathaway?

15A: The Beatles' "Love __": ME DO. Here is the clip.

16A: Italian violin maker: AMATI. Joshua Bell used his expensive STRAD for the famous subway incognito performance. Antonio Stradivari is a student of Nicolo AMATI.

19A: Big name in precision blades: X-ACTO. New brand name to me. Argyle said it's used by model makers everywhere.

20A: Dangerous household gas: RADON. Dictionary says it can cause lung cancer.

21A: Perp's excuse: ALIBI. Argyle is not OK with this clue.

23A: Author Kesey: KEN. He wrote "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

24A: Winter fisherman's tool: ICE SAW. Is it electric? (Argyle said: bar, auger, yes. Saw, no. Saws are used to harvest ice blocks.)

26A: Out of kilter: AMISS

33A: Germany's von Bismarck: OTTO. He originated "Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made." Just learned the other day that OTTO has a "Wealth/Rich" root in German.

41A: Skewered meal: KABOB. Have never used KABOB alone. Always shish KABOB.

47A: Concorde, e.g.: SST. SuperSonic Transport. It's clued as "By gone boomers" in a NYT puzzle in March.

50A: Academy trainee: PLEBE. First year student. Thought of CADET first.

54A: The Big Apple, initially: NYC

55A: Eurasian range: URALS. The mountain range between Asia and Europe.

59A: Flourless cake: TORTE. This TORTE does have flour.

60A: Conger catcher. EELER. Rather ugly.

64A: Handles roughly: MAULS

66A: Old Bologna bucks: LIRE. Or LIRA.

67A: Round trip?: ORBIT. Great clue.

68A: Revue component: SKIT

Down:

1D: Rubble: DEBRIS

2D: Newton and Stern: ISAACS. A mathematician/physicist and a Jewish violin virtuoso.

3D: Smoothing tool: SANDER. Have never seen a SANDER in person.

4D: Science fiction award: HUGOS. Named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stores, according to Wikipeida. And the awards have been presented since 1955. See HUGO Awards logo. It has a rocket.

5D: Babysitter's handful: IMP. Little Beelzebub? I was thing of TOY.

6D: __ vu: DEJA. Opposite of "jamais vu". And the last vu is "presque vu".

8D: Desert largely in Mongolia: GOBI. True. It has a large presence inside China too (the Inner Mongolia autonomous region). We call GOBI Desert as "Gebi Shamo". Shamo is literally "desert" in Chinese.

9D: A stitch in time..." is one: MAXIM

10D: Vocalist Sumac: YMA. Just learned that her stage name means "beautiful flower/girl".

12D: Vouch for: ATTEST TO

13D: Singer Celine: DION. I like "The Power of Love".

18D: Lacking what it takes: UNABLE

22D: Eater of puréed peas: BABY

25D: Nintendo game system: WII. It competes with Microsoft's Xbox360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, according to Wikipedia.

27D: Dubuque native: IOWAN. Got the answer. Don't understand why the constructor singles out Dubuque.

32D: Put on __: pretend: AN ACT

34D: Tout's hangout, briefly: OTB (Off-Track Betting)

35D: Eagle's nest: AERIE. 80% vowels in this word.

38D: 2012 is the next one: LEAP YEAR

43D: "Ten-four" speaker: CBER. "Ten-four" is OK in CB talk.

44D: "Krazy" comics feline: KAT. That KAT was a real kard.

47D: Belgrade's country: SERBIA. Kosovo is part of SERBIA, isn't it?

48D: Ringed planet: SATURN. Ringed indeed.

49D: Host who expects you to answer his answer: TREBEK (Alex). This is Jeopardy!

51D: Explode: BURST

53D: Carols: NOELS

54D: Verne captain: NEMO. Has anyone read Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea"?

56D: First grade basics: ABCS

57D: Faucet problem: LEAK

58D: 18-wheeler: SEMI

61D: Connecticut Ivy Leaguer: ELI. Yale University is founded by Eli Yale.

Answer grid.

Arygle & C.C.

Sunday May 3, 2009 Gail Brabowski

Theme: Torn Fabric

23A: As it was formerly known, channel with the slogan "play every day": GAME SHOW NETWORK (Mesh)

32A: "Enough": THAT WILL DO (Twill)

43A: Waldo of kids' books, e.g.: HIDDEN IMAGE (Denim)

60A: Couldn't rush at rush hour: SAT IN TRAFFIC (Satin)

82A: "That used to be the cases": NOT ANY LONGER (Nylon)

96A: It can be seen from the Seine: EIFFEL TOWER (Felt)

103A: Safe bronzing product: SPRAY-ON TAN (Rayon)

123A: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, e.g.: ONLINE NEWSPAPER (Linen)

Another smooth puzzle from Gail Grabowski. Very creative theme and great theme title. Out of those 8 long theme answers, I have never heard of Game Show Network. I only watch a bit of news and ball games every day. I faintly remember that the Seattle Post - Intelligencer went totally online in March. ONLINE NEWSPAPER is my favorite theme entry. It's topical. And I like the unexpected hidden LINEN fabric.

I thought all fabrics are all natural, you know, cotton, linen, satin/silk, mesh, twill, felt, etc. Nylon, rayon are man-made. I guess I am wrong.

I imagine Ms. Grabowski has a very pretty vegetable garden: tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans and various herbs. But I don't believe she grows or likes lima beans. Nobody ever calls lima beans LIMAS alone (64A: Succotash staples).

Someone asked last time what a cheater/helper square is. In today's grid, the single black square on the upper right corner (directly above NERO (22D: Fictional sleuth Wolfe) and lower left corner (directly below SPCA (103D: Gp. advocating adoption) are two examples. They are used to shorten fills (thus eliminate obscure answers) without increasing the word count.

Across:

1A: Dance floor flasher: STROBE. Is anyone a Phish fan?

14A: Big name in hotels: RITZ. Reminds me of PUT ON THE DOG last time. I wanted PUT ON THE RITZ.

16A: Biblical landfall: ARARAT. Noah's Ark landed on Mount ARARAT.

20A: Farm eatery?: LEA. Excellent clue.

21A: 2000s scandal subject: ENRON. My ENRON golf balls are not worth much.

26A: "The Cider House Rules" Oscar winner: CAINE (Michael). Unknown to me. Not familiar with the movie.

27A: Name to a position: APPOINT

28A: Gauguin's retreat: TAHITI. Here is Gauguin's "Two Women on the Beach" once again.

30A: Defeat: LOSS. Thought the clue was asking for a verb.

34A: Marine predator: ORCA. The killer whale.

42A: Cutter's cousin: SLOOP. Both Single-masted.

47A: Took the role of: ACTED AS

52A: Legal hurdle: BAR EXAM. And PRE-LAW (112A: Future litigator's study)

54A: Mil. bigwigs: GENS

55A: Olympics cheer: USA. Wanted OLE.

56A: Flimsy: LAME

57A: Platte River settler: OTO. "Prefix for ear" as well.

58A: Some e-mail receiver: PDAS. Wish I had some Research in Motion (the Blackberry manufacturer) stock.

63A: Candied veggie: YAM

66A: Yukon, e.g.: Abbr.: TERR. I was thinking of Yukon gold potato.

67A: Tiny arachnids: MITES. And GNAT (116D: Itty-bitty biter).

68A: Crew members: OARSMEN. Helsmen too.

70A: Broadway "Music Man" portrayer Robert: PRESTON. No idea. Wikipedia says he was in the film musical as well.

78A: Site of many styles: SALON. D'oh, hairstyle.

86A: Time alert: DING. Not fond of the clue, as ALERT is the answer for 106D: On one's toes.

87A: Short flight: HOP

88A: "Bonanza" brother: ADAM. Easy guess.

89A: Strauss's "__ Heldenleben": EIN. Stumped. It's literally "A Heroic Life".

90A: Lambaste: SLAM

92A: Rub the right way: MASSAGE. I love this clue.

94A: Hard to dispute, as a theory: TENABLE

98A: Select group: A-LIST. Wanted ELITE.

101A: Ben-Gurion Airport is its hub: EL AL. Hebrew for "skyward".

108A: Watch for cops, e.g.: ABET

113D: Intending: AIMING

117A: Seasonal dancing center?: MAYPOLE. No idea. Dictionary says people dance around the MAYPOLE during May Day celebration. Must be in Europe then.

128A: More chilling: EERIER

129A: Corpse sniffer of film: ASTA. "The Thin Man" dog.

131A: Web page stats: HITS

132A: Celtic rivals: LAKERS. Is it because last year's playoff? Why not "Clippers' rival"? Both of them are based in LA after all.

Down:

1D: Major account: SAGA. Love the clue. Last time our editor clued it as "Big account".

2D: Spider web, say: TRAP. "Golf hazard" too. There seems to be a golf term in every LAT puzzle. Rich Norris is a golfer. Today it's STANCE (99D: Golf lessons subject).

3DL Cloverleaf part: RAMP

4D: Cakesters brand: OREO. Holy moley, have never heard OREO Cakesters. Looks tasty.

5D: Herb garden herb: BASIL. The only herb I use is chives.

6D: Prefix with centric: ETHNO. Ethnocentric is a new word to me. I do know ETHNO is a prefix for culture though.

8D: Blogger's indulgence: RANT

9D: It might be harebrained: IDEA. Love this clue too.

11D: Slow-moving critters: SLOTHS. Penned in SNAILS first.

12D: Lofty: AERIAL. New definition of AERIAL to me. Can I say "It's an AERIAL goal"?

13D: Jabber: YAK

14D: Expense report need: RECEIPT

15D: Counting everything: IN ALL

16D: Warble: TRILL

17D: Subdivided: ZONED. Got the answer with Across help.

24D: NFL fifth quarters: OTS. Or "MLB 10th-inning".

25D: "The noblest frailty of the mind": Shadwell: WIT. Again, obtained the answer with Across help. I was not familiar with his line "And WIT's the noblest frailty of the mind".

29D: Like many families: TWO-CAR. Are you OK with the clue?

33D: Pub proposal: TOAST

34D: "I can hardly wait!": OH BOY

35D: Gaucho's lasso: RIATA. The ranch in "Giant" is REATA.

36D: Circ. info holder: CD-ROM

37D: Stock add-on: ADE. Stockade.

41D: Group meeting in the Palais du Luxembourg: SENAT. I did not know French Senate meet in the Palais du Luxembourg. I thought of NATO, whose members actually meet in Brussels.

44D: Clarify: EXPLAIN

45D: Bottom point: NADIR

48D: Small and sprightly: ELFIN. Can't get PIXIE out of my mind.

49D: Bonkers: DAFT

50D: Nice friend: AMIE. Nice is the French city.

55D: Like suspicious e-mail, usually: UNREAD. My first response: JUNKED.

59D: Biblical lion wrestler: SAMSON. Samsonite is named after this Biblical strongman.

68D: "Dreams From My Father" memoirist: OBAMA. See the bookcover.

69D: Track long shots: NAGS. What a shocking performance by Mine That Bird at the Derby yesterday. I picked No Where to Hide, but he turned out to be a No Where to Be Found.

71D: Icky stuff: SLIME

72D: Harmonic and melodic: TONAL. Mandarin Chinese/Cantonese are TONAL too. Cantonese has 9 tones, Mandarin 4.

73D: Gray area?: Abbr.: ANAT. Why?

74D: Valuable vein: LODE

77D: Ruckus: MELEE

79D: It's a wrap: SHAWL. Last time SARI was clued as "It's a wrap".

80D: Subject of Randy Wyatt's play "Synonymy": ROGET. Easy guess. Have never heard of the play. Did not know who Randy Wyatt is.

81D: Mimics: APERS

83D: Cowardly: YELLOW. Did not know YELLOW is slang for "cowardly". I actually thought cowardly is an adverb.

84D: '60s protest: LIE-IN. Like what John Lennon and Yoko ONO did?

85D: Epitome of thinness: RAIL. Really RAIL thin.

91D: Juilliard deg.: MFA. Master of Fine Art I presume. Why single out "Juilliard"?

95D: It includes Napa and Sonoma counties: BAY AREA. Unknown trivia to me. San Francisco is a lovely city.

97D: Southernmost of the 48 sts.: FLA

100D: Watched from behind: TAILED

104D: "The Devil Wears __": PRADA. Fun movie. Anna Wintour herself loves the film.

105D: Bank takebacks: REPOS

107D: Abbr. between a first and last name, maybe: NMI (No Middle Initial)

109D: Upscale auto: BMW. Just found out that BMW now owns Rolls-Royce.

111D: Very competitive: TYPE A. I was thinking of a normal adjective. Tricky clue. Dennis is a TYPE A, don't you think so?

114D: Foot part: INCH

115D: Radar's soda: NEHI. Learned from doing Xword. I've never had NEHI. Wikipedia says it's a a brand of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group now.

118D: Find a space: PARK

119D: Bee's charge?: OPIE. The Mayberry kid. This has become a gimmie to me. Ron Howard is so talented.

120D: Unwelcome eyeful: LEER. No LEER/OGLE wobbling this time.

Answer grid.

C.C.