Wednesday May 13, 2009 Laura Sternberg

Theme: PEPPER (Word that can follow the first word of 17-, 25-, 39-, 47- or 60-Across)

17A: Beetle Bailey's boss: SERGEANT SNORKEL (Sergeant Pepper)

25A: Quasimodo's milieu: BELL TOWER (Bell Pepper)

39A: Swiss Miss, e.g.: HOT CHOCOLATE MIX (Hot Pepper)

47A: Physician of 1930s-'40s film: DR. KILDARE (Dr Pepper)

60A: German dessert, American-style: BLACK FOREST CAKE (Black Pepper)

I am used to the abbreviated "Sgt. Pepper". Wikipedia says Beatles originally named their album "Dr. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band". But they changed the title to "Sgt. Pepper... " after discovering that Dr Pepper was a trademarked American soft drink. Do you know why there is no dot between DR & PEPPER?

I am not familiar with the Beetle Bailey comic strip or DR. KILDARE. Love seeing BLACK FOREST CAKE as the last theme entry. Sweet dessert!

Heavy themage today, three grid-spanning 15 letter entries, and two 9-letter answer, plus a unifying PEPPER. Hot enough for the "Snottie Dottie" Pepper. I have never tried chocolate with chili pepper or chocolate-covered peppers, have you?

Neat to see KNAVE (49D: Rogue) and SCAMP (53D: Rogue) with the same clue. I started to develop a fondness for this kind of same-clue-different answer cluing. Would have loved to see SID (16A: Rocker Vicious) as "Caesar of comedy" to pair up with COCA (40D: Caesar's TV sidekick).

Across:

1A: Patches, as a lawn: RESODS. The letter O enabled me to get ORG (4D: URL ending) immediately.

7A: Grass houses: HUTS. Are straws grasses?

15A: Place serving links: IHOP. Why "links"? I like IHOP's crepes. Links made me think of golf courses.

20A: Fund for later yrs.: IRA. Looks like the market is on a steady recovery now.

21A: Puritanical: PRIM. PRIM? Hmmm, definitely not. Talk about pitchfork.

22A: Superman player: REEVE (Christopher)

23A: Migrant: NOMAD. Wrote now MOVER first.

28A: Kissers: LIPS

30A: Western treaty gp.: OAS (Organization of American States). Established in 1948. Cuba's membership has yet to be re-stated.

31A: Remove the chaff: THRESH. Nice word. Consonants heavy.

33A: Rd. or st.: RTE. And HOV (32D: Hwy. lane type)

34A: American __, North Dakota state tree: ELM. Oh, I did not know this trivia. MN's state tree is red pine. What's your state tree?

35A: "Yay me!": TADA. I've never said "Yay me!"

42A: Times to call, in ads: EVES. I wrote down NOWS. Call NOW.

44A: Horror film creature: ZOMBIE

45A: Nuclear agency estab. under Truman: AEC (1946-1975). I like this clue better than "NRC predecessor". Nice to learn some trivia.

46A: Sign of traffic impatience: BEEP. HONK does not fit.

52A: Puccini heroine: TOSCA. And "Verdi heroine" is AIDA. Learned both from doing Xword.

56A: Postage meter unit: OUNCE

59A: Fish oil source: COD. Salmon fish oil is equally good.

64A: Bk. before Numbers: LEV (Leviticus). After Exodus.

65A: Shaw's homeland: EIRE. No ERIN dilemma due to the crossing fills.

66A: Dorm cohort: ROOMIE. I shared a tiny dorm with 6 other girls in my college years.

67A: "... __the set of sun": "Macbeth": ERE. Stumped. I am used to the "Poet's before" clue.

68A: Will of "The Waltsons": GEER. Finally I remember him. He was the Grandpa Walton.

Down:

1D: Amber, e.g.: RESIN. Oh, I only know color amber. Had no idea that it's a resin.

2D: Juanita's January: ENERO. Another alliteration. This seems to appear with foreign words only.

3D: Ex-NFL coach Hank: STRAM. No idea. Wikipedia says Hank STRAM "is largely responsible for the introduction of Gatorade to the NFL due to his close association with Ray Graves, coach at the University of Florida during Gatorade's development and infancy".

5D: Like Chicago-style pizza: DEEP DISH. Have never had Chicago style pizza or Chicago style hot dog.

7D: "I'll take a card": HIT ME. No idea. Gambling term I suppose.

8D: Sounds of uncertainty: UHS

10D: Wears proudly: SPORTS. Fun to see the old jerseys and caps people SPORT at the ball park.

11D: Obliquely: ASKEW

12D: Utensil with a mesh bottom: SIEVE

13D: Freud contemporary: ADLER (Alfred). I forgot. He is the guy who coined "Inferiority Conplex". Brett Favre needs to be psychoanalyzed. He looks good in Viking's uniform (fake one). Or do you like the real Packers' photo?

18D: Penpoints: NIBS. NIB, neb, nab, nub. So confusing.

19D: Vintage wheels: REO. Another 20 years, the clue would be "Antique wheels". Antique has to be over 100 years old.

24D: Smart fellows?: ALECS. Smart ALEC. Stumped. The ? made me think of Agent Smart.

26D: Recline lazily: LOLL

27D: Birthday preparation class: LAMAZE. See Paul's Clever Clue of the Month (Jan). Very cool "Class that ends before labor day?" clue.

29D: Used one's cell: PHONED

31D: With 38-Down, employment termination: THE And AXE (38D: See 31-Down). Get THE AXE.

35D: Pace of a piece: TEMPO. Musical pace.

36D: UN delegate: AMB (Ambassador). Wrote down REP first.

37D: 502, to the Romans: DII

41D: In direct confrontation: TOE TO TOE

45D: Brew container: ALE KEG

46D: "I've Gotta __": 1969 hit: BE ME. Here is the clip. It's new to me. I like the song title.

47D: Paso __: two step: DOBLE. No idea. I don't speak Spanish. Is it literally "double pass"?

48D: Commander: RULER. Not fond of this clue.

50D: Former RR watchdog: ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission, 1887-1996)

54D: News analyst Roberts: COKIE. NPR's senior news analyst. Her name escaped me this morning.

55D: "Doe, __ ...": song lyric: A DEER. "Doe, A DEER, a female deer ...". From "The Sound of Music".

58D: Car sticker abbr.: MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price). Looks like GM and Chrysler are going to file bankruptcy any day.

61D: Old annoyed cry: FIE

63D: One on a beat: COP. Here is a list of slang terms for cops. Pigs/Swine sound so rude.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday May 12, 2009 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Be Quiet!

20A: "Shh!" from a plumber?: PIPE DOWN

26A: "Shh!" from a hosier? PUT A SOCK IN IT

37A: "Shh!" from a mail carrier?: ZIP IT

42A: "Shh!" from a hunter?: SHUT YOUR TRAP

52A: "Shh!" from a seamstress?: BUTTON UP

SHUT YOUR TRAP is a new to me. Any other similar phrase for "Shh!"?

Very nice puzzle (34 black squares). I've never solved a puzzle with only four 3-letter fills. So unusual. Every job descriptive "Shh!" theme clue is lively. I like clues that evoke vivid images. Imagine how boring it would be if all the theme answers were clued with just a simple "Shh!".

The Down entries are exceptionally good too, with 6 long words (8 or 9 letters). I like the clues for the paralleled A MINUS (27D: Almost perfect) and SUPER (28D: Perfect). Another good pair is SPADE (49D: Prospector's tool) and PICK (50D: Prospector's tool). I wish ALBA (57A: Goya's "Duchess of __") were clued as "Jessica of "Into the Blue" to pair up with BIEL (52D: Jessica of "7th Heaven").

I enjoyed this puzzle very much. Still in awe of Don Gagliardo's last GEES. Superb!

Across:

1A: Iranian ruler until 1979. SHAH. And SHAW (10A: Clarinetist Artie). The first 3 letters are identical.

5A: Prickly plants: CACTI. The first row of the grid is always consonant-heavy. That's because most words start with consonant.

16A: Prefix with space: AERO. Aerospace.

18A: Prepare to drive: TEE UP. Well, if you are Laura Davies, you don't need the tee. Just kick some dirt and smoke the drive.

25A: "CSI" city: MIAMI

31A: Greek fabulist: AESOP. Isn't it strange that the word is fabulist rather than fablist?

34A: City bonds, for short: MUNIS. The interest income of MUNIS is exempted from the state income tax.

36A: Editor's "Leave it in": STET

38A: Red coin?: CENT. Oh, penny. I was thinking the clue was asking the coin of former Soviet Union.

39A: Agt.'s cut: PCT. What's the abbreviation for commission? COM?

40A: Corn breads: PONES. OK, is this the correct PONE photo?

45A: Salon services: PERMS. And DO UP (21D: Fix, as hair). Is DO UP a common phrase? I've never used it before. Can you DO UP my hair? Sounds weird.

46A: Shady areas: ARBORS. Lots of trees in Ann ARBOR, I imagine.

50A: Subdued shade: PASTEL. Alliteration again. Very precise clue too.

54A: Polite "I think", in chat room: IMHO

58A: "We gotta get movin'!": C'MON

60A: "Kills bugs dead" spray: RAID. Just realized Tara Reid is spelled differently. Always thought it's Tara RAID.

61A: "Keystone" bunch of film: KOPS. Got the answer with Down help. I can never remember "Keystone KOPS".

62A: Proctor __: kitchen appliance brand: SILEX. Holy moley. Have never heard of this brand. Our kitchen appliances seem to be all GE products. I could only think of Proctor & Gamble.

Down:

2D: "Deal or No Deal" host Mandel: HOWIE. Are you a fan of "Deal or No Deal"?

4D: Attraction for Winnie the Pooh: HONEY POT. Sweet. I love my honey too. Want some?

7D: Normandy city: CAEN. Sometimes the answer is ST. LO.

9D: Not expressly stated: IMPLICIT

11D: Windchill factor's opposite: HEAT INDEX. Awesome fill.

13D: Left the land of Nod: WOKE. "Nod" here should not be capitalized, correct? I learned yesterday that the Greek god of dream is Morpheus, son of Hypnos (god of sleep) and Nyx (goddess of night).

25D: Single-principle believer: MONIST

31D: Once-sacred slitherers: ASPS. I suppose it's not sacred after the snake killed Cleopatra?

32D: Inscribe: ETCH. Love this little word. Three consonants.

33D: Go into business: SET UP SHOP

37D: Attachment for closeups: ZOOM LENS. Reminds me of Jackie's "Hustler" nude photos.

38D: Bare fixture of rhyme: CUPBOARD. "Old Mother Hubbard/Went to the CUPBOARD..."

40D: Ceremonial heap: PYRE. I am surprised the PYRES are still used India.

41D: Like Granny Smith apple: TART. Granny Smith & honeyed walnuts & celery. My own Waldorf salad. Granny Smith apples are originated in Australia.

43D: Wyoming range: TETONS. Fun name Grand Teton.

44D: Like adult movies: RATED X

47D: Dental crown alternative: ONLAY. Easy guess. I don't really know anything about ONLAY, inlay or crown.

48D: Man with a cube: RUBIK. He is a Hungarian. This Monty Python Hungarian Phrase Book clip is really funny.

56D: Law, in Lyon: LOI. French for "law". New word to me. Alliteration in the clue again. It happens so often with foreign word clues.

Answer grid.

C.C.