Sunday May 17, 2009 Kathleen Fay O'Brien

Theme: PIANISSIMO (115A: Musical direction, and a hint to the quiet meetings taking place in the answers to starred clues) - PP represents PIANISSIMO.

23A: *Recycled stuff: SCRAP PAPER

25A: *Most dreaming occurs in the last one: SLEEP PHASE

46A: *West Coast Marine Crops training base: CAMP PENDLETON

68A: *It's loaded with rolls: CAP PISTOL

90A: *"Science" employed in many a self-help book: POP PSYCHOLOGY

113A: *Game you have to dress for: STRIP POKER

35D: *Liability suit targets: DEEP POCKETS

42D: *Thing to do first: TOP PRIORITY

Today's constructor Kathleen Fay O'Brien is the lady who gave us our first LA Sunday puzzle, the LA Clippers.

I was stumped when PPP (Pianississimo) was clued as "Very softly, in music" in our old TMS Daily once. Could not understand why PPP when there's only one p in the word pianississimo. Then Barry G explained that it's because piano (soft) is represented by P and pianissimo (very soft) is represented by PP. Dictionary says pianissimo is the superlative of piano. And fortississimo is the superlative of forte. Fortissimo is the comparative. Sounds so complicated.

Nice quiet puzzle. Very doable. I like the theme title too: Quiet Meetings. Several alliterative clues in today's grid:

40A: Kennel call: ARF

63A: Rods with roasts: SPITS

72A: Cell centers: NUCLEI

64D: Seine sun: SOLEIL

82D: Tete thought: IDEE

101D: Spanish snacks: TAPAS

107D: Salty septet: SEAS

I love the last one the most. Sometimes I get bored by certain alliterations. Clues can get very constrained and less inventive if you focus too much on them. But I appreciate the effort the constructors/editor put into them.

By the way, Scott Atkinson mentioned a mini-theme in Michael Wiesenberg themeless yesterday: WHITE WATER & PURPLE RAIN, which cross each other (32A & 5D) in the grid.

Across:

1A: Nitty-gritty: PITH

5A: Company whose name is often quacked in ads: AFLAC. Those Yogi Berra AFLAC commercials are fun.

10A: Skier's wear: PARKA. The Eskimo PARKA is called anorak. What the heck are these?

20A: Capital at 12,000 feet: LHASA. Capital of Tibet. And OSCAR (103A: 13 1/2-inch-high award). I like clues with interesting trivia.

21A: Medicinal creams: ALOES

27A: Birch of "American Beauty": THORA. Can't remember her name, even though I've seen the movie.

30A: "Washington Merry-Go-Round" columnist: PEARSON (Drew). Nope. Don't know this guy. Great cover picture.

31A: Insinuating: SNIDE. Always thought SNIDE means contemptuous.

35A: North Dakota State's home: FARGO. Easy guess. Here is their bison mascot.

36A: When people retire: BED TIME. I was thinking of a different retirement.

41A: Cons: ANTIS

45A: It can't be returned: ACE. Tennis. I like the clue.

53A: Silly type: GOOSE. Nice clue too.

55A: Sunscreen nos.: SPFS

56A: Easy stride: LOPE. Rachel Alexander sure raced like a girl yesterday. I was surprised by the outstanding performance of Mine that Bird, who now I think might have won had Calvin Borel rode it.

57A: Professor "iggins: 'ENRY. From "My Fair Lady". Letter H is dropped in Cockney accent. 'OMES (homes) was once clued as "Cockney abodes" in our puzzle before.

59A: Chef's repertoire: RECIPES. Here is the "Julie & Julia" trailer.

61A: Take care of a boxer: PET SIT

65A: College offering: DEGREE

66A: Destroy over time: ERODE

71A: Debt evidence: CHITS

74A: Reel: LURCH

77A: Starts liking: TAKES TO

79A: 1950s-'60s "Man on the Street" comic: NYE (Louis). No idea. He does not look like a comic.

80A: Copy of an orig.: REPR (Reprint)

81A: Composer Satie: ERIK. I wonder why he changed his name from Eric to ERIK.

84A: People: ONES. This answer often gives me trouble, so does ONE, which stumped me last time when it's clued as "Fused".

87A: Two-time Tony winner Rivera: CHITA. Clear Ayes has probably seen all of those musicals.

88A: Actress Conn: DIDI. Unknown to me. She looks so happy.

93A: X, at times: TEN

96A: Work the aisles, slangily: USH. The letter S enabled me to fill in APSE rather than NAVE for the intersecting 86D: Church area.

97A: It borders It.: AUS (Austria). I did not pay attention to the abbreviated & capitalized "It."

98A: Lit: PIE- EYED. Both means drunk. I struggled with this answer.

100A: Bizarre: OUTRE

102D: PC hookup: CRT

104A: It can be hard to refold: ROADMAP. I like this clue too.

107A: Captain Marvel's magic word: SHAZAM. New to me. What does SHAZAM mean? Is it just a made-up word?

119A: Very, in score: ASSAI. What's the difference between ASSAI & MOLTO?

120A: Formed just for this project: AD HOC. Literally "for this".

121A: __'acte: ENTR

122A: WWII journalist Ernie: PYLE. What does letter C (his left arm) stand for?

124A: Serious: HEAVY. Why? Can you give me an example?

125A: Blotter site: DESK

Down:

2D: Yen: ITCH. Some ITCH just can't be scratched.

3D: Green party?: TYRO. I knew it's a play on "Green Party", but I could not think of an answer immediately. Very clever clue.

4D: Pulitzer rival: HEARST

6D: D.C. mortgage insurer: FHA (Federal Housing Administration).

11D: Shakespeare title starter: ALL'S. “ALL'S Well That Ends Well”.

13D: Continually remind: KEEP AFTER. New phrase to me.

14D: According to: AS PER. Reminds me of PER SE. Tricky to parse.

15D: "Silkwood" co-screenwriter Nora: EPHRON. Have never seen "Silkwood". Loved her "Sleepless in Seattle". Nora blogs at Huffington Post.

24D: Chicken Little's emotion: PANIC. Did not come to me immediately.

26D: Certain polytheist: PAGAN. Isn't strange that ancient Romans/Greeks/Egyptians are all polytheists?

29D: Opposite of ja: NEIN. German yes (ja) and no (NEIN).

32D: Publicists' concerns: IMAGES

33D: Possessed: DEMONIC. Obtained the answer with Across help.

35D: Guitar ridge: FRET. I forgot. FRET as a "Guitar ridge" appeared in our puzzle before.

37D: Cave phenomenon: ECHO

40D: "Little Men" author: ALCOTT. Only knew her "Little Women".

43D: How distances to ballpark fences are measured: IN FEET

44D: Gets cheeky with: SASSES. Typical grid edge word, so is SEUSS (123A: "If I ran the Zoo" author). Lots of S's.

47D: Fancy entrance: PORTAL

48D: Coffee go-with: DANISH. Yummy!

49D: Pigged out (on): ODED. Was this a gimmie to you? Somehow ODs or ODed always give me trouble.

52D: Ribs: NEEDLES. Both mean "teases".

55D: Seen from the crow's nest: SIGHTED. "Crow's nest" is a new term to me.

58D: Part of little girls' make-up: SPICE. And sugar. And all things nice.

60D: Singer Winans: CECE. BeBe & CeCe. Learned from doing Xword.

62D: Tiger's bagful: TEES. Meet Steve Williams, the world's most recognizable caddie.

63D: How acrobats perform: SPRYLY

67D: Former African territory ___Urundi (now two countries): RUANDA. Became Rwanda and Burundi in 1962. New to me.

69D: Fine, for instance: PUNISH

70D: Airport security concerns LAPTOPS

76D: Like "Macbeth": TRAGIC

80D: Pi followers: RHOS. I really liked last time's "Letters from Plato" for ETAS.

87D: Impudence: CHUTZPAH. Great answer.

90D: Portly: PLUMP

91D: Term of affection, in Asti: CARA. "Honey" in Italian?

92D: A long time: YEARS

95D: Nutrient in kelp: IODINE. I don't like kelp, so grainy and hard to wash. Love nori seaweed though.

99D: Cleared the board: ERASED. The clue brought to me immediately Target's messy "Board of Directors" fight. I don't really feel sorry for William Ackman. Does he look handsome to you?

102D: '90s "SNL" regular Farley: CHRIS. Nope. Don't know this guy.

104D: Brief answer?: RSVP. Nice clue.

105D: Our Gang assent: OTAY. No idea. Wanted OKAY.

106D: Seed cover: ARIL. This has become a gimme. Argyle linked this nice mace and nutmeg picture last time.

108D: Subordinate: AIDE

110D: Brief reading?: ZINE. Short for Fanzine, hence the "brief" hint in the clue.

114D: Manhattan sch: KSU (Kansas State University). I don't know there is a Manhattan in Kansas. But NYU won't fit.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday May 16, 2009 Michael Wiesenberg

Theme: None

Total blocks: 32

Total words: 66

The four corners of this grid looks so balanced. Each with stacked 4*7 entries. And the whole puzzle has only five 3-letter fills. Neat. Once again, I found the long answers in Down entries to be very interesting.

Where did you get your foothold today? Do you always start with 1-Across? I solved the lower right corner first. ORDONEZ (40D: 2007 A.L. batting champ Magglio) was a gimme. He is a very interesting character, being a staunch supporter of Hugo Chávez. His baseball cards are not worth anything though, unless they are authenticated autographs.

There is an international flavor to this puzzle: ROMANIA (34D: Nadia Comaneci's homeland), SPAIN (50A: View from Gibraltar) & MONTE CARLO (48A: Riviera attraction). Then we have ISRAELI, SUEZ, NEIN, TE AMO and TETE. Colorful fills.

Across:

1A: Journalist Kupcinet et al.: IRVS. Stumped immediately. He was a long-time columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and his nickname was "Kup". The lady on his left is Lauren Bacall.

5A: Take by force: WREST

10A: Fix: BIND. Can you give me an example on how they are interchangeable?

14A: Word repeated before "Born is the king of Israel": NOEL. The only Christmas song I can remember by heart is "Silent Night". Taught by an American who was immediately fired for teaching us this "religious song".

15A: Games immortal: HOYLE. His first name stumped many last time when it's clued as "Card game authority" (EDMOND HOYLE).

16A: Lou's "La Bamba" co-star: ESAI (Morales). Learned this fact from doing Xword. I liked ESAI Morales in "NYPD Blue". He was so cool, at least, before he reconnected with his ex.

17A: Certain something: AURA. Well, this "Certainly something" sure did not come to me immediately. Lovely clue.

18A: Clinch the deal: ICE IT

19A: Love and war, to some: ARTS. Love is an art? To whom? Do these Chinese characters for "The Art of War" look complicated to you?

20A: Like some dads: STAY-AT-HOME. Nice fill. Nice clue too.

22A: PGA Champions Tour standout Jay: HAAS. "Standout" indeed. Jay HAAS has had such an incredible Champions Tour (formerly Sr. PGA) winning record. Hale Irwin used to be the dominant figure (Thanks, Jerome).

23A: Blackjack holdings: NINETEENS. No idea. Are they good or bad holdings?

24A: Shakespeare contemporary George: PEELE. Completely unknown to me.

25A: Maryland Air Force base: ANDREWS. Just found out ANDREWS Air Force Base was named for General Frank M. Andrews, former Commanding General of United States Forces in the ETO (European Theater of Operations) during WWII, according to Wikipedia.

26A: Slanted, in a way: ITALIC

28A: Nutritional regimen since the 1970s: ATKINS DIET. Not for me. Meat is just a side dish in Asian diet.

31A: Ich liebe dich: German:: __: Spanish: TE AMO. In Chinese, it's Wo Ai Ni.

32A: Prince classic: PURPLE RAIN. Being from from Minnesota, Prince's every move is followed closely by the local media.

37A: Houston MLBer: 'STRO

41A: One might keep you from going out: SNORER. I got the answer. Don't understand the rationale.

42A: Ring in a crib: TEETHER

44A: Like mercenaries: ARMED

45A: California's Highway 1, for one: COAST ROAD. Easy guess.

47A: Farm lands: LEAS

49A: Staffs: MANS. Verb.

51A: Frau's refusal: NEIN. How to you say "I don't love you" in German?

52A: Prefix meaning "peculiar": IDIO. As in idiosyncrasy.

53A: They may be sheepish: GRINS. I was thinking of EWES.

54A: Fog: DAZE

55A: Printer's primary color: CYAN. Oh, I am definitely a dummy. I thought it's black.

56A: Noncom nickname: SARGE. Isn't it strange that the shortened form of sergeant is SARGE instead of the more reasonable SERGE? This gives me an excuse to link SERGE Gainsbourg's "Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus".

57A: Canal site: SUEZ. Hard to believe it's already opened in 1869.

Down:

1D: Quickly: In A SNAP. Still have trouble with multiple words.

2D: Ordinary: ROUTINE

3D: Open porch: VERANDA

4D: TV's Buffy and Faith, e.g.: SLAYERS

5D: Kayaking challenge: WHITEWATER. Upstream, looks impossible to me.

6D: Kodak's home: ROCHESTER. I did not know Kodak is headquartered in ROCHESTER, NY. Wikipedia says Xerox was also founded in ROCHESTER in 1906.

8D: Loses, in a way, with "down": SLIMS

9D: Dijon dome?: TETE. Had no idea that "dome" is a slang for head.

10A: Lead: BE AHEAD. Need to get used to this BE something verb phrase as well.

11D: Begin, e.g.: ISRAELI. Begin shared Nobel Peace with Anwar Sadat in 1978.

12D: Wood of Hollywood: NATALIE. I like the cute girl in "Miracle on 34th Street".

13D: Analyze: DISSECT

24D: Liq. measures: PTS (Pints)

26D: By some measure: IN ONE SENSE. I thought it's IN A SENSE.

29D: Kipling python: KAA. The answer emerged after I filled in the Acrosses. Why did he name the snake KAA?

30D: Doing, so to speak: IMITATING. I am lost here. Why?

32D: Like much worship music: PSALMIC. First time I encountered this adjective.

33D: Not prepared: UNREADY. Do you use this word in your daily conversation often? I always say "I am not ready".

35D: Persevere: PRESS ON

37D: Leaves high and dry: STRANDS

38D: "Civil Disobedience": THOREAU. Has anyone read THOREAU's "Civil Disobedience"? What is it about?

39D: Come to understand: REALIZE

43D: Handy abbr.: ETC. Good clue.

45D: Dried coconut meat: COPRA. I tend to confuse this word with the snake cobra.

46D: Station sign: ON AIR

48D: In-box contents: Abbr.: MSGS (Messages). Thought of LTRS first. My "dome" does not work well.

Answer grid.

C.C.