Sunday June 7, 2009 Mike Peluso

Theme: Taking The Bite Out of the Dog

23A: About to land in northern Ohio?: (GR)OVER CLEVELAND

31A: Incredible hole-in-one?: AMAZING (GR)ACE

53A: Debts?: (GR)OWING CONCERN

76A: Traditional ghost stories?: (GR)EEK MYTHOLOGY

93A: Aristocratic Machu Picchu women: (GR)ANDES DAMES

106A: WWII intelligence oversights?: (GR)OSS NEGLIGENCE

37D: Angry gorillas?: (GR)APES OF WRATH

40D: Little queen in the library?: RESEARCH (GR)ANT

I glommed onto the theme immediately after I obtained AMAZING ACE. My favorite theme entry is APES OF WRATH, very evocative. I like how it crosses ORANG (80A: Malaysian ape). I am also fond of OSS NEGLIGENCE too. OSS is often clued as "CIA forerunner".

Very clever theme. Also neat to have three "Pay" in the following clues:

29A: Pay: SALARY. Wrote down AWARD first. Two letters fit.

38A: Not pay, as taxes: EVADE.

8D: Pay dirt: ORE

Several tricky clues today. I dodged a few. But struggled mightily with OPIATE (60A: Dentist's number?). Only realized a few minutes ago that I have to parse number as numb-er, stuff that numb me.

I still don't understand the cluing for NAS (105D: __ in November). Why? Is it related to the rapper NAS somehow?

Across:

1A: Photographer's buy: TRIPOD. And RIMS (82A: Lens holders)

7A: Maker of Infiniti hairstyling irons: CONAIR. Also the name of a Nicolas Cage movie.

13A: It precedes Blue Jays' home games: O CANADA. I got it immediately.

20A: Actress Swank: HILARY. Loved her "Million Dollar Baby".

21A: Defoe title surname: CRUSOE

22D: Rhine siren: LORELEI. This has become a gimme. Sirens are sea nymphs.

25A: Starry-eyed type: DREAMER. Life is too realistic to be a DREAMER now.

26D: 1931 Garbo role: MATA HARI. Unknown to me. I don't think I've watched any Garbo movie. MATA HARI was executed in 1917.

27A: Binding words: I DO. Sweet clue.

39A: Word in proof: ERGO

40A: Some NFL linemen: RGS (Right Guards). Not a football fan. Wanted RTS. Are right tackles linemen also?

43A: They're found under long hair: NAPES. D'oh. Of course.

44A: Douglas Aircraft jets used in Nam: F- TENS. No idea. I also did not know GIRO (75A: Old rotorcraft, for short). It's short for autogiro.

47A: Iowa college town: AMES

48A: Rice-: A-RONI. My husband loves their Spanish Rice.

51A: Follow: ENSUE

52A: Matter of law: RES. Latin thing.

56A: Spacemate of Michael and Buzz: NEIL (Armstrong). Aboard Apollo 11. The Moon Walk.

57A: "Strange Magic" gp.: ELO. Easy guess.

58A: Thing to go through: PHASE. Great clue. I kept thinking of LISTS.

59A: Twist, as floorboards: WARP

62A: Smooth style: FLAIR. Got the answer with Down help.

64A: PB &J cousin: BLT. I like peanut butter and honey combination.

65A: Kitchen gadget: CORER. Thought of PEELER immediately. I peel everything.

66A: In addition: AS WELL

68A: "Leaving Las Vegas" costar: SHUE (Elizabeth). Nice picture. I wrote down the other costar CAGE first.

70A: Time between mediodía y seis: TARDE. Spanish for afternoon. Between noon (mediodía) and six (seis). Stumper for me.

72A: USN rank: CPO (Chief Petty Officer). Another stumper.

79A: Throne letters: HRH. His/Her Royal Highness.

83A: Materialized: AROSE

84A: Reagan secretary of state: HAIG (Alexander). I remember his "I'm in control here".

85A: Facetious suggestion to public kissers: GET A ROOM. Funny.

87A: Layers: PLIES

88A: Mozart's "__ Alla Turca": RONDO. Here is a clip. I was stymied.

89A: __Kosh B'Gosh: OSH. New brand to me. What a strange name!

90A: "Same Time, Next Year" actor: ALDA. Not familiar with the movie.

91A: Badgers, in "Jabberwocky": TOVES. Anything "Jabberwocky' is beyond me.

92A: Softened by love: MELTED. Sweet clue too.

95A: Eternities: EONS. Wrote down EVER first.

99A: Ring floorings: KOS (Knockouts). Needs "briefly" for hint, doesn't it?

100A: Church challengers: HERETICS

104A: Qom inhabitant: IRANIAN. Wikipedia says Qom is the largest center for Shi'a scholarship in the world. Very close to Tehran.

110A: South African liberator: MANDELA

111A: Show contrition: REPENT

112A: More to the point: TERSER

114A: Lists of candidates: SLATES. Our governor Tim Pawlenty just announced that he wouldn't seek for a third term. I am certain that he is aiming at the GOP presidential nominee.

115A: Prosecutorial staff member: Abbr.: ASST DA. Have watched so many "Law & Order" reruns, yet I still had trouble obtaining this answer.

Down:

1D: Shoe retailer McAn: THOM

2D: 1972 Derby winner __ Ridge: RIVA. No idea. Wikipedia says he won 1972 Belmont Stakes as well. Very exciting race yesterday. Calvin Borel almost pulled it off.

4D: "The Prodigal Son" and others: PARABLES. I did not know what "The Prodigal Son" is about. Thought it might be a novel.

5D: 14-Down flowers: ORCHIDS. And CORSAGE (14D: Gift for a big date). DIAMOND came to my mind when I read "Gift for a big date".

6D: Songwriters Bob and Jakob: DYLANS. Only know the father Bob DYLAN.

7D: MXXX ÷ V: CCVI. 1030/5=206.

9D: Match __: tie game, in Bordeaux: NUL. New term to me. NUL is French for "void".

11D: Give a charge to: IONIZE

12D: __wip: REDDI. I forgot this brand again. Only use Cool Whip.

15D: Seattle's 206, e.g.: AREA CODE. Stumped. I only know Seattle's #51. My first ever baseball card is a Topps' Ichiro.

16D: 1960 Wimbledon champ Fraser: NEALE. No idea. He is an Aussie. Hope Roger Federer realizes his Grand Slam dream this time.

18D: Forest bounders: DEER. Nice clue.

24D: Fraction of a joule: ERG

28D: Like the simplest process: ONE STEP

32D: Out of control: MANIC. AMOK is one letter short.

33D: Spots: ADS

34D: Garson of "Mrs. Miniver": GREER

38D: Detachable collars: ETONS

41D: Astronaut's garb: G-SUIT. Oh, I did not know they are called G-SUITS.

42D: "O Rare Ben Johnson" is engraved (in error) on one: STELE. My answer was STONE. The correct name should be Ben Jonson, a contemporary of Shakespeare.

44D: Brother in a hood?: FRIAR. Superb clue. I was thinking of those street gangs.

46D: Navel phenomenon: INNIE

49D: Camping pest: GNAT. And NOODGE (55D: Pest), a word I quickly forgot after it appeared in our puzzle last time.

50D: Unlike this ans.: ACR (Across). This answer (50D) is Down, not Across. I got it right away.

63D: Hotelier Helmsley: LEONA. The Queen of Mean.

64D: Believes: BUYS. Did not come to me readily.

65D: Angry: CROSS. IRKED popped into my mind.

66D: Disco era phrase: A GO GO. No idea.

68D: Protection for a bank job: SKI MASK. The robbery. I was imagining those surveillance cameras in the bank.

69D: "Let me think about that": HMM

70D: Whig opponents: TORIES. The parties in the UK?

73D: Fall preceder: PRIDE. I wanted Summer.

74D: "Lordy": OH GOD

77D: Weaken, as confidence: ERODE. Calvin Borel probably jinxed himself by talking too confidently.

78D: Cut a sandwich, say: HALVE

84D: Piece keepers?: HOLSTERS. I did not know a pistol is also called a piece Nice play on peace keepers then.

86D: Savvy sailor: OLD SALT

87D: Lap dog, for short: POM. The real dog. I was in the figurative direction.

88D: Commits an act of betrayal, maybe: RENEGES. Don't promise what you can't deliver.

91D: Mortarboard hanger: TASSEL

92D: Pat of "The Karate Kid": MORITA

93D: "Intervention" airer: A AND E. The answer emerged itself. I've never heard of "Intervention".

94D: Concerns of the god Janus: DOORS. January is named after him.

96D: Tucson is its county seats: PIMA. got the answer from Across fills.

98D: Tilted position: CANT. New definition to me.

100d: Alts.: HGTS. Altitudes & Heights.

101D: Technical sch.: INST

103D: Antitoxins: SERA

107D: Luxurious getaway: SPA

108D: Nothing but __: perfect hoops shot: NET. Ha ha, I thought it's Nothing but DUNK. I don't follow NBA.

109D: Charlotte-to-Raleigh dir.: ENE.

Answer grid.

C.C.

PS: For those who are not familiar with today's constructor Mike Peluso, here is his interview again.

Saturday June 6, 2009 Doug Peterson

Theme: None

Total blocks: 25

Total words: 68

Out of the 11 LAT Saturday themeless we've been offered since the switch, this puzzle has the least amount of black squares. The grid feels so open, with the triple-stacked 15-letter fills at the top and bottom:

1A: Winner of 49 Pulitzer Press: ASSOCIATED PRESS

16A: Diner order: SPANISH OMELETTE

17A: 200-mph swooper: PEREGRINE FALCON

46A: Two-generation groups: NUCLEAR FAMILIES

50A: State collections: INTERNAL REVENUE

51A: Some decks: CASSETTE PLAYERS

This time I was not intimidated at all. I got ASSOCIATED PRESS immediately, though my first thought was Washington Post, which actually has a total of 47 Pulitzers (NY Times has 101). I wonder if that's Doug's seed entry.

I was able to conquer the vast area of the top half, but I struggled with the lower part. What exactly is INTERNAL REVENUE? I wanted some word/phrase ending in TAX. Nevertheless, I am quite pleased with what I achieved today. I think the energy in my #1 CHAKRA point flowed pretty well.

Across:

18A: Menu items: ICONS. Computer. I thought of the food items.

19A: Nutrient in lentils: IRON. This answer came to me slowly, like love. I could only think of protein.

20A: MLB stat: HRS (Home Runs). ERA, RBI, etc. All three letters. Do you think Mine That Bird will hit a home run today? I want Calvin Borel to make history. Anyone besides Eliot Spitzer picks Luv Guv? The owner of Luv Guv also owns a horse called "Ninth Client".

21A: Peel: RIND. Noun.

22A: Loyal subject: LIEGE. I struggled with this answer.

24A: Premiere arrival: LIMO

25A: Lines on "ER"?: EEG. Filled in immediately.

26A: Break down: PARSE. Break down a sentence.

27A: General drift: TENOR. I like this clue.

29A: Heavy: BAD GUY. Heavy is noun. My initial answer is FAT GUY, since I had LET IN rather than LED IN for the intersecting 24D: Ushered.

30A: Fans of the bulldog Handsome Dan: YALIES. I forgot that Handsome Dan is Yale's mascot.

32A: Like much wage discrimination: SEXIST

33A: General types: DONORS. Mine was GIVERS.

34A: Beau: SWAIN. The 5-letter answer for "Beau" clue seems to be SWAIN all the time, never LOVER.

35A: Clearances: OKAYS. Spent a long time fooling around in this corner.

36A: Doesn't stay put: ROAMS. I had ?O??S staring at me forever.

37A: Sallie __: MAE. And Freddie Mac.

40A: Sake brewer's need: MOLD. Wrote down RICE first.

41A: Overcharge: GOUGE

42A: __ Corners: FOUR. Oh, this FOUR Corners. I thought of Augusta's AMEN Corner.

43A: Sermon ending?: IZE. Sermonize. One blank short for my AMEN again, and one blank too more for EN, the last letter of Sermon.

44A: Cotillard's Oscar-winning role: PIAF. I was shocked that Marion Cotillard won. She did not even sing in "La Vie en Rose".

45A: Eponymous Italian physicist: VOLTA (Alessandro). Ha ha, I had no idea that Volt is named after this guy.

Down:

1D: Have high hopes: ASPIRE

2D: Change: SPECIE. Well, I read Al's "Metallic money" posts a few times the other day, and I still failed to get this answer. "Coined money" seemed to be the most accurate definition.

3D: Java wrap: SARONG

4D: Standing up: ON END

5D: Bummed things: CIGS. Cigaretts? I don't get this clue.

6D: Country on the Medit.: ISR (Israel)

7D: Sushi staple: AHI. Also "Sashimi staple". Yummy!

8D: Tops in chic: TONIEST. I did not know tops is an adjective. Thought tops here is a verb.

9D: Appear: EMERGE

10D: "Captain Singleton" author: DEFOE (Daniel). I only knew his "Robinson Crusoe". Easy guess though.

11D: Outline: PLAN. PLOT fits too.

12D: Xmas visitor, say: REL. No Santa.

13D: Some Rembrandts: ETCHINGS

14D: Make a dramatic exit: STORM OUT

15D: Tactile, e.g.: SENSORY

22D: Velcro alternative: LACES. Could not keep zipper out of my mind.

23D: Red states?: IRES. Great clue.

26D: Not very strong hand: PAIRS. Poker.

27D: Airport lineup: TAXIS. Wanted QUEUE.

28D: Two-time heavyweight champ Patterson: FLOYD. Nope. First encounter with this champ.

29D: New York mayor before Koch: BEAME (Abe). I can never remember his name. He was the mayor between 1974 and 1977. Wikipedia says "he was a man of very short stature, being only five feet, two inches tall". I am 5'4''. How about you?

30D: Highest rank in sumo: YOKOZUNA. No idea. I recognized its Kanji character 横綱 though. It's literally "horizontal rope". Wikipedia says the word comes from the most visible symbol of their rank, the rope (tsuna) worn around the waist.

31D: "The __ of Confucius": ANALECTS. Well, see these two Chinese characters? They simply mean "commentaries". I've never heard of ANALECTS before.

32D: Loot: SWAG. Forgot this slang word again.

33D: Patron saint of astronomers: DOMINIC. Stymied. Wikipedia says this Saint DOMINIC "zealously practiced rigorous self-denial" throughout his life. And "he abstained from meat and observed stated fasts and periods of silence". No wonder he is a saint.

34D: Fluffy fare: SOUFFLE. Yummy! Alliteration again.

36D: Obviously enjoy, as humor: ROAR AT

37D: Quad Cities city: MOLINE. John Deere is headquartered here.

38D: Stylish filmmaker: AUTEUR. Why "Stylish"? Woody Allen is an AUTEUR.

39D: Removes, in a way: ERASES.

42D: "The Unit" actor Scott: FOLEY. Recognized his mug when I googled him. That's Jennifer Garner, his ex-wife, in his arms. He was Noel in "Felicity".

44D: Nice old man?: PERE. Nice the city in France. Can't fool me.

45D: Bounty rival: VIVA. Holy moley. Have never heard of this brand.

47D: __ Fauves: Matisse group: LES. "The Wild Beast". Learned this group from reading "Charmed Circle", a book about Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Matisse, Hemingway, etc.

48D: Grünwald associate: ARP (Jean). The Dada pioneer. Was stumped. Not familiar with Alfred Grünwald, who founded Cologne Dada group with ARP and Max Ernest.

49D: Film maker Brooks: MEL. So many MEL's in Hollywood.

Answer grid.

C.C.