Thursday August 6, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: PALLING AROUND (34A: Out with the guys, and an apt title for this puzzle)

17A: City Slicker's getaway: DUDE RANCH

19A: Like some sharks: MAN-EATING

27A: Honoree in Don McLean's song "American Pie": BUDDY HOLLY

43A: Kraft Dinner contents, familiarly: MAC 'N CHEESE

55A: Maker of Flava-Craze lip balm: CHAPSTICK

58A: Casual wear item: SPORTCOAT

All synonyms for PAl, hence PALLING AROUND. I've never heard of SPORT used in such a way before.

Pal is originated in the Gypsy word for "brother". FELLOW is missing, so are LAD, MATE, BLOKE, or are they too British/Australian?

I only learned DUDE RANCH a few months ago. Madonna's "American Pie" was very popular in China around 2000. I liked its rhythm, but did not really understand the lyrics and its coded references until after I came to the US. I've never had MAC 'N CHEESE. Love strawberry CHAPSTICK.

Great puzzle, seven theme answers, heavy themage in Dan Naddor's own term, nice overlapping of the first two theme answers and the last two. I really liked PALLING AROUND. Always nice to have a unifying answer spelled out clearly in the grid.

Across:

1A: Products sold with earbuds: IPODS. Now I don't miss any "Fresh Air" interview any more, thanks to IPOD & podcast.

6A: Rudiments: ABCS

10A: Four-time ABA/NBA MVP familiarly: DR. J. Nickname for Julius Erving. I had no idea that he once played for ABA, which was merged with NBA in 1976.

13A: As yet: TO NOW

14A: City where "The Night Café" was painted: ARLES. Van Gogh did over 300 paintings and drawings while staying in ARLES. "Bedroom" is my favorite. Here is "The Night Café".

15A: Fair-hiring letters: EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity). Sometimes the answer is EOE (Equal-Opportunity Employer).

16A: Emulate Sarah Palin, nuptially: ELOPE. Wow, I did not know this fact. What a strange conservative she has been!

21A: Griffin's rear: LION. Someone mentioned Griffin the fabled monster on the blog before. But I forgot. It has head and wings of an eagle and the body of a LION. Griffins are used to guard treasure.

22A: LAX: Los Angeles:: __: Chicago: ORD. I forgot also. It's the code for the O’Hare Airport, which was known as Orchard Place Airport/Douglas Field (hence ORD) during WWII.

24A: Annoying spot: STAIN

31A: Highest-ranking Boy Scout: EAGLE

33A: Basie's "__'Clock Jump": ONE O. No idea. See this clip. Count Basie.

41A: Prepare for a dubbing: KNEEL. Dub here means to "confer knighthood".

49A:: He sang of Alice: ARLO. "Alice's Restaurant".

50A: Drawn-out substance: EDUCT. New word to me. Looks like a verb, doesn't it? So close to EDUCE.

51A: Tall runner: EMU. Yep, they are tall and they can run (but can't fly).

53A: Divine one, to da Vinci: DIO. Italian for "God". DIOS in Spanish.

54A: California county or its seat: NAPA. Wine, wine, wine.

62A: N.L. East city: ATL. Atlanta Braves.

63A: Part of a TV feed: AUDIO. Literally "I hear" in Latin.

64A: Édouard's exploit: GESTE. No idea. Dictionary defines GESTE as "a notable adventure or exploit". Why Édouard then?

65A: Govt. deciphers: NSA. And CODE (55D: Cracker's target). Had problem interpreting cracker, one who cracks.

66A: Cold one, so to speak: BEER

67A: First name in cosmetics: ESTEE

Down:

1D: Agenda opener: ITEM ONE

2D: High-latitude formation: POLAR CAP. Misread the clue as "High altitude".

3D: Six Nations tribe: ONONDAGA. Literally "on the hill". I can never remember this tribe name.

4D: Info: DOPE. Wrote DATA first.

5D: Incense the censor: SWEAR

6D: Score __: A RUN. And YER 30: "__ out!". Baseball.

7D: Skyline part: Abbr.: BLDG

8D: Clamp shape: CEE

9D: Ukr., once: SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic)

10D: Common defense mechanism: DENIAL. I was in the military defense direction.

11D: Display horror, perhaps: RECOIL

12D: Host before Jay: JOHNNY (Carson)

14D: Continental farewell: ADIEU. The other French fill is TRES (57D: "__ chic!").

18D: Prefix with cumulus: ALTO. Gimme for Lois, I hope. She played with this word "cumulus" before. I was stumped. Cumulus is Latin for "mass"/ "pile". ALTO/Alti is "high".

20D: Scow: TUB. Clumsy boat.

24D: Offered a paw: SHOOK. So simple, yet I struggled. Did not think of paw as human "hand".

26D: SNAFU part: ALL. SNAFU = Situation) Normal) All F***ed Up. Another military acronym is FUBAR - F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition. Have not seen our fellow solver Miss Fubar for a long time.

28D: Roper's target: DOGIE

29D: Chain letters?: DNA. Lovely clue. I got D easily, then I filled in EF immediately, the DEF alphabet string.

32D: Fall bumper sticker word: ELECT

35D: Suffix with bull or bear: ISH. Great clue too.

36D: "Go jump in the loch!": NAE. Scottish for "No". Loch is "lake".

37D: Acapulco article: UNA

38D: Least cool: NERDIEST. The nerds might disagree.

39D: Easily broken: DELICATE. Glasses.

42D: Gander: LOOK SEE

43D: Certain brainic: MENSAN. Oh, Dennis is one. I only know the word MENSA, which means "stupid" in Spanish. Tonto means "stupid" too.

44D: Changes, in a Darwinian sense: ADAPTS. Thought of EVOLVES.

45D: Feature of many a capitol: CUPOLA. We've seen OLA clued as "Cup suffix" before, haven't we? But this CUPOLA feature completely escaped me earlier.

46D: Tenn. neighbor: N CAR. The Tar Heel State. Thanks for the origin, Katy/Hahtool.

47D: Cold War acronym: SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization). 1954-1977.

48D: Old Mex. ruler: EMP (Emperor)

52D: Copy editor's concern: USAGE

56D: "Aquarius" musical: HAIR. I guessed. Not familiar with "Aquarius".

59D: PC key with two arrows: TAB. Nice new clue.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday August 5, 2009 Gary Steinmehl

Theme: MONKEY AROUND (53A: Spend time idly (and a hint to what can precede the last word of 20-, 25-, 38- or 47-Across))

20A: Stage, screen, etc.: SHOW BUSINESS

25A: They have latte charges: COFFEE BARS

38A: Action in court: LAWSUIT

47A: Oxford brighteners: SHOESHINES

I always associate MONKEY BUSINESS with Gary Hart/Donna Rice scandal. MONKEY BARS are not part of my childhood memory. Only learned a few months ago that MONKEY SUIT is slang for tuxedo. MONKEYSHINE is a new word to me. Dictionary says it's usually in plural form, referring to "a frivolous or mischievous prank", similar to MONKEY BUSINESS.

Quite unusual to see the two non-theme Across fills SQUATTERS (17A: Occupants of abandoned buildings, e.g.:) and REPLAYING (61A: Using a DVR, say) have more letters than the center theme entry LAWSUIT.

MONKEY is one of the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac animals. People born in the year of MONKEY are highly energetic and inventive. Here are more traits. I am a pig. Generally I don't get along with those who were born in the year of snake.

Across:

1A: Wire wearer: SPY. Alliterative clue.

4A: Low men: BASSI. "Low men in an opera/choir" to be precise. Plural of BASSO. I was in the SERFS/ESNES direction.

14A: Witness stand oath: I DO. I really liked Merl Reagle's "Two words Oprah hasn't said" clue for I DO (forward to 6:03).

16A: Shire of "Rocky": TALIA. She played Connie in the "Godfather".

30A: It follows that: ERGO. Latin for "Therefore" or "It follows that...".

35A: Scientology's __ Hubbard: L. RON. Just learned that L stands for Lafayette.

36A: Big name in Arizona political history: UDALL. Learned from doing Xword. They are Democrats in a historically red state.

44A: Vena __: CAVA. Latin for "hollow".

45A: Nest egg initials: IRA (Individual Retirement Account)

46A: War honoree: HERO. Thought of VETS first.

52A: Homer Simpson's neighbor: NED

60A: Prestigious university octet: IVIES. The Ivy League.

66A: New parent's lack?: SLEEP. Great clue. Nice pair with NAPS (59D: Is off guard).

67A: "The Company": CIA. Does FBI have a nickname also? I only know G-MAN.

70A: Big fat mouth: YAP

Down:

1D: Skipper, to Barbie: SIS. Skipper's friend is Skooter. Tough to find a vintage barbie in mint condition.

2D: Brief "At once!": PDQ (Pretty Damn Quick)

3D: Uncle Sam poster word: YOU. I want YOU.

4D: LPGA Hall of Famer Daniel: BETH. Ah, the next Solheim Cup captain. She just picked Michele Wie as a wild card. She also tapped Julie Inkster.

8D: Bank named on a credit card: ISSUER

9D: Skylit areas: ATRIA. One letter away from ALTRIA (parent company of Philip Morris/Kraft), Latin for "high".

10D: Discouraged: DAUNTED

22D: Bring relief to: SOOTHE

23D: Catered event: AFFAIR. Waiting for it to be clued as "Extramarital relationship". Two people can have AFFAIRS without sexual relationship, correct?

25D: Potato's place?: COUCH. COUCH potato.

27D: Proctor & Gamble detergent: ERA. Nice new clue.

29D: Inexpensive former camera brand: ANSCO. Not familiar with this brand. It stands for Anthony & Scoville Co.

31D: Formation from steam erosion: RAVINE

32D: Stared angrily: GLARED. Not fond of the clue. Too many letter repetitions.

33D: Southwestern crocks: OLLAS

36D: Six-sided state: UTAH. Jazz-y too.

39D: Dubai's federation: Abbr.: UAE (United Arab Emirates). Dubai is one of the 7 Emirate. Also the city name.

43D: Cargo pants features: POCKETS

47D: Limit, in a saying: SKY. The SKY is the limit.

48D: Publisher who was the inspiration for "Citizen Kane": HEARST

49D: Race since 1911, informally: INDY. INDY 500. The Memorial Day weekend race.

51D: "The Lion and the Mouse" fabulist: AESOP. The man of morals.

53D: Junk drawer label: MISC

54D: Lionel layout, maybe: OVAL

55D: 15th century caravel: NINA. Pinta & Santa Maria. Columbus's ships.

57D: Receptive: OPEN

58D: Beekeepr in a 1997 movie: ULEE. "ULEE's Gold". Starring Peter Fonda.

63D: Peeples of "Fame": NIA. She is also in "Walker, Texas Ranger".

Answer grid.

C.C.