Saturday September 19, 2009 Merle Baker

Theme: None

Total blocks: 33

Total words: 64

Wow, this puzzle has no 3-letter word at all. Very low word count, only 64, our lowest since the switch.

PRESENTEES (6D: Oscar winners, e.g) and STATUETTES (27D: Oscar winners' winnings) are great anchors for the grid.

Besides the above "Oscar winners" echo, the below clues also have the "word association" Bob Klahn mentioned in his interview:

14A: Theoretical, as profits: ON PAPER

17A: Based on medical observation instead of theory: CLINICAL

24A: Chief Valhalla god: ODIN. The Norse Zeus. Dad of Thor & Tyr.

28A: God, in Guadalajara: DIOS. The Italian God is DIO, without the S.

A harder puzzle than last Saturday's. I had to look at my cheat sheet several times.

I asked Rich Norris (LA Times Crossword Editor) about the recent eased-up phase. He answered: "The easier clues will continue as we monitor feedback from solvers and local papers. Recent input suggests that the end-of-the-week puzzles are too hard for too many people. We'll be trying to find a level that brings more solvers into the mix on Friday and Saturday, yet still sufficiently challenges the more experienced solvers".

I asked Rich the question last month when I first sensed the ease, he answered immediately. I should have shared with you sooner.

Across:

1A: Speaker booster: PRE-AMP. No idea. Short for preamplifier.

2A: Overcharged illegally: GOUGED

13A: Western evergreen named for its eventual bark color: RED FIR. Oh, I was unaware of this fact.

16A: Unending, in poetry: ETERNE (i-TURN)

19A: White sale items: LINENS

20A: Like expensive fight seats: RINGSIDE. Boxing/wresting. The area immediately surrounding the ring.

21A: Bearded blossom: IRIS. See the white beard?

22A: Enthusiasm: ELAN

25A: Makes automatic: MECHANIZES

29A: "Don't move, Fido": STAY. Reminds me of the Steven Wright line Dennis quoted the other day: "I bought a dog the other day...I named him Stay. It's fun to call him...'Come here, Stay! Come here, Stay!' He went insane."

30A: Adjective for a yellow bikini, in a 1960 #1 hit: TEENIE. "Itsy Bitsy TEENIE Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini".

32A: More shadowy, as evening: DUSKIER

36A: Slanders: MALIGNS

37A: Punctual: ON TIME

39A: Eddie __, New York cop involved in the actual "French Connection": EGAN. Unknown to me. I had difficulty focusing on the plot while watching "The French Connection".

40A: Winter Olympics contestants: SKI JUMPERS. Got the answer with the Down fill help.

46A: OR activity: SURG. Surgery I suppose.

47A: It might save your skin: ALOE. From sunburn.

48A: Mariner's heading: ALEE. Opposed to aweather.

49A: Shoves off: SETS SAIL. "Shove off" is a new phrase to me. I only know "Shove it". Teresa John Kerry is a very colorful character.

52A: Again and again?: THRICE. Great clue.

54A: Small and unimportant, as a town: ONE-HORSE. Learned this from John Kerry's presidential campaign also.

55A: __ powder: TALCUM. GARLIC, anyone?

56A: Garden tool: TRIMMER. Did not come to me readily.

57A: Plaza Hotel sprite: ELOISE. Learned from doing Xword. Have never read "ELOISE at the Plaza".

58A: Divers' fishing implements: SPEARS. I don't associate "divers" with fishing.

59A: Classified: SORTED. Was in ad direction.

Down:

1D: It's before the main event, briefly: PRELIM (Preliminary). My initial reaction is PRO-AM, thinking of golf tournament.

2D: Hang it up, so to speak: RETIRE

3D: Blissful: EDENIC. What's your idea of heaven?

4D: Anew: AFRESH

5D: State where the Mississippi R. originates: MINN. Gimme for me. Twins won! Twins won again last night!

7D: Have a wild time: GO CRAZY

8D: Modern way to shop: ON LINE

9D: __ arms: UP IN. Angry. A new idiom to me. I wanted OPEN.

10D: Turf controller: GANG. We've got Hmong GANG here in Minnesota.

11D: TV Series opener: EPISODE I

12D: Tough job for a beauty contest judge: DECIDING. Ellen Degeneres is a perfect pick for "American Idol".

15D: Contact the harbor master from one's ship: RADIO IN

23D: Inventive sort?: LIAR. Nailed it. By the way, look at the funny "Loose Parts" Dennis linked yesterday. Notice there are two number 1's in a grid? Impossible! "You lie!".

26D: "Sure __ standing ...": AS I'M

31D: Na or Cl, e.g.: ELEM (Element). Again, got the answer with Across help.

32D: Playground retort: DOES SO

33D: Salve: UNGUENT. Was this a gimme to you?

34D: Appetizers: STARTERS. Look at these Korean food STARTERS. Mostly fermented veggies. Hot and spicy!

35D: Royal office: KINGSHIP. Wow, have never heard of this word before.

36D: Magic charm: MOJO. Has Obama lost his MOJO?

38D: Tractor attachment: TILLER. Farming machine again. Hey, Windhover.

41D: Wilhelm's title in WWI Germany: KAISER. All German emperors are called KAISERS, correct?

42D: Sitting room: PARLOR

43D: Draw out: ELICIT

44D: Disqualify (oneself), as a judge: RECUSE. Used to love "Law & Order".

51D: Weapons, in Latin: ARMA. New to me. I suppose that's how we get arms.

53D: Head light?: HALO. My favorite clue today. Just heavenly.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of Wisconsin gang. From left to right: Kazie looks beautiful in aqua; Dot (81-year-old) is just what I've pictured in my mind, an elegant lady; Her husband Irv is 95 years old if I recall correctly. They do crossword together after dinner. And our radiant Andrea who owns Brasserie V on Monroe Street in Madison.

C.C.

Friday September 18, 2009 Jack McInturff

Theme: L-adder (Letter L is inserted at the beginning of familiar words/names)

18A: Hope of one placing a personal ad? (L)OVER MATCH. Overmatch, a contest in which one opponent is distinctly superior.

26A: Peruvian worshiper?: (L)IMA BELIEVER. "I'm a Believer". The Monkees 1966 hit. Composed by Neil Diamond. Lima is the capital of Peru.

42A: Knock a motorcycle daredevil flat?: (L)EVEL KNIVEL. Evil Knievel, the stunt performer.

54A: Kid going nuts with building blocks? (L)EGO MANIAC. Egomaniac, obsessively preoccupied with oneself, like the former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.

Thought of Scott Turow's "One L" after I was done with the puzzle.

I wonder what's the main seed entry for the theme. Probably LIMA BELIEVER. The constructor also clued NEIL (31A) as "Sweet Caroline" singer Diamond. He is probably a Neil Diamond fan. "Sweet Caroline" was inspired by Caroline Kennedy.

Across:

1A: 1988 tennis Grand Slam winner: GRAF (Steffi). She's married to Agassi.

5A: Partner of alas: ALACK. Alas and ALACK! Woe is me!

10A: "City of Seven Hills": ROME. The Eternal City. I think girls are shapely there because it's is so hilly. Also REMO (2D: San __, Italy), the Riviera resort (bottom left).

14A: Sitcom named for its country star: REBA (McEntire)

16A: French state: ETAT. Louis XIV once famously claimed "L'ETAT, c'est moi" (I am the state). Putin has the same attitude.

17A: Cupid: AMOR. Ah, "Omnia vincit AMOR ("Love conquers all"). It took courage to go to Argentina for a hike. True love!

20A: Camera bag accessory: ZOOM LENS

22A: "Carmen", e.g.: OPERA. By Bizet.

36A: Former Alaska Territory capital: SITKA. The largest city in the US by area. Alaska's first capital. Oh, you can definitely see Russia from there.

39A: Collector's goal: SET. It took over $250 to collect a Topps Chrome Heritage Baseball Card SET. Too expensive for me.

40A: Il __: Mussolini: DUCE (DOO-chey). Literally "leader". Rooted in Latin dux ("leader"), so is "duke".

41A: Talk show host Gibbons: LEEZA. Learned her name from doing Xword. Have never watched or listened to any of her shows.

45A: One you don't find in a foxhole?: ATHEIST. Not familiar with the aphorism "There are no ATHEIST in foxholes". Wikipedia explains that it's used to argue that "in times of extreme stress or fear, such as when participating in warfare, all people will believe in or hope for a higher power." Make sense. Nice crossing with DEISM (40D: Belief in a non-intervening God), belief in God through reason, a type of theism.

48A: Prepares to shoot: AIM. Not fond of the clue due to PREPARED (50A: Ready).

57A: Insolvent S&L company: WAMU (Washington Mutual). Biggest bank failure in U.S. history.

58A: Roman road: ITER (IT-air). Root for itinerary.

60A: Novelist Hunter: EVAN. Oh, it's he who wrote the screenplay for "The Birds". Unknown to me.

63A: Archaeology projects: DIGS

Down:

1D: Austria's second largest city: GRAZ (Gräts). No idea. Vienna is the largest city obviously. Arnold Schwarzenegger was born and raised in a farming village 2km from GRAZ. Don't wait. He won't be back.

4D: Agricultural worker: FARM HAND

5D: State without proof: ALLEGE

6D: Train maker in the National Toy Hall of Fame: LIONEL. Did not know there is a Toy Hall of Fame.

7D: Dirt bike relatives, briefly: ATVS (All-Terrain Vehicles)

8D Friend of Fidel: CHE (Guevara)

11D: Playful swimmer: OTTER

12D: Computer shortcut: MACRO. What is MACRO? I strung the answer together from Across fills.

13D: Revolutionary Allen: ETHAN. American Revolutionary War patriot.

25D: New Balance rival: AVIA. Latin for "fly".

28D: Barrier at a zoo: MOAT

29D: Big name in chips: INTEL. Dummy, I thought of potato chips again.

32D: Chicken __: deep fried dish: KIEV. Have never tried Chicken KIEV.

33D: Wood-shaping tool: ADZE. Or ADZ.

36D: Navigators and Explorers: SUVS. By Ford. Good clue.

37D: "Cool" rap artist?: ICE-T. Good clue too.

38D: Couldn't make up one's mind: SEESAWED. Like Hamlet. "To be, or not to be".

42D: Poe's "rare and radiant maiden": LENORE. From "The Raven".

43D: Self-defense method: KARATE. 空手. Literally "empty hand". Kara = empty. Te = hand.

44D: Family reunion attendees: NIECES

45D: Chalmers' business partner: ALLIS. ALLIS-Chalmers, the farming equipment manufacturer. Windhover mentioned this brand before. But I forgot.

47D: Philosopher who was a pioneer of German idealism: HEGEL. He certainly influenced Karl Marx's and later on Chairman Mao's philosophy. And yours as well, Windhover?

52D: Cyberzine: EMAG

53D: Pressures for payment: DUNS. Learned this word while working for Pinkerton. Fraud & due diligence investigation is hard and not fun.

55D: Battery buys: AAS

56D: Cavs' and Mavs' org.: NBA. Nice rhyme. Shaq is now with the Cavs, hopefully he will "win a ring for the King".

Answer grid.

C.C.