Saturday October 3, 2009 Bruce Venzke and Stella Daily

Theme: None

Total blocks: 32

Total words: 68

I am so curious about the original clues for this puzzle. They can't be so straightforward that even I could finish without much trouble.

There are seven grid-spanning fill in the Across. The stacking did not intimidate me at all. Several just popped up to me immediately with only a few letters penned in:

14A. "This can't be true!": YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS

17A. 25-Across's WWII command: EUROPEAN THEATER. And DDE (5A. WWII general who became pres.). We often see the abbreviated ETO clued as "DDE/IKE arena", nice to see its full name

31A. Scorned notion: HARE-BRAINED IDEA. Like the Cash-for-Clunkers, no?

37A. Oil and vinegar concoction: ITALIAN DRESSING. My first thought is vinaigrette.

38A. "Back off!": DON'T GET TOO CLOSE

55A. Title guy asked to "play a song for me," in a Byrds hit: MR. TAMBOURINE MAN. I only know Bob Dylan's version.

57. Cause of many traveling delays: AIR PORT SECURITY. And VAN (46A. Terminal-to-hotel transport).

Across:

5. __ Rouge: KHMER (kuh-MAIR). The Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, just like the Han people in China (We have 56 ethnic groups in China). I am a Han. Rouge (red) is due to its communist party status.

10. Sch. support groups: PTAS (Parent Teacher Associations). No such support groups in our school.

18. Algae on the beach: SEAWEED. Nori (sushi wrapper) and kelp (dashi soup base) are probably the most popular edible seaweeds.

19. Semaphore user's output: SIGNALS. Sema is Greek for "sign". Phore is a suffix for "bearer/carrier". New word to me.

20. "__ Blu Dipinto Di Blu": 1958 hit: NEL. Italian for "in". The song title is literally "In the Blue Painted Blue" or "Volare", Italian for "To Fly". I can never remember it.

22. Nursery bed: CRIB. And COTS (50D. No-frills beds).

28. Devilish tot: IMP

39. SASE, e.g.: ENC. SASE = Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope. You've got to attach a SASE if you want an autographed card from those baseball players.

41. Not much: A TAD

48. Kind of fingerprint or code: GENETIC. Genetic fingerprint = DNA testing.

51. "Is it worth the risk?": DO I DARE. Nope, I don't dare, to eat a peach.

59. Davis of "Do the Right Thing": OSSIE. Always want GEENA.

60. Words before ghost or doctor: SEE A

Down:

1. Tars' affirmatives: AYES. Tar/salt/gob, all slang for sailor.

2. Licentious sort: ROUE. Roué is pronounced as roo-EY. Did you guys want RAKE again?

3. Certain something: AURA. I like the clue.

4. High martial arts rank: BROWN BELT. Only know black belt.

5. Get ready to pray: KNEEL

6. 1950s tennis great Lew: HOAD. Nailed him this time. He's a two-time Wimbledon champion (1956-57).

7. Part of a range: Abbr: MTN

8. Inexact nos.: ESTS (Estimates)

10. Beethoven's instrument: PIANO. See, you don't see Rich Norris repeats any clue. It's "Upright, for one" yesterday.

11. Nincompoop: TOTAL IDIOT

12. "The Mammoth Hunters" author: AUEL (Jean). Also the author of "The Clan of the Cave Bear".

13. Lith. et al., once: SSRS (Soviet Socialist Republics)

15. French for "sword": EPEE. Oh, good to know.

16. __ Park: Queens area near Forest Hills: REGO. No idea. What's the name origin of this park?

22. Scold: CHIDE

23. Boca __: RATON. A city in Palm Beach, Florida.

24. Ollie North's '80s "affair": IRAN-CONTRA. Is Ollie a nickname for Oliver?

25. "Divine Comedy" writer: DANTE. A Hell of a writer.

26. Inflicted upon: DID TO

27. Collapsed company chronicled in the 2005 documentary subtitled "The Smartest Guys in the Room": ENRON. Watched it immediately after its release. Not impressed.

29. Club for smart guys and girls: MENSA. Spanish for "stupid"(feminine adjective).

30. Alerted, as a doctor: PAGED

32. Important: BIG. As in big potato, slang for an important person.

34. Want-ad abbr.: EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity). EOE = Equal-Opportunity Employer.

35. U.S. Army medal: DSC (Distinguished Service Cross). Can't be DSM (Distinguished Service Medal) because medal is in the clue.

36. Martha's Vineyard natives, e.g.: ISLANDERS. Did not come to me readily.

43. Gets as a return: REAPS. You reap what you sow.

44. Prefix with sphere: ATMO. Atmosphere.

45. Book, to Bolívar: LIBRO. Spanish for "book". New to me. Bolívar is chosen for alliterative purpose.

46. Express, as an opinion: VOICE. Can't be OPINE because of "opinion".

47. Japanese aborigine: AINU (AHY-noo). The native language for "person".

48. Exam for a Wharton Sch. hopeful: GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test). A test for MBA hopefuls. I think GRE can be a substitute.

49. Port on its own lake: ERIE

51. Eins plus zwei: DREI. 1+2=3, in German.

52. Gallic girlfriend: AMIE. Cher ami (male), Chère amie (female).

53. Interest percentage: RATE

54. Pop musician from County Donegal: ENYA. Well, who else could it be, with the "County" tip off? One name singer can only be SEAL, SADE and CHER. Did I miss anyone?

56. __ Constitution: USS. The oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat in the world.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday October 2, 2009 Jack McInturff

Theme: Let Me C - Letter C is inserted in front of a R-starting 4-letter word of a familiar phrase/word.

20A. Grouch in the army?: MILITARY (C)RANK. Military Rank. A grouchy person is a crank.

27A. Small-time hood's pottery?: PUNK (C)ROCK. Punk Rock. Punk=hood. Ruffian.

36A. Accident in a qualifying race?: HEAT (C)RASH. Heat Rash. Heat = preliminary or qualifying race.

47A. Family insignia for designer Edith?: HEAD (C)REST. Headrest. Edith Head was a costume designer with 8 Oscar awards. Did anyone put PIAF first?

54A. Jalopy used as a trade-in?: EXCHANGE (C)RATE. Exchange Rate. Both jalopy and crate refer to beat-up cars. New to me.

Too bad the base word headrest is single word. All the other theme answers have two-word base phrases.

Simple yet clever theme. Neat to have CYCLE (30D. Repeating series) connecting three of the theme answers. Neater to have a letter C placed in the very middle of the grid.

Quite a few unfamiliar names, but mostly obtainable from crosses.

Across:

1. List of options: MENU. Easy start.

14. Informed about: UP ON. Sometimes the answer is IN ON.

15. Rod Stewart's ex: ALANA. Also George Hamilton's ex.

16. Parade honoree: HERO

17. Sugar and spice product?: GIRL. Nursery rhyme: "... What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and all things nice". Boys from "snakes and snails and puppy dog tails."

18. Turbine part: ROTOR

19. __-Z: classic Camaro: IROC. I just remember it as I ROCK.

23. Upright, for one: PIANO. Or "Grand, for one". I like how it intersects PPP (23D. Very quietly). PPP stands for pianississimo. Piano can mean soft too, abbreviated as P.

26. Tell stories: LIE. Nice clue.

31. Hardwood tree: ALDER. Rot/water resistant. Birch family.

33. Downing St. VIPs: PMS (Prime Ministers). The "British legislators" are MPS (Members of Parliament).

34. Small island: CAY. Same as key.

39. Ford failures: EDSELS

42. "Bad" cholesterol, briefly: LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein). The "good" cholesterol is HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein). And OAT (29D. Cholesterol-reducing grain).

43. "The Gold Bug" author: POE. Easy guess. I was not aware of this short story.

46. Hedren of "The Birds": TIPPI. Melanie Griffith's mother.

51. '70s-'80s Pakistani leader: ZIA. Learned his name from doing Xword. Khan and ZIA.

53. Analyze grammatically: PARSE

64. River near Kassel, Germany: EDER. The red line? I only saw ELBE.

65. Like Chicago, so they say: WINDY. Chicago is nicknamed the "Windy City".

66. Where the Jazz play: UTAH. Utah Jazz.

67. Belgrade native: SERB

68. Pair in the middle of dressing?: ESSES. There are a pair of letter S in the very middle of the word "dressing".

Down:

3. Old Viking descendants of northern France: NORMANS. Derived from Norsemen.

4. Separate, as chain parts: UNLINK

5. Indian cover-up: SARI. I liked the clue. "Malaysian cover-up" is SARONG.

6. Congeal, as blood: CLOT

7. Pro __: RATA. In proportion.

8. Arctic jacket: ANORAK (AN-uh-rak). The Eskimo parka. The boy in the middle has a boy Dennis look.

9. Martin and Magdalene: MARYS. Don't know Mary Martin.

11. Harbingers: HERALDS

12. Many O. Henry endings: IRONIES. I like how it's placed side by side with MOCKERY (13D. Farce).

21. Express's opp.: LOC. Local?

24. Periodic table suffix: IUM. Elemental ending, as in titanium.

28. Old ColorTrak TVs: RCAS

35. Like worn tires: BALD. No tread.

36. With it: HEP

37. "My Fair Lady" flower seller: ELIZA. Eliza Doolittle.

38. Old vitamin bottle abbr.: RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance). What's the abbreviation on the "New vitamin bottle" then?

39. Refinery gases: ETHENES. Thought it's spelled ETHANES.

40. Carbon __: DIOXIDE. The greenhouse gas.

41. Phantom: SPECTER

43. Italian jewelry designer Elsa: PERETTI. No idea. Got her name from Across fill.

44. CIA predecessor: OSS (Office of Strategic Services)

45. When the French fry?: ETE. Ha ha, identical clue in Jack McInturff's March 25 puzzle.

47. Traditional Scottish dish: HAGGIES. Ewwww.

48. Yr.-end auditor: CPA. Kind of tired to see CPA every day. Probably not for KQ.

49. Inform on, slangily: RAT OUT

52. Really impressed: IN AWE

55. Chef's secret ingredient, perhaps: HERB. I only like chives.

56. Fish-eating birds: ERNS. OK, here is the correct ERN (Thanks again, Roger). Looks ferocious, doesn't it? TERN, on the other hand, looks rather dumb.

58. Actor Fernando et al.: REYS. Obtained his name from crossings. Spanish actor.

63. Short at the poker table: SHY

Answer grid.

Dot/Frank, read this interesting article on daily crossword & long marriage connections. 70 years, amazing!

C.C.