Friday October 9, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: Go Back - Go is attached to the end of a familiar two-word phrase/name.

16A. Tropical fruit that grows underground?: CAVE MAN(GO). Caveman. Mango is tropical fruit. Funny entry. Reminds me of two GEICO cavemen in a restaurant commercial. One told the waiter, "I'll have the roast duck and the MANGO salsa". The other caveman said, "I don't have much of an appetite, thank you."

21A. Church game played with cans and bottles?: RECYCLE BIN(GO). Recycle bin. Do dump out the extra liquid in your cans/bottles before you put them in the recycle/recycling bin.

37. Italian cheese from the Florida Keys?: SOUTHEAST ASIA(GO). Southeast Asia. Florida Keys are a chain of small islands off the coast of southeast US. Asiago cheese is named after the Italian town Asiago where it originated.

44A. Fled what was once Zaire?: ESCAPED CON(GO). Escaped con. Congo was called Zaire between 1971 to 1997.

57A. Jargon of ancient Yucatán?: MAYA LIN(GO). Maya Lin. Best known for designing the Vietnam Memorial. I suspect this is the seed entry. Or perhaps CAVE MANGO.

Today's Dan Naddor Index (total non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 15, higher than the previous weeks'. Plus the 5 theme answers, a total of 20 entries with 6 or more letters, Dan's own standard.

Very clever theme. Again, I worked the puzzle from bottom up. Got MAYA LINGO immediately, then ESCAPED CONGO, then I filled in all GO's at the end of each theme entry.

Had to look at the cheat sheet for the middle-right edge of the grid. Huge trouble with RIG, BAAL & T. S. GARP.

Across:

5. Run in a traffic jam?: IDLE. Nice clue.

9. "__ fan tutte": Mozart opera: COSI. Literally "so"/"thus" in Italian. fan = do, tutte = feminine form for "all". Cosi fan tutte = "Thus do all (women)". I just forgot. It appeared in Jerome's puzzle last time.

14. Aquarium clapper: SEAL

15. Be silent, in music: TACET (TAH-ket). No idea. Same root as tacit.

18. Autobahn autos: OPELS. It does not belong to GM any more, does it?

19. Exceeded, as a budget: OVERRAN

20. Ankle-swelling cause: SPRAIN. I am prone to ankle sprain, esp after some drinks.

24. Workout unit: REP (Repetition)

28. Not away: IN TOWN

32. Michigan college town: ANN ARBOR. The University of Michigan.

39. Snobs: ELITISTS

40. Fictional author of "The World According to Bensenhaver": T. S. GARP. The character in John Irving's "The World According to Garp". T. S. stands Technical Sergeant. Stumped me.

41. Spot to get off: STAIN. Get the STAIN off. Had problem understanding the clue properly.

43. Grant opponent: LEE (R.E.)

51. Body shop offering: LOANER

52. SWAT team supply: TEAR GAS. Pittsburgh police just used TEAR GAS during the G20 Summit. Surreal.

56. Jet trail: VAPOR

59. Nanos and minis: IPODS. Both Nano and Mini are iPod models. Mine is Classic, so is Melissa Bee's.

60. Drive the getaway car for, say: ABET

61. Prefix with dollar: EURO. Eurodollar is U.S. dollar deposited in a European bank.

62. Last word sung with champagne in hand: SYNE. "Auld Lang SYNE", sung on New Year's Eve.

63. Presidential power: VETO. Governor has the VETO power too.

64. Future J.D.'s hurdle: LSAT (Law School Admission Test). Should be a gimme for our J.D. now.

Down:

2. Patron saint of Norway: OLAV. Always have to wobble between OLAF and OLAV.

3. Like glowing coals: LIVE. I kind of like fake fireplace. Clean.

4. Hall of Fame second baseman Bobby: DOERR. Got his name from Across fill. Wikipedia says he played his entire season with the Red Sox.

5. Stern with a bow: ISAAC

6. Chain that serves the Grand Slam breakfast: DENNY'S

8. "Strange Magic" band: ELO. What other 3-letter band can you think of?

9. Bay of Naples isle: CAPRI. Capri pants got its name from this isle.

10. Continental divide?: OCEAN. Another great clue.

11. Baseball commissioner since the '90s: SELIG (Bud). He'll stay as commissioner until at least 2012. Boo! Hate him. He used to own the Milwaukee Brewers.

12. "__ big deal": ITS NO

15. Military higher-ups: TOP BRASS

17. G.I. ration: MRE (Meal Ready to Eat)

20. Witnessed visiting: SEEN AT. He was witnessed visiting his ex-girlfriend. He was SEEN AT
his ex-girlfriend' house? I don't know. Can't equate the two grammatically. Maybe you can give me a better example.

22. Enduring opus: CLASSIC

23. Navel buildup: LINT

24. Bailiff's request: RISE. OYEZ is "Bailiff's request" too, correct?

25. Compound containing a hydroxl group: ENOL

26. Spitting sound: PTUI. Man, he's back again.

29. Giant great who wore #4: OTT (Mel). Ah, the #4 giant of the moment belongs to Brett Favre. It's his 40th birthday tomorrow.

30. Library volumes?: WHISPERS. Clever clue.

31. Avian homemaker: NESTER

33. Hook (up): RIG. Why? I wanted TIE.

34. False god: BAAL. The Semitic "False god". Mine was IDOL.

35. Brute: OGRE

36. Weapon in Clue: ROPE. Have yet to play this game.

38. Hardly at all: A TAD

42. "When I'm ready": NOT YET. I've developed a fondness for multiple words now. Like them better than long single words. Clear Ayes used to prefer the latter, maybe she still does.

44. The King: ELVIS. Saw several lovely ELVIS candy tins at the flea market this summer.

46. Food fowl: CAPON. Maybe Jeannie can give us another recipe. I'll try her marinated salmon on Saturday. Have never used orange juice in cooking before.

47. Battery terminal: ANODE

48. "Peachy keen!": NEATO

49. "For Me and My __": GAL. Judy Garland/Gene Kelly musical.

50. Bay window: ORIEL (AWR-ee-uhl). Like this window, jutting out from the wall.

53. Wildebeests: GNUS

54. Indian mausoleum city: AGRA. Taj Mahal.

55. Flue coat: SOOT

57. Dallas cager, briefly: MAV (Mavericks). And with a maverick owner Mark Cuban, who was all gaga over Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead".

58. He's next to Teddy on Mount Rushmore: ABE

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a recent photo of our fellow solver PJB-Chicago at work. Looks like it's taken from a cell phone. This one is the pregnant picture he mentioned on the blog the other day. It's taken 7 years ago at his admin's baby shower. He said both men and women were invited and the invitation said "Dress pregnant" so "I stuffed a couch pillow under my shirt. The lady to my left was another admin, a fireball & a whipsmart bundle of energy. She didn't "dress pregnant" so I'm the chunky one here. Now, my hair is thinner and grayer, & the face more lined. My eyeglasses are not as loud."

C.C.

Thursday October 8, 2009 Donna S. Levin

Theme: COVERT OPS (59A. Hush-hush activities, briefly, and a hint to the hidden theme in 18-, 23-, 38- and 49-Across) - OPS are embedded in all the theme answers.

18A. Jam on the brakes: STOP SHORT. Remember this Seinfeld episode? "You stop short with me? We don't do that in Korea".

23A. Soft court stroke: DROP SHOT. Who has the best drop shot in tennis?

38A. Small family businesses: MOM AND POP STORES. Hard for them to survive in this Wal-Mart world.

49A. Stir-fried dish: CHOP SUEY. Suey is literally "small pieces". American Chinese food: meat & bean sprout & mushroom & onion or other veggies, served over rice or chow mein.

Very clever tie-in answer, COVERT OPS. Did you also consider COVERT/SECRET AGENT, Donna?

All of the hidden OPS span two words, very consistent. Silly, but I interpreted COVERTOPS as COVER TOPS initially.

Covert Ops is short for Covert Operations. According to Wikipedia, they maybe include sabotage, assassination, support for coups d’état & subversion, all those clandestine stuff. Any of them is better than war, isn't it? Had we allowed CIA to assassinate Saddam, so much lives would have been saved.

Very smooth puzzle. All of the multiple words are common phrases and easily obtainable.

Across:

1. Athenian with harsh laws: DRACO (DREY-koh). That's how we get draconian (drey-KOH-nee-uhn), meaning "very severe/harsh". Draconian measure, Draconian budget cut, etc.

6. "Star Wars" princess: LEIA. Played by Carrie Fisher. And UHURA (51D. "Star Trek" communications officer). Played by Nichelle Nichols. The latter always give me trouble. All I know about "Star Trek" is Spock and Sulu.

10. Hip-hop mogul who married Beyoncé: JAY-Z. Powerful couple. Jay-Z is unbelievably astute in his investment. Part owner of New Jersey Nets.

14. Grapevine traveler: RUMOR

16. "Dies __": hymn: IRAE. Literally "wrath".

17. Get hitched quick: ELOPE

20. Stick-on design: DECAL. Tough to find a 1950's/60's bobblehead with the original decal on.

21. Go astray: SIN

22. Press conf. format: Q AND A. Man, I never learn. Had trouble parsing the answer again.

25. Wallowing place: MUD. Was picturing a sty.

26. Pasture: LEA

27. Colorfully patterned fabric: PAISLEY. Name after the Scottish city famous for such fabric.

31. Songstress Adams: EDIE. What's her most famous song?

34. RCA Victor pooch: NIPPER. The dog in "His Master's Voice".

41. Driver's lic. et al.: IDS

42. Lend a hand: ASSIST

43. Fast time: LENT. For Christians. Muslims have their Ramadan.

44. Gander: LOOK-SEE

46. Embarrassed: RED

48. World Series mo.: OCT. Topical clue/fill. Damned Yankees. Nothing went right for the Twins yesterday.

54. Legend automaker: ACURA. Honda luxury brand.

57. Cross shape: TAU. The Greek T. Cross-shaped.

58. Yellowish earth tone: OCHRE. Or ocher.

61. Magician Henning et al.: DOUGS. Easy guess. Not familiar with Doug Henning.

63. Shoshoneans: UTES

64. __ the side of caution: ERR ON

66. Like slasher movies: GORY. A slasher is a horror film featuring gory special effects.

67. 1954-1977 defense gp.: SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization). Formed in Manila.

Down:

1. "Judge __": Stallone film: DREDD. Obtained the film title from crossings.

2. School tool: RULER

3. Big name in gas: AMOCO. Merged with BP in 1998.

4. Admit one's guilt to serve less time: COP A PLEA

5. Threat-ending words: OR ELSE

6. Rodeo rope: LASSO

7. Weird Al Yankovic parody of a Michael Jackson hit: EAT IT. Here is the clip. Unknown to me.

8. It's pumped in gyms: IRON. Jazzbumpa's "I, RON".

9. PC program: APP (Application). Applet is a small application. App(lication) + let.

10. Holy wars: JIHADS. The Koran says those who die in Jihad will go to heaven immediately.

13. Epsilon follower: ZETA. This is Dennis's favorite "Epsilon follower".

19. Water gun stream: SQUIRT

24. Desk phone unit: HANDSET. Wrote down HEADSET first.

25. Orchestra leader: MAESTRO. Italian for "master".

27. Third afterthought, in a ltr.: PPPS. The most I've used is PPS.

28. Old Italian money: LIRE. Plural of Lira.

30. Eddie of the '40s-'50s Senators: YOST. Washington Senators (now Twins). I drew a blank. Only knew the former Brewers' manager Ned YOST. Might have this card in my collection though. Wikipedia says he's nicknamed the "Walking Man" and he's still alive.

31. German artist Nolde: EMIL. I guessed. EMIL sounds German.

32. Dimwit: DODO. The extinct bird too.

33. "__ Excited": Pointer Sisters hit: I'M SO. Here is the clip.

35. __ dixit: assertion without proof: IPSE. Literally "he himself". IPSO is "itself", as in "ipso facto" (by the fact itself). Don't confuse it with Lhasa Apso the dog.

36. Luau fare: POI

39. Sprint Cup org.: NASCAR

40. It may take years to settle one: OLD SCORE. I like this fill a lot.

45. Seoul man: KOREAN. Seoul food is very hot. Koreans use lots of hot red pepper.

47. Lyric poems: EPODES. New word to me. Dictionary defines it as "a kind of lyric poem, invented by Archilochus, in which a long verse is followed by a short one".

49. Playful prank: CAPER

50. Brazen minx: HUSSY. Just learned this word a few months ago. Bad form of "housewife".

52. Grain disease: ERGOT. Wait for our in-house farmer/philosopher Windhover for expert explanation.

53. Like some simple questions: YES-NO

54. West Point, e.g.: Abbr.: ACAD (Academy)

56. Eye part containing the iris: UVEA. Latin for "grape".

57. He bit Miss Gulch in a 1939 film: TOTO. From "The Wizard of Oz". I bet this is Donna's original clue, given her fondness for the movie.

60. Pull hard: TUG. Tried LUG first.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a beautiful photo of our fellow solver Carol2 (in black) and her daughter-in-law, who is from Romania. They were in a local restaurant celebrating the 90th birthday of Carol's mother.

C.C.